Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

Social sciences

Arts William Sullivan and Bin Jiang stand in an outdoor space with greenery behind them.

New study finds link between green spaces and police violence

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A novel research project has shown that areas with greater amounts of green space have a lower prevalence of police violence. The study is the first to find a significant relationship between greenness levels and fatal police shootings, and it showed that the most socially and economically disadvantaged areas seemed to benefit […]

Education Professor Kaylin Ratner standing in front of a multicolored background

Young adults juggle conflicting pressures to hurry up ― and wait

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. ― Some of the anxiety and frustration that many young adults are experiencing today may be caused by feelings of being caught between opposing forces, some of which pressure them to accelerate their maturation and assume adult responsibilities earlier, while others strive to hold them back, according to a new paper by scholars […]

Life sciences Portrait of Benedek Kurdi

Study finds global downturn in bias against stigmatized groups

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — In a study that tracked explicit and implicit bias against stigmatized groups in 33 countries between 2009 and 2019, researchers found substantial reductions in explicit, self-reported bias against all categories of stigma they examined: age, race, body weight, skin tone and sexual orientation. The picture for implicit bias, which is sometimes described […]

Expert viewpoints Portrait photo of Ellen Moodie

Why were Venezuelan immigrants sent to El Salvador?

On March 15, more than 200 Venezuelan immigrants were accused of engagement in gang activity and deported from the U.S. — not to Venezuela, but to El Salvador, some 1,600 miles away from their home country. Ellen Moodie, an anthropology professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, is the author of “El Salvador in the […]

Business Photo of Emily E. LB. Twarog, a professor of labor and employment relations and the co-director of the Regina V. Polk Women’s Labor Leadership Conference.

What are the historical precedents for consumer activism, economic blackouts?

Champaign, Ill. — The Feb. 28 “economic blackout” — in which consumers were encouraged not to spend any money for 24 hours — may have gone viral on social media, but what effect did it have in real life? Emily E. LB. Twarog is a professor of labor and employment relations and the co-director of […]

Expert viewpoints Journalism lecturer Nancy Averett stands on the outdoor stairs of Gregory Hall on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus.

How can science literacy help people better understand the news?

In today’s rapidly evolving media landscape, the spread of misinformation and disinformation regarding scientific topics such as natural disasters, vaccines and climate change can pose a risk to public health. Nancy Averett, a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign lecturer of journalism and expert in science and environmental journalism spoke with News Bureau physical science and media editor Lois Yoksoulian about how science literacy can help the American public make more informed choices.

Social sciences Nick Pitas standing next to a tree in a park with a pavilion in the background.

Research explores Champaign Park District’s relationship with users who are homeless

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Members of the Champaign community who were surveyed for a recent research project viewed the Champaign Park District as a stopgap provider of “crisis response” services for people who are homeless. The park district ― which oversees more than 62 parks and 14 recreational facilities ― collaborated on the project, which was […]

Social sciences Male and female student embracing on the quad with flowering redbud tree and the ACES library in the background. Photo by Michelle Hassel

Dating is not broken, but the trajectories of relationships have changed

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — According to some popular culture writers and online posts by discouraged singles lamenting their inability to find romantic partners, dating is “broken,” fractured by the social isolation created by technology, pandemic lockdowns and potential partners’ unrealistic expectations. Yet two studies of college students conducted a decade apart found that their ideas about […]

Expert viewpoints Professor John M. Murphy wearing a dark suit, white shirt and tie

How did President Trump’s inaugural address stack up to previous speeches?

John M. Murphy, a professor of communication at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, studies the history of American public address and political rhetoric. Murphy spoke with News Bureau research editor Sharita Forrest about President Donald Trump’s second inaugural address and how the rhetorical devices that presidents use in these speeches define the U.S. and their […]

Life sciences Photo of researcher standing in front of a photo of the remains of an ancient Maya city.

Book: Maya wisdom should guide humanity’s future

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A new book takes readers on a guided tour of Maya history as narrated by an anthropologist who has spent more than 35 years salvaging and exploring the remains of ancient Maya cities, farms and sacred spaces. “Maya Wisdom and the Survival of Our Planet,” by Lisa J. Lucero, is also a […]

Social sciences Christina Kamis standing on a staircase in a campus building holding onto the handrail.

Physical neglect as damaging to children’s social development as abuse

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — While physical neglect is understudied compared to physical, sexual or emotional abuse, neglect is just as damaging to children’s social development, a new study indicates. More than 9,150 individuals, nearly 41% of whom retrospectively reported some form of maltreatment before age 12 or reaching the sixth grade, were included in the study, […]

Humanities Portrait of Andrew White. He is standing in front of a screen displaying two images: on the left, a LiDAR image of Monks Mound in the ancient city of Cahokia; on the right, an artist's painted interpretation of what the city of Cahokia looked like in its heyday. The painting depicts Cahokia from an aerial perspective.

Are climate-related calamities erasing Illinois’ cultural history?

In a new report, scientists with the Illinois State Archaeological Survey describe how increased flooding, erosion and other effects of human-induced climate change are degrading many of the state’s cultural sites. ISAS research archaeologist Andrew White, a co-author of the report, spoke with News Bureau life sciences editor Diana Yates about the scope of the […]

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