Social Sciences + Humanities

Homeowners’ cultural traits should be considered when promoting wildfire mitigation efforts, OSU study finds

CORVALLIS, Ore. — People’s cultural worldviews play a part in how they respond to wildfire risk, and should be taken into account in efforts to get homeowners to engage in pre-fire mitigation efforts such as adjusting landscaping and preparing an evacuation plan, an Oregon State University study found.

The study tapped into participants’ cultural worldviews and perception of risk to help predict which communication strategies work best to convince different types of people.

Oregon State professor publishes book with strategies to help students ‘Study Like a Champ’

CORVALLIS, Ore. — In a new book published this week, an Oregon State University professor offers study techniques, myth-busting and psychological research to explain why teaching and learning work the way they do.

The book is aimed at high school and college students, as well as teachers and parents who want to know how to help students become more effective learners.

“Study Like a Champ” was co-authored by OSU psychology professor Regan A.R. Gurung, who has been researching teaching and learning for 24 years.

Oregon State researchers find lack of diverse representation in psychophysiology study participants

CORVALLIS, Ore. — A new study from Oregon State University found that psychophysiology studies show a significant lack of diversity among their participants, making their results less applicable across different communities and cultures.

Psychophysiology is the study of the intersection between psychological and physiological processes, such as the increase in heart rate or brain activity people experience when feeling heightened emotions.

OSU study finds need for better awareness around timing of electricity usage among customers

CORVALLIS, Ore. — A new study published in Nature Energy found that electricity customers often lack awareness of their daily energy-use patterns at home, which could have a serious financial impact as utility companies move toward time-of-use energy pricing models.

If utilities change their pricing structures, consumers need to understand how and when they’re using electricity so they can make informed decisions about billing choices, the study’s authors say.

OSU study finds ways to “nudge” students to make better use of academic support services

CORVALLIS, Ore. — When trying to inform college students about campus resources they might explore to help boost their grades, limited email reminders work better than other methods, a recent study from Oregon State University found.

However, those email “nudges” are only the first step, researchers say.

OSU history professor Jacob Darwin Hamblin wins Oregon Book Award for ‘The Wretched Atom’

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Oregon State University history professor and author Jacob Darwin Hamblin has been awarded the 2021 Oregon Book Award in general nonfiction for his book, “The Wretched Atom: America’s Global Gamble with Peaceful Nuclear Technology.”

He accepted the award April 25 at Literary Arts’ first in-person ceremony since 2019.

Holocaust Memorial Week slate of events begins today at OSU

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Monday, April 25 marks the start of the 35th annual observance of Holocaust Memorial Week at Oregon State University, which will run through May 3 and include seven free community events.

All events will be online via Zoom and YouTube, and three of them will have an in-person option on the Corvallis campus. For more information and event registration, visit https://holocaust.oregonstate.edu/. 

 Events: