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Society + Culture

People gather outside a public distribution shop in Rajasthan, India.
Photo Credit
Azad Jain via iStock
Fair price shops are part of India's Public Distribution System, which distributes food staples at a subsidized price to the poor. The program shows far-reaching benefits.

Researchers link India’s food program to better health and stronger incomes

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Leah Stokes on a chair holding a plant
Photo Credit
Matt Perko
UC Santa Barbara associate professor Leah Stokes researches public policy, public opinion and political behavior, with a focus on energy, environment and climate change.

Leah Stokes receives the prestigious Schneider Award for Outstanding Science Communication
vector image of people at checkout in grocery store
Photo Credit
Adrian Hillman

In a paradigm shift for autism, practitioners move beyond traditional demographics and toward adaptive environments
silhouettes of people with gears and other systems in their heads

Rethinking autism through the diagnostic process
portrait of author with image of the cover of his new book
Photo Credit
Matt Perko

Historian Tsuyoshi Hasegawa writes definitive account of the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II
illustration of two women, one of whom is pregnant, standing in front of a balancing scale

Abortion access linked to future economic and educational success

Bridging divided views to strengthen communities
wooden block with one happy and sad faces

Is ‘U-shaped happiness’ universal? Not for rural subsistence populations, say researchers
Professor Tania Israel seated on a bench with text overlay Q&A
Photo Credit
Matt Perko
Professor and author Tania Israel, October 2024

Tania Israel’s new book teaches civil conversations in divisive times
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First Mahsa Amini fellow begins doctoral program in religious studies
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Opening up office hours
a group of Tanzanian men gather around a table and speak with a researcher
Photo Credit
David W. Lawson
A focus group of young men in Tanzania, led by project co-investigator Alexander Ishungisa (standing) and social scientist Elisha Mabula. (Photograph shared with participant consent.)

On gender: misperceptions about others can stifle women’s empowerment
A group of undergraduate volunteers pose in front of the chemistry building at UC Santa Barbara.
Photo Credit
Courtesy Image
SciTrek founder Norbert Reich (center back) poses with some of the over 280 undergraduate volunteers who make the program possible.

SciTrek, UCSB’s largest education outreach program, garners new funding to expand
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