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 July 3.
The Guardian (U.K.): Why do we think poor people are poor because of their own bad choices?
As an assistant professor of political science at Vanderbilt University, Cecilia Mo studies how to get upper-class Americans to recognize the advantages they have. She is among a group of scholars trying to understand how rich and poor alike justify inequality. What these academics are finding is that the American dream is being used to rationalize a national nightmare. It all starts with the psychology concept known as the “fundamental attribution error.” The article is part of The Guardian’s Inequality Project.
Smithsonian: Coffee on the brain—literally—could help surgeons
Coffee grounds have a variety of uses besides getting you buzzed, from removing smells from your fridge to fertilizing your garden. Nose and throat surgery isn’t an obvious addition to that list, but a new invention by engineers at Vanderbilt University uses crushed coffee beans to make head surgery imaging technology more accurate. Graduate student Richard Hendrick is quoted.
With President Trump’s announcement to pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement, many other countries around the world—and cities and states within the U.S. are stepping up their commitments to address climate change. What is needed is a concerted effort to mobilize private action, write Michael Vandenbergh, David Daniels Allen Distinguished Professor of Law and director of the Climate Change Research Network, and Jonathan M. Gilligan, associate professor of earth and environmental sciences, in this piece first published by The Conversation.
The Washington Post: Why cash remains sacred in American churches
Why do people need cash in churches? The appearance of automated teller machines in the lobbies of evangelical churches just over a dozen years ago demonstrated the strong affinity between cash and conservative evangelicals. The machines themselves also signaled that America was in fact becoming a cashless society, writes James Hudnut-Beumler, Anne Potter Wilson Distinguished Professor of American Religious History. A version of this article originally was published by The Conversation.
USA Today: 5 things to do now to prepare for the solar eclipse
The solar eclipse is coming! A total solar eclipse is coming on August 21, and even if you’re not astronomically blessed enough to be in its path, you won’t be left in the dark if you follow the list of 5 things to prepare for the event. Rocky Alvey, director of Vanderbilt University Dyer Observatory, is quoted. The original story appeared in The Tennessean.