Research
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UC Santa Cruz psychology prof develops language aids for hearing-impaired and autistic children
Twenty years ago, psychology professor Dominic Massaro never dreamed his investigation of how humans comprehend language and speech would benefit hearing-impaired and autistic children. But his research into how auditory and visual cues work together to aid our comprehension of the spoken word attracted the attention of parents of children with language challenges. Eager for…
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Essays about Hurricane Katrina by Wynton Marsalis and others appear in new book
The weak federal emergency response to Hurricane Katrina fits a pattern of reduced federal government responsibility for public well-being, according to the editor of a new collection of essays about Katrina. John Brown Childs, a professor of sociology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and editor of the new book Hurricane Katrina: Response and…
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Soil ecologist investigates the role of plant roots in regulating carbon cycling and reducing global warming
Soil ecologist Weixin Cheng is at the leading edge of scientific efforts to quantify the impacts of plant roots on the cycling of carbon between the atmosphere, where carbon dioxide contributes to global warming, and terrestrial ecosystems, where large amounts of carbon are stored in soil organic matter. Cheng, an associate professor of environmental studies…
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Kids with access to a home computer are more likely to graduate, digital divide study finds
Access to a home computer increases the likelihood that children will graduate from high school, but blacks and Latinos are much less likely to have a computer at home than are whites, according to a new study by a researcher at the University of California, Santa Cruz, that also found the digital divide is even…
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Mystery Spot demonstrates power of perception, UC Santa Cruz psychologist explains
SANTA CRUZ, CA–For years, UC Santa Cruz psychology professor Bruce Bridgeman has taken college students to the Mystery Spot, a popular local tourist attraction, to demonstrate how the human brain works. Tourists flock to the Mystery Spot to enjoy the “puzzling variations in gravity, perspective, height and more,” leaving baffled and perplexed by the apparent…