Thanks for reading our weekly clipsheet of news and events at the School of Human Ecology.
Editor’s note 5/20/21: The clipsheet and its accompanying newsletter will be published less frequently over summer 2021. Please contact Linda Zwicker with news or questions.
In-house highlights
Whelan features on UW Now discussion of pandexit adjustments
Dr. Christine Whelan, clinical professor of Consumer Science and director of the Money, Relationships, and Equality (MORE) Initiative, joined the Wisconsin Alumni Association’s UW Now series this past Tuesday evening to discuss adjusting to life post-pandemic.
SoHE scholars in the news
Whelan on pandexit adjustments and women’s draw to cults
Dr. Christine Whelan also spoke with:
- WPR’s Central Time show about declining birth rates,
- NBC 15 about what those declining rates mean for the agriculture industry,
- WUWM Radio about adjusting to post-pandemic life,
- the Institute for Family Studies about women’s draw to cults,
- WKOW 27 about vaccine hesitancy for families, and
- Channel 3000 about a post-pandemic shift “from languishing to flourishing.”
Research
Bea on intestacy impacts for Americans
Dr. Megan Doherty Bea, assistant professor of Consumer Science, is coauthor on a new article in Law and Society Review finding that one in five American families have a family structure that would be marginalized by the laws of “intestacy.” Intestacy refers to the condition of an estate of a person who dies without a will, and owns property with a total value greater than that of their outstanding debts. In addition, a will that covers only part of an estate sometimes is intestate.
Shin, Mohammed: Mental health outcome measures in environmental design research
Dr. Jung-hye Shin, chair of the Design Studies department, and Hassnaa Mohammed, a student in SoHE’s Design Studies PhD program, are authors along with Dr. Samuel Dennis, Jr., of UW’s Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture, of a lit review of recent scholarship on the connections between environments and mental wellness. Their article is published in HERD: Health Environments Research & Design Journal: “Mental Health Outcome Measures in Environmental Design Research: A Critical Review.”
Events
“Social Security’s Public Service,” with Dr. Nancy Wong
Thursday, May 20, Virtual | Dr. Nancy Wong, Chair of the Consumer Science department, will present today to the Social Security Advisory Board on research she and Dr. Lydia Ashton, also of Consumer Science, have undertaken to improve SSA’s communications with and outreach to social security disability insurance (SSDI) applicants and recipients. Funded by the UW Center for Financial Security Retirement and Disability Research Center, one of 11 major research projects that won funding for 2021, their project uses text analysis of data collected from online forum conversations where SSDI applicants and recipients share concerns and confusion about the application, appeal, and continuing disability review rules and policies.
The Social Security Advisory Board, whose members are appointed by the President and Congress, is a bipartisan, independent federal government agency that advises the President, the Congress, and the Commissioner of Social Security on matters of social security policy and administration. Dr. Wong will present as part of its May board meeting’s public roundtable discussion the afternoon of Thursday, May 20, on the topic of “social security’s public service.” The event is free and open to the public, with advance registration required.
Health Equity Leadership Institute, with Dr. Alvin Thomas
Thursday, May 27, 9:00-10:30 a.m. CT, Virtual | Next week, hear Dr. Alvin Thomas as part of the Health Equity Leadership Institute’s virtual series for 2021. Along with several other UW and community experts, he will discuss health equity partnerships that are having impact by recognizing and drawing on unique community and academic knowledge and assets, taking action, and making change. The series is free and open to the public, sponsored by the Collaborative Center for Health Equity in the UW Institute for Clinical and Translational Research. Learn more, and register.
“Cross Pollination Lecture Series: Jennifer Angus & Dr. Kenneth Cameron”
Thursday, June 3, 5:00-6:00 p.m. CT, Virtual | Jennifer Angus, the Audrey Rothermel Bascom Professor in Human Ecology, joined by Dr. Kenneth Cameron, Department Chair, Professor of Botany, and Director of the Wisconsin State Herbarium, will host the Cross-Pollination Lectures, as part of a series of conversations between contemporary artists featured in the Orchids: Attraction and Deception exhibition at the Barry Art Museum and botanical experts in the field. Learn more and register.
Plus, view SoHE-hosted events.