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In Bangladesh as elsewhere, women are empowered by working outside the home. But new research from the University of Washington shows such work can also increase the threat of domestic violence for some Bangladeshi wives. The study brings to light how the South Asian nation is seeing a change in relations within the household, with both positive and negative consequences for women. The findings come from a research paper by Rachel Heath, UW assistant professor of economics, released by the…

Washington state’s housing market continued to improve during the third quarter of 2012 as median selling prices and the number of homes sold both increased, according to the Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies at the University of Washington. Existing home sales increased 3.4 percent from the second quarter, to seasonally adjusted annual rate of 97,860. This sales rate is also 11.9 percent above this time last year. “Washington’s housing market, similar to reports from around the county, is clearly…

University of Washington President Michael K. Young today announced a new initiative aimed at advancing the university’s teaching, research and service to meet the major challenges of the 21st century. The initiative, called “Tomorrow’s University Today,” will focus on three key areas: leading change in public higher education, addressing critical societal problems like sustainability, health care and K-12 education, and spurring economic growth. “The university of tomorrow is moving toward a new paradigm — certainly one of greater efficiency, but…

King County has no substantial food deserts, provided one has a car. Take away the car, however, and food deserts — areas where low-income people have limited access to low-cost, nutritious food — appear to fill the county map. New research from the University of Washington, published in the American Journal of Public Health, shows only about one-third of the vulnerable populations studied could walk to a nearby supermarket, and as few as 3 percent could walk to a low-cost…

Global health researchers are working on cheap systems like a home-based pregnancy test that might work for malaria, diabetes or other diseases. A new chemical technique makes medically interesting molecules stick to regular paper — a possible route to building such paper-based diagnostics from paper you could buy at an office-supply store.

Data released by the U.S. Census Bureau today show that, after increasing since 2008, the poverty rate for the U.S. remained stable at 15 percent between 2010 and 2011. In Washington state, the estimated poverty rate increased from 11.5 percent (774,000 residents) to 12.5 percent (854,000 residents) between 2010 and 2011.

University of Washington President Michael Young will be the featured speaker at the UW’s 29th annual Freshman Convocation, which begins at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 23 in the Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. About 4,800 people are expected to attend this event, which welcomes the entering class. Convocation officially marks the beginning of the academic year, with classes starting Sept. 24. The event will be broadcast live and will be rebroadcast by UWTV. The academic procession will be…