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UCI Social Sciences E-News


Welcome to the May issue of the Social Sciences E-News


Upcoming Events

War and Relatedness
5/3/2010

Do Women Managers Ameliorate Gender Differences in Wages?
5/4/2010

Banking: A Mechanism Design Approach
5/4/2010

Effect of Immigration on Ethic Composition and Occupational Relocation
5/4/2010

Global Rebellion: Religious Challenges to the Secular State
5/6/2010

Does the Economic Crisis Provide an Opportunity for Change?
5/6/2010

Seventh Annual Kiang Lecture: Unlocking Modern China History
5/6/2010

CEO Ideology and Corporate Political Action
5/7/2010

CSD’s 6th Annual Southern California Graduate Student Conference
5/8/2010

Educational Inequality
5/11/2010

Baghdad School Project Student Service Auction
5/12/2010

Tragic Immigrant Narratives and the Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
5/13/2010

Secular Spaces Between Sovereignty and Solidarity
5/14/2010

Intersecting Inequalities: A Fuzzy-Set Analysis of Family Background, Test Score
5/14/2010

Segregation Through the Lense of Housing Unit Transition
5/18/2010

Unnatural Enemies: The Riddle of Iran-U.S. Relations
5/20/2010

Urbanity on the Move: Planning, Mobility, and Displacement
5/21/2010

International Courts and Democracy
5/21/2010

Sacred Earth and Healing Arts of Tibet Opening Ceremony
5/25/2010

Culture in a Virtual World
5/26/2010

Film: Dalai Lama Renaissance
5/26/2010

Asia’s Rise and Global Governance
5/27/2010

Mandala Dissolution and Closing Ceremony
5/27/2010

The Consequences of Racial Fluidity for Inequality in the United States
5/28/2010

Pathways and Obstacles to High Quality Family Relationships
6/1/2010


See more events


Social Sciences
in the Media

Animal spirits do cause booms

First camera, then fork

Sen. Boxer emphasizes progress on the economic front

Older workers likely to benefit as job market recovers

Capo to hire security guards if teachers strike

Laser nuclear technology might pose security risk

To the loser -- a lawyer

Black voters to play big roll in November, climate change issue may be factor

Targeting gangs imperils immigrant communities, advocates say

Arizona’s crackdown on illegal migrants feels familiar

Rush Limbaugh, Bill Clinton square off: Who’s encouraging domestic terror?

Nixing new nuclear process

Long-hated one-child rule may be eased in China

How immigration crackdowns backfire

The back-up plan

Nuclear matters

Game examines immigration

Strike was symptom of long-term distrust

Palestinian and Israeli students bring respectful conversation to UC Irvine

CARL makes his way onto Canada’s Discovery Channel



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In praise of Peltason

American Council on Education honors UCI’s second chancellor

Jack Peltason, UC Irvine’s second chancellor, the University of California’s 16th president, and a current political science professor emeritus, has received the American Council on Education’s Distinguished Service Award for “a lifetime of achievement and service to higher education and to ACE.” ACE, the major coordinating body for higher education institutions in the U.S., provides leadership and a unifying voice on relevant issues and affects public policy through advocacy, research and program initiatives. Peltason served as president of ACE from 1977 to 1984.

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Luce elected fellow of The Econometric Society

Honor recognizes contributions to the field of economic theory

R. Duncan Luce, cognitive science Distinguished Professor emeritus and economics research professor emeritus, has been elected a fellow of The Econometric Society. Founded in 1930, the international society publishes the journal Econometrica and promotes the advancement of economic theory. The honor, which recognizes no more than 15 recipients annually, acknowledges Luce for his significant contributions to economic theory.

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From the ground up

As Haiti begins rebuilding after a catastrophic earthquake, three UCI professors, including political scientist Cecelia Lynch, discuss how it could emerge a stronger country

It took scarcely 35 seconds Jan. 12 for a magnitude 7.0 earthquake to cripple Haiti, flattening its capital and killing more than 200,000 people, but it will take many years for the island nation to recover. While devastating quakes have since struck in Chile, Japan and elsewhere, Haiti’s situation is unique. Desperately poor before the disaster, the Caribbean republic must rebuild its economy and political system as well as infrastructure like schools and hospitals. Will a new, more stable Haiti rise from the rubble? Three UC Irvine academics share their views.

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Rumbaut delivers keynotes at international immigration conferences

Talks highlight potential policy implications resulting from differing views on the “second generation”

Rubén Rumbaut, sociology professor, delivered the keynote address at the Universidad de Almería, Spain 13th Annual Immigration Conference. The international meeting, which ran from April 21-24, 2010, focused on the topic of biculturalism and the second generation. In his talk, Rumbaut discussed issues in current immigration research surrounding the conceptualization, measurement, and theorization of what and who the “second generation” of immigrants is, and how differing views can impact policy.  He is also scheduled to be the keynote speaker at the International Migration Conference at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland this June.

