Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences

Twitter bots may not be as influential as you think

A new study from Annenberg School for Communication finds that verified media accounts are more central in the spread of information on Twitter than bots.

Ashton Yount, From Annenberg School for Communication

The Philadelphia Orchestra is playing safe

Penn experts are working with The Philadelphia Orchestra to study the aerosol droplets that wind and brass musicians produce when playing. Their findings, aimed at reducing the risk of COVID-19 transmission, could help the Orchestra once again play together.

Katherine Unger Baillie

History is the ‘narratives we tell’

To understand how ideas about racial difference took root in American history, Makiki Reuvers, a Ph.D. candidate in history, examines 17th-century encounters between British colonists and Native Americans.

From Omnia

Working at the intersection of data science and public policy

Ken Steif’s new book, “Public Policy Analytics: Code & Context for Data Science in Government,” available online and in print, provides guidance for how governments and policymakers can use data and algorithms to solve complex service-delivery problems.

Erica K. Brockmeier

A conversation on the media, truth telling, and social equity

For the Office of Social Equity & Community’s inaugural event, a group of panelists—including several renowned experts in the media industry—gathered virtually to discuss the past, present, and future of journalism in the U.S.

Lauren Hertzler



In the News


U.S. News & World Report

Has RSV vaccine hesitancy subsided?

A survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center finds that more Americans believe in the effectiveness of vaccines developed to protect newborns and seniors against RSV.

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The New York Times

Europe has a leadership vacuum. How will it handle Trump?

Amy Gutmann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that Germany is front and center in the economic problems currently afflicting Europe.

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The Hill

Trust in court system at record low: Gallup

An October survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center found that the public’s trust in the U.S. Supreme Court has dropped to a record low.

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Los Angeles Times

Trump offers murky worldview ahead of second term, mixing dire warnings with rosy promises

Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center says that Donald Trump is far more hyperbolic on average than traditional presidential candidates, who still routinely claim that they will do something alone that can’t be done without Congress.

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The New York Times

An epidemic of vicious school brawls, fueled by student cellphones

PIK Professor Desmond Upton Patton says that many schools don’t have a playbook for addressing student violence or helping pupils engage more positively online, in part because few researchers are studying the issue.

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