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Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences
Lauder students embark on odyssey through Georgia
As part of the Lauder Institute’s Lauder Intercultural Ventures program, graduate students traveled to Georgia, to the Russian border, and beyond, learning about wine, language, historical reckonings, and more.
‘Can Technology Spark Joy and Imagination?’
In the 2024 Albert M. Greenfield Memorial lecture hosted by Penn Nursing, Desmond Upton Patton and Courtney D. Cogburn discussed how social media and AI might foster well-being.
What the brain reveals in nature’s subtle game of give and take
Research led by Michael Platt uncovers the neural pathways for primate reciprocity, social support, and empathy.
Immigration policy and the 2024 presidential election
An April 2 symposium will bring together policy analysts, immigration scholars, and representatives of nonprofit advocacy organizations to discuss immigration policies and their impact.
A humanities pathway to pre-med
Pre-med students majoring in English, theatre, history, and other humanities fields find satisfaction in tapping into multiple interests—and see benefits for a career in medicine.
Confidence in science remains high, but public questions adherence to science’s norms
Confidence in science has nonetheless declined over the past few years, since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, as it has for most other major social institutions.
The majority of Americans do not support anti-democratic behavior, even when elected officials do
Despite rampant political polarization, the majority of Democrats and Republicans support democratic values and oppose political violence.
‘Behind the Startup’ looks at venture capital and inequality
The new book by Benjamin Shestakofsky is based on 19 months of participant-observation research, rising from intern to middle manager in a tech startup.
2023 PIP/PEP winners: Where are they now?
Nearly a year after the winners of the President’s Innovation Prize (PIP) and President’s Engagement Prize (PEP) began their projects, the winners—now alumni—discuss their progress.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaks at Fels
Buttigieg’s discussion with Fels Distinguished Fellow Elizabeth Vale was part of the Fels Public Policy in Practice series.
In the News
What did you do at work last week? Monitoring performance doesn’t improve it, expert says
Adam Grant of the Wharton School says that people do their best work when they’re given a chance to pursue autonomy, mastery, belonging, and purpose.
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‘Marry or be fired’ and other global efforts to boost fertility
Jesús Fernández-Villaverde of the School of Arts & Sciences says that the world population will peak in 2055, followed by a systematic decline at a rapid rate.
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These two personality traits make you instantly more attractive, say studies of over 4,000 people
A study by postdoc Natalia Kononov of the Wharton School suggests that kindness and helpfulness can make someone more attractive, regardless of the situation or relationship.
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After years of anti-vaccine advocacy, RFK Jr. said vaccines protect children. But experts say he must go further amid measles outbreak
Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center and Jessica McDonald of APPC’s Factcheck.org comment on the need to debunk vaccine misinformation in public health messaging.
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Formerly anti-vax parents on how they changed their minds: ‘I really made a mistake’
According to surveys from the Annenberg Public Policy Center, the proportion of respondents who believe vaccines are unsafe grew from 9% in April 2021 to 16% in the fall of 2023.
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