Humanities & Society

In an effort to increase father participation in parenting programs, as well as improve father-child interactions, Patricia L. Kohl, PhD, associate professor of Social Work at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, has collaborated with the Father’s Support Center of St. Louis to develop Engaging Fathers in Positive Parenting, a program funded by the CDC designed to be used in conjunction with the evidence-based parenting intervention, Triple P, Positive Parenting Program.

A new study published earlier this month found that men and women don’t fit neatly into gender stereotypes, that perhaps men aren’t from Mars nor are women from Venus. But why do we want them to be? Lead author Bobbi Carothers, PhD, senior data analyst at Center for Public Health System Science at Washington University in St. Louis, has some theories as to why.

Every Tuesday afternoon, an undergraduate from WUSTL’s  School of Engineering & Applied Science heads back to middle school. Nick Okafor leads the after-school Young Engineers Club at Brittany Woods Middle School in University City. N’Desha Scott, a sophomore majoring in biomedical engineering, started the club last fall as a way to reach out to middle school students from groups traditionally underrepresented in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields.

A special supplemental issue of the American Journal of Preventative Medicine titled, “Research Collaboration with 2-1-1 to Eliminate Health Disparities” was recently published, marking the first time a journal has focused entirely on scientific research conducted within 2-1-1 systems. And Washington University in St. Louis researchers, led by Matthew W. Kreuter, PhD, director of the Health Communication Research Laboratory, played a key role in the publication.

Washington University in St. Louis’ Institute for School Partnership (ISP) and its signature science education program, MySci, take a major step forward Monday, Feb. 18, when they open the MySci Resource Center at 6601 Vernon Ave. Refurbished with the help of a $2.2 million grant from the Monsanto Fund, the MySci Resource Center becomes the nerve center of the ISP, WUSTL’s signature effort to strategically improve teaching and learning within the K-12 education community in the St. Louis region. ​

Cindy Brantmeier, PhD, associate professor of Spanish and applied linguistics in Arts & Sciences, was recently honored as Washington University’s recipient of the 2012 Emerson Excellence in Teaching Award. The annual award from Emerson recognizes top educators from the St. Louis region for their passion for teaching, their impact on student learning and their knowledge and creativity.

While it is not unprecedented for a pope to resign from his position, it is unprecedented for a pope to resign for health reasons — as Pope Benedict XVI plans to do at the end of the month — says a leading historian of religion at Washington University in St. Louis. Daniel M. Bornstein, PhD, the Stella Koetter Darrow Professor in Catholic Studies at Washington University in St. Louis, says that Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation stands out as different from previous ones, but not simply because of his medical reasons. “Previous resignations either resulted from or led to grave crises in leadership. I do not see either of those as a concern in this case,” Bornstein says.

Charlottesville, Va. recently became the first town in the U.S. to pass an anti-drone resolution, calling for a restriction on the use of the unmanned surveillance vehicles. “For drones, I think the problem is that they do have some legitimate law enforcement purposes, but they raise massive problems of invasion of privacy and government surveillance that we need to think through before we deploy drones in vast numbers in our skies,” says Neil Richards, professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis.

Lawyers recently have gained attention by seeking restitution from individuals convicted of viewing or downloading exploitative photos of children. “This ‘pay-per-view’ system further commodifies victims,” says Cortney Lollar, JD, clinical faculty at Washington University in St. Louis. She says that two key changes are in order: move from the current restitution system to the creation of a child pornography crime victims’ compensation fund, and devote more resources to preventing child sexual abuse.

A “Global Tea” event was held Jan. 31 in Danforth University Center as an opportunity for undergraduate students to learn about the new Global Certificate offered by the university. Event organizers obtained donations of tea from international students returning to St. Louis after winter break.