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Social Sciences

New model could help police departments reduce excessive force incidents

New model could help police departments reduce excessive force incidents

Criminology professor Greg Ridgeway has developed a model that estimates an officer’s likelihood of using a higher level of force than peers in similar situations—an improvement on existing early-intervention systems that don’t account for differences in time and location.

3 min. read

A design fall studio brings interdisciplinary thinking to Philly’s historic and commercial core
Philadelphia’s Market Street east of City Hall in 1889.

Philadelphia’s Market Street east of City Hall in 1889.

(Image: John Gibb, Courtesy of the Free Library of Philadelphia, Print and Picture Collection)

A design fall studio brings interdisciplinary thinking to Philly’s historic and commercial core

Studio Plus design students at Weitzman focused on working through the future of Philadelphia’s Market East neighborhood, and explored issues of historic preservation, urban planning, and housing.

2 min. read

Preserving the past
Brian Whetstone.

Assistant professor of historic preservation Brian Whetstone.

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Preserving the past

Brian Whetstone, assistant professor of historic preservation at the Weitzman School, explores the intersections between housing and labor equity at museums, historic sites, and preservation organizations.

From the Weitzman School of Design

2 min. read

Planning ahead in an age of longevity
An elderly person holding a baby while blowing out candles on a birthday cake.

Image: Daniel Balakov via Getty Images

Planning ahead in an age of longevity

Tamara J. Cadet of the School of Social Policy & Practice discusses strategies for preparing—financially and physically— for an extended lifespan.

3 min. read

Most would recommend RSV immunizations for infants, older adults, and during pregnancy

Most would recommend RSV immunizations for infants, older adults, and during pregnancy

In a nationally representative panel survey, Penn’s Annenberg Public Policy Center found an increase in awareness of immunizations that are available for RSV; about 6 in 10 respondents would recommend the vaccine or antibody injections to the groups recommended by the CDC, an increase from past years.

Examining the forces shaping world heritage 

Examining the forces shaping world heritage 

Lynn Meskell looks at the politics of archaeology and world heritage to understand why we conserve certain places and who benefits from the work.

Iran at a crossroads
Four women walk through Tehran underneath a billboard.

Iran is functioning under an Internet communications blackout, which has strained economic and family ties, says Penn’s Firoozeh Kashani-Sabet.

(Image: Vahid Salemi via AP Images)

Iran at a crossroads

In a Q&A, Penn historian Firoozeh Kashani-Sabet, an expert on Iran and the modern Middle East, speaks about the Iranian opposition movement, current protests, the Islamic Republic’s crackdown, and daily life in the country.

4 min. read

How ‘um’ and ‘uh’ shape impressions
Jonathan Lee.

Fourth-year linguistics Ph.D. student Jonathan Lee became curious about breaks in speech when he noticed they were missing from transcripts and subtitles.

(Image: Kevin Ren)

How ‘um’ and ‘uh’ shape impressions

Disfluency, or irregularities and breaks in speech, are part of life—but do they affect how we perceive each other? Fourth-year linguistics Ph.D. student Jonathan Lee is trying to find out.

2 min. read

Updated volume published on treating and preventing adolescent mental health disorders

Updated volume published on treating and preventing adolescent mental health disorders

The third edition of “Treating and Preventing Adolescent Mental Health Disorders: What We Know and What We Don’t Know,” an overview of the current state of knowledge of major mental health conditions that emerge during adolescence, has been published by Oxford University Press, sponsored by the Adolescent Mental Health Initiative, a project of Penn’s Annenberg Public Policy Center and The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands.