blog posts

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  New book explores complicated relationship between workers and their work

  Jan 8, 2024 9:15 am

  A new book by U. of I. labor expert Robert Bruno explores how workers characterize their relationship to their jobs using personal six-word mini-narratives, serving as a broader exploration of how middle-class workers view work in the U.S.

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  New book explores the history of the phony cancer drug Krebiozen

  Oct 1, 2024 11:15 am

  Journalism professor emeritus Matthew C. Ehrlich examines the dramatic story of a controversial medicine once touted as a miracle cure for cancer in his new book.

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  New climate change model finds nuanced relationship between temperature, conflict

  Feb 17, 2023 8:45 am

  A new framework for studying the intersection of climate anomalies and social conflicts finds a strong link between temperature fluctuations and aggregated global conflicts, says Gies College of Business professor Ujjal Kumar Mukherjee.

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  New database catalogs police shootings in Illinois to improve accountability

  Oct 7, 2022 10:45 am

  An interdisciplinary team of U of I experts has developed a statewide registry on the use of lethal force by police officers in Illinois. It identified more than twice as many police-involved shooting incidents than previously reported.

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  News media trigger conflict for romantic couples with differing political views

  Jan 16, 2024 2:30 pm

  
  Couples with differing political views and identities face unique challenges in their consumption of news, which can create significant stress on their relationship, communication professor Emily Van Duyn found in a recent study.  

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  Older workers seeking federal disability benefits during recessions are healthier

  Sep 8, 2022 10:30 am

  The findings suggest disability insurance may be helping individuals smooth over temporary shocks to their employment  – a role that diverges from the program’s aim of protecting individuals from career-ending shocks to their ability to work.

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  Paper: Established employees need adjustment period with new colleagues

  Oct 12, 2022 9:30 am

  Adding new employees to an established work team can have a multitude of consequences for long-standing employees, according to new research co-written by IYihao Liu, a U of I professor of both labor relations and psychology.

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  Paper: Firms learn more from ‘knowledge-gap’ failures than mere ‘slip-ups’

  Apr 22, 2024 8:30 am

  More organizational learning was associated with design-related product recalls than with process-related recalls. Researchers also learned that a firm’s accumulated patents and investment in R&D enhanced learning from design-related recalls. 

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  Paper: Neurotic personality trait a key risk factor for stress perception

  Nov 29, 2022 11:15 am

  While all of the 'Big Five' personality traits – agreeableness, conscientiousness, extraversion, neuroticism and openness – are related to experiencing stress, neuroticism showed the strongest link

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  Paper: New law, regulations may diminish appeal of some retirement accounts

  Jan 30, 2023 9:45 am

  A new law and regulations affecting inherited retirement accounts could create hefty taxation issues for some beneficiaries, says Richard Kaplan, an expert on U.S. tax policy and retirement issues.

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  Paper: Social justice storytelling helps librarians advocate for patrons, themselves

  Nov 2, 2022 12:00 pm

  Library schools should teach social justice storytelling skills to students so they can advocate for the needs of underserved patrons, says information sciences professor Kate McDowell.

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  Parentification: The impact of children taking on parental roles in their family

  Dec 13, 2023 12:00 pm

  We expect parents to always take care of their children’s physical and emotional needs. But sometimes the roles are reversed, and the child assumes responsibilities beyond what is appropriate for their age.

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  Peer adversity may cause girls to feel their self-worth is constantly at risk

  Oct 10, 2022 10:30 am

  A history of peer adversity sensitizes teen girls to situational threats to their self-esteem and interpersonal needs, cultivating feelings that their self-worth is constantly in jeopardy, a new study found.

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  People who viewed sex as a leisure activity enjoyed more, better sex during the pandemic

  Oct 13, 2022 10:45 am

  People who strongly viewed sex as a leisure activity before and during the pandemic used their downtime to engage in more frequent, satisfying and creative sexual activity, according to a study by professor Liza Berdychevsky.

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  PFAS found in nearly all fish tested from four northern Illinois rivers

  Jul 31, 2024 8:15 am

  ound PFAS-contaminated fish in every one of the 15 sites they tested along four northern Illinois rivers, with channel catfish having the highest accumulation of PFAS in its tissues.

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  Professor identifies key drivers in decisions to receive COVID-19 vaccine

  Dec 8, 2022 10:15 am

  Republicans 'were far more likely to say that they were getting vaccinated than if they thought other Republicans were not going to be vaccinated,' Bowers said. For Democrats, the intentions of other Democrats were less likely to influence their decision.

