Why Public Engagement?

As citizens and as scholars, we have an interest in today’s debates about public policy, conversations about the state of the world, and imagining a different future. Read more about the Public Engagement Projects' Mission and Vision

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Erin Baker, 2017 PEP Fellow, is quoted in an article exploring how wealthy communities have stalled the implementation of offshore wind power in some places

Erin Baker, 2017 PEP Fellow, is quoted in an article exploring how wealthy communities have stalled the implementation of offshore wind power in some places. Baker, the director of the Energy Transition Institute, explains “I do think the offshore industry is in good shape to take off,” said Baker. She said that “the most impactful part of the Biden administration’s push so far has been to improve inter-agency coordination, allowing for much faster permitting and development of wind projects.” Read more at The Daily Beast

Laurel Smith-Doerr, PEP Steering Committee Member, was recently interviewed about why we need to address how women and people of color have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19

Laurel Smith-Doerr, PEP Steering Committee Member, was recently interviewed about why we need to address how women and people of color have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. Smith-Doerr explains the difficulties of faculty during the transition to online learning. Doerr-Smith further explains, “These kinds of impacts on workplaces and workers are deep, and we see the immediate impacts now, and there are going to be long-term impacts and it’s harder to see and imagine those” and that there are potential opportunities to address these impacts and build resiliency. Listen to the podcast on WHMP Radio (starting at 33:00). 

Linda R. Tropp, PEP Co-Director, is a part of an international research team that found more mutual support for social change among advantaged and disadvantaged groups when inequality is actively addressed

Linda R. Tropp, PEP Co-Director, is a part of an international research team consisting of scientists from 23 countries and found more mutual support for social change among advantaged and disadvantaged groups when inequality is actively addressed and the psychological needs of each group are met. The new research, led by the University of Zurich (UZH), was published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. “What this research is showing is that people on both sides really need to acknowledge that they have different motivations and concerns when they interact with each other,” says Tropp, study co-author and lead researcher in the U.S., who has examined how members of different groups experience intergroup contact for more than 20 years. Read more at StLouisNews.net

 

 

M.V. Lee Badgett, PEP Steering Committee Member, is quoted in an article about her research that has found the economic costs of anti-LGBTQ laws

M.V. Lee Badgett, PEP Steering Committee Member, is quoted in an article about her research that has found the economic costs of anti-LGBTQ laws. The article notes that in 2018, Badgett found that a $1,506 increase in GDP per capita was associated with a one-point increase for a country on the Global Acceptance Index, which uses public opinion polling to estimate the level of acceptance of LGBT people. Using a different measurement in a 2019 study, Badgett found that an extra point on the Global Index on Legal Recognition of Homosexual Orientation, which consists of eight categories of legal recognition and protection, was associated with an increase in real GDP per capita of about $2,000. Read more at Al Jazeera

Linda Tropp, PEP Co-Director, is quoted extensively in an article about the intersection of behavioral science and advocacy

Linda Tropp, PEP Co-Director, is quoted extensively in an article about the intersection of behavioral science and advocacy. Tropp says, “We should reframe how we think about psychological research and its potential for public impact, to consider what we stand to gain from attending to its social relevance—or alternatively, what we stand to lose by not attending to the social relevance of our research.” Read more at the Behavioral Scientist

Linda Tropp, PEP Co-Director, is quoted in an article about a recent study that found white boys who grew up with Black neighbors next door were more likely to become registered Democrats

Linda Tropp, PEP Co-Director, is quoted in an article about a recent study that found white boys who grew up with Black neighbors next door were more likely to become registered Democrats. “What I think is really special about this research is that it’s focusing not just at the neighborhood level but at the level of a specific neighbor … so that you’re really getting closer to people’s lived experiences,” Tropp said of the study, with which she was not involved. Read more at the St. Louis Post-DispatchThe Fresno BeeYahoo!NewsMSN.com, and the Los Angeles Times

Rebecca Spencer, 2015 PEP Fellow, discusses the potential takeaways and topics of interest at the SLEEP 2021 virtual meeting

Rebecca Spencer, 2015 PEP Fellow, discusses the potential takeaways and topics of interest at the SLEEP 2021 virtual meeting. SLEEP is the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, LLC, which is a joint venture of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society. Read more at AJMC

Devon Greyson, 2021 PEP Fellow, is quoted in an article about medical mistrust in the Haredi Jewish community during the COVID-19 pandemic

Devon Greyson, 2021 PEP Fellow, is quoted in an article about medical mistrust in the Haredi Jewish community during the COVID-19 pandemic. Greyson says, “We have great documentation of fears and doubts of the smallpox vaccine. In some ways, this is frustrating, and in other ways it is reassuring because we have progressed over the past 200 years despite this.” Read more at VICE

Erin Baker, 2017 PEP Fellow, is quoted in an article about President Biden’s push to expand offshore wind production with the goal of being able to generate 30 gigawatts of energy by the year 2030

Erin Baker, 2017 PEP Fellow, and mechanical and industrial engineering and faculty director of the Energy Transition Initiative, is quoted in an article about President Biden’s push to expand offshore wind production with the goal of being able to generate 30 gigawatts of energy by the year 2030. Baker says, “We may not be halfway there in five years, but I think then it’ll really start to speed up, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we actually end up surpassing it by 2030.” Read more at The Hill

 

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In appreciation of their generous support, the UMass Public Engagement Project would like to thank the Office of the ProvostUniversity Relations, and the Colleges of Natural SciencesSocial and Behavioral Sciences Humanities and Fine ArtsEngineeringPublic Health and Health Sciences, and Education.  The UMass Public Engagement Project also recognizes and appreciates in-kind contributions and collaborations with the Center for Research on Families and the Institute for Social Science Research