Feature Channels: Story Ideas: Life

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A Westfield State College criminal justice professor has designed programs that help area schools combat bullying.

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In his new book, The Origins of Television News in America: The Visualizers of CBS in the 1940s (Peter Lang, 2009), Indiana University professor Mike Conway tells the stories of a mostly unknown group of CBS employees who worked in obscurity to develop a new way to deliver the news.

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Researchers says modern Christians may find a better relationship with Jesus by stripping away churchy buzzwords and Old Testament messages.

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Our preferences for specific popular movies, music, and classic art may predict personality traits and the lives we will lead, according to new research from the University of New Hampshire.

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Baylor University's School of Social Work today announced that findings from the nationwide study of the prevalence of Clergy Sexual Misconduct (CSM) with Adults have been accepted for publication later this year in the "Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion." The findings suggest that the prevalence of Clergy Sexual Misconduct with Adults is higher than many people realize and that it occurs across denominations and religions.

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A new report issued by American University’s Center for Social Media finds that documentary filmmakers routinely grapple with ethics challenges, yet the craft lacks any sort of broad standards in ethics practices.

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Working parents in rural America have less access to family-friendly policies than their urban counterparts, a new report from the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire finds.

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From a demographic standpoint, the problem that arises when aging farmers turn their operations over to corporations is long-term sustainability, for which family farming is better suited.

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The personal papers, records and memorabilia of honky-tonking Texan Charlie Walker, the consummate disc jockey-turned-country star with hits like “Pick Me Up on Your Way Down” and “Wild as a Wildcat,” are now being catalogued at MTSU’s Center for Popular Music in a collection that archivists say is “invaluable to researchers, particularly those looking into the business of country music.”

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A new book by researchers from across the world explores the contexts within which individuals, families, and communities develop and change – and strategies for improving life.

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The advantage that children get from living in two-parent families may actually be due to family stability more than the fact that their parents are married, a new study suggests.

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Douglas Jackson, M.D., J.D., an assistant professor of anesthesiology at the UMDNJ–New Jersey Medical School, is available to discuss the appropriate uses of propofol, the potent anesthetic linked to the death of pop star Michael Jackson.

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Librarians and faculty at Western Illinois University, in recent months, have been engaged in an intense collection development review known as the "Library Materials Budgeting Project 2009-2010." The impetus for the project is attributable to (like many things in a tough economy and in a state facing a significant budget shortfall) cost-cutting measures, as well as changes in the publishing business.

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The tuba, a relative youngster among orchestral instruments, is getting some respect at last after decades of jokes about "oompah" and one reviewer's descriptions of its sounds as comparable to that of a "tipsy hippopotamus."

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University of Iowa law professor Randall Bezanson thinks artists should be given greater legal leeway in the use of public and private space. He has developed a legal theory called "trespassory art" that urges courts to interpret the law in such a way that protects artists from trespassing, nuisance and other laws and ordinances.

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This isn't just another "death and dying" class. Social work students prepare to help the grief-stricken, whether they be amputees, retirees or sex trafficking victims. They also confide in each other about their own losses -- from the death of a pet to the end of a romance.

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The institute could help convert a war-torn district of Granada, Nicaragua, into a haven for tourists and developers.

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A Kansas State University study examined young adults' media consumption and the effects of new media on their political knowledge and political activism. It showed that 18- to 24-year-olds' engagement in politics through media such as blogs and YouTube did not increase their knowledge.

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The quest to understand the human condition and life in our universe is a common thread linking academic philosophers with the costumed Trekkers who are gathered in Indianapolis for Gen Con gaming event August 13-16, says philosophy professor.

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In a national survey, 71 percent of Americans said women should change their surname upon marriage. About half supported the idea that the government should require this. Somewhat contradictory, almost half of respondents said it would be OK for men to change their last last, in part because the idea was so implausible.

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Robin Hemley decided to do over the experiences he botched as a kid. So at age 48, the director of the University of Iowa Nonfiction Writing Program went back to kindergarten and summer camp, joined a fraternity, attempted to take the ACT, and finally asked the girl of his 16-year-old dreams to prom. Hemley describes his adventures in his new book, "DO-OVER!," published this summer by Little, Brown & Co.

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Researchers discuss studies involving the medicalization of mental illness and how it has done little to remove the stigma; and the polarization of American politics and how this works well for Americans, who are becoming more socially isolated.

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"Woodstock has become a favorite Sixties memory, the Sixties as they might have been, shorn of all that unpleasantness about the war, racism, etc.," says history professor and Woodstock eyewitness Maurice Isserman. Co-author of "America Divided: The Civil War of the 1960s," Isserman frequently provides expert commentary on Woodstock and other significant events of the era.

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The more empathy one has for another, the lighter the accent will be when speaking in a second language. This is the conclusion of a new study carried out at the University of Haifa. "In addition to personal-affective factors, it has been found that the 'language ego' is also influenced by the sociopolitical position of the speaker towards the majority group," the researchers stated.

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It was billed as the Woodstock Music & Art Fair, but it just didn't fly -- the art part, that is. But the art that never took wing would be worth major "cha-ching" today "” if it could be authenticated, said sculptor Karl Umlauf, artist-in-residence at Baylor University in Waco.

