Ep. 54 - Why Policy Matters with Jamein Cunningham, Cornell Brooks School Of Public Policy

Chris is joined by bethany ojalehto of Cornell's Department of Human Development this episode. They discuss bethany's work examining how we conceptualize the natural world and how our perspectives influence what we find possible in that context. She works with the indigenous Ngöbe communities of Panama and non-indigenous people in the US and elsewhere in the "west," examining how ideas of sustainability vary across these cultures. bethany ojalehto is assistant professor of human development at Cornell University. Her research explores how people conceptualize agency and ecologies, with a focus on cultural variation in social cognition and human-environment relationships. She has been privileged to develop these research perspectives through partnership with Indigenous Ngöbe communities of Panama, where she has participated in research and collaboration since 2010.

26 Nov 201821min

Guest host Janis Whitlock talks to Kimberly Kopko about her research on parenting, parenting education, and working with communities. Kopko notes the importance of getting buy-in from the right people at community agencies when collaborating on a research project, and the need to work to give all children an equally strong start in life. Kimberly Kopko is senior extension associate, associate director of Cornell Cooperative Extension and associate director of extension and outreach in the College of Human Ecology at Cornell University. Her research and Extension work examines parenting and family processes. Current research and outreach projects include: parenting and child learning, parenting education in School-Based Health Centers (SBHCs), teens being raised by custodial grandparents, and the use of research and evidence-based parent education programs to promote positive parenting behaviors and strengthen families. Ongoing academic and research interests incorporate an international dimension with a focus on parenting and family support and comparative parenting, family, and child social policies in Scandinavian countries.

14 Okt 201819min

In our first episode with host and new BCTR Director Chris Wildeman, we hear from Bruce Western, who studies incarceration and reentry into society. They discuss incarceration's effect on social and economic inequality; Dr Western's feeling that big datasets weren't telling the whole story about incarceration and reentry - and how his research took a different approach; and how understanding and expanding the idea of justice in the lives of disadvantaged people can improve social problems. Bruce Western is professor of sociology, Columbia University; co-director, Columbia Justice Lab; and distinguished visiting research professor, University of Queensland, Australia. Western's research examines trends in American economic inequality and the growth of the US penal population. These topics are joined by an interest in the shifting landscape of American poverty over the last 40 years. He is the author of "Punishment and Inequality in America" (2007) and "Homeward: Life in the Year After Prison" (2018). Western is a Guggenheim Fellow, a Radcliffe Fellow and an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Science and the National Academies of Science.

19 Sep 201816min

Our guest Neil Lewis studies how the interplay between social identity and social contexts shape motivation and goal-pursuit processes. He uses this framework to understand social disparities, particularly disparities in education and health outcomes. He and Karl discuss ways that identity and social situations can affect health outcomes, obstacles when working with communities, and why education is so important for communities, not just individuals. Neil A. Lewis, Jr. is an assistant professor of communication and social behavior at Cornell University with graduate field appointments in communication and psychology. He earned his B.A. in economics and psychology at Cornell University, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in social psychology at the University of Michigan.

14 Maj 201819min

It's our 20th episode! This seemed like a good moment to address a question we often hear: What is translational research? To tackle this important question Karl is joined by BCTR associate director John Eckenrode. They cover the origins of translational research, and how it differs from "basic" and "applied" research. There are some examples of translational research projects and throughout the conversation they touch on why this research method is so effective and more and more in-demand by funders, policymakers and practitioners. John Eckenrode is a social psychologist and professor of human development and associate director of the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research. He is also founder and co-director of the National Data Archive of Child Abuse and Neglect. His research concerns child abuse and neglect, the effects of preventive interventions, translational research, and stress and coping processes.

2 Maj 201848min

BCTR associate director Chris Wildeman sits in for Karl Pillemer this episode. Our guest James Garbarino argues that teenage killers are not doomed to a life of violence and most can be reahabilitated by the time they are fully-developed adults. They also talk about sentencing in these cases, how the judicial system deals with young killers, and what could be changed to better serve this youth while keeping the public safe. James Garbarino holds the Maude Clarke Chair in Psychology and was founding director of the Center for the Human Rights of Children at Loyola University Chicago. His research focuses on issues in the social ecology of child and adolescent development. He has a long-standing interest in a wide range of violence-related issues, including war, child maltreatment, childhood aggression, and juvenile delinquency. Since 1994, he has served as a scientific expert witness in murder cases. Among the books he has authored are: "Miller’s Children: Why Giving Teenage Killers a Second Chance Matters for All of Us" (2018) and "Listening to Killers" (2015).

21 Mars 201819min

Maria Fitzpatrick, the current Milman Fellow in the Bronfenbrenner Center, sat down with Karl to talk about her work centering on creating well being for the most vulnerable: children and elder adults. Maria is the first economist we've had on the podcast! They discuss mortality and retirement, the opoid crisis and child maltreatment, Maria's insights into working with policy makers, and the importance of high-quality early childhood programs. Maria Fitzpatrick is an associate professor in the Department of Policy and Management, Milman Fellow at the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research, and research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. She is also an affiliate in the CESifo Research Network, the Cornell Populations Center, the Center for the Study of Inequality, and the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research. Her main area of focus is the economics of education. Specifically her research focuses on early childhood education policies, and higher education and teacher compensation, benefits, and labor supply.

6 Mars 201818min

In this episode we hear from Janis Whitock, director of the Youth Risk and Opportunity Lab in the Bronfenbrenner Center at Cornell University. She and Karl talk about how she unexpectedly began to study self-injury in youth, and how that focus has widened to examine the risks youth face in their transition to adulthood. Dr. Whitlock also discusses how to best communicate with policymakers and practitioners, among other topics. Janis Whitlock is a research scientist in the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research. She is also the director of the Cornell Youth Risk and Opportunity Lab. She is the author of publications on non-suicidal self-injury in adolescence and young adulthood, social media and mental health, and in youth connectedness to schools and communities. She earned a doctorate in Developmental Psychology from Cornell University (2003), a Masters of Public Health from UNC Chapel Hill (1994), and a BA from the University of California at Berkeley (1988). Her current primary research focus includes development of early detection and intervention in mental health and wellbeing using social media and other technological affordances, particularly in the areas of self-injury and suicide. She is also a principal investigator for an early intervention project aimed at reducing sexual violence and is pursuing a newer line of research related to sexual health and development in the digital age. She is dedicated to translating research into practice and policy through broad dissemination of user friendly materials and through development of web-based training and education programs for parents and professionals (see www.selfinjury.bctr.cornell.edu), largely as an outgrowth of her work as a practitioner in adolescent and women’s health in a variety of clinical, administrative, and education-related capacities for over a decade.

22 Jan 201819min