Many young adults are forgoing COVID-19 vaccines for a complex mix of reasons. “For the younger generation, we now really have to build the case for them to be vaccinated,” said Sarah Van Orman, USC Student Health’s chief health officer. “I think we have a long ways to go for that.”
“Obviously it was something wrong,” USC Viterbi’s Henry Koffman said, “especially if that engineer came out two years ago and said that there are problems and it just wasn’t properly addressed.”
More than any other country, the U.S. has a long history of both requiring CEO pay disclosure and trying to effect change around dramatic pay ratios. But USC Marshall’s Kevin Murphy notes that those attempts have all done more harm than good.
The sun can be more damaging to the eyes than many realize — and the damage adds up, says Assistant Professor Annie Nguyen, an ophthalmologist with the USC Roski Eye Institute.
Big brands roll out Pride-related merchandise each June — but USC Dornsife’s Karen Tongson says that needs to be backed up with substantive action. Otherwise, Tongson says, “it’s not going to make any difference because people are still going to suffer the same injustices.”
The threat of immigration enforcement isn’t an effective deterrent for migrants in the long run, says USC Gould’s Emily Ryo. Her study found it has no significant effect on people’s decision to migrate from Mexico and Central America’s “Northern Triangle”: Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
President Xi Jinping’s China is not what China will always be, notes USC Dornsife’s Gregory Treverton. America’s policy should be driven by what is good for the U.S., he notes, and not what might be bad for China.
The inability to gather people indoors to conduct research spurred innovations in how scientists recruit and study participants, says USC’s Wändi Bruine de Bruin: They don’t have to stay local, and since participants don’t have to come into the lab, it’s easier to recruit a more diverse sample. “I do think it will push social science forward,” she says.
Two-thirds of characters reflect stereotypes, and only about 3% of top-grossing movies had leads or co-leads who were Asians or Pacific Islanders, according to a study of 1,300 films by USC Annenberg’s Stacy Smith.
Quite a lot, it turns out: 144 audio speakers, a 90-foot stage, hundreds of chairs fastened to the ground so they can’t blow away — and don’t forget on-field WiFi service (football players don’t send many selfies from the 50-yard line). And it all had to be done in just a few weeks.
Landlords don’t always act rationally, notes USC Marshall’s Marco Giacoletti, whose research shows how they might adjust to a reopening society.
USC Dornsife’s Duncan Ryuken Williams helped organize a Buddhist ceremony to heal the recent rise in anti-Asian violence. “It is less about atoning for sin,” he says, “and more about trying to take some responsibility based on awakening to the fact that we are multiple, we are interconnected, we are interlinked and our destinies are very much intertwined — because that is how karma works.”
Some areas may have already reached herd immunity when you factor in the aftermath of the January and February surge, says Jeffrey Klausner of the Keck School of Medicine.
The Sound of Metal star is the first Muslim to receive an Oscar nomination for best actor. “What is striking to me is that there are just so many communities who have been marginalized and underrepresented or demonized in Hollywood,” says USC Dornsife’s Evelyn Alsultany, “and just how meaningful it is for various communities when you see yourself finally represented.”
Early census counts show the state will drop from 53 to 52 House seats. That increases the gap between the state’s economic contributions and its political representation, says USC Price’s Dowell Myers.
If a recall election happens, the frontrunners to challenge Gavin Newson might not be the candidates with the most political clout but those with the most social media influence, USC Annenberg’s Christina Bellantoni notes.
USC’s Jessica Ho blames a combination of behavioral and structural factors, like poor health behaviors and patchwork access to health care.
Two exceptions: YouTube and Reddit, which USC Annenberg’s Karen North notes “has evolved into a really powerful set of communities where important conversations are happening.”
Jeffrey Klausner of the Keck School of Medicine of USC looks at the push for and against them: “The idea of vaccine passports is not new. You need vaccinations to go to school, to go to college, to travel certain places.”
The technology to effectively treat strokes exists, provided it’s delivered properly and quickly. But William Mack of the Keck School of Medicine of USC notes that nearly 20% of stroke patients die from their condition and many more are left permanently disabled.
“We thought we’d have a story of a more representative electorate,” says Mindy Romero of the USC Price School’s Center for Inclusive Democracy.
Grappling with diversity issues, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has turned to USC’s Shaun Harper for help. The executive director of the USC Race and Equity Center will serve as the association’s strategic diversity adviser for five years.
The increase during the pandemic is forcing the U.S. to reckon with a racism that goes back centuries, USC Dornsife’s Adrian De Leon explains.
If you’re a smoker, quitting is the No. 1 thing you can do, says Elizabeth Zelinski of the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology: “Smoking is probably the No. 1 risk factor. It affects your nervous system and vascular system.”