Looting Mali's HistorySusan McIntosh, Professor of Anthropology, is featured in this article in the Smithsonian concerning the loss of antiquities in West Africa to illegal seller's and smugglers.
Rice researcher examines campaign finance regulations in new 'laboratory'When the state of Connecticut passed campaign finance regulations in 2005, it offered a unique laboratory for political scientists studying how money affects politics. Keith Hamm, professor of political science, has received funding from the Carnegie Corporation and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund to pursue his work on how politicians, donors and lobbyists have reacted to Connecticut's new standards since their implementation in the 2008 statewide election.
Political scientist thrilled at mentor's Nobel PrizeRice Political Science Professor Rick Wilson was delighted to hear that Elinor Ostrom had won the 2009 Nobel Prize in economics. He has worked with Ostrom since his days as a graduate student at Indiana University. In fact, she served as an adviser on Wilson's doctoral dissertation, and the two have collaborated on research projects in the decades since then.
Sociologist's study of White House Fellows puts spotlight on nation's elitesWhen President Lyndon Johnson created the White House Fellows Program in 1964, he hoped to encourage talented young Americans to become leaders. Forty-five years later, a study of the program conducted by Rice sociologist Michael Lindsay sheds light on how well it has fulfilled its goal.
Rice psychologists to study gender bias in scientific, medical job applicationsMikki Hebl, associate professor of psychology and management, and Randi Martin, the Elma Schneider Professor of Psychology, are on a team that received a $1.5 million grant this summer from the National Institutes of Health to study how merit is assessed in the fields of science and medicine.
Political scientist's book wins award for best in comparative politicsConventional wisdom says the economy is the paramount issue for voters in any election. Randolph Stevenson, associate professor of political science, set out to determine if that truism is real
Nostrils alternate to process competing odors: Rice University study finds 'rivalry' between nostrilsWhen the nose encounters two different scents simultaneously, the brain processes them separately through each nostril in an alternating fashion. This finding by Rice researchers, Professor Denise Chen and graduate student Wen Zhou, is the first demonstration of "perceptual rivalry" in the olfactory system.
Vote centers may help get out the vote: Rice research examines efforts to increase voter turnoutWorking with a grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts, Bob Stein, the Lena Gohlman Fox Professor of Political Science, and former Rice graduate student Greg Vonnahme, found that Election Day Vote Centers (EDVCs) are more effective at increasing voter turnout than previous efforts, like relaxed absentee voting, vote by mail and in-person early voting.
Rice alum helps craft Obama's international messageWhen President Barack Obama went to Cairo in June, he delivered a speech that sought to recast U.S. relations with the Arab and Muslim world. The speechwriter working with the president was a 31-year-old Rice Social Sciences alum named Ben Rhodes.
New Rice study shows California newspapers located closer to the Mexican border slant news coverage of immigrationA new study by Regina Branton, assistant professor of political science, finds that California newspapers located closer to the border of Mexico routinely provide a more negative slant on immigration in general news reporting and on their opinion pages than the state’s newspapers located farther away from the border.
Rice's Shell Center funds effort to measure city sustainability, using Houston as a case studyA city's sustainable growth involves many factors, from the kinds of jobs created to transportation to water and air quality. Rice University's Shell Center for Sustainability (SCS) has awarded a grant to a team of Houston researchers that will use Houston as a case study to develop a methodology to measure sustainability.
Lindsay wins NAEd fellowship to study elites' educational backgroundsMichael Lindsay is interested in the backgrounds of the people who run the United States. Having won a 2009 Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship from the National Academy of Education (NAEd), he is now able to pursue his research into elite education.
Providing health insurance for US children would be cheaper than expected, Baker Institute study says
"Providing health insurance to all children in America will yield substantial economic benefits," wrote Vivian Ho, chair in health economics at the Baker Institute, associate professor of economics at Rice and associate professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine.
Anthropologist's new book urges rethinking of discipline's methodsIn his new book, Rice anthropology Professor James Faubion calls for a re-evaluation of what it means to be a practicing anthropologist. Titled "Fieldwork Is Not What It Used to Be: Learning Anthropology's Method in a Time of Transition" (Cornell University Press), the book is an effort "to articulate a different model," Faubion said.
Rice study finds shortcomings in Katrina evacuees' health statusKatrina evacuees who moved to Houston have experienced problems accessing physical and mental health care, according to a study published by three Rice University researchers.
Faculty members honored with the George R. Brown Award for Superior TeachingThe George R. Brown Award for Superior Teaching honors six of Rice’s top professors each year, including Bridget Gorman, associate professor of sociology. The recipients are determined by the votes of alumni who graduated two and five years ago.
Individual attention a priority for Economics' Brown, winner of Rice's top teaching awardJames Brown believes that the better he knows his students as individuals, the better he will be able to teach them. "What I try to do is come as close as I can to teaching each student as if it were a tutorial," he said.
Houstonians more positive about city despite economic woes, annual survey findsIn spite of a dramatic rise in concerns about the local economy, Houstonians are more positive about living in the region, according to the latest annual Houston Area Survey results from Rice University.
Rice political scientist offers prognosis on US-Central American relations during Costa Rica, Honduras tripWhile the new U.S. administration is likely to be more sympathetic to Latin American concerns than its predecessor, the people of Central America should not expect a sudden burst of attention from Washington. That's the message Mark Jones, professor of political science, delivered to academics, political leaders and the news media on a recent trip to Costa Rica and Honduras.
Rice anthropologist to lead archeology expedition to East AfricaA group of Rice students and faculty will embark on an archeological expedition to East Africa this summer to explore 500-year-old remnants of a Swahili trading port.
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