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Study Examines Dire Retirement Security of Latinos

Author: Kate Garry

Categories: Centers and Institutes, Research, and General News

As our nation’s youngest, longest-lived and fastest-growing labor force, understanding the savings and retirement security of Latinos is of national importance. “Confianza, Savings, and Retirement,” a new report from Notre Dame’s Institute for Latino Studies, examines the social, cultural, and economic factors influencing Chicago-area Mexican immigrants’ savings and preparedness for retirement.

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Political Scientist Michael Desch Analyzes Nuclear Summit

Author: Kate Garry

Categories: Faculty News, Internationalism, and General News

The 2012 Nuclear Security Summit fell short of its goal of securing vulnerable nuclear materials around the world, as top officials of some 50 countries gathered earlier this week in South Korea in an effort to reduce the threat of nuclear terrorism. Much of the discussion focused on North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile activities, the post-tsunami problems at the Fukushima nuclear reactor plants and about Iran’s nuclear capabilities—all of which University of Notre Dame Political Science Professor and Chair Michael Desch believes “occupy a disproportionate place in our psyche.”

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Political Scientist Geoffrey Layman Says Brokered Convention Unlikely

Author: Kate Garry

Categories: Faculty News and General News

Whenever two or more candidates win significant numbers of delegates, a brokered convention is always a possibility—and in the best interest of the two trailing candidates in this presidential election, according to a University of Notre Dame political scientist. But a brokered convention in 2012 is both “unlikely and unhappy” for the Republican Party, says Geoffrey Layman, an associate professor of political science who specializes in American politics, political parties, public opinion, and voting behavior.

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Ten Speakers to Participate in ND Thinks Big

Author: Kate Garry

Categories: Faculty News, Centers and Institutes, Research, Undergraduate News, and General News

ND Thinks Big, a student-organized event modeled after TED talks and Harvard Thinks Big, will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 22, in the Jordan Auditorium of the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business. Sponsored by student forum The Hub and the Flatley Center for Undergraduate Scholarly Engagement, the event features 10 speakers from the Notre Dame faculty and administration, who will each deliver a 10-minute talk about their research and current work within their respective fields.

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Psychologist James Brockmole Researches Impact Holding a Gun Has on People's Perceptions

Author: Kate Garry

Categories: Faculty News, Research, and General News

Wielding a gun increases a person’s bias to see guns in the hands of others, new research from the University of Notre Dame shows. Notre Dame Associate Professor of Psychology James Brockmole, who specializes in human cognition and how the visual world guides behavior, together with a colleague from Purdue University, conducted the study, which will appear in an upcoming issue of the _Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance_.

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Psychologist Sidney D'Mello Helps Redefine Human-Computer Interaction

Author: Kate Garry

Categories: Faculty News, Research, and General News

Emotion-sensing computer software that models and responds to students’ cognitive and emotional states—including frustration and boredom—has been developed by University of Notre Dame Assistant Professor of Psychology Sidney D’Mello and a colleague from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. D’Mello also is a concurrent assistant professor of computer science and engineering. The new technology, which matches the interaction of human tutors, not only offers tremendous learning possibilities for students, but also redefines human-computer interaction.

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The Novel That Changed America: Celebrating Ralph Ellison's 'Invisible Man'

Author: Kate Garry

Categories: Faculty News and General News

In celebration of the 60th anniversary of Ralph Ellison's _Invisible Man_, as well as the author’s March 1 birthday, the University of Notre Dame’s Department of English is sponsoring a public reading of selections of the great novel from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. today (Thursday, March 1) in the Great Hall of O’Shaughnessy Hall, where faculty and students will read.

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Conference to Explore Conceptions of Truth

Author: Kate Garry

Categories: Faculty News, Catholicism, Internationalism, Centers and Institutes, and General News

The University of Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study (NDIAS) will host an international conference, Conceptions of Truth, focused on the nature of truth. The interdisciplinary conference, scheduled for April 12-14 (Thursday-Saturday), will bring 17 leading experts to McKenna Hall to address the subject of "the truth." The conference will include discussion of ideas presented as well as less formal opportunities for scholarly interaction.

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Day of the Dead iPad App a Collaborative Effort

Author: Kate Garry

Categories: Internationalism, Centers and Institutes, Undergraduate News, and General News

Grade school and middle school teachers can get a technological boost thanks to the vision and creativity of several Notre Dame students, faculty, and staff affiliated with the Institute for Latino Studies (ILS). “Day of the Dead: Experience the Tradition” is an iPad app recently created and available to the public that immerses users in a multimedia cultural experience of interactive videos, photos and articles that teach about Day of the Dead, a traditional Mexican holiday increasingly celebrated throughout the United States. With its indigenous roots infused with Catholic practices, the holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to remember loved ones who have died.

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For Top Irish Language Tweeter, It’s #lovetostudyIrish

Author: Kate Garry

Categories: Internationalism, Undergraduate News, and General News

University of Notre Dame senior Brian Boll has changed his major several times: First it was anthropology, then English, then philosophy, followed by medieval studies. “I always was, and still am, interested in too many things, but there’s one interest that’s always seemed to get the upper hand: language, languages and their study.” Specifically, study of the Irish language.

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Economist Kirk Doran Shows How Communism's Collapse Changed Mathematics in the U.S.

Author: Kate Garry

Categories: Faculty News, Internationalism, Research, and General News

The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1992 brought an influx of Soviet mathematicians to U.S. institutions, and those scholars’ differing areas of specialization have changed the way math is studied and taught in this country, according to new research by University of Notre Dame Economist Kirk Doran and George Borjas from Harvard University.

