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Released: 19-Mar-1998 12:00 AM EST
Letters describe adolescence in Indonesia
Cornell University

A unique collection of correspondence between Indonesian adolescents and the psychology professor who has become Southeast Asia's own "Dr. Ruth" is now available at the Cornell University Library.

Released: 19-Mar-1998 12:00 AM EST
The Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi
DePauw University

"Local People: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi," a book by John Dittmer, DePauw University professor of history, provides further insight into the civil rights efforts of the 1960s and the documents released by the Sovereignty Commission.

Released: 18-Mar-1998 12:00 AM EST
Philosopher integrates sciences to explain moral behavior
Lewis & Clark College

A groundbreaking new book by William Rottschaefer, professor of philosophy, Lewis & Clark College, integrates recent findings and theories in evolutionary theory, biology and psychology to explore what it means to behave morally. "The Biology and Psychology of Moral Agency" explains how people acquire and put into practice their capacities to act morally and how these capacities are reliable means to achieving true moral beliefs. Most philosophers argue that the sciences are no help at all in answering how moral action is justified. Rottschaefer argues that science has a lot to contribute.

Released: 17-Mar-1998 12:00 AM EST
PFLAG papers in Cornell Sexuality Collection
Cornell University

The records of the organization Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), a collection of letters and other documents showing how a handful of American families made history and launched a national movement by publicly supporting their gay and lesbian children, is now available at Cornell University Library's Human Sexuality Collection.

Released: 15-Mar-1998 12:00 AM EST
Mom Was Right about Gossip
American Psychological Association (APA)

Researchers say they have identified a common, but apparently mindless, psychological phenomenon that plays a previously unrecognized role in the way people form impressions of other people. Specifically, they've found that when someone attributes positive or negative traits to someone else, the listener will often attribute those same traits to the speaker. Embargoed: 3-18-98.

Released: 13-Mar-1998 12:00 AM EST
Firm Believers More Likely to Be Flabby, Purdue Study Finds
Purdue University

A Purdue University study of religion and body weight finds that religious people are more likely to be overweight than are nonreligious people. Fortunately for them, being religious may curtail some of the unhealthy effects of being overweight.

Released: 12-Mar-1998 12:00 AM EST
Healthcare Advocates Fill Critical Need -- Consumers Turn to Professionals for Help in Navigating Healthcare Maze
Sarah Lawrence College

Changes in managed healthcare are creating pioneering roles for healthcare workers. This is happening against a backdrop of President Clinton's call for a national patient bill of rights and movements by several states to draft consumer protection bills for managed-care participants.

Released: 11-Mar-1998 12:00 AM EST
How Religious Beliefs Affect Voting Needs More Scrutiny
Vanderbilt University

Religious beliefs are a major source of political cleavage, according to Vanderbilt political scientist Geoff Layman, who is calling for improved measurement of the effect of religous beliefs on voting.

Released: 11-Mar-1998 12:00 AM EST
Day care debate needs historical perspective
Vanderbilt University

President Clinton's proposal to spend $21.7 billion over five years to make child care affordable is a step in the right direction, but a Vanderbilt University historian says the public and policymakers need to do more to build a good system of child care. "Child care in America shouldn't just be expanded, it should also be improved," said Elizabeth Rose, assistant professor of history and author of a forthcoming book from Oxford University Press on the history of child care in America.

Released: 10-Mar-1998 12:00 AM EST
TV Rating System Offers Little Help to Parents In Monitoring Violence and Alcohol, Study Indicates
Temple University

The age-based TV program rating system unveiled last fall as a guide to prime time television offers little help to parents who want to protect their children from television violence or alcohol-saturated programming, according to a recently completed study of the fall 1997 TV season by George Gerbner, Bell Atlantic Professor of Telecommunications at Temple University.

Released: 7-Mar-1998 12:00 AM EST
Battered Workers Syndrome can Erupt in Violence
Fairfield University

The tragic killings at the Connecticut State Lottery Office reflect a situation Dr. Dorothea Braginsky is investigating in a book she is working on , called "The Battered Workers Syndrome."

