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Does voting Republican pay?

New UCI study says yes when it comes to federal funding

According to a new study by UCI economist Gary Richardson, voting Republican in a right leaning Presidential race pays in terms of more state funding for government programs at the cost of fewer tax dollars.

Combining 2004 Presidential election voting records for each state with government tax and spending statistics from the Tax Foundation, he shows that states in which citizens voted predominately Republican received more money in government benefits compared to taxes paid in than in states where a Democratic candidate won the majority.

Medicalization of race

Anthropologist Michael Montoya joins UC and USC professors in debate over policy implications of racial categorization in medical research

Many scientists argue that the concept of "race" has no biological meaning and that racial classification is a social construct that perpetuates harmful inequities. Others contend that racial groups can genetically differ from one another and that the differences can have medical importance.

In November, professors from the University of California and University of Southern California – including UCI’s Michael Montoya, anthropologist – gathered to debate the issue at the California Science Center “Science Matters” program.  Listen to their discussion online

Sociologist David Meyer tells CNN why protests matter

Video and transcript available online

Recent protests in Copenhagen over U.N. climate talks garnered international media attention, prompting many to ask why protests matter. On December 16, David Meyer, sociology professor and author of Politics of Protests, shared with CNN his research on what protests seek to accomplish.

"Media coverage of protests means coverage of the overall issue at hand which is a victory for the activists," said Meyer. Hear more of what he had to say online.

Spreading the news

Political science Ph.D. graduate Nhu-Ngoc Ong takes post as managing editor of local Vietnamese language newspaper

They sat huddled around a radio, the sound barely audible with the dial tuned to BBC, an act punishable with jail time if caught. To then five-year-old Nhu-Ngoc Ong, the daily childhood ritual during the early 1980s provided a glimpse of life outside the tightly monitored socialist Vietnam.

The experience would serve as a catalyst for her future career path as Ong, now 32 and a recent graduate from UCI’s political science doctoral program, is the new managing editor of Vien Dong Daily News.

Changing the rules of the road

Anthropology grad student Adonia Lugo promotes bicycle culture in Southern California

Adonia Lugo dreams of a day when bicyclists and motorists comfortably share the streets of Southern California. She has dedicated much of her academic and personal life to alternative transportation.

A UC Irvine anthropology doctoral student, Lugo uses buses, trains and a bike to commute between school and her Los Angeles home. She researches how people relate to their environments and alternative-transportation movements, with a focus on urban cycling.

SPOTLIGHT EVENT - Violence against women is topic of inaugural lecture in donor-sponsored series at UCI

Thursday, January 14, 2010 from 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Social and Behavioral Science Gateway, Room 1517

SPOTLIGHT EVENT - Public Goods: From Ecology to Economics

January 22-24, 2010
Social Science Plaza A, Room 2112