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Historian Brad Gregory's New Book Explores "The Unintended Reformation"

Author: Kate Garry

Categories: Faculty News, Research, and General News

How did our world come to be as it is? Examining why and how the West was propelled into its current pluralism and polarization over the long term, _The Unintended Reformation: How a Religious Revolution Secularized Society_ (Harvard University Press, 2012), offers new insight into how life in North America and Europe has been shaped over the past five centuries by the Protestant Reformation. Author Brad Gregory, University of Notre Dame historian, traces the relationships among religion, science, politics, morality, capitalism and consumerism, and higher education from the Middle Ages through the Reformation era to the present.

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Quantitative Psychology Professors Honored

Author: Kate Garry

Categories: Faculty News, Research, and General News

Three University of Notre Dame psychologists have been recognized for their work to more precisely measure a wide range of research topics, from happiness and depression to educational achievement. Specialists in the demanding subfield of quantitative psychology, Scott Maxwell, Zahng Guangjian, and Ying “Alison” Cheng design the statistical scaffolding needed to support measurable research into what are some of the most ephemeral of human conditions and concepts.

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Bernoulli Award Winners Employ Skills Beyond Graduation

Author: Kate Garry

Categories: Alumni, Research, Undergraduate News, and General News

Economics majors in the University of Notre Dame’s College of Arts and Letters develop the analytical skills and social perspective needed to better understand complex economic forces at work in the world. They also hone the ability to express their ideas and insights both clearly and concisely. That’s exactly what Class of 2011 students Elizabeth Koerbel and Matthew Conti demonstrated in their senior theses, which won first and second place, respectively, in the University’s annual Bernoulli Awards competition.

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Political Scientist David Campbell Analyzes New Pew Survey on Mormons

Author: Kate Garry

Categories: Faculty News, Centers and Institutes, and General News

There are as many Mormons in America as there are Jews, yet there has been far less research into the Mormon community. A new survey released January 12 by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life called “Mormons in America: Certain in Their Beliefs, Uncertain of Their Place in Society” is a “huge leap forward for what we know about Mormons,” according to David Campbell, a University of Notre Dame political scientist who researches religion and politics, and who himself is a Mormon.

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Economist Marty Wolfson Says “Right to Work” Lowers Wages

Author: Kate Garry

Categories: Faculty News, Centers and Institutes, and General News

Indiana lawmakers and residents can expect heated debate as the Indiana House voted 8-5 this morning to send the “Right to Work” bill to the full House. Indiana Republicans back the bill because of its potential to attract business to the Hoosier state with lower labor costs, which some believe ultimately will increase workers’ wages. University of Notre Dame labor economist Marty Wolfson disputes that argument.

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Political Scientist Michael Desch Discusses Proposed U.S. Military Cuts

Author: Kate Garry

Categories: Faculty News, Internationalism, and General News

The Obama administration’s recent announcement of military force reductions—particularly the downsizing of ground forces—not only will meet resistance from the iron triangle of the military-defense industry congressional complex, but also will offer a clear target for aspiring Republican presidential nominees, according to University of Notre Dame Political Science Chair Michael Desch.

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Volumes of Poet Robert Creeley Added to Notre Dame Special Collections

Author: Kate Garry

Categories: Faculty News, Research, and General News

After co-editing _Form, Power, and Person in Robert Creeley’s Life and Work_, Notre Dame English Professor Stephen Fredman was awarded $125,000 to support the purchase of Creeley’s library, total cost of which tops $600,000. “This will really help put us on the map as a holder of a major poet’s materials,” Fredman says. “People will come from around the world to look at it.”

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Psychologist Jill Lany Reveals Surprisingly Early Gift of Gab

Author: Kate Garry

Categories: Faculty News, Research, and General News

From the moment they’re born, babies are highly attuned to communicate and motivated to interact. And they’re great listeners. New psychology research from the University of Notre Dame shows that during the first year of life, when babies spend so much time listening to language, they’re actually tracking word patterns that will support their process of word-learning that occurs between the ages of about 18 months and two years.

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German Professor Spreads Love of Language Learning

Author: Kate Garry

Categories: Faculty News, Internationalism, and General News

Hannelore Weber, an associate teaching professor in Notre Dame's Department of German and Russian Languages and Literatures, recently received the Goethe-Institut/American Association of Teachers of German Certificate of Merit. Presented to just four people nationally each year, the award acknowledges educators who have significantly furthered the teaching of German in schools around the United States.

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Want Smarter Children? Space Siblings at Least Two Years Apart, Says Economist Kasey Buckles

Author: Kate Garry

Categories: Faculty News, Research, and General News

According to a new study by University of Notre Dame economist Kasey Buckles and graduate student Elizabeth Munnich, siblings spaced more than two years apart have higher reading and math scores than children born closer together. The positive academic effects of greater spacing between children were seen in older siblings, but not in younger ones, according to Buckles.

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Political Scientist David Campbell Researches Civics Education at Catholic and Public Schools

Author: Kate Garry

Categories: Faculty News, Catholicism, Centers and Institutes, Research, and General News

Evaluating basic reading and math skills among American students is a common and expected way to expose deficiencies and highlight exemplary programs. But what about training students in democratic citizenship? Can the effectiveness of civic education be measured among schools? Are some schools better than others at teaching civics?

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Catholic Sex-Abuse Crisis Boon for Baptists, Economist Dan Hungerman Shows

Author: Kate Garry

Categories: Faculty News, Catholicism, Research, and General News

Did the Catholic sex-abuse scandal benefit other faiths? New research by economist Dan Hungerman shows it did. The study by Hungerman, Stepan Family Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Notre Dame, shows a 2 million member drop in the Catholic population following the sex-abuse scandal and more than $3 billion in donations to non-Catholic faiths, with Baptist churches showing the most significant gains.

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