Released: 7-Mar-1998 12:00 AM EST
Federal food aid makes healthier children
Cornell University

Preschoolers whose families get federal food benefits have much better diets and are protected from iron and zinc deficiencies, according to a new Cornell University study. And the benefits to the young children are much greater than if the families received cash allowances.

Released: 5-Mar-1998 12:00 AM EST
Job Accomodation Network useful
West Virginia University - Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

As nationwide efforts to reduce disability rolls increase the number of people re-entering the workplace with physical and mental challenges, today's businesses will need, more than ever, information on how to make the federally mandated accommodations.

Released: 5-Mar-1998 12:00 AM EST
Airport noise harms children, effects endure
Cornell University

Airport noise can seriously affect the health and psychological well-being of children, says a Cornell University study that looked at children before and after a new airport opened in Munich, Germany. The health effects of chronic noise -- higher blood pressure and boosted levels of stress hormones -- may have lifelong implications, says Gary Evans, an environmental psychologist.

Released: 3-Mar-1998 12:00 AM EST
Vanderbilt study examines jury nullification
Vanderbilt University

Judges can go to surprising lengths to ensure that jurors follow their instructions, according to Vanderbilt Law Professor Nancy King, who has written a new article called "Silencing Nullification Advocacy Inside the Juryroom and Outside the Courtroom."

Released: 3-Mar-1998 12:00 AM EST
University of New Mexico Researcher Studies "New" Indian Television
University of New Mexico

Images of modern women, smoking, drinking and driving cars, working and making their own decisions are bombarding the "new" Indian television and changing forever the way women in that country see themselves. Indian born Sheena Malhotra, a Ph.D. communication student at the University of New Mexico, is studying the effects of television portrayals of modern women in a culture that is traditionally patriarchal.

Released: 3-Mar-1998 12:00 AM EST
Fathers Strongly Influence Mothers' Decision To Breast-Feed
Ohio State University

Three out of four mothers feel that their partner's opinion greatly influences their decision to breast-feed, according to a study at Ohio State University.

Released: 3-Mar-1998 12:00 AM EST
People Want Direct Physician Involvement In Assisted Suicides
Ohio State University

People are more likely to support assisted suicide if there is direct physician involvement in helping people end their lives, new research suggests.

28-Feb-1998 12:00 AM EST
Why Women Physically Attack Husbands at about the Same Rate as Men Attack Wives
University of New Hampshire

There have been more than 100 other studies that looked into this question by asking people about conflicts in their marriage, or their dating or cohabiting relationships. According to Straus, co-director of the University of New Hampshire Family Research Laboratory, "every one of these 'couple conflict' studies have found about equal rates of partner assault." So, the controversy sparked by Straus largely died out.

Released: 27-Feb-1998 12:00 AM EST
Dividing Grandma'S Goods Need Not Lead To Family Feud
Purdue University

Three days after Grandma's funeral is no time to start a family feud over her personal belongings, says a Purdue University expert on family finances. "Some people assume such decisions will take care of themselves," says Janet Bechman, Cooperative Extension Service specialist in consumer sciences and retailing. "But, in reality, the situation has resulted in many painful experiences that need not have occurred."

Released: 27-Feb-1998 12:00 AM EST
Procrastination Expert
Colgate University

Check out the nearest post office on April 15 and you'll find a line of latecomers filing last-minute tax returns. If you ever want to examine why people procrastinate, contact Regina Conti, assistant professor of psychology at Colgate University. She researches procrastination.

Released: 27-Feb-1998 12:00 AM EST
It's emotional abuse, not vicious beatings, that often spurs women to leave battering husbands
University of Washington

It's the scarring left by an emotional abuse not the pain and bruises left by a violent that is more likely to trigger a battered wife's decision to leave her spouse, according to University of Washington psychologists who studied marriage marked by domestic violence.

Released: 25-Feb-1998 12:00 AM EST
Research On Tobacco And Nicotine
University of Michigan

Researchers are examining the effects of tobacco, nicotine, the industries that support their production and the public health issues that develop from tobacco use. These programs deal with virtually every area of tobacco research, from the physiological effects of nicotine, to teen smoking, to legal and financial issues.

Released: 24-Feb-1998 12:00 AM EST
Moms teach kids verbal aggression, WVU communications researcher finds
West Virginia University - Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

A recent study, published in the Western Journal of Communication, by a West Virginia University assistant communications professor suggest that sons and daughters pattern their aggressive verbal styles after their mothers.

Released: 21-Feb-1998 12:00 AM EST
Virginia Tech Professors Develops Method to Perpetuate Surviving Native American Languages
Virginia Tech

A Virginia Tech professor is using computer technology to help preserve and teach surviving languages and dialects of Native American culture.

Released: 21-Feb-1998 12:00 AM EST
Student Study Finds Prevention is Key to Welfare Reform
Vassar College

Prevention works. It is financially and socially advantageous to foster policies that prevent people from becoming welfare recipients, according to a report to be released by the Poughkeepsie Institute.

Released: 20-Feb-1998 12:00 AM EST
Baker Institute Prepares for Comprehensive Iraq Coverage
Rice University

If hostilities break out in Iraq, Rice's James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy will open its International Conference Facility (ICF) for a specified period of time to provide local, regional, national and international media outlets expert analysis of events.

20-Feb-1998 12:00 AM EST
A Husband's willingness to be influenced by wife, share power are key predictors of newlywed happiness, stability
University of Washington

Active listening techniques tuaght by many marriage counselors do not work when couples are in conflict. Instead a new study shows that "olnly those newlywed men who are acceptingof influence from their wives are winding up in happy, stable marriages, says John Gottman, University of Washington psychology professor

Released: 20-Feb-1998 12:00 AM EST
Media Advisory: Source On Iraq
University of San Francisco

Stephen Zunes, USF assistant professor of politics and director of the USF Peace and Justice Studies Program, says "The threatened United States military strikes against Iraq are a bad idea..."

Released: 18-Feb-1998 12:00 AM EST
Assessing Your Child's Language Development May Require a Professional
Northwestern University

Does your toddler show little interest in communicating with others? Does your 2-year-old not yet communicate with words? Is your 3-year-old's speech difficult to understand? If so, your child may need the services of a speech-language pathologist.

17-Feb-1998 12:00 AM EST
Emory Psychologist Examines Students' Latent Personal Prejudice Through Study of Facial Expression
Emory University

Facial muscle activity may serve as a tell-tale sign of latent personal prejudice, according Emory visiting psychology professor Eric Vanman, who analyzed how facial movements indicate racial bias among white college students in a study he conducted at the University of Southern California (USC).

Released: 17-Feb-1998 12:00 AM EST
Some women's workplace inequality grows
Cornell University

A new study by a Cornell University labor economist found that women have made "substantial progress" in gender equality over the past 25 years, increasing their presence in the labor market and narrowing the wage gap with men, but provides dramatic evidence that the economic status of less-educated women is deteriorating.

Released: 14-Feb-1998 12:00 AM EST
Depression in Older Women is Often a Hidden Problem
Brandeis University

Older women are at greater risk for depression than men or younger women, yet often the condition goes unnoticed or untreated, according to the National Policy and Resource Center on Women and Aging at the Heller Graduate School, Brandeis University.

Released: 14-Feb-1998 12:00 AM EST
Conviction or Acquittal? An Attorney's Presentation of DNA evidence may make the difference
University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business

Depending on how an attorney describes DNA evidence at a trial, jurors will believe the evidence is either irrefutable or unpersuasive, finds Dr. Jonathan J. Koehler, consultant for the defense in the O.J. Simpson criminal trial, and a professor of behavioral decision making at the University of Texas at Austin.

   
Released: 13-Feb-1998 12:00 AM EST
Babies are born with language
Cornell University

Cornell studies of American and Chinese children provide new compelling evidence that human babies from any culture are born to grasp the complex rules of word order and sentence structure by age 3, says Barbara Lust, Ph.D., a developmental cognitive psycholinguist.

Released: 13-Feb-1998 12:00 AM EST
$1.76 Million Grant Helps Food Stamp Recipients Make Smart Food Choices
Virginia Tech

For a family that relies on food stamps to make ends meet, wise food choices can be the difference between being able to pay the rent or to afford child care or medical expenses.