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  Raising happy eaters: Unlocking the secrets of childhood appetite

  Oct 18, 2024 11:45 am

  Children are born with a capacity to regulate appetite based on hunger and satiety signals, but with increased exposure to environmental factors, their eating is increasingly guided by psychological reasoning and motivations. 

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  Regional public universities increase access, social mobility for nearby residents

  Oct 20, 2022 9:00 am

  'When legislators are thinking about allocating funding for regional public universities, it’s important for them to know just how many benefits they provide to students in the surrounding community,' said economics professor Russell Weinstein.

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  Report: Conscientiousness, not willpower, is a reliable predictor of success

  Sep 10, 2024 8:45 am

  Two psychology professors argue that psychological science sometimes overemphasizes the role of willpower in human success and well-being. The personality trait 'conscientiousness' is a better predictor of success, they write.

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  Researchers: Green infrastructure plans need to consider historical racial inequalities

  May 21, 2024 9:45 am

  'For the environmental and ecological questions, we have a pretty good handle on what we need to do. The questions that are the hardest... are how to work well with communities, particularly marginalized communities.'

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  Researchers identify unexpected twist while developing new polymer-based semiconductors

  Nov 14, 2023 8:15 am

  Fresh insight into the development of semiconductor materials that can do things their traditional silicon counterparts cannot – harness the power of chirality, a non-superimposable mirror image

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  Researchers illuminate gaps in public transportation access, equity

  Feb 16, 2023 10:30 am

  Reserachers found that public transit systems offering broad coverage of stops and routes may still underserve the communities that rely on them the most. The study uses the Champaign-Urbana MTD as a case study.

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  Royal Fever: Will the brand play on for King Charles?

  May 3, 2023 10:00 am

  Professor Cele Otnes says the British Royal Family brand consists of at least five types of brands - all likely to be on display during coronation weekend: Family, Global, Heritage, Human, and Luxury. Each aspect offers challenges to the new King. 

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  Sense of purpose may have significant impact on teens' emotional well-being

  Feb 13, 2023 11:15 am

  In a study of more than 200 adolescents, researchers found that those who scored high on purposefulness were more satisfied with their lives and experienced more positive emotions in general.

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  Specialist and migratory birds at greater risk under climate change

  Jun 11, 2024 4:30 pm

  Following decades of decline, even fewer birds will darken North American skies by the end of the century, according to a new analysis by scientists at the U. of I. College of ACES.

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  Statistics, history researchers' new model re-evaluates MLB's 'greatest ever'

  Mar 13, 2023 10:30 am

  'Under this model, great all-time statistics requires that an MLB player is both better than their peers and played during a time in which the MLB eligible population is large. ...The model constructs an even playing field that extends across eras.'

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  Study: Acetaminophen use during pregnancy linked to language delays in children

  Jan 3, 2024 8:00 am

  A new study links acetaminophen use in pregnancy to modest but significant delays in the language development of offspring, says Illinois Kids Development Study principal investigator Susan Schantz.

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  Study: Americans struggle to distinguish factual claims from opinions amid partisan bias

  Mar 12, 2024 11:30 am

  Americans struggle to tell the difference between statements of fact and statements of opinion – a troubling trend that has grave implications for civic discourse in the U.S., say U of I political science researchers. 

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  Study: Brilliant white male characters more believable, some viewers say

  Nov 22, 2024 8:45 am

  Brilliant characters often play key roles in movies and TV shows. However, when they are played by women and people of color, some audience members dismiss them as unrealistic, even if they portray real people.

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  Study compares third-trimester sound exposures in fetuses, premature infants

  Mar 1, 2023 11:15 am

  The analysis reveals profound differences in their exposures to noise, language and the biological sounds of the mother, with implications for the infants’ development, says study leader Brian Monson, a professor of Speech and Hearing Science.

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  Study: COVID-19 policies harmed minority women's perinatal experiences, magnified inequities

  Nov 15, 2022 12:00 pm

  Social Work professors Karen Tabb Dina and Tuyet-Mai Ha Hoang  led a study that explored the experiences of women of color who - like them - were pregnant or gave birth during the pandemic.

   

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  Study: Default testing for COVID-19 in K-12 schools more effective than voluntary testing

  Mar 13, 2024 9:00 am

  A new paper co-written by U of I business professors found that default testing of K-12 students for COVID-19 during the pandemic could have saved up to one out of every five school days lost to the coronavirus during the fall 2021 semester. 

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  Study examined COVID-19 policies' effects on people with disabilities

  Jun 20, 2022 1:15 pm

  COVID-19 safety policies in the U.S. that constrained leisure physical activities negatively affected the health and well-being of some people with disabilities, according to a survey by researchers at Illinois.

