Feature Channels: Story Ideas: Life

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Festival will include exhibitions of rare miniature books, artists' books, and film screening

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Shielding children from sex and violence, avoiding commercials and finding extra time for other activities are among the key reasons Americans live without television, according to a new book by Marina Krcmar, associate professor of communication at Wake Forest University.

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Hurricane Katrina, America's "first mega-disaster of the 21st century," altered the cultural, economic and the political landscapes of New Orleans in ways that could be irreparable, according to Rowan University sociologist DeMond Miller.

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John McCain, Elvis Presley, Gloria Steinem and Martin Luther King Jr. took different paths in life, but they were all lucky.

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About 13 percent of elderly Americans are mistreated, most commonly by someone who verbally mistreats or financially takes advantage of them, according to a University of Chicago study that is the first comprehensive look at elder mistreatment in the country.

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Research out of the University of Toronto shows that individuals with a more senior level job are more likely to have interpersonal conflict.

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As the economic downturn forces more companies to lay off workers, a workplace aggression expert at the University of New Hampshire cautions employers about what to do and not do when breaking bad news to employees.

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More than half of 26,000 students across 70 colleges and universities who completed a survey on suicidal experiences reported having at least one episode of suicidal thinking at some point in their lives. Furthermore, 15 percent of students surveyed reported having seriously considered attempting suicide and more than 5 percent reported making a suicide attempt at least once in their lifetime.

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People taking prescription antidepressants appear to drive worse than people who aren't taking such drugs, and depressed people on antidepressants have even more trouble concentrating and reacting behind the wheel.

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Certain types of video games can have beneficial effects, improving gamers' dexterity as well as their ability to problem-solve "“ attributes that have proven useful not only to students but to surgeons, according to research discussed Sunday at the Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association.

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University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) history Professor George Liber, Ph.D., is available to discuss the cultural differences between the Russian and Georgian people.

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With climate change in the news and on peoples' minds, psychologists have been studying human behavior and attitudes to determine how people feel about global warming, what psychological changes might result from a hotter planet and what would best motivate people to conserve.

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Ear infections are a painful rite of passage for many children. New research suggests the damage caused by chronic ear infections could be linked to people's preference for fatty foods, which increases their risk of being overweight as they age. Scientists from around the country presented their findings on this unexpected connection at the American Psychological Association's 116th Annual Convention here Thursday.

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For some, spending in today's tumultuous economy is not a problem, especially for those who don't care what everyone else has. But for others, casino splurges, not saving enough or buying the latest iPhone on impulse can lead to emotional turmoil or financial troubles, according to several new studies on consumer behavior.

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University of Arkansas political scientist Janine Parry and colleagues investigated how potential voters are mobilized and who would respond positively "“ if only they were contacted.

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John Edwards' admission that he had an affair in 2006 and then lied about it has prompted Hillary Clinton's forces to suggest that if Edwards had been forced out of the race sooner, she -- not Barack Obama -- would have won the Iowa Caucuses and thus, presumably, the nomination. A University of Iowa Hawkeye Poll conducted the night of the Iowa Caucuses suggests the opposite: that the absence of Edwards would have helped Obama.

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The rates of children living in low-income families are similar in both rural areas and central cities, a new report from the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire finds. Nearly one-half of all children living in rural areas and in central cities lived in a low-income family.

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An estimated 15 million American children are diagnosed with a mental disorder, but only about a quarter of them are getting appropriate treatment based on scientific evidence. Many more children are at risk of developing behavioral disorders. And the problem is only going to get worse unless the health care system changes how it delivers services, according to a task force of the American Psychological Association.

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Young people from 10 countries around the world have shared their views on housework and abortion issues in a new study from the University of Adelaide, Australia.

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The possibility of eternal damnation has no sway over whether men stay faithful to their wives, but the possibility of getting caught sure does. These are among the results found in new research released today by the University of New Hampshire about the economic costs and benefits of cheating on a spouse and how they differ for men and women.

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Twenty years later, University of Kentucky professor Thomas R. Lindlof tells the story behind the production and release of the controversial film "The Last Temptation of Christ" in his book "Hollywood Under Siege: Martin Scorsese, the Religious Right, and the Culture Wars."

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A paper written by Indiana University professor Burney Fischer and doctoral student Brian Steed argues that thinking of street trees as a "common-pool resource" can help lead to better management of an under-appreciated community asset. The paper was presented this summer at two international conferences.

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Retired Ambassador Carey Cavanaugh, a former peace negotiator for conflicts in the Caucasus region, is available to comment on the escalating Russian and Georgian conflict over the Caucasus region of South Ossetia.

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Australian native foods are a hit with international tourists, but locals are far less enthused about eating kangaroo, emu and crocodile meat, according to a report from a University of Adelaide gastronomy graduate.

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In an age when universities across the country are noticing a rapid increase in copyright complaints against their students for illegal file sharing, Missouri University of Science and Technology is seeing just the opposite.

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The Library of Congress's National Recording Registry for 2007 includes the first trans-Atlantic broadcast (London to the U.S.). The 1925 recording is in the holdings of the University of Maryland's Library of American Broadcasting.

