On Topic with IU

Dr. Adam Roth is part of a research team studying cognitive function, decline and the personal, face-to-face networks people enjoy. There remain many uncertainties to explore in this growing area of research, but Roth says the data suggests greater diversity of our social networks serve us well as we age. Listen to this conversation to get more insights from the department of sociology research fellow and member of the Indiana University Network Science Institute. Read his study here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/19485565.2022.2052711?needAccess=true More on Dr. Roth: https://www.adamroth.org/

IU social psychology doctoral student Tessa Benson-Greenwald joins us to discuss new research examining the perception of motives of scientists. She talks about her team's new study, the risk we face when public trust in science ebbs, how the general public perceives the work of scientists, and also Young Frankenstein. You can find her latest study: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/01461672211064456

The challenges for patients and care providers are different in rural areas, compared to their urban counterparts. We're discussing that here with Dr. Christopher Owens, a recent graduate of the School of Public Health at Indiana University - Bloomington. Owens is now an assistant professor at Texas A&M University, where he works studying rural HIV prevention and care, rural LGBTQ+ health, and the sexual healthcare practices of rural healthcare providers. Today the topic is his latest collaborative research, The Lived Experiences of Rural HIV Social Workers. Owens co-authors on this qualitative research are Eva Voorheis, Harold D. Green, Debby Herbenick and Brian Dodge from the School of Public Health at Indiana University, Jessica N. Lester, from the Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology, School of Education at IU, and Randolph D. Hubach from Purdue University. You can read the study here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09540121.2021.1981817?scroll=top&needAccess=true Find more about Dr. Owens' work: https://sexualhealth.indiana.edu/news-events/_news/chris%20owens%20dissertation.html And more, from the IU School of Public Health: https://publichealth.indiana.edu/

Millions of Americans are at risk of having their utilities disconnected, says Dr. Sanya Carley, a professor and scholar at Indiana University's O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Her latest research, Energy insecurity and the urgent need for utility disconnection protections finds that 24 percent of low-income survey respondents are energy insecure. She joins us to talk about those impacted, possible solutions, and much more. You can read the study here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0301421521005280# More on Carley: https://oneill.indiana.edu/faculty-research/directory/profiles/faculty/full-time/carley-sanya.html Find more from Carley and the O'Neill School's work in energy equity at the Energy Justice Lab: https://energyjustice.indiana.edu

Researchers at Indiana University's School of Social Work are using machine learning to study thousands of cases of adults -- using anonymized data from the Adult Needs and Strengths Assessment -- to help those coping with mental health issues, identify intersections mental health illness and suicidal ideation and develop a suicidal prevention/recovery model within the mental health system. Drs. Betty Walton and Saahoon Hong join us to talk about their innovative approach. Dr. Walton's bio: https://socialwork.iu.edu/FacultyAndStaff/profile.php?id=Walton_Betty_beawalto Dr. Hong's bio: https://socialwork.iu.edu/faculty-staff/profile/hong_saahoon/ You can find more about their work here: https://scholarworks.iupui.edu/bitstream/handle/1805/26724/Hong2021Examining-the-intersection.pdf?sequence=4&isAllowed=y

Professor Laura Littlepage from the O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs joins us to discuss a recently completed study, Homelessness in Greene County, Indiana. We talk about the unique issues that are brought about by people experiencing homelessness in rural areas, from a lack of services, the difficulties involved with helping those in need in a geographically broad area, simply coming to understand the extent of the population impacted, and much more. You can read the paper here. https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/2022/26798/Greene%20County%20Homelessness%20Report.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y For more on the Rural Center of Engagement, visit here: https://rural.indiana.edu/

Dr. Jerome Dumortier, an economist and associate professor in the O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IUPUI joins us to talk about National Clean Energy Week, the growing clean energy sector, his research in bioenergy, land use, carbon emissions policies and much, much more. Dr. Dumortier's biography: https://oneill.iupui.edu/contact/people-directory/dumortier-jerome.html More on National Clean Energy Week: https://nationalcleanenergyweek.org

Women's Equality Day, marks the anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment, which guarantees all American women the right to vote is marked this month. As we celebrate the 101 anniversary of its certification, we talked with Deborah Widiss, a professor and associate dean for research in the Maurer School of Law, about the issues we face today. Professor Widiss' bio: https://www.law.indiana.edu/about/people/bio.php?name=widiss-deborah Professor Widiss has written several essays and op-eds...

