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December Headlines  Cognitive scientist awarded $500K to study motion perception Myron Braunstein, cognitive sciences professor emeritus, has received a $500,000, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health to study how people perceive motion based on characteristics such as speed and object size. Using motion pictures of real-world scenes, Braunstein and co-investigator George Andersen from UC Riverside - a former student of Braunstein's - measure participants' abilities to gauge motion in a 3D environment, based on varying speeds, sizes and other characteristics of moving objects. Their study is one of the first of its kind to use computer-generated objects inserted into real world images in the scenario testing phase. Read On... UCI professors bring home awards from American Anthropological Association  UC Irvine's Julia Elyachar, Roxanne Varzi and James Diego Vigil were among those honored with awards at the American Anthropological Association's 106th annual meeting, held November 28-December 2, 2007 in Washington, DC. Read On... Boellstorff named editor of American Anthropologist for full four year term  After serving as interim editor for the past year, Tom Boellstorff, associate professor of anthropology, has been selected by the American Anthropological Association to continue on for a full four year term as editor-in-chief of American Anthropologist, beginning January 2008. Published for the past 109 years, American Anthropologist is the association's flagship journal, featuring academic articles, commentaries, and reviews related to the field. Read On...  Professor Frank receives inaugural residency fellowship from Spencer FoundationDavid John Frank, associate sociology professor, has received an $85,000 fellowship from the Spencer Foundation to continue his study on the changing dynamics of the global university system. As one of the inaugural recipients of the Residency Fellowship, Frank will spend the 2007-08 winter and spring quarters in Chicago conducting research at the Foundation's headquarters. Working with John Meyer, Stanford University sociology professor, Frank will examine how the role of universities across the world has changed from preparing students for specific, technical jobs to instead preparing better global, more socially attuned citizens. Read On... Lynch & Chowdhry first faculty member and student to receive campus-wide award  Cecelia M. Lynch, political science associate professor and director of the Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies, and Chetan Chowdhry, political science and environmental analysis and design undergraduate, are among the recently announced recipients of the Chancellor's fall 2007 Living Our Values award. The biannual award recognizes individuals and teams who exemplify the core values of UC Irvine - respect, intellectual curiosity, integrity, commitment, empathy, appreciation and fun. With newly expanded guidelines this fall to include faculty and students among its recipients, Lynch and Chowdhry have become the first faculty member and student to receive the award. Read On... Study finds Muslim Americans share mainstream views  Muslim Americans are highly involved in the political process, relatively affluent and educated, and resemble the average American in terms of party affiliation, education and family income, according to research by Jen'nan Ghazal Read, associate professor of sociology at UC Irvine. Read On...  Carla Valenzuela awarded 2007-08 Stephen K. Tamura fellowshipA love for arguing and solving puzzles led graduate student Carla Valenzuela to philosophy. "Philosophy to me is like a whole bunch of puzzles you have to work your way through," she says. When an eye-opening high school class further exposed her to readings in philosophy, she was hooked. "It seemed like they were asking similar questions to ones I had asked myself, and I was relieved to not be the only one asking them," she says. Now in her sixth year as a logic and philosophy of science graduate student, Valenzuela is the recipient of the 2007-08 Stephen K. Tamura Fellowship. Awarded annually through the Alumni Association, the rotating university fellowship recognizes Valenzuela's excellence in academia. The recently awarded fellowship follows her receipt of the School of Social Sciences' Kathy Alberti Award for Graduate Student Excellence in 2006-07. Read On...  Anthony SalvantoAs Manager of Surveys for CBS News, Anthony Salvanto, UC Irvine political science Ph.D., class of '00, faces a very busy election season. A Q&A with Anthony from New York. Read On... Anthropology graduate student receives fellowships to study water rights  Growing up in Costa Rica, a Central American country with more than 50% of its borders comprised of coastline, the contested notion of water access as a basic human right is a no-brainer for Andrea Ballestero. Now a second year anthropology graduate student, the topic is a driving force behind her research.
