University News and Communications publishes VUToday, a compilation of Vanderbilt mentions in the media, each weekday. Read a selection of Vanderbilt news stories for the week of Sept. 26. To subscribe to the daily VUToday newsletter, visit news.vanderbilt.edu/vutoday.
The Root: 100 List of Black Influencers
Jedidah Isler, a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellow in Vanderbilt’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, has joined singer-actress Beyoncé, professional basketball player LeBron James, and professional tennis player Serena Williams as a member of The Root’s 100 List of Black Influencers.
Money: Why Trump’s fat shaming affects all working women, not just beauty pageant contestants
Job-related weight discrimination is usually less blatant than Donald Trump’s comments toward former Miss Universe Alicia Machado, but the implications are just as dangerous. As a growing body of research indicates, fat phobia can severely impact a woman’s career. The article quotes Jennifer Shinall, assistant professor of law, who found in her research that overweight women typically earn less than average-size women, and less than all men, regardless of weight. The article was reprinted in Fortune.
The New York Times: Opinion: Hillary Clinton will not be manterrupted
Women are twice as likely to be interrupted as men are—by both men and women—and more so if they are a member of a minority group, writes New York Times contributor Jessica Bennett. And that old trope about the “chatty” female is not true. It’s actually men who talk more than women: 75 percent more in male-dominated groups like legislatures (and, one might presume, politics). Recent research by Cecilia Mo, assistant professor of political science, is mentioned.
The New Yorker: Practice doesn’t make perfect
Conventional wisdom says that with enough training—an average of 10,000 hours, as the famous formulation goes—you can reach your dreams, whether they involve golf or poetry. But research shows, while practice matters, in many fields it matters much less than you might think. The article discusses the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth and quotes its co-director David Lubinski, professor of psychology and human development. SMPY co-director Camilla Benbow, Patricia and Rodes Hart Dean of Education and Human Development, is mentioned.
USA Today: Flu season: How bad will it be?
The influenza virus is so unpredictable that it’s still too early to tell how bad the upcoming flu season will be, or whether flu vaccines will work better or worse than usual this year, according to health officials. William Schaffner, professor of preventive medicine and health policy, is quoted. Schaffner is also quoted in a related USA Today Q&A story on the basic of flu shots.