What will be the effects of the city of Seattle’s minimum wage ordinance? Faculty from the UW’s schools of public affairs, public health and social work are teaming up for The Seattle Minimum Wage Study, a five-year research project to learn that and more.
Suspending kids from school for using marijuana is likely to lead to more — not less — pot use among their classmates, a new study finds. Counseling was found to be a much more effective means of combating marijuana use. And while enforcement of anti-drug policies is a key factor in whether teens use marijuana, the way schools respond to policy violators matters greatly. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Washington and in Australia, compared drug policies…
Decades of efforts to end female genital cutting have resulted in some progress, but the ancient tradition stubbornly persists in many places. The latest initiative to tackle the issue is a $12 million research project launched this month by a consortium comprising several African organizations and two U.S. researchers: Bettina Shell-Duncan, a University of Washington anthropology professor, and Gerry Mackie of the University of California, San Diego. The five-year project, funded by the U.K. Department for International Development and led…
The University of Washington has 42 graduate schools and specialty programs among the nation’s top 10 in each area, according to U.S. News & World Report’s Graduate School Rankings released Tuesday. The UW again ranked as the No. 1 primary care medical school, while the rural medicine and family medicine specialties continue to lead the nation. Seven other health and medicine schools and programs rank in the top five. “Top graduate programs around the country are incredibly competitive with one…
More than two years after Washington legalized marijuana, parents and teens may be hazy on the specifics of the law, if the findings of a new study are any indication. University of Washington research, published recently in Substance Use & Misuse, found that only 57 percent of Washington parents surveyed knew the legal age for recreational marijuana use and just 63 percent knew that homegrown marijuana is illegal under the law. And while 71 percent of 10th-graders correctly identified the…
Facebook users share countless details about their personal lives, from where they’re going on vacation to what they’re eating for dinner — and occasionally, feelings of dark despair, even thoughts of suicide. As the world’s biggest social network, with more than 1.39 billion users, Facebook is uniquely positioned to provide online resources and support to help suicidal people. That’s the goal of a new collaboration between Facebook and researchers at Forefront: Innovations in Suicide Prevention, an interdisciplinary organization based in…
The life of a Bangladeshi garment factory worker is not an easy one. But new research from the University of Washington indicates that access to such factory jobs can improve the lives of young Bangladeshi women — motivating them to stay in school and lowering their likelihood of early marriage and childbirth.
A session Feb. 15 at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting will explore how big data scientists can find careers at universities and within academic settings.
A research team has found that one group of bilingual speakers used emoticons more often when typing in their second language in casual, online communication than they did when typing in their native tongue.
Women have long been underrepresented among undergraduates in computer science and engineering for a complex variety of reasons. A new study by University of Washington researchers identifies a main culprit for that disparity: inaccurate stereotypes depicting computer scientists and engineers as geeky, brilliant and socially awkward males. And they say broadening those stereotypes is key to attracting more girls to the two fields. Deeply ingrained in modern American society, stereotypes about computer science and engineering are widely accepted by students and…
As a girl growing up in Alaska, Elizabeth Fleagle learned life lessons and hands-on skills from her grandmother, from cooking to making fish nets and moccasins. “Our grandma taught us how to make everything we had to make,” said Fleagle, who lives in Fairbanks and is Inupiat Eskimo. “In my culture, that’s how we learn.” Fleagle, 79, recently shared that way of learning at the University of Washington as one of 12 Elders participating in a new pilot program launched…
Marlo Mack’s son was 3 years old when he told her very adamantly that he was not a boy, but a girl. Unsure what to do, Mack went in search of answers. She found little information online, her pediatrician knew nothing about transgender children, and even a psychologist who specialized in child identity issues couldn’t answer her questions. Mack quickly learned there was almost no research that could help her determine whether to allow her son to live as a…
Research has found a significant link between childhood abuse and neglect and crime in adulthood. But a recent University of Washington study finds that link all but disappears when accounting for other life factors. “We find that children who were involved in child welfare services are at high risk of adult crimes, but once we accounted for childhood socioeconomic status and later marital status and education, many of those effects went away,” said co-author Todd Herrenkohl, an investigator at the…
Early detection can make a world of difference for toddlers with autism, but many children do not get diagnosed until they’re at least 4 years old. As a result, they often don’t get specialized services during the critical period up to age 3 that can greatly improve their skills and behavior. A new project at the University of Washington aims to address that delay and ensure that children with autism are identified and helped early enough to prevent problems later…
The first time Alise Hegle saw her daughter again after her birth was 11 months later at a court-ordered, supervised visit. Newly out of jail and treatment for drug addiction, Hegle was riddled with anxiety. She had no idea how to parent her only child and worried about the visitation supervisor who sat silently observing, taking notes. “I was terrified,” she recalled. “I felt worthless. When the setting and the environment is intimidating and you don’t feel supported, it’s hard…
Mention homeless people and words like optimistic, hopeful and happy are typically not what spring to mind. More likely, said Jordan Lewis, an assistant professor in the University of Washington’s School of Social Work, the stereotypes are negative — “that they’re chronic alcoholics, depressed, they steal, they’re thieves. They don’t have hope. They’ve just given up.” But Lewis sought to find something different when he embarked on a recent research project exploring optimism among homeless Alaska Native elders in Seattle. Statistics…
The U.S. economy has long been powered in part by the nation’s ability to attract the world’s most educated and skilled people to its shores. But a new study of the worldwide migration of professionals to the U.S. shows a sharp drop-off in its proportional share of those workers – raising the question of whether the nation will remain competitive in attracting top talent in an increasingly globalized economy. The study, which used a novel method of tracking people through…
A Washington family of four must spend 46 percent more on average to make ends meet today than 13 years ago, according to a new report from the University of Washington. The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Washington State 2014, released Thursday (Nov. 20), provides a sobering look at how much it costs individuals and families statewide to meet basic needs — and how far short they’re falling. The study found that Washington families with two adults, a preschooler and a school-aged…
University of Washington researchers have successfully replicated a direct brain-to-brain connection between pairs of people as part of a scientific study following the team’s initial demonstration a year ago.