The long-standing eviction moratorium has ended, and millions of Americans, including thousands of Hoosiers, are now at risk of finding themselves in court, or being removed from their homes. We talked with Kelley School of Business economist about it for this quick hit. There are resources available. The Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority has a portal for you, here: https://www.in.gov/ihcda/ In addition to the state funding, some county and city governments are also able to...

Dr. Micah Pollak, an economist at IU Northwest and director of the Center for Economic Education & Research is the coauthor of a study titled "The effect of in-person primary and secondary school instruction on county-level SARS-CoV-2 spread in Indiana." He and his colleagues, including two physicians, a biostatistician, a medical student and an education scholar, examined the 2020-2021 school year using data from across Indiana to ascertain the risk in-person teaching has had on local...

Prices are going up on a lot of products, but that's proof of a growing economy, says Kelley School of Business economist Kyle Anderson. We talk about the housing market, difficulties in getting things like microchips, fluctuating prices in lumber, the evolving labor force and much, much more. Overall, Dr. Anderson is optimistic about where the Indiana and national economies are heading.

Accidental drug deaths had been on the rise, and then the pandemic hit. IUPUI clinical psychologist Dr. Melissa Cyders joins us to discuss the challenges of the year and some of the early findings related to substance use disorder during the pandemic. There is help available to you, and others. Here's more from the Substance Abuse and Metal Health Services Administration https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/recovery And here is a Google Doc that can help you find and join online support...

Some students have gone back to school this year. Others are meeting in a hybrid style, but still more are running entirely virtual classes this spring. All schools in Indiana, however, are expected to be open for in-person classes come this fall. We talked with Indiana University Northwest's Dr. Vernon Smith, a professor of education, and a longtime educator himself, about the difficulties of this school year and what this year's challenges might mean for next year.

We spoke with Dr. Jerry Wilde, a professor of educational psychology and dean of the School of Education at Indiana University - East, about the challenges of the last year for parents and children of all ages. While we're still in the early days of understanding individual impacts, he says, there are some lessons to be learned and measures we can all take going forward. Here is the opinion piece we mentioned:...

University and college admissions officials across the country have been scrambling this past year in telling their story and helping prospective students during these most unusual days. We talked with Sacha Thieme, the executive director of Admissions at Indiana University - Bloomington to find out what the process has been like over the last year, and what new, incoming students can look forward to next year.

As Indiana opens up vaccine access eligibility, and prepares to remove its mask and safety mandates, there remain concerns about getting the vaccine to those most in need and most at risk. We asked Shandy Dearth, from the Fairbanks School of Public Health at IUPUI about the measures Indiana in undertaking.

We talked with Shandy Dearth, from the Fairbanks School of Public Health and asked what we should do, and what we should not do, before receiving our vaccine shots.

Hoosiers 40+ are now eligible for the Covid-19 vaccine. We asked Shandy Dearth from the Fairbanks School of Public Health at IUPUI whether it's worth brand shopping between one vaccine or another. Also, she talks about supply and what the experts really mean when they talk about efficacy.

Everyone wants to know, when are we getting back to normal? We asked that question of Shandy Dearth, from the Fairbanks School of Public Health at IUPUI in Indianapolis.

Reported Covid cases and hospitalizations are currently declining in Indiana, and vaccination rates are up. (As of March 31st, 2021, Hoosiers 16+ are eligible to register for vaccinations.) In this On Topic with IU quick hit Shandy Dearth, from the Fairbanks School of Public Health at IUPUI in Indianapolis, talks about how the Johnson & Johnson vaccine helped speed up vaccinations, and discussed how we study the success of all of the vaccines that are on the market.