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Social Policy / Issues
The exploration of social policy issues is an interdisciplinary endeavor that touches every corner of the university campus, including such programs as the Center for Social Development in the George Warren Brown School of Social Work; the American Culture Studies and the Social Thought and Analysis programs in Arts & Sciences; and the Civil Justice Clinic in the School of Law. Other university-wide initiatives include the Center for Aging and the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government and Public Policy. See related information box at right for links to other programs and topics of potential interest.
| Faculty Experts: |
Showing Social Policy / Issues Experts 1 through 5 of 35.
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Ramesh Raghavan
Assistant professor of Social Work
Ramesh Raghavan's clinical, policy and administrative expertise in public health and psychiatry fuel his research interests in mental health services and policies for children in the child welfare system. Prior to joining the faculty at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work and the School of ...
Expertise: public health, mental health services, children in the child welfare system, health policy, Medicaid
Direct contact: 314-935-4469
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raghavan@wustl.edu
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Sebastian Galiani
Associate Professor of Economics
Direct contact: (314) 935-9278
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galiani@wustl.edu
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Michele Boldrin
Joseph Gibson Hoyt Distinguished Professor in Arts and Sciences, economics
Professor Boldrin is an economist with a broad range of interests. His work includes research in business cycles and asset pricing; growth and demographic change; innovation and intellectual property; and public policy and the welfare state. Boldrin is a fellow of the Econometric Society. He is also ...
Expertise: Public policy, economic growth, innovation, business cycles, intellectual property, welfare, property rights, …
Direct contact: (314) 935-5636
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mboldrin@artsci.wustl.edu
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Paul Shattuck
Assistant Professor of Social Work
Paul Shattuck's research and teaching focuses on autism, social policy, research methods, human behavior and the social environment, health and society, and disability studies. He has published a number of articles on the diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders. The Journal of Autism and ...
Expertise: autism, social policy, research methods, human behavior and the social environment, health and society, disability studies
Direct contact: (314) 935-7570
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pshattuck@wustl.edu
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Monica Matthieu
Research Assistant Professor
Matthieu's expertise centers on mental health services. She is available to discuss suicide prevention, mental health in the aftermath of disasters, the mental health impact of trauma as well as the mental health of veterans. Her current research focuses on provider and organizational change required ...
Expertise: mental health services, trauma, veterans, suicide prevention and disaster
mental health
Direct contact: 314-935-7516
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mmatthieu@wustl.edu
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Showing Social Policy / Issues Experts 1 through 5 of 35.
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| News Stories & Tip Sheets: |
Showing Social Policy / Issues Stories 1 through 3 of 128.
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"What We Believe: A History of the George Warren Brown School of Social Work: 1909-2007"
New book looks at nearly 100 years of social work at the University and in St. Louis
April 30,
2008 -- To celebrate nearly 100 years of existence and a new era in social work education, the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis is publishing What We Believe: A History of the George Warren Brown School of Social Work: 1909- 2007. Author Candace O'Connor begins the book with a look at poverty in St. Louis and the early history of social work education locally, and concludes with an overview of more recent accomplishments and a glimpse at the Brown School's future. Threaded throughout the book are milestones and evolutions in social work education as well as first-person accounts from alumni and current and former faculty.
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Missouri earthquake awareness month
Seminar to address ways to lessen earthquake damage
Feb. 6,
2008 -- The Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Structural Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis is presenting a series of seminars and workshops on the topic of reducing the damage that would occur when a strong earthquake strikes the New Madrid fault area again.
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Faith in Schools?
Government should pay for religious schools, regulate what is taught, argues new book.
Dec. 17,
2007 --
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| "Faith in Schools?" is focus of new book by WUSTL's Ian MacMullen. |
Arguing that democratic principles do not support a strict separation of church and state in educational policy, a new book contends that government has both the responsibility to pay for religious schools and the right to regulate what's taught within them.
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Showing Social Policy / Issues Stories 1 through 3 of 128.
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Which Genetic Tests are Really Worth Getting?
The Wall Street Journal
May 1,
2008 -- With Congress poised to eliminate a big barrier to genetic testing for risk of certain diseases, consumers still face challenges in figuring out which ones offer useful information.
Despite heavy marketing by some genetic-test makers, the wide use of genetic tests has been held back by a variety of factors, including questions about the tests' usefulness and concerns that results could be used by employers and insurers to discriminate against people. Critics argue that many tests can't accurately identify which people are at risk for various illnesses.
WUSTL medical researcher Brian Gage comments.
Includes Web links to learn more about genetic testing.
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The roots of alcoholism . . . in the genes?
Los Angeles Times
April 30,
2008 -- WUSTL psychiatry professor and lead author Carolyn Sartor comments on a new WUSTL study that says: Young people often begin drinking alcohol because of environmental factors, such as peer pressure. But genes appear to be a significant factor in determining whether drinking progresses to problem drinking and alcoholism.
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The Vatican on Muslims and Jews
U.S. News & World Report online
April 30,
2008 -- Article looks at how Pope Benedict XVI is trying to mend fences within the church, with other churches, and with Muslims and Jews.
WUSTL religious studies professor Frank Flinn comments.
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Genes Explain Race Disparity in Response to a Heart Drug
The New York Times
and 5 others
April 29,
2008 -- Doctors who treat patients with heart failure have long been puzzled that many black patients seem to not respond to a class of drugs called beta blockers.
Now researchers at WUSTL and U. Maryland have found that these nonresponsive patients have a slightly altered version of a gene that muscles use to control responses to nerve signals.