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  Study finds producers, consumers must share burden of global plastic pollution

  May 26, 2022 11:15 am

  A new study by an international team of researchers explores the global patterns of plastic packaging waste. The study finds three countries – the U.S., Brazil, and China – are the top suppliers of waste.

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  Study: Holocaust Museum motivates visitors to create social change

  Aug 15, 2022 10:00 am

  New research finds that people who visited the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center were inspired to take action for human rights, such as standing up to bullying or joining social justice groups

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  Study: How mother and infant sleep patterns interact during the first two years of life

  Jul 25, 2023 10:15 am

  New mothers can expect sleep deprivation in the first few years of baby’s life. A new U of I study looks at maternal and infant sleep patterns, identifying predictors and providing recommendations for instilling healthy habits. 

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  Study links epigenetic changes to historic trauma in Alaska Native communities

  Sep 8, 2023 11:15 am

  The study found a pattern among Alaska Native participants, in which specific epigenetic differences were observed in those who reported experiencing the most intense symptoms of distress when reflecting on historic losses.  

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  Study links exercise intensity, attentional control in late-adolescent girls

  Feb 6, 2023 10:30 am

  Researchers found that girls ages 15-18 who engage in less moderate and vigorous physical activity are slower and less accurate than their peers on a measure of attentional control - they can be more impulsive and more easily distracted.

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  Study links insulin resistance, advanced cell aging with childhood poverty

  Jul 25, 2022 10:45 am

  Black adolescents who lived in poverty as children and were pessimistic about their future had accelerated immune cell aging and greater levels of insulin resistance in their mid- to late twenties, according to a new U of I study.

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  Study looks at food-buying behavior during different stages of COVID pandemic

  Aug 9, 2022 8:45 am

  In-person grocery shopping remained common throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, while restaurant dining was more vulnerable to surges in case rates, according to a new study.

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  Study: Metabolic diseases may be driven by gut microbiome, loss of ovarian hormones

  Feb 22, 2024 8:00 am

  Mice that received fecal biome transplants from donors that had their ovaries removed expressed higher levels of genes associated with metabolic diseases, including fatty liver disease, atherosclerosis and Type 2 diabetes. 

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  Study: People expect others to mirror their own selfishness, generosity

  Aug 7, 2023 8:45 am

  Generous people tend to reward generous behavior and selfish individuals often punish generosity and reward selfishness – even when it costs them personally. 

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  Study reveals advantages of informative brand names

  Nov 15, 2024 11:45 am

  By clearly communicating a product's purpose, informative names can significantly boost a product's visibility and success, suggesting that businesses can benefit from adopting descriptive names to gain a competitive edge.
   

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  Study shows challenges to protecting privacy of library users

  Dec 8, 2023 12:30 pm

  The biggest challenges libraries face in protecting the privacy of patrons are a lack of training and technical knowledge, particularly with increased use of digital services, according to a study by information sciences professor Masooda Bashir.

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  Study shows the power of 'thank you' for couples

  Nov 14, 2022 11:15 am

  Study by a professor of human development and community health finds greater levels of perceived gratitude protect couples from common stressors such as ineffective arguing and financial problems, and promote relationship stability.

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  Study: Social networks can influence perception of climate-change risk

  May 22, 2024 9:45 am

  A U of I study found that social networks can play a significant role in influencing the financial behaviors and perception of catastrophic risks brought about by climate change. 

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  Study: Tipped restaurant workers in Chicago compensated at rates below minimum wage

  Oct 5, 2023 1:30 pm

  Researchers also found several violations of municipal, county, state and federal work-related laws, including wage theft, hours and work schedule violations, discrimination and harassment, and occupational health and safety violations. 

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  Study tracks COVID-19 infection dynamics in adults

  Apr 28, 2022 10:30 am

  'We capture the most complete, high-resolution, quantitative picture of how SARS-CoV-2 replicates and sheds in people during natural infection. There are no other data like this,' said U. of I. microbiology professor Christopher B. Brooke

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  Study tracks decades of extreme heat, cold in Upper Midwest

  Aug 20, 2024 11:30 am

  U. of I. researchers found significant increases in the frequency of daytime extreme heat stress across the Upper Midwest. Urban areas often saw the biggest increases over time, likely as a result of the 'heat island' effect.

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  Study tracks social, genetic evolution in Asian colobine primates

  Jun 1, 2023 12:45 pm

  A new study reveals that colobines living in colder regions experienced genetic changes and alterations to their ancient social structure that likely enhanced their ability to survive.