Research

Students helping other students learn has been proven to boost academic achievement and social skills in students with and without disabilities. A new book by Vanderbilt University researchers, Peer Support Strategies for Improving All Students' Social Lives and Learning, based on over 20 years of research in the field, offers teachers practical guidelines for implementing these peer support strategies in the classroom. Read More

Brandt F. Eichman, assistant professor of biological sciences and biochemistry at Vanderbilt University, has received Sigma Xi's Young Investigator Award. Read More

Thomas J. Weiler, professor of physics and astronomy at Vanderbilt University, has received a 2009 Humboldt Research Award. The award is granted by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Bonn, Germany for the purpose of encouraging research collaborations between German scientists and colleagues in other countries. Read More

Vanderbilt research shows impact of role models in African American performance Watch video of an interview with Ray Friedman. New research by Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management professor Ray Friedman finds that the presidential run of Barack Obama has had a strong positive impact on the test-taking… Read More

One of the most important themes to listen for in Barack Obama's inaugural address is a call for a united American body or citizenry, says Vanessa Beasley, an associate professor of communication studies at Vanderbilt University. Beasley is the author of You, The People: American National Identity in Presidential Rhetoric, which looks at previous inaugural addresses from 1885 to 2001. Read More

Voters in Tennessee House Speaker Kent Williams' district could continue to support and re-elect the Elizabethton representative – even if he switches parties – says Vanderbilt University political scientist Christian Grose. Read More

America's arduous struggle over competing visions of nationhood involving race is a giant step closer to resolution with the presidential inauguration of Barack Obama, says Vanderbilt University historian Gary Gerstle. Read More

Four Vanderbilt faculty members – Daniel Liebler, Charles Sanders, Gary Sulikowski and Michael Waterman – have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), an honor bestowed upon them by their peers. Read More

The fast-growing number of withdrawal restrictions being imposed by hedge funds to curtail capital drain during the financial market crisis comes with a hefty price tag for fund investors, says a new study from the Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management. The research comes as investors seek desperately to exit hedge funds to avoid further declines and the possibility of fund failure, yet face a suspension of redemptions by fund managers. Read More

A detailed analysis of the measurements of five different satellites have revealed the existence of the warm plasma cloak, a new region of the magnetosphere, which is the invisible shield of magnetic fields and electrically charged particles that surround and protect Earth from the onslaught of the solar wind. Read More

In a pioneering, interdisciplinary study combining law and neuroscience, researchers at Vanderbilt University peered inside people's minds to watch how the brain thinks about crime and punishment. Read More

Paying teachers for their performance was supported by both presidential candidates in the 2008 election and is being tried in school districts across the nation. But the question remains—does it work? A second-year evaluation of Texas' statewide performance pay program, the largest in the nation, released Dec. 1 reveals insights into whether these programs are beneficial and attractive to teachers. Read More

New research by Vanderbilt Law School Assistant Professor Paige Marta Skiba found that payday loan applicants who received the quick cash after their first application were significantly more likely to file for Chapter 13 bankruptcy than those whose initial application was denied. Read More

Vanderbilt higher education policy expert William Doyle is available to comment on a new report released Dec. 3 by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., that finds states are making little or no progress in providing affordable college opportunities or improving college completion rates for their residents. Read More

New Vanderbilt research finds that states can save a substantial amount of money if they use a shared system of both privately and publicly managed prisons. The savings don't come from the use of private prisons alone, but Read More

The intricacies of being a black male in America are explored in the new issue of AmeriQuests, the interdisciplinary e-journal based at Vanderbilt University. Read More

Results from an unprecedented collection of public opinion data in 23 nations on wide-ranging political issues and their policy implications are included in the new AmericasBarometer Insights, a series of short studies now available to the public. Read More

Vanderbilt University's Peabody College of education and human development, in partnership with Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools and other community agencies, has won a three-year, $3.4 million federal grant to enhance language and literacy skills in pre-kindergarten classrooms. Read More

Vanderbilt experts are available to comment on education, immigration and health care policy. Read More

Political pundits have time to reflect in the days ahead on the reasons behind Barack Obama's historic election as the first African American president, but the president-elect must focus immediately on his transition and the challenges ahead, according to several Vanderbilt professors. Read More