The discovery raises questions about whom to treat with beta blockers and how to decide, researchers say. But, they add, its implications go beyond heart failure.
WUSTL cardiologist and principal investigator Gerald Dorn comments.
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Genetic link to alcoholism in women discovered
XETC-TV FOX 6 News at 6 a.m. (San Diego CA)
and 7 others
April 25,
2008 -- Story on the WUSTL medical school research on the genetic link to alcoholism in women.
Includes video link to the news story.
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Longevity quest moves slowly from lab to life
MSNBC.com
and 2 others
April 23,
2008 -- Human studies plus laboratory work with yeast, worms, flies and rodents are propelling scientists closer to understanding what causes aging, how to delay it -- and how to translate such progress from the lab to real life.
One of the studies mentioned was the first calorie restriction clinical trials conducted by WUSTL and LSU.
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May We Scan Your Genome?
Newsweek
April 22,
2008 -- As personal genetic testing takes off, some worry that marketing is getting ahead of science.
With each new marketing push comes new criticism. Some say DNA testing doesn't belong in virtual clinics: One key issue is regulation.
WUSTL pediatrics and genetics specialist Thomas Morgan worries that the business is getting ahead of the science. "I might scare myself or reassure myself falsely based on the very limited knowledge that we have."
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Gut Check: Why Doctors Say Not All Fat Is Created Equal
The Wall Street Journal
and 2 others
April 15,
2008 -- The recent report that having a pot belly in your 40s roughly triples your risk of dementia in later life is just the tip of an ominous iceberg. WUSTL research on liposuction in which found no change in the women's cholesterol levels, triglycerides, insulin sensitivity or other health risks. "If they had lost that much fat by dieting, they would have substantially improved their metabolic profile, but they didn't," says Samuel Klein, director of WUSM's Center for Human Nutrition and the study's principal investigator.
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Autism Cases on the Rise; Reason for Increase a Mystery
WebMD.com
April 3,
2008 -- The number of children diagnosed with autism or related disorders has grown at what many call an alarming rate. Some of the increase in reported cases is because of "diagnostic substitution," says WUSTL social work professor Paul Shattuck, an autism researcher.
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Genetic Link Tied to Smoking Addiction
Associated Press
and 256 others
April 3,
2008 -- The discovery by three separate teams of scientists makes the strongest case so far for the biological underpinnings of nicotine addiction and sheds more light on how genetics and lifestyle habits join forces to cause cancer.
This finding could someday lead to screening tests and customized treatments for smokers trying to kick the habit.
"This is really telling us that the vulnerability to smoking and how much you smoke is clearly biologically based," said WUSTL psychiatry professor Laura Bierut, a genetics and smoking expert who did not take part in the studies. She praised the research as "very intriguing."
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Hillary Clinton's expectations contradict
United Press International
April 2,
2008 -- The challenge facing Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton is that people have contradictory expectations of women leaders. WUSTL business professor Judi McLean Parks says the character traits associated with people in leadership positions are stereotypically masculine -- being assertive or competitive.
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Consumer Debt, Not Housing Bubble, May Be Root of Economic Woes
ConsumerAffairs.com
April 2,
2008 -- WUSTL's Steven Fazzari, economics professor, comments on rising consumer indebtedness and it's role in the economic slowdown. Fazzari sees fundamental changes in the economy that are reducing the effectiveness of consumer spending as an economic driver.
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Reverse Your Risk
Good Housekeeping
April 1,
2008 -- WUSTL researcher Kathryn Diemer, clinical director of WUSTL's Bone Health Program, talks about bone-mineral density and other fracture risks in aging women.
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Stress Can Help Trigger Stroke
The Washington Post
and 8 others
March 4,
2008 -- The notion that stress can help bring on a stroke may have merit, British researchers say.
WUSTL neurology professor Mark Goldberg comments.
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Experts Study Neuroscience Use in Courts
Associated Press
and 82 others
March 3,
2008 -- Brain scans have emerged as potentially powerful tools in court battles over defendants' sanity. More defense attorneys are seeking scans showing brain damage or abnormalities that might have made it difficult for their clients to control violent impulses. Marcus E. Raichle, researcher of neurology and radiology at the School of Medicine, comments.
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Analysis: Debate Unlikely to Change Race
Associated Press
and 66 others
Feb. 27,
2008 -- WUSTL's Wayne Fields comments on final pitches by Democratic presidential candidates as they head into the last weeks of primary elections.
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Latest thinking on avoiding heart disease
Chicago Tribune
Feb. 25,
2008 -- Connie Diekman, president of the American Dietetic Association and director of nutrition at WU comments on the latest recommendations on diet exercise and hearth health.
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Stanford Set to Raise Aid for Students in Middle
The New York Times
and 4 others
Feb. 21,
2008 -- WUSTL has need-based loans with grants for students from families earning less than $60,000. many prominent universities are moving to expand financial aid to the middle class.
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Parents learn how to let go in the technological age
NPR Morning Edition
Feb. 8,
2008 -- When kids head off to college, parents are forced to separate themselves from what has been a constant hands-on job for years. Parents and students comment on "Letting Go: A Parents' Guide to Understanding the College Year," by WUSTL's Karen Levin Coburn.
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Campus Health's Hidden Costs
U.S. News & World Report online
Feb. 1,
2008 -- Debra Harp, WUSTL's associate director of Student Health Services, comments on mandatory health insurance mandates by universities, including WUSTL.
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