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Will the 2024 Olympic Games become the playing field for social justice protests?
Yannick Kluch, a professor of recreation, sport and tourism at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, studies sport as a platform for promoting social justice. Kluch has worked with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, USA Diving and the National Collegiate Athletic Association. He spoke with research editor Sharita Forrest about the history of Olympic athletes’ […]
State of Illinois a leader in legislation on perinatal mental health, study says
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The state of Illinois has emerged as a leader in passing legislation focused on the detection and treatment of perinatal mental health issues, yet more work is needed to improve outcomes for women and their children, researchers suggested in a recent review of Illinois’ policies. Among the six Illinois policies on these […]
Study: Social networks can influence perception of climate-change risk
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A new paper co-written by a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign urban and environmental economics expert shows that social networks can play a significant role in influencing the financial behaviors and perception of catastrophic risks brought about by climate change. New research from Yilan Xu (“E-Lan SHE”), a professor of agricultural and consumer economics at […]
Green infrastructure plans need to consider historical racial inequalities, say researchers
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Urban planners increasingly are interested in green infrastructure projects for the health and climate benefits they bring to cities. But without attention to historical development patterns and existing power structures, such projects may not benefit all residents equally and may exacerbate social and racial inequalities, says a group of researchers and practitioners […]
Seven Illinois professors elected AAAS Fellows
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Seven University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professors have been elected 2023 Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. They are among the 502 scientists, engineers and innovators recognized for their scientifically and socially distinguished achievements by the world’s largest general scientific society. The new U. of I. fellows are computer science […]
Emotional radio ads may ease listeners’ qualms, boosting support for organ donation
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Radio ads with an emotional appeal — featuring personal stories of either a happy organ transplant recipient or a sad patient languishing on the waiting list — increase nondonor listeners’ support for organ donation and may be effective at overcoming some of the qualms that deter them from joining the donor registry, […]
Research examines tweets during Hurricane María to analyze social media use during disasters
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Social media can be a useful tool for communicating during extreme weather events. Omar Pérez Figueroa, an urban and regional planning professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, examined how Twitter (now X) was used when Hurricane MarÃa hit Puerto Rico in 2017. His findings are published in the Journal of Environmental […]
Perinatal women of Mexican descent propose solutions to pandemic-related stressors affecting Latinos
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Public policies blocked many families of Mexican descent living in the U.S. from accessing vital services such as food and mental health care during the COVID-19 pandemic, even though these communities experienced some of the highest infection and mortality rates. Thirty-eight perinatal women and mothers of young children were interviewed about the […]
Paper: Policy reforms urgently needed to mitigate racial disparities in perinatal mental health conditions
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A team of researchers is calling for comprehensive changes to U.S. health care and social policies to improve diagnosis and treatment of perinatal mental health conditions and mitigate the dramatic disparities that put women of color at significantly greater risks of morbidity and mortality compared with white women. In a commentary published […]
Can genetic genealogy restore family narratives disrupted by the transatlantic slave trade?
Some political figures seek to remove references to slavery from the study of American history, adding to the vast knowledge gaps that stem from the transatlantic slave trade. To better understand these histories, scholars and individuals are turning to genetic genealogy to discover and retrace descendant-family lineages. In a recent paper published in the journal […]
How is the Russia-Ukraine war affecting non-allied countries’ interest in joining NATO?
Cynthia Buckley, a professor of sociology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, assesses threats to geopolitical stability along Russia’s periphery through the Central Eurasian State Capacity Initiative. Buckley spoke with research editor Sharita Forrest about the ongoing war in Ukraine. Sweden recently joined NATO, ending decades of neutrality. How significant is Sweden’s membership and will […]
Greenhouse gas emissions in Global South countries linked with IMF lending policies
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Greenhouse gas emissions significantly increase in countries in the Global South within a few years after initially borrowing from the International Monetary Fund using structural loans, but not when more flexible lending conditions are involved. However, with countries’ second or subsequent IMF loans, their emissions spike almost immediately, regardless of the lending […]