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Social Sciences

How ‘um’ and ‘uh’ shape impressions
Jonathan Lee.

Fourth-year linguistics Ph.D. student Jonathan Lee became curious about breaks in speech when he noticed they were missing from transcripts and subtitles.

(Image: Kevin Ren)

How ‘um’ and ‘uh’ shape impressions

Disfluency, or irregularities and breaks in speech, are part of life—but do they affect how we perceive each other? Fourth-year linguistics Ph.D. student Jonathan Lee is trying to find out.

From Omnia

2 min. read

Iran at a crossroads
Four women walk through Tehran underneath a billboard.

Iran is functioning under an Internet communications blackout, which has strained economic and family ties, says Penn’s Firoozeh Kashani-Sabet.

(Image: Vahid Salemi via AP Images)

Iran at a crossroads

In a Q&A, Penn historian Firoozeh Kashani-Sabet, an expert on Iran and the modern Middle East, speaks about the Iranian opposition movement, current protests, the Islamic Republic’s crackdown, and daily life in the country.

4 min. read

Updated volume published on treating and preventing adolescent mental health disorders

Updated volume published on treating and preventing adolescent mental health disorders

The third edition of “Treating and Preventing Adolescent Mental Health Disorders: What We Know and What We Don’t Know,” an overview of the current state of knowledge of major mental health conditions that emerge during adolescence, has been published by Oxford University Press, sponsored by the Adolescent Mental Health Initiative, a project of Penn’s Annenberg Public Policy Center and The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands.

Working in groups can help Republicans and Democrats agree on controversial content moderation online

Working in groups can help Republicans and Democrats agree on controversial content moderation online

A new study by Annenberg School for Communication professor Damon Centola and alum Douglas Guilbeault explores how content moderators can reach consensus on classifying controversial material online, including inflammatory, offensive, or hateful images.

Hailey Reissman

2 min. read

Stefan Hatch: Tackling housing insecurity
Stefan Hatch stands in the McNeil Building.

nocred

Stefan Hatch: Tackling housing insecurity

Fourth-year Stefan Hatch is researching one of Philadelphia’s most pressing challenges: housing insecurity. The double major combines urban studies and psychology to explore solutions.

2 min. read

As measles cases rise, views of MMR vaccine safety and effectiveness and willingness to recommend it drop

As measles cases rise, views of MMR vaccine safety and effectiveness and willingness to recommend it drop

As the number of confirmed cases of measles in the U.S. rises, a new nationally representative panel survey by Penn’s Annenberg Public Policy Center finds a small but significant drop in the proportion of the public that would recommend that someone in their household get the MMR vaccine.

Centering joy in AI development and implementation
Desmond Patton seated at his desk.

nocred

Centering joy in AI development and implementation

PIK Professor Desmond Upton Patton—of Annenberg and SP2—and collaborators introduce a joy-informed framework designed to initiate conversations among engineers, designers, and researchers.

2 min. read

New book brings responsive math teaching to classrooms nationwide

New book brings responsive math teaching to classrooms nationwide

Following years of research in Philadelphia schools, the Graduate School of Education’s Responsive Math Teaching team is sharing the practical tools and guiding principles they identified in a new book to help educators make math more meaningful and equitable.

From Penn GSE