Social Sciences

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Study: Distracted Voters More Likely to Vote for White Candidates

Distracted or mentally taxed voters across America are less likely to vote for candidates of color, a new paper indicates. Through a series of mock election experiments, UC Merced Professor Jessica Trounstine, graduate student Kau Vue and two colleagues demonstrate that voters often rely on racial

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Eager to Make a Difference, Student Focuses on Human Rights

Adriana Diaz Mireles is on a mission. Inspired by coursework on human rights, the UC Merced senior is intent on pursuing a career in humanitarian advocacy. But first, she’s working to make a name for herself before graduating. This summer, Diaz Mireles traveled to New York to participate in the

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Immigration Status Has Health Implications for Young Latinos, Study Shows

Young undocumented Latinos who gain legal status, even on a temporary basis, experience significant positive effects on their psychological well-being, according to a new study published in the journal Social Science & Medicine. UC Merced Professor Whitney Pirtle and UC Davis Professor Caitlin

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Researchers Eye Social Media’s Influence on Relationships, Stress

Nearly 70 percent of Americans use some form of social media, according to a Pew Research Center survey. There is little doubt it affects our daily lives — but how? UC Merced Ph.D. graduate Holly Rus recently defended her dissertation on social media and well-being. She and her advisor, Professor

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Researcher Continues Progress Toward Effective HIV Inhibitor

Patricia LiWang was at an impasse. It was 2011 and the UC Merced professor’s research group had figured out how to make some of the most potent HIV inhibitors even more powerful. LiWang was thrilled by these findings; funding agencies like the National Institutes of Health (NIH) weren’t. “Our

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Blum Center Announces 2017 Seed Grant Recipients

UC Merced’s branch of the Blum Center for Developing Economies rebooted this spring with a faculty-led effort to spend two years working on becoming the hub for all food-security-related research and outreach on and off campus. Part of that effort includes seed grants for UC Merced researchers. The

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Former ASUCM President Gaining Capitol Experience

Domonique Jones got a taste of public office while serving as president of the Associated Students of UC Merced (ASUCM). Now the 2016 graduate is furthering that information in the state Capitol. Since her graduation, Jones has been serving in the legislative branch in Sacramento as part of the

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Governor Names Harris to Fair Employment and Housing Council

Mark T. Harris, J.D., has been appointed to the California Fair Employment and Housing Council by Gov. Jerry Brown. Harris is a continuing lecturer of management and business economics at UC Merced since 2008 and a practicing attorney in Sacramento. From 1999 to 2001, Harris served as undersecretary

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UC Merced Library Chosen to Digitize AIDS Historical Archives

The UC Merced Library’s digital assets team is playing an important role in providing access to a swath of modern history that will contribute to research and society. The team has been asked to digitize about 127,000 pages from 49 archival collections related to the early days of the AIDS epidemic

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New Collaboration Focuses on Refugee Stories, Experiences and Humanity

Often, when people talk about or study refugees, the focus is on policy, rescue operations or terrorism. Rarely is the conversation centered on refugees as human beings. But a new collaboration among five UC campuses — including UC Merced — is working to change that. The Critical Refugee Studies