Foreign policy looms large as the 2014 midterm elections approach. But traditional conservatives and their tea party counterparts may bring different concerns and motivations to the November ballot, according to a University of Washington political scientist. While traditional conservatives seem most motivated by concern over American security, Christopher Parker, UW professor of political science, suggests that those identifying as tea party conservatives have somewhat more mixed motivations, linked with agitation over the Obama presidency and stemming from a feeling of…
Psychological studies of children who began life in Romanian orphanages shows that institutionalization is linked to physical changes in brain structure. The thinning of the cortex leaves a lasting legacy that can explain impulsivity and inattention years later.
UW researchers have found that children as young as 15 months can detect anger in other people’s social interactions and then modify their own behavior.
The number of Washingtonians living in poverty jumped by more than 50,000 from 2012 to 2013, and the state poverty rate rose as well, according to new U.S. Census Bureau data released Thursday.
A study by the UW and the United Nations finds that the number of people on Earth is likely to reach 11 billion by 2100, about 2 billion higher than widely cited previous estimates.
Young men receiving support after they pledge to abstain from sex until marriage, can find themselves without advisors and help once they do marry.
University of Washington researchers have developed visual tools to help self-trackers understand their daily activity patterns over a longer period and in more detail. They found people had an easier time meeting personal fitness and activity goals when they could see their data presented in a broader, more visual way.
By the time they reach age 18, nearly one in eight of American children experience a confirmed case of maltreatment. Co-author Hedy Lee, a UW assistant professor of sociology, says the study shows that child maltreatment is much more common than previously thought.
In his new book, “Get a Job: Labor Markets, Economic Opportunity, and Crime,” University of Washington sociologist Robert Crutchfield explains the nuanced links between work, unemployment and crime.
Designing medical apps for your phone, treating alcohol-dependent homeless individuals, and enhancing wellness in older disabled adults are some of the developments at the UW Health Sciences and UW Medicine
Most discrimination in the U.S. is not caused by intention to harm people different from us, but by ordinary favoritism directed at helping people similar to us, according to a theoretical review published online in American Psychologist.
Researchers affiliated with the UW’s School of Social Work tailored a parenting program known to improve communication in non-foster families for use in foster families, who often say they don’t feel connected and have trouble communicating, but few resources exist that nurture their bonding.
Social work researchers from the University of Washington have found that among a group of active-duty Army personnel who use illicit drugs, the most abused substance is synthetic marijuana, nicknamed “Spice,” which is harder to detect than other drugs through standard drug tests.
More than a million people are treated for mild traumatic brain injuries in U.S. hospitals and emergency rooms each year. A University of Washington researcher has found that a 20-minute conversation with a social worker has the potential to significantly reduce the functional decline of those diagnosed with a mild traumatic brain injury.
University of Washington political scientist John Wilkerson has matched data visualization with the study of lawmaking to create a new online tool for researchers and students called the Legislative Explorer. Think of it as big data meeting up with How a Bill Becomes a Law. “The goal was to get beyond the ‘Schoolhouse Rock’ narrative and let users discover the lawmaking process for themselves,” said Wilkerson, UW professor of political science and director of the UW’s Center for American Politics…
The UW School of Social Work will host the series “Working Together for Labor Justice” during Labor History Month in May.
Roger Roffman, UW professor emeritus of social work who has studied marijuana dependence interventions for 30 years, talks about his new book, “Marijuana Nation: One Man’s Chronicle of America Getting High: From Vietnam to Legalization.”
In her lecture “Are We There Yet? The Four Directions in Native American Higher Education,” Metoyer will talk about the historic development of Native Americans in higher education.
Babies as young as 15 months preferred people with the same ethnicity as themselves — a phenomenon known as in-group bias, or favoring people who have the same characteristics as oneself.
As the United States puts ever-greater emphasis on science, technology, engineering and mathematics education to keep competitive in the global economy, schools are trying to figure out how to improve student learning in science. University of Washington researchers think music may be the answer for some students.
A new UW online bachelor’s degree completion program in social sciences is intended to provide a flexible, lower-cost option for individuals who want to finish their college education without coming to campus.