Humanities & Society

The Refund to Savings Initiative, the largest savings experiment ever conducted in the United States, begins with this tax season and is expected to reach almost 1.2 million households within the next few months. The project is a novel collaboration of university researchers, led by Michal Grinstein-Weiss, PhD, associate director of the Center for Social Development at Washington University in St. Louis, and corporate partner Intuit Inc., the maker of TurboTax software, Quicken Books and Mint. This groundbreaking project is ushering in a new way of doing research.

Attorney and women’s rights activist Sandra Fluke, who last February testified before the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee on the need to provide access to contraception, will kick off the spring lecture series sponsored by the Danforth Center on Religion & Politics at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 12, in Simon Hall’s May Auditorium.

The Gephardt Institute for Public Service at WUSTL has announced faculty scholars receiving Innovation Grants for Community-Based Teaching and Learning. The grants provide faculty members with financial support for curriculum development and implementation.

Students from Brittany Woods Middle School in the University City School District and Hixson Middle School in the Webster Groves School District came to WUSTL Jan. 29 to participate in the “Investigating Nanotechnology” program.

In the decades ahead, China will have a very large older population, with many older adults who are relatively healthy and interested in being actively engaged in their communities. Contributions of older adults will be necessary for social and economic development of families, communities and society. Peking University Press recently published Productive Aging in the World: Toward Evidence-Based Practice and Policy. The book is the result of a conference on productive aging in August 2011 at Peking University, co-organized by the Center for Social Development (CSD) at Washington University in St. Louis, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and Peking University in Beijing.​

As the financial crisis in America persists, government positions are being cut, causing motivation to spiral downward. How can worker motivation in government positions not hit bottom? Jackson Nickerson, PhD, the Frahm Family Professor of Organization and Strategy at Washington University’s Olin Business School, suggests employee motivation comes from three different sources: economic, social and emotional and ideological.

A massive earthen mound constructed about 3,200 years ago by Native Americans in northeastern Louisiana was built in less than 90 days, and perhaps as quickly as 30 days, according to new research in the journal Geoarchaeology. The site was recently nominated for a place on the UNESCO list of Word Heritage sites.

Tolerance and civic discourse will be the focus of the Master of Liberal Arts Saturday Lecture Series that runs throughout February. Sponsored by University College, this free lecture series begins at 11 a.m. Feb. 2 in McDonnell Hall. George Pepe, PhD, professor of classics in Arts & Sciences, delivers the first talk.

The spring 2013 list of Assembly Series speakers begins January 31 with the prominent young American playwright Sarah Ruhl (left), author of “In the Next Room or the vibrator play” and concludes April 17 with a presentation by General Motors’ vice president of global human resources, Cynthia Brinkley.

As China prepares to transfer its leadership in March, the potential exists for a more progressive government. With asset-based policies increasing throughout Asia in response to rising inequality and aging populations, there’s never been a better time for discussion and information. This past November, the Center for Social Development (CSD) at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis co-hosted the conference “Lifelong Asset Building: Strategies and Innovations in Asia” at Peking University.