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Teens and tweens have been bullying each other for generations. The bullies of today, however, have the advantage of utilizing technology such as computers, cell phones and other electronic devices to inflict harm on others. "Bullying Beyond the Schoolyard: Preventing and Responding to Cyberbullying," due out this month, uncovers the types of youth most susceptible, how they felt, who they told, how they coped and how it affected their lives, and illustrates the gravity of cyberbullying and its real-world repercussions.

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Friday, Aug. 8, marks the 20th anniversary of the 8/8/88 protests that were the beginning of a nationwide pro-democracy movement in Burma. Officials with the Center for Constitutional Democracy in Plural Societies at the Indiana University School of Law--Bloomington, including Burmese exile Ngun Cung "Andrew" Lian, comment on the anniversary.

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As Latino players become a prominent force in baseball, Texas Tech University experts answer why.

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A study of the "money primary" suggests that changes in the fundraising environment have important implications for the 2008 presidential election and beyond.

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New Orleans artists are reluctant to credit Hurricane Katrina as a source of inspiration. But after the disaster -- which marks its third anniversary Aug. 29 -- many New Orleans musicians experienced their most productive months in decades and scaled new creative peaks, a University of Iowa professor asserts.

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Homeowners in disadvantaged neighborhoods are more likely to vote than renters and those who own homes in more privileged communities, according to research to be presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association (ASA).

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Black professionals make extra efforts in the workplace to fulfill what they believe are the expectations of their white colleagues, according to research to be presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association (ASA).

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Children in step-families and in other non-traditional families get just as much quality time with their parents as those in traditional families, with only a few exceptions, according to research to be presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association.

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Men who attend college are more likely to commit property crimes during their college years than their non-college-attending peers, according to research to be presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association.

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P.M. Forni, director of the Civility Initiative at Johns Hopkins University, is available to speak to reporters about how China has been coaching its citizens on good manners in preparation for the Olympics, which will bring an influx of foreign visitors. Could a national manners campaign work in the U.S.?

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Tufts University Professor Ayesha Jalal's book, "Partisans of Allah: Jihad in South Asia," provides cultural and historical context to jihadi ideals in South Asia, especially in the federally administered tribal areas (FATA) of Pakistan. In addition, she can comment on the Pakistan government's policy in FATA and U.S.-Pakistan relations.

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With an African-American expected to accept the Democratic nomination for president Aug. 28, many voters are examining their attitudes toward one of the nation's most perplexing and pervasive issues "“ race. At the University of Mississippi, the examination has been going on since 1962.

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Working overtime has a disproportionate impact on women in dual-earner households, exacerbating gender inequality and supporting the "separate sphere" phenomenon in which men are the breadwinners while women tend to the home, according to research to be presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association.

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When academic articles are "open access" or free online, they get read more often, but they don't -- going against conventional wisdom -- get cited more often in academic literature, finds a new Cornell study.

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Amsterdam, Johannesburg, Singapore, Dublin, and Washington, D.C., are the new gateway cities for global migration patterns. GW Associate Professors of Geography Lisa Benton-Short and Marie Price present contemporary trends and issues in their book Migrants to the Metropolis: the Rise of Immigrant Gateway Cities.

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What's causing some university students to pack on the pounds? U of A researchers say the culprit could be television commercials. Researchers discovered students who reported medium or high television viewership snacked more frequently while watching TV and recognized more advertising than students who were considered low TV viewers.

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The very training that prepares soldiers to react quickly in combat leaves the individual vulnerable to a variety of emotional and psychological problems upon return to civilian life. Conditions in Iraq have produced particularly traumatic effects among troops.

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A University of Iowa study suggests that Americans expect women to reach their peak performance as leaders at age 43, four years before men's perceived peak at age 47. They also believe women's contributions at work start to decline at 59.7, compared to age 61.3 for men, according to the nationally representative online survey of 1,996 adults.

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GW professors examiner who reads the more than 112 million blogs worldwide, the politics of these readers, and how much they participate in American politics in their paper "Self-Segregation or Deliberation? Blog Readership, Participation, and Polarization in American Politics."

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In less than a year, the National Innocence Project and the Mississippi Innocence Project have secured the release of two Mississippi prisoners who were wrongly convicted. Levon Brooks spent 18 years locked up for murder, and Kenny Brewer was in prison 15 years for a similar crime, but both men were freed when DNA testing cleared them of the crimes. The exonerations spotlight a pressing need for innocence work nationwide.

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The cartoon depictions of educators in "The Simpsons" could serve as professional development tools for real teachers. That's what two academics argue in a paper, "Images of the Teacher in The Simpsons: Subversive, Superficial, or Sentimental?"

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Dr. Nancy Rhodes has been studying teenage drivers for almost five years "“ the road trips, joy rides and tragic accidents. She realized that an area for improvement was parent-teen communication. She says a promising part of preventing crashes is informing parents and the teens themselves about exactly why crashes happen.

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For stories about the 2008 presidential campaign, consider sources from The Johns Hopkins University, including experts in campaigns, government, economics, foreign affairs, health care, education, electronic voting and other issues.

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A new report from the Carsey Institute, based on a comprehensive survey of 8,000 Americans from 19 rural counties, identifies four distinct, often disparate, rural Americas. The data-rich report presents a complex picture of the economics, demographics, politics, and values of people in rural America.