Social Sciences

For the first time in 25 years, Penn’s Annenberg School for Communication will offer a master’s program. The new Master of Communication and Media Industries (MCMI) is a reimagining of the Annenberg School’s inaugural academic program in 1954; its curriculum will be defined by its exploration of rapid technological change, global interconnectivity, and evolving professional demands.

New health survey data from Penn’s Annenberg Public Policy Center& finds that many people do not know two consequential facts that could help reduce the number of SIDS deaths: First, babies under one year old should be put on their backs to sleep at all times, including naps. And second, babies exposed to secondhand smoke in a home are at greater risk for SIDS.

Pickard, co-director of the Media, Inequality & Change Center at the Annenberg School for Communication has been awarded for significant contributions to the development, reach, and influence of scholarship on media, markets, and democracy.

A recent survey question by the Annenberg Public Policy Center shows that some Americans appear to be confused about when women with an average risk of breast cancer should begin a regimen of regular mammograms. The survey finds that nearly half of those surveyed know that age 40 is when women at an average risk of breast cancer should begin to have mammograms every other year, and 11% are not sure.

A new paper from Penn’s Annenberg Public Policy Center explores public perceptions of AI science and scientists, comparing those to perceptions of science and scientists in general. The findings show that people perceive AI scientists more negatively than climate scientists.

A Penn seminar brought together faculty with a broad diversity of entry points, comfort levels, and facility with AI tools to explore the issue of AI in the classroom, to consider when AI is helpful and when it isn’t.

Penn Global has awarded its first two Residency Grants to Chao Guo, professor of nonprofit management in the School of Social Policy and Practice, and Emily Hannum, Stanley I. Sheerr Term Professor in the Social Sciences, professor of sociology, and associate dean of social sciences in the School of Arts and Sciences.

With funding from the Neubauer Family Foundation, the program’s creation is in direct response to the School District of Philadelphia’s call for targeted support in Algebra 1 instruction.

Rivka Neriya-Ben Shahar is a senior lecturer at Sapir Academic College in Sderot, Israel, where she teaches courses on research methods, communication, religion, and gender. She is one of 18 current Fellows at Penn’s Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies. This year’s 2024–25 fellowship year is devoted to the study of Jews and health, exploring health through the intersection between bodies and systems, language and physicality, religion, and science.

Rea, professor of biology in Penn’s School of Arts & Sciences and Belldegrun Distinguished Director of the Vagelos Program in Life Sciences & Management has won the Jesse H. Neal Award for Best Technical/Scientific Content for his article “Gliflozins for Diabetes: From Bark to Bench to Bedside,” published in American Scientist.