With recently awarded fellowships from the Center for Unconventional Security Affairs at UC Irvine and the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, Ballestero will soon be travelling to Costa Rica to study one community's innovative system of water pricing based on the purchasing power of the people. Read On...UCI political science alumnus is Democratic Party of OC's new political director Lindsay Hopkins was selected as the new political director to the Democratic Party of Orange County yesterday. A recent graduate of University of California, Irvine, Hopkins received her bachelor's degree in political science. She had been an intern at the DPOC for the past year. Read On... Test your Social Sciences knowledge! Which student program is designed to create world leaders? What is the School's newest department? Test your Social Sciences knowledge with the School's 2007 holiday crossword puzzle. Click here to download the crossword puzzle. Click here to see the answers. Read On... If you have a good idea for a feature story or would like to post a news item to the School of Social Sciences website, please contact your department manager or Heather Wuebker, hwuebker@uci.edu. |
Social Sciences in the Media Big brother will soon be monitoring your email A study by Mark Steyvers, cognitive sciences professor, is featured in the New Scientist on November 29, 2007. Read On... Immigrants' children grow fluent in English, study says Ruben Rumbaut, sociology professor, is featured in the LA Times on November 30, 2007. Read On... Losing our minds over immigration A report coauthored by Ruben Rumbaut, sociology professor, is featured in The Huffington Post on November 30, 2007. Read On... Politicians woo central Ohio's immigrant votes for next election Louis DeSipio, Chicano/Latino studies department chair and political science professor, is quoted in the Herald Dispatch on December 2, 2007. Read On... Latinos deserting GOP, shifting back toward Democrats, poll finds Louis DeSipio, Chicano/Latino studies department chair and political science professor, is quoted in the SF Gate on December 6, 2007. Read On... O.C.'s transfer point for 'orphaned' bus items Calvin Morrill, sociology professor, is featured in the Los Angeles Times on December 10, 2007. Read On... North Texans to honor Virgin of Guadalupe on feast day Ruben Rumbaut, sociology professor, is quoted in the Dallas Morning News on December 12, 2007. Read On... Carpoolers' free ride may be over Karen Leonard, anthropology professor, is quoted in the Los Angeles Times on December 14, 2007. Read On... Latinos feel heat of immigration debate Louis DeSipio, political science professor and Chicano/Latino studies department chair, is quoted in the Orange County Register on December 13, 2007. Read On... BLS Report: Get Ready for a Smaller, More Diverse Workforce Louis DeSipio, political science professor and Chicano/Latino studies department chair, is quoted in Workforce on December 14, 2007. Read On... Finding joy in an $883 rice cooker Judith Treas, sociology professor, is featured in the Huffington Post on December 18, 2007. Read On... Why you shouldn't look for your new job on company time A study by Mark Steyvers, cognitive sciences associate professor, is featured in CIO Magazine on December 19, 2007. Read On... U.S. kids learn parents' language Ruben Rumbaut, sociology professor, is quoted in the Star-Telegram on December 20, 2007. Read On... Mayor's move creates chatter Louis DeSipio, political science associate professor and Chicano/Latino studies department chair, is quoted in the Daily Pilot on December 28, 2007. Read On... Luis A. Alejo: Watsonville's mayor-at-large proposal divisive, unnecessary A study by Bernard Grofman, political science professor, is referenced in the Santa Cruz Sentinel on December 30, 2007. Read On... Impact of ICE Louis DeSipio, political science associate professor and Chicano/Latino studies department chair, is quoted in the Daily Pilot on December 30, 2007. First paragraph: Costa Mesa has been at the forefront of the national debate on immigration ever since Mayor Allan Mansoor unveiled a plan to have police enforce immigration laws in 2005. For the full story, please visit Read On... If you have a good idea for a feature story or would like to post a news item to the School of Social Sciences website, please contact your department manager or Heather Wuebker, hwuebker@uci.edu. |
