Social science
January 27, 2014
‘Achieving Health for All’ is topic of 38th Annual Faculty Lecture Feb . 6
Dr. Stephen Gloyd, professor of global health and health services, will discuss creative responses to reducing inequity worldwide.
January 24, 2014
How strong of a football fan are you? There’s a test for that
UW psychologist Anthony Greenwald has developed a scientific test to measure the strength of one’s support for a football team.
January 13, 2014
Cognitive training shows some lasting effects in healthy older adults
The national, decade-long ACTIVE study showed that cognitive training can help the elderly maintain certain thinking and reasoning skills useful in everyday life.
January 8, 2014
Despite declines in smoking rates, number of smokers and cigarettes rises
Population growth since 1980 drives increases in the number of smokers in countries including China and Russia, while Canada, Mexico, and the United States see strong declines
January 7, 2014
‘Sharecropper’s Troubadour’: The life of singer, union organizer John Handcox
UW historian Michael Honey talks about his latest book, “Sharecropper’s Troubadour: John L. Handcox, the Southern Tenant Farmers’ Union, and the African American Song Tradition.”
January 6, 2014
Babbling babies – responding to one-on-one ‘baby talk’ – master more words
Common advice to new parents is that the more words babies hear the faster their vocabulary grows. Now new findings show that what spurs early language development isn’t so much the quantity of words as the style of speech and social context in which speech occurs.
‘Future of Ice’ initiative marks new era for UW polar research
The UW’s new “Future of Ice” initiative includes several new research hires, a new minor in Arctic studies and a free winter lecture series.
December 16, 2013
5 effective parenting programs to reduce problem behaviors in children
UW researchers evaluated about 20 parenting programs and found five that are especially effective at helping parents and children at all risk levels avoid adolescent behavior problems that affect not only individuals, but entire communities.
December 9, 2013
Communities across U.S. reduce teen smoking, drinking, violence and crime
Fewer high school students across the U.S. started drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, committing crimes and engaging in violence before graduation when their towns used a prevention system developed by UW’s Social Development Research Group.
December 3, 2013
New book ‘Going Viral’ explores nature, impact of Internet virality
Will we of the early 21th century be remembered for Internet memes like Grumpy Cat? “Going Viral,” a new book by Karine Nahon and Jeff Hemsley of the UW Information School explores the nature of virality and impacts of virality.
Project to gauge effects of Affordable Care Act in Washington state
The overall purpose of the project, called UW-SHARE, is to obtain a benchmark, pre-ACA picture of health-care use, health, health-related attitudes, and access to health insurance.
November 20, 2013
Study shines light on what makes digital activism effective
Digital activism is usually nonviolent and tends to work best when social media tools are combined with street-level organization, according to new research from the University of Washington.
November 14, 2013
A decline in creativity? It depends on how you look
Recent research suggests that young Americans might be less creative now than in decades past, even while their intelligence — as measured by IQ tests — continues to rise. But new research from the UW Information School and Harvard University hints that the dynamics of creativity may not break down as simply as that.
October 30, 2013
A first step in learning by imitation, baby brains respond to another’s actions
Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery for adults, but for babies it’s their foremost tool for learning. Now researchers from the University of Washington and Temple University have found the first evidence revealing a key aspect of the brain processing that occurs in babies to allow this learning by observation.
October 21, 2013
‘Pushback’: Resisting the life of constant connectivity
Researchers at the University of Washington have studied and named a trend lots of people can identify with: the desire to resist constant connectivity and step back from the online world.
October 8, 2013
Profile: Brian Wansink, Slim By Design author and 2013 Hogness Lecturer
Wansink explores mindless eating and how cues in our environment lead us to eat too much of the wrong foods.
September 25, 2013
Digital applications can enable or limit, say authors of ‘The App Generation’
There’s often “an app for that” these days, but for young people such digital shortcuts can be as limiting as they are convenient, says the University of Washington co-author of a new book titled “The App Generation.”
September 17, 2013
Emotional attachment to robots could affect outcome on battlefield
As the military designs field robots to be more human or animal-like, it’s important to study whether soldiers could become emotionally attached to the mechanical tools and less willing to send them into harm’s way.
In spite of economic recovery, U.S. poverty rate remains high
Data released by the U.S. Census Bureau today show that, for the second year in a row, the poverty rate for the U.S. remained stable at 15 percent in 2012. Although the median annual income did not fall in 2012, it remains 8.3 percent below median income in 2007.
September 11, 2013
UW engineers to make cookstoves 10 times cleaner for developing world
University of Washington engineers have received a $900,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to design a better cookstove, which researchers say will use half as much fuel and cut emissions by 90 percent.
