Culture | Science Codex

California gets a failing grade when it comes to minority students and high school exit exams

Graduation rates for low-achieving minority students and girls have fallen nearly 20 percentage points since California implemented a law requiring high school students to pass exit exams in order to graduate, according to a new Stanford study.

The new study said that the exit exam, which is first given in 10th grade to help identify students who are struggling academically and need additional instruction to pass the test, has failed to meet one of its primary goals: to significantly improve student achievement.

Special interest groups well-positioned to frame public policy

Madison, WI—April 22, 2009—A new study in the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management demonstrates that public commenters who participate during the early phases of regulatory policymaking play an important agenda setting role. Results suggest that these "public" participants—who are often interest groups—can help shape the content of regulatory proposals as they move through the regulatory process and may thwart unwanted regulations.

Americans support single-parent families but don't want to be one

Syracuse, N.Y.—April 22, 2009—The increase in single-parent families was a dramatic social change of the 20th century. However, relatively little is known about the evolution of attitudes toward single-parent families. A new study in the Journal of Marriage and Family shows ambivalent acceptance of divorce rather than a full embrace of it.

Health care globalization - American doctors skeptical of organ transplantation practices in China

San Francisco, Calif. - April 22, 2009 – The globalization of health care and the growth of "transplant tourism" (traveling abroad to purchase donor organs and undergo organ transplantation) have outpaced the implementation of internationally accepted ethical standards for procurement of organs for transplantation. A new article appearing in Clinical Transplantation finds that both U.S. and foreign transplant physicians expressed serious concern about organ procurement practices in China, and that this concern influenced their patient care decisions.

Sea Grant report synthesizes recent research on New York's clams

Stony Brook, NY, April 22, 2009 - New York Sea Grant (NYSG) announces the release of The Hard Clam Research Initiative: Factors Controlling Mercenaria mercenaria Populations in South Shore Bays of Long Island, NY, a 43-page technical report that summarizes the key results of five research projects funded through NYSG's Hard Clam Research Initiative which began in 1999. Funding partners included NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, South Shore Estuary Reserve, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and New York Sea Grant.

Media ignores health consequences of drinking and driving among young celebrities

The recent drinking and driving (DUI) arrests of celebrities—Paris Hilton, Nicole Ritchie, Michelle Rodriguez and Lindsay Lohan—yielded widespread news coverage, however, very little of it offered any public health context, according to a new report by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Center for Injury Research and Policy.

Marriage woes - why you may lose that loving feeling after tying the knot

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Dating couples whose dreams include marriage would do well to step back and reflect upon the type of support they'll need from their partners when they cross the threshold, a new Northwestern University study suggests.

Will the partner who supports your hopes and aspirations while you are dating also help you fulfill important responsibilities and obligations that come with marriage? The answer to that question could make a difference in how satisfied you are after tying the knot.

Saving the economy and saving the planet

The potential economic benefits offered by the green economy in the current economic downturn will be explored on Budget Day by three leading experts in the fields of economics and environmental research: Dr Alex Bowen, of the LSE's Grantham Research Centre, Professor Paul Ekins of Kings College, London and Dr Ralf Martin part of the ESRC's Centre for Economic Performance.

Assimilating culture -- what language tells us about immigration and integration

They're a firm part of our language and even speak to us of our national culture — but some words aren't quite as English as we think.

Making math classes harder has been key to closing racial academic achievement gap

URBANA – More challenging middle-school math classes and increased access to advanced courses in predominantly black urban high schools may be the key to closing the racial academic achievement gap, according to a University of Illinois study.

"Although we've poured a lot of money and resources into trying to reduce inequalities between black and white students, we've mainly focused on test scores and that hasn't been successful," said Christy Lleras, a U of I assistant professor of human and community development.

ASU professor tracks Columbine media discourse from 'school shooting' to 'terrorism'

TEMPE, Ariz. – Decades spent studying mass media messages of fear led noted Arizona State University scholar David Altheide to examine how the Columbine High School shootings on April 20, 1999, were originally portrayed in the media and how those messages changed after 9/11 and leading up to the war in Iraq.

Enforcing bans on cigarette sales to kids reduces youth smoking

WASHINGTON, DC – A new study finds that enforcing federal and state laws against tobacco sales to minors dramatically decreases underage smoking rates. The results show that laws prohibiting sales of cigarettes to minors and stepped up enforcement of those laws in the United States have led to a 20.8 percent drop in the odds of 10th graders becoming daily smokers.

Study explores roots of ethnic violence

A new UCLA-led study challenges the popular perception that ethnic diversity is to blame for sectarian conflicts in Iraq and Northern Ireland, recent tensions in Tibet, and ethnic violence in post-election Kenya.

"Countries that are ethnically diverse do not experience more conflict than their more homogenous counterparts," said Andreas Wimmer, the study's lead author and a UCLA professor of sociology. "Rather, conflict breaks out when large segments of the population are excluded from access to government because of their ethnicity."

Temple sheds some light on Dark Age

The discovery of a remarkably well-preserved monumental temple in Turkey — thought to be constructed during the time of King Solomon in the 10th/9th-centuries BC — sheds light on the so-called Dark Age.

Uncovered by the University of Toronto's Tayinat Archaeological Project (TAP) in the summer of 2008, the discovery casts doubt upon the traditional view that the transition from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age was violent, sudden and culturally disruptive.

Increased symptoms lead mentally disordered to become victims of violence

ATLANTA—Contrary to common stereotypes, individuals with major mental disorders are more likely to become victims of violent crimes when they are experiencing an increase in symptoms than they are to commit crime, according to a new study by Brent Teasdale, an assistant professor of criminal justice at Georgia State University.