The Associated Press ran an article on the impacts of eviction on schoolchildren, citing a study from the Eviction Lab at Princeton University. When children face eviction, they are more likely to have to transfer districts or schools; even when they can stay at the same school, they are more likely to be absent. Peter Hepburn (Assistant Professor of Sociology at Rutgers University-Newark and Associate Director at the Eviction Lab), the study’s lead author, commented: “It’s worth reminding people that 40% of the people at risk of losing their homes through the eviction process are kids.”
Michel Anteby (Professor of Management and Organizations at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business) wrote an article for The Conversation arguing that bureaucrats–despite getting a “bad rap” in U.S. politics–deserve more credit. Anteby describes Max Weber’s descriptions of bureaucrats and argues that they can serve as experts and equalizers, advancing public interests. “Today, bureaucrats are often framed by the administration and its supporters as the root of all problems,” Anteby writes. “Yet if Weber’s insights and my observations are any guide, bureaucrats are also the safeguards that stand between the public and dilettantism, favoritism and selfishness.”
The Washington Post ran an article discussing how tech companies may face a “second reckoning” over diversity, equity, and inclusion in their AI products. According to subpoenas sent to several large tech companies by the House Judiciary Committee, products developed to reduce biased AI outputs are now under investigation. Ellis Monk (Professor of Sociology at Harvard University), who worked with Google to make its AI product more inclusive to a range of skin tones, commented: “Google wants their products to work for everybody, in India, China, Africa, et cetera. That part is kind of DEI-immune. But could future funding for those kinds of projects be lowered? Absolutely, when the political mood shifts and when there’s a lot of pressure to get to market very quickly.”
David Yamane (Professor of Sociology at Wake Forest University) wrote an article for The Conversation, describing five key observations to understanding gun culture in America: (1) guns are normalized, with 1 in 3 American adults owning guns; (2) Americans increasingly own guns for self-defense, rather than recreational hunting; (3) gun owners are diverse; (4) guns are lethal by design; criminal violence is more lethal in the U.S. because guns are frequently involved and the U.S. has a high firearm suicide rate; (5) guns are not “inherently anything”–that is, “they take on different meanings according to the various purposes to which people put them.” Yamane explores gun culture in his upcoming book, Gun Curious: A Liberal Professor’s Surprising Journey Inside America’s Gun Culture.
The New York Times ran a story about Hasan Piker–a popular Twitch/YouTube streamer “bro” who frequently incorporates more traditionally feminine elements into his personal style and is also an avowed socialist. Tristan Bridges (Professor of Sociology at the University of California – Santa Barbara) commented that Piker benefits from “jock insurance”–a term describing how men with “a lot of masculine gender capital” are often given leeway to challenge gender norms. “The jocks are allowed to break the rules and not have consequences for it,” Bridges said.
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