Faculty in the news
April 23, 2008, Faculty in the news
Africa News published a review of a new study of the relationship between sorcery, politics, and the changing role of the state in the Mueda Plateau of Mozambique, which cites the research of John Comaroff and Jean Comaroff. (“Mozambique; The Politics of Sorcery on the Mueda Plateau, by Harry G. West” reviewed for H-Net by Robert M. Baum, 2007, reprinted in Africa News, October 31, 2007)
Austan Goolsbee’s role as senior economic adviser to presidential candidate Barack Obama has been covered extensively by major media outlets both nationally and internationally.
Goolsbee’s New York Times column covered such topics as:
“In the Bond Market, a Bleak Prognosis for Iraq,” November 11, 2007
Goolsbee’s affiliation with the American Bar Foundation is acknowledged in his New York Times column.
In ongoing research on American high school graduation rates, James Heckman and Paul La Fontaine find, among other points, that the true graduation rate is substantially lower than the official rate issued by the National Center for Educational Statistics, and has been in decline for over 40 years. The research was reported on in the following articles:
“Culture of Success,” The New Republic, March 12, 2008
“Dummy ‘drumbeat’ goes on for U.S. students,” USA Today, February 26, 2008
“Stagnant graduation rates threaten state’s rebound,” (editorial) The Detroit News, December 23, 2007
“Scholars Shed New Light in Debate Over High-School-Graduation Numbers,” David Glenn, Chronicle of Higher Education, December 21, 2007
Heckman’s continuing research on early childhood education was reported on in:
“Economist makes case for investing in disadvantaged children,” American Academy of Pediatrics News, Vol. 28, No. 12, December, 2007
“Nobel Laureate touts preschool,” The Republican (Springfield, MA), November 20, 2007
“MLAs urges to invest in young,” Belfast Telegraph, November 1, 2007
In October of 2007, Heckman addressed more than 2,000 attendees at the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference and Exhibition in San Francisco. His speech focused on the economic, social and environmental factors that affect children’s health, and the importance of investing in disadvantaged young children.
Steven D. Levitt and Sudhir Venkatesh’s unpublished research on the economics of prostitution in Chicago was reported on by the Chicago Tribune on January 11, 2008. The online ABA Journal reported on the research as well. Though the prostitution research is not an ABF-sponsored project, the ABA Journal noted Levitt’s ongoing appreciation of the foundation. “A lot of what I do makes the Bar Foundation very nervous, but I have a lot of respect for the foundation because with every project I bring forward – usually loaded with tricky issues about race and class – the Bar Foundation has been willing to swallow hard and support me, knowing that my results weren’t necessarily going to be very popular,” Levitt told the Journal. Levitt and Venkatesh’s finding will be published in April, 2008.
Levitt’s New York Times column covered such topics as:
“Bottom-Line Philanthropy: The ‘Soccer Boy’ Effect,” March 9, 2008
“Unintended Consequences: The Case of the Red-Cockaded Woodpecker,” January 20, 2008
“The Stomach-Surgery Conundrum,” November 18, 2007
Elizabeth Mertz’s research on law school education, the basis for her book, The Language of Law School: Learning to ‘Think Like a Lawyer’ (Oxford, 2007) was reported on in the following articles:
“Balancing Law School Curriculums: Report on State of Legal Education Causes Stir Among Academics,” Minnesota Lawyer, October 29, 2007
“Anthropologist Tells Tale of the Tape,” Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, October 12, 2007
Janice Nadler’s research was cited in “Succeeding in e-negotions,” Lawyers Weekly, October 12, 2007 [Australia; originally published in August in the Internet Law Bulletin (Australia)]. The article reported that Nadler and co-researcher Leigh Thomas “have found that when parties share social ties or ‘schmooze’ – that is, build interpersonal relationships and engage in non-task-related activities – their chances of obtaining a good agreement are increased.”
Laura Beth Nielsen made an appearance on Chicago Public Radio’s (WBEZ) “Eight Forty Eight” show on October 23, 2007, where she was interviewed on the issues and legislation surrounding hate crimes.
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