Released: 13-Feb-1998 12:00 AM EST
Purdue Expert Advises on Preparing Children for War
Purdue University

As the threat of a U.S. attack on Iraq looms, parents may want to add the evening news to the list of violent TV programs they don't want their children to see. But she says screening news broadcasts doesn't mean that parents should avoid discussing the topic of war with their children.

Released: 13-Feb-1998 12:00 AM EST
Vanderbilt Divinity School Professor says Couples Must "Share it All"
Vanderbilt University

Women have gone from the "have it all" culture of the 1970s to the "do it all" of today, but what they really need to embrace is the concept of "share it all," says a Vanderbilt Divinity School professor.

Released: 11-Feb-1998 12:00 AM EST
Media advisory: expert on Arab view of Israel, Iraq
 Johns Hopkins University

A Johns Hopkins anthropologist regarded as one of the leading experts on Islamic movements in the Middle East and Europe is available as a source on the Arab view of the Middle East peace process and the confrontation with Iraq.

Released: 11-Feb-1998 12:00 AM EST
Life Inside a Women's Prison
Fairfield University

While covering a story on battered women for The New York Times, journalist Andi Rieden became intrigued by the stories officials told her. Given extraordinary access, she spent three-and-a-half-years with inmates and correction officers researching the material for her recent book, "The Farm, Life Inside a Women's Prison."

Released: 11-Feb-1998 12:00 AM EST
Media Advisory: Source on Iraq
 Johns Hopkins University

Advisory on Johns Hopkins political scientist Steven David, an expert on military strategy and defense issues available as a source on the Iraq crisis.

Released: 10-Feb-1998 12:00 AM EST
Birth of The Bomb: Creating America's 'atomic culture'
University of Illinois Chicago

A new book by a University of Illinois at Chicago art historian tells how the atomic bomb came to occupy its spot at the center of postwar American culture and psychology. Peter Bacon Hales's "Atomic Spaces: Living on the Manhattan Project" draws on de-classified government files, plus medical records, letters, and photos. Creating the bomb, concludes Hales, "created a new form of American cultural landscape."

Released: 10-Feb-1998 12:00 AM EST
Teapot Dome Scandal, Clinton's Crisis And Reputational Entrepreneurs
Northwestern University

What do the 1923 Teapot Dome Scandal and the current White House crisis have in common? Plenty, according to Gary Fine, a professor of sociology at Northwestern University who is writing a book on reputation politics.

Released: 7-Feb-1998 12:00 AM EST
Audio of Clinton V Jones Can Be Heard On Web
Northwestern University

Audio recordings of arguments in Clinton v. Jones before the U.S. Supreme Courts can now be heard on the Supreme Court Web site developed by Jerry Goldman, associate professor of political science at Northwestern University.

Released: 7-Feb-1998 12:00 AM EST
African American Girls' Fitness Levels Lower Than Whites
Michigan State University

A study by a Michigan State University exercise physiologist has found that the aerobic fitness levels of young African American girls tend to be lwoer than those of white girls.

Released: 6-Feb-1998 12:00 AM EST
New Books from the American Psychiatric Association Press, Inc.
American Psychiatric Association (APA)

The American Psychiatric Association Press has just released seven new books. Review copies are available for journalists.

Released: 6-Feb-1998 12:00 AM EST
McCaughey Book Pulls No Punches in Women's Self Defense
Virginia Tech

Society tends to assume that men are dangerous and women are helpless, and Martha McCaughey wants to change that image -- especially when it comes to women's defending themselves from male violence

Released: 5-Feb-1998 12:00 AM EST
Choose a Puppy Based on its Breeder, Veterinarian Advises
Purdue University

When selecting a puppy for a pet, choosing the breeder may be more important than choosing the breed, suggests a Purdue University animal behaviorist.

Released: 4-Feb-1998 12:00 AM EST
Positive attitude on illness may help the elderly ward off depression
University of Utah

Older adults who have a positive attitude about their physical health may be at a lower risk for becoming depressed.

4-Feb-1998 12:00 AM EST
More Education, More Headaches
Johns Hopkins Medicine

Women get more tension headaches than men and people with advanced degrees suffer more often from tension headaches than the less educated, according to a recent study of tension headache prevalence conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health.



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