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CARL makes his television debut on Canada’s Discovery Channel

Watch him in action online

CARL, short for Cognitive Anteater Robotics Laboratory, is a robot designed to think and act like a human being, thanks to the creative masterminds of Jeffrey Krichmar, UCI cognitive neuroscientist and Brian Cox, a former Hollywood animatronics engineer whose movie credits include, among others, Godzilla and Spielberg’s AI. CARL’s steel-encased body is full of cameras, microphones and feelers that allow Krichmar to simulate a living, thinking and learning being. Watch him in action on Canada’s Discovery Channel and learn more about how he’s helping give researchers an inside look at how our brains impact our behavior when we feel happy, scared, sad and surprised.

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UCI social sciences graduate programs rank among nation’s top 50

Rankings based on U.S. News & World Report, Center for Public Anthropology and Philosophical Gourmet Report

U.S. News & World Report’s annual graduate program rankings are in, and of those programs the agency ranks, social sciences has again come out in the top 50 with economics 42nd, political science 36th, psychology 29th, and sociology 27th. Graduate programs in anthropology and philosophy are not currently reviewed by U.S. News & World Report. Instead, anthropology looks to the Center for Public Anthropology, which combines measures used by the National Research Council with public impact factor. By these standards, UCI anthropology ranks 8th in the nation. Philosophy relies on the Philosophical Gourmet Report under which the UCI program ranks 23rd in the U.S., 28th in the English speaking world, and 1st in the decision, rational choice & game theory specialty area.

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UCI ranks sixteenth in top “100 Happiest Colleges”

Rankings from The Daily Beast based on campus housing, nightlife, dining, graduate indebtedness, freshmen retention rates, and number of student clubs and organizations

UC Irvine came in at #16 in The Daily Beast’s “100 Happiest Colleges.” The rankings were determined using subjective student reports collected by College Prowler on campus housing, nightlife, and campus dining; and objective data from U.S. News & World Report on graduate indebtedness, freshmen retention rates, and number of student clubs and organizations. Also among the selection criterion: number of hours of sunshine per day, courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The same Daily Beast report also ranked the university #49 in the “50 Most Stressful Colleges” based on cost, acceptance rank, academic competitiveness, engineering program competitiveness, and crime rank. Notes the report: “Several of the schools that rated high on the list of stressed-out colleges...scored highly [in the happy list], too, suggesting that academic pressure doesn’t automatically translate to a bad college experience. In fact, as seen from these rankings, dozens of colleges turn out more than graduates: They produce satisfied customers.”

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UCI students say “Thank You” in new scholarship video

Check it out online

Sarah Barber, sociology undergraduate (pictured), Crystal Murphy, IMTFI funded researcher, and Julio Monterrey, PRIME-LC medical student, are featured in UCI’s Thank You scholarship video. Hear what they had to say about opportunities that opened up for them thanks to donor-sponsored scholarships at UCI.

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Student-led Olive Tree Initiative receives 2010 Paul S. Delp Peace Award

Honor comes on the heels of group’s recent UCI Living Our Values Award and OC Human Relations Commission Community Leader Award

UCI’s Olive Tree Initiative (OTI) has received the Interfaith Peace Ministry of Orange County 2010 Paul S. Delp Peace Award. The honor, which acknowledges outstanding service by Orange County individuals or groups in the pursuit of peace and justice, was presented at a formal banquet during the council’s annual meeting on April 11. Founded in 2007 by a diverse group of students working in association with the School of Social Sciences’ Center for Citizen Peacebuilding, OTI seeks to create open dialogue on the Israel-Palestine conflict. 

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UC Irvine’s John Chin selected to U.S. Palmer Cup Team

Sociology undergraduate becomes first UCI player to be selected for the Palmer Cup

UC Irvine senior and sociology major John Chin has been selected to the United States Palmer Cup team, announced by the Golf Coaches Association of America. Chin is one of eight members of the American squad that will face eight European players in the annual Ryder Cup-style competition. The 2010 Palmer Cup is set for June 24-26 at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Portrush, Northern Ireland.

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SPOTLIGHT EVENT - Seventh Annual Kiang Lecture: Unlocking Modern China History

Thursday, May 6, 2010 @ 6:00-8:30 p.m.
Social Behavioral Science Gateway, Patio and Room 1517

China’s awakening in the last two decades has sent shock waves throughout the world, leading to a gradual reconfiguration of the balance of power in the Asia-Pacific region. Tai-chu Kuo, research fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, will offer insight into historical forces of change that have helped reshape the region based on her interpretations of the diaries of Chiang Kai-shek, a 20th century Chinese political and military leader. Particular focus will be on Chiang Kai-shek’s leadership, political thinking and policies. The lecture is the seventh in the annual Center for Asian Studies’ Wan-Lin Kiang Endowed Lecture Series, established by Mrs. Assumpta Kiang in memory of her husband, Wan-Lin Kiang, a noted international scholar, political advisor and businessman.

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SPOTLIGHT EVENT - Urbanity on the Move: Planning, Mobility, and Displacement

Friday, May 21, 2010 @ 10:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Social Behavioral Science Gateway, Room 3323

With a focus on processes of transformation, topics covered in this workshop will include urban planning, architecture and design, spatial and social mobility, persistent and emergent forms of ownership, and displacement. Rather than presenting a unified theory of urbanity and urbanism, this workshop encourages conversation and debate regarding disparate urban forms, and what kinds of anthropological approaches might best respond to these new urbanities and mobilities. The workshop is the second installment in the “Anthropology in Transit” series.

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