September 10, 2013
New UW-based organization aims to prevent suicides
Forefront: Innovations in suicide prevention, a new University of Washington-based organization launched Sept. 10, will help Washington state lead the way to new policies and programs to solve what is regarded as a major public health problem.
September 9, 2013
Nearly half of state’s distracted drivers are texting
In our state, texting on a hand-held device diverts drivers’ attention more than any other distraction.
September 5, 2013
Redesigned feminine hygiene product tackles problem of human trafficking
A group of University of Washington graduate students wanted to help save victims of human trafficking. Along the way they won two prestigious national design awards for their efforts and hope to raise money to help even more people.
August 14, 2013
UW geographer devises a way for China to resolve its ‘immigration’ dilemma
University of Washington geographer Kam Wing Chan is in China this week, explaining how that country can dismantle its 55-year-old system that limits rural laborers from moving to and settling in cities and qualifying for basic social benefits.
August 5, 2013
Abused children found to smoke more as teens and adults
Researchers have long suspected some kind of link between childhood abuse and smoking. But in an interesting twist, UW researchers found a connection not between whether or not an abused child will ever begin smoking, but to how much they smoke once they do start.
July 16, 2013
Eye-tracking could outshine passwords if made user-friendly
University of Washington engineers found in a recent study that the user’s experience could be key to creating an authentication system that doesn’t rely on passwords.
July 10, 2013
Global study stresses importance of public Internet access
Millions of people in low-income countries still depend on public computer and Internet access venues despite the global proliferation of mobile phones and home computers.
July 9, 2013
School policies reduce student drinking – if they’re perceived to be enforced
Every middle and high school has a policy against drinking alcohol on campus, but not all students follow the rules. New research suggests students are less likely to drink if they believe their school will strictly enforce its policy.
July 1, 2013
Calming your dog’s anxiety during noisy Fourth of July
Dog owners everywhere feel a pang of anxiety as the Fourth of July approaches. Will their pooch simply hide under the bed when fireworks go off or run for the hills? If you’re the owner of a dog with noise phobias, what can you do?
June 25, 2013
More women pick computer science if media nix outdated ‘nerd’ stereotype
The media often portray computer scientists as nerdy males with poor social skills. But a UW psychologist found women will want to study computer science if they don’t buy into the stereotypes.
June 20, 2013
U.S. Supreme Court decision to bar gene patents opens genetic test options
The U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous decision June 13 to bar the patenting of naturally occurring genes opens up important clinical testing options for a variety of diseases.
June 17, 2013
Fiber-optic pen helps see inside brains of children with learning disabilities
For less than $100, University of Washington researchers have designed a computer-interfaced drawing pad that helps scientists see inside the brains of children with learning disabilities while they read and write.
June 13, 2013
UW research: World population could be nearly 11 billion by 2100
A new United Nations analysis, using statistical methods developed at the University of Washington, shows the world population could reach nearly 11 billion by the end of the century, about 800 million more people than the previous projection issued in 2011.
June 5, 2013
Congolese rape survivors helped by cognitive processing therapy
Short-term therapy from paraprofessionals improved the mental health of Congolese women who suffered sexual violence.
A walking revolution helps older adults get and stay active
Older adults are assessing their neighborhoods to make them more amenable to a favorite physical activity: walking.
May 30, 2013
Big feet preference in rural Indonesia defies one-size-fits-all theory of attractiveness
In most cultures, a woman’s small feet are seen as a sign of youth and fertility, but that’s not true of all cultures, including the Karo Batak on the island of Sumatra.
May 29, 2013
Early brain responses to words predict developmental outcomes in children with autism
The pattern of brain responses to words in 2-year-old children with autism spectrum disorder predicted the youngsters’ linguistic, cognitive and adaptive skills at ages 4 and 6, according to a new study by UW’s Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences.
May 22, 2013
Practicing medicine pharma-free in a drug rep-filled world
A rural family medicine group is an example for other community physicians seeking to wean themselves from pharmaceutical industry influence.
May 21, 2013
The tea party and the politics of paranoia
New research argues that the tea party owes more to paranoid politics of the John Birch Society and others than traditional American conservatism. “True conservatives aren’t paranoid,” says political scientist Chris Parker. “Tea party conservatives are.”
May 17, 2013
Youth bullying because of perceived sexual orientation widespread and damaging
Harmful effects of bullying are profound for youth struggling with identity and self-worth, and can lead to depression and thoughts of suicide.
Previous page Next page