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Workers hired for temporary, contract, casual or fixed-term positions are at risk for increased mental health problems, according to research to be presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association.

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Americans continue to pull away from organized religion, but the rate of departure previously reported may not have been as abrupt as originally thought, according to research to be presented at the 104th annual meeting of the American Sociological Association.

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Researchers discuss studies involving how rural gay and lesbian youth use the Internet to feel at home, distinct dog ownership mindsets, and how characterizations of bullying can limit the effectiveness of bullying policies.

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Fewer black women with postgraduate degrees are getting married and having children, according to research to be presented at the 104th annual meeting of the American Sociological Association.

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Students who learn history by watching historically based blockbuster movies may be doomed to repeat the historical mistakes portrayed within them, suggests a study from psychologists at Washington University in St. Louis.

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A widely publicized analysis of social network size, which reported dramatically increasing social isolation when it was published in 2006, has sparked an academic debate in the August issue of the American Sociological Review (ASR), the flagship journal of the American Sociological Association.

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Vampires and zombies, both of which became a popular phenomenon in Victorian Britain, are all the rage. Temple English Professor Peter Logan believes this is no mere pop culture trend, but rather a reflection of the strong parallels between that period in Britain and our own here in the U.S.

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One of the most well-known psychological tools is the Rorschach Inkblot Test. However, does the inkblot really reveal all? According to the current report, despite its popularity, the Rorschach may not be the best diagnostic tool and practitioners need to be cautious in how they use this technique.

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TV and radio talk shows have been abuzz with speculation about a classified CIA program which may or may not have involved assassination. Upcoming congressional hearings may reveal details about that mysterious program that was abruptly cancelled by CIA Director Leon Panetta. But according to David Perry, professor of applied ethics and director of the new Vann Center for Ethics at Davidson College, the current debate concerning assassination has unfortunately shed more heat than light. Perry addresses the ethics and legality of assassination and targeted killing in his recent book, "Partly Cloudy: Ethics in War, Espionage, Covert Action, and Interrogation."

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Vermont scientists created a mechanism to measure happiness of millions of bloggers. Their "hedonometer" gathers sentences beginning "I feel..." Then, applying standardized "psychological valence" of words, each sentence receives a happiness score. The happiest day in four years: Election Day 2008. Michael Jackson's death: one of the unhappiest.

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Temple Professor Nathaniel Norment says incident should be considered within its historical context

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Three classes at the UALR -- the University of Arkansas at Little Rock -- offer insights on the tumultuous decade of the 1960s; its politics, culture, military, and poetry.

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The director of the Institute for Oral History encourages people who made the trek to Woodstock 40 years ago to record their versions.

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The often-used one-size-fits-all approach to policies aimed at achieving sustainable social-ecological systems needs to be updated with a diagnostic tool to help scholars from multiple disciplines better frame the question and think through the variables, asserts social scientist and political economist Elinor Ostrom in the July 24 Science.

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How does vacation travel affect your sense of well-being and happiness? Research findings contradict the general belief that leisure travel affects an individual's life satisfaction through positive emotions related to health and safety.

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As South Africa continues to move away from its apartheid past, its film culture has taken a similar path of reflection on the past during the country's first decade as a democracy. A new book, The Devil You Dance With: Film Culture in the New South Africa, features interviews with 25 filmmakers.

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Temple historian says the popular AMC series, Mad Men, uses historical authenticity with enormous sophistication. According to Beth Bailey, "the show serves as a condemnation not of simple male oppression or patriarchy, but of a gender system and power system in which both sexes are complicit."

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Researchers in Dalhousie University's School of Human Communication Disorders are researching the similarities and differences between dialects in the province, which say a lot about the culture, history and politics of Nova Scotia.

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People who seed their life with frequent moments of positive emotions increase their resilience against challenges, according to a new study by a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill psychologist and colleagues.

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Adolescents suffering from migraine headaches are more likely to get lower grades and less likely to graduate from high school or attend college than their migrane-free peers. Those are the findings of a new study by Joseph Sabia, professor of public policy at American University's School of Public Affairs, and Daniel Rees, economics professor at University of Colorado Denver.

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A new study finds that Mexican wives who stay home when their husbands immigrate to the United States for work have poorer mental health than a comparison group.

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Despite the stirring portrayal in "Band of Brothers," Easy Company of the 101st Airborne Division was not the first to enter Adolf Hitler's Berchtesgaden mountain retreat near the end of World War II, says military historian Dr. John C. McManus in a new book.

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Amid New York City's Chinatown is a quaint park. Yet Elisabeth "Liska" Chan, a professor of landscape architecture at the University of Oregon, sees something else. Her eyes peel back the visage of a pleasant recreational area to unveil a 19th-century melting pot of African Americans, Jewish immigrants and Italian refugees.

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As many American families face foreclosure on their homes, they face added stress, powerlessness and grief from the loss of their animal companions. ADEC provides resources specifically for those grieving the loss of their pets, as well as a broad spectrum of grief-related issues.

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Researcher Nicole Landry's findings on teenage girl aggression, based on her master's thesis, have just been published in the book, The Mean Girl Motive: Negotiating Power and Femininity (Halifax: Fernwood Publishing).