Social Sciences
-
California Launches First Solar-Covered Canal
The decision to cover canals with solar panels was influenced by a 2021 study from the University of California, Santa Cruz. The study suggested that shading California’s canals could save 63.5 billion gallons of water annually, enough to meet the residential water needs of over two million people.
-
India in the cross hairs
In an opinion article, Distinguished Professor of Economics Nirvikar Singh argues that India should view the latest U.S. move on H-1B visas as a wake-up call to work on becoming a global skilling hub.
-
Comedy fans express free speech concerns after ABC pulls Jimmy Kimmel
Nolan Higdon, a UC Santa Cruz lecturer with Merrill College and the Education Department, expects that Kimmel’s suspension will have far-reaching impacts. Higdon noted that comedians and entertainers have historically played a significant role in debates around free speech in the United States.
-
Free-Speech Lines Blur for Teachers in Wake of Charlie Kirk’s Killing
The government’s move to revoke state-issued teaching licenses in response to teachers’ personal opinions posted to social media—notably not in the classroom or in public school forums—is part of a movement to curtail the free speech of Americans,” said Lora Bartlett, chair of the Education Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
-
Getting Recess Right: A Researcher Shares Best Practices
Community-engaged researcher and professor of sociology Rebecca London recently spoke to Education Week about the role of recess. She addressed both best practices for recess—like how to structure it and when to schedule it—as well as the big-picture ramifications
-
‘People Are Losing Hope’: Suicide Risk Is Rife in ICE Detention Centers
UC Santa Cruz Psychology Professor Craig Haney emphasized that many detainee suicide attempts, and suicidal thoughts, were the result “of their circumstances, a reaction to an otherwise very despairing situation,” he said.
-
An inmate died in a Nebraska prison fire. That was just the first tragedy.
Craig Haney, a psychology professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, explained how restrictive housing in prisons affects inmate behavior. “They’re allowed to deteriorate in these environments,” he said. “Eventually, they act out. The prison system responds to the acting out in the only way it knows, which is the application of force. And…
-
Analysis: Shooting death of Charlie Kirk
UC Santa Cruz lecturer Nolan Higdon comments on Charlie Kirk’s influence in the modern conservative movement, especially in terms of reaching young people.
-
Los ecosistemas invisibles en la lucha contra la crisis climática
Scott Winton, ecólogo de la Universidad de California Santa Cruz, llevó a cabo tres años de extenso trabajo de campo para desarrollar el primer mapa basado en datos de turberas recientemente documentadas y previstas en los Llanos Orientales y la Amazonía colombiana.
-
Is the US already in a recession?
Pascal Michaillat, professor of economics at the University of California, Santa Cruz and a research associate at the NBER, estimates a 71 % probability that the US economy was already in recession in May.
-
How regional Federal Reserve banks contribute to monetary policymaking
Regional Fed Presidents are chosen by independent boards and then sent to the Board of Governors in DC for approval. “It’s just more layers away from DC and that allows a little bit more protection of independence,” said Galina Hale, an economics professor at UC Santa Cruz.
-
Solutions for Salinas Valley groundwater contamination exist, but adoption is slow
Hannah Waterhouse is an assistant professor of agroecology at the University of California Santa Cruz. At a test field on campus, she’s researching how cover crops benefit soil moisture and water quality.