Social Sciences

Communication Professor Awarded Engagement Impact Grant

May 21, 2013

Erik Nisbet, assistant professor, communication, was awarded a $45,000 2013 Engagement Impact Grant from The Ohio State University Office of Outreach and Engagement for his project, Health Science Frontiers: Advancing Public Engagement. Partners with Nisbet on this project include The Ohio State University College of Medicine; The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital; WOSU@COSI/WOSU Public Media; and COSI (Center for Science and Industry).

Box-Steffensmeier joins Board of Trustees Committee

Social Sciences

May 16, 2013

Janet Box-Steffensmeier, the Vernal Riffe Professor of Political Science and University Distinguished Scholar, has been appointed faculty representative to the Academic Affairs and Student Life Committee of the Ohio State Board of Trustees.

“I care deeply about Ohio State and consider it a privilege to be able to give back to the university that has given me the exciting intellectual environment and supportive mentoring throughout my career,” said Box-Steffensmeier.

Psychology Researchers Find That Some Textbook Visuals Impede Learning

May 12, 2013

Jennifer Kaminski, research scientist in psychology and member, Cognitive Developmental Lab, and Vladimir Sloutsky, professor of psychology and director of the lab, are authors of a new study demonstrating that adding captivating visuals to a textbook lesson to attract children’s interest may sometimes make it harder for them to learn.

Anthropology Professor’s Dental Findings Offer Insight into Human Ancestor

April 15, 2013

Debbie Guatelli-Steinberg, professor of anthropology, is co-author of a new dental study of fossilized remains found in South Africa in 2008 that provides support that this species is one of the closest relatives to early humans. The teeth of this species–an ancient offshoot of the human family tree called Australopithecus sediba indicate that it is also a close relative to the previously identified Australopithecus africanus.

WGSS Professor Elected President of the National Conference of Black Political Scientists

March 27, 2013

Wendy Smooth, associate professor in the Department of Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies and senior research fellow with Ohio State’s Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, has been elected president of the National Conference of Black Political Scientists (NCOBPS). Smooth has been active with NCOBPS since her first year of graduate school. She will serve as NCOBPS president 2013 through 2015.

Communication Professor on National Panel on Gun Violence

March 26, 2013

Brad Bushman, professor of communication and psychology, has been invited by the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council of the National Academies to participate in a workshop of the Committee on Priorities for a Public Health Research Agenda to Reduce the Threat of Firearm-related Violence, in response to President Obama’s recent executive orders addressing gun violence. The workshop is scheduled for April 23 in Washington, DC.

Geography Graduate Student Wins Fellowship

March 25, 2013

Austin Kocher, a second-year PhD candidate in geography, was selected to receive a 2013 Dissertation Proposal Development Fellowship (DPDF) from the Social Science Research Council.

Health Benefits of Marriage May Not Extend to All

March 5, 2013

Hui Zheng, assistant professor of sociology, is lead author of a new study finding marriage may not always be as beneficial to health as experts have led us to believe.

Zheng conducted the study with Patricia Thomas of the University of Texas at Austin. Their results appear in the March 2013 issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.

Student Loans Help Women More Than Men in Reaching Graduation

February 22, 2013

Rachel Dwyer, associate professor of sociology, is co-author of a new study revealing that student loans provide more help to women than they do for men in encouraging graduation from college. Dwyer conducted the study with Ohio State Professor of Sociology Randy Hodson and Laura McCloud, assistant professor of sociology at Pacific Lutheran University. Their results appear in the February 2013 issue of the journal Gender & Society.

2013 Huber Fellows Announced

February 17, 2013

Debbie Guatelli-Steinberg, professor of anthropology; Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick, professor of communication; and, Gail McKoon, professor of psychology, have been selected as Joan N. Huber Faculty Fellows for 2013 in recognition of their first-rate scholarship.

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