������-Dearborn Experts

Off

Mon, 04/12/2021 - 05:00

The pandemic highlighted a fundamental contradiction of our economic system today: The caring labor that’s assigned the lowest value, and is often performed by women, is also essential. Feminist economist Professor Suzanne Bergeron says people in power have taken note.

Spiders in the house? Put that blowtorch away

rudmehta — Thu, 23 Jun 2022 20:03:35 +0000

Spiders in the house? Put that blowtorch away rudmehta Thu, 06/23/2022 - 16:03

This article was originally published on October 27, 2021.

When people share photos of spiders in their home, responses vary from “I’d move out” to “just burn down the house.”

That reaction isn’t surprising with sci-fi horror movies featuring eight-legged stars, spooky spiders having a prominent role in Halloween decor, and knowing arachnids live in the deepest darkest places of pretty much any building.

Danielson-Francois has studied spiders for decades. She understands the fear — she once had it herself — but said it’s often misplaced.

“Yes, black widow and brown recluse spiders need some healthy respect, but you aren’t likely to see either of those around here,” said Biological Sciences Associate Professor Anne Danielson-Francois. “Often it’s the idea of the spiders that we are scared of...not the spiders themselves.”

She thanks her outdoorsy mother and education-focused father for dispelling her arachnid fear. After complaining about spiders to her parents, her dad encouraged her to learn more before judging them too harshly. That later led to a pet tarantula named Dracula, working with long-jawed spiders in graduate school, and continuing to study spiders almost daily.

Not everyone will gain that level of spider acceptance. But with Halloween right around the corner, Danielson-Francois shares a few spider benefits that might help us move beyond the fear and see that spiders really are pretty great house guests.

Associate Professor Anne Danielson Francois with an image of the long-jawed spider as her Zoom background

Spiders may help us unlock undiscovered scientific solutions.

When she is not doing spider fieldwork along the Rouge River in the summer, Danielson-Francois’ lab has approximately 300 live spiders to study. And if she finds an interesting spider crawling around campus, she’ll sometimes pick it up to share information about it with her class.

She’s used to having people question her about her interest in arachnids. She’s had calls from the New York Times, Reuters, USA Today and more. During her time as a graduate student at the University of Arizona, the lab she worked in was contacted to get information for the 2002 Spider-Man movie.

But her interest goes beyond spiders and how provocative they are. “Of course I think spiders are cool. Some are smaller than your thumb and make webs that are exquisite works of art — that’s amazing. But what I'm really interested in is studying evolution and behavior. I’m using spiders to do that,” she said. Spiders, which existed approximately 150 million years before dinosaurs, are thought to be one of the first animals to live on land.

In addition, studying spider evolution and behavior may lead to other discoveries. Danielson-Francois said scientific advances sometimes come from unlikely places.

For example, a brain tumor “paint” that lights up cancer cells came from knowledge gathered by researchers studying scorpions, a member of the arachnid family that fluoresces under UV light. And looking at spider research, robots that need to navigate difficult terrain are being built based on how spiders move.

Spiders' eating habits have known benefits for humans.

Spiders don’t want anything to do with you. Instead, their energy is spent on catching their next meal, which helps you get rid of pests. All free of change.

Some of the insects they exterminate are potentially harmful insects like bed bugs, kissing bugs or mosquitoes. Danielson-Francois said studies have shown spiders are good biological control agents — where there are more spiders, there is a lower incidence of malaria. There are even specific spiders that prefer to eat mosquitoes that are carrying the malaria parasite.

Spiders also play a huge part in our ecosystem and snack on insects, like grasshoppers, beetles and mealybugs, that feast on crops. Spiders get rid of the moths that eat through clothing and fabric. Some spiders — the funnel weaver that creates a gauzy-looking web — will even devour ants.

“Spiders are giving you natural pest control,” Danielson-Francois said. “Orb weavers, those are the spiders everyone is noticing right now because they are at maturity and males are out looking for females. They eat flying insects — taking care of flies, mosquitos, moths and more by the thousands.”

Studying spiders can help prepare students who want to work in the medical field.

Over the past decade, Danielson-Francois and her research students have observed and cared for different species of orbweaving spiders. She said that some of her students are apprehensive at first — but after working with the spiders, they see them differently. “It’s just like anything else. The more you learn and interact with them, the less afraid you are,” she said. “Sometimes our spiders do get accidentally squished or break a leg — they are very fragile — and our students feel badly about that. They get so attached to them.”

Many of her students continue on to master’s and Ph.D. programs, Danielson-Francois said. And some of her lab students are pre-med. During her 14 years on campus, several have gone on to be doctors, dentists and other healthcare professionals. She said spider research provides technical skills — like data analysis, dissection techniques, meticulous labeling and handling of specimens, critical thinking and proper biological identification — that easily transfer to the medical field.

There’s also the added benefit of knowing spider specifics. “People go to the doctor and the Emergency Room with a ‘spider bite.’ Most are harmless or actually caused by insects and not spiders. The experiences my students have will help them identify medically important spider species and what treatment is needed, if any.”

She said the research gives students an opportunity to do research in a lab and get published — something medical schools look for in the admissions process. Humayra (Myra) Nikhat Sullivan, the co-author on Danielson Francois recently published research on the long-jawed spider, is a ��-Dearborn alumna who's doing her residency at Michigan Medicine.

Their work examined why the long-jawed orbweaver’s jaws are twice as long as other orbweaving spiders. Observing the spiders, Danielson-Francois and Myra Sullivan discovered it mainly has to do with mating behavior — the long jaws interlock in an embrace during mating, a unique feature to these spiders. The research on function continues with additional students in the lab.

In many cultures, spiders are a symbol of good luck.

If medical discoveries, intellectual advancement and pest control haven’t won you over — just err on the side of caution.

Spiders live on every continent except Antarctica and many cultures feel it’s bad luck to kill a spider. The English see one of their common spiders, the Linyphiidae or money spider, as a sign of wealth. If you eliminate it from your home, your financial prospects go with it.

“Different cultures respect spiders differently than we do. Many cultures see a spider in their home as a positive thing. We fear spiders here and pass it onto the next generation. Kids learn this early on — it’s something my daughter picked up in school. I had to counteract that message right away.”

To help the fear go away, education is key.

Danielson-Francois shared two free resources that can help with identification: the mobile app Seek by iNaturalist and the website BugGuide.net. ”Once you know what you are looking at, its behaviors and benefits, spiders aren’t so scary,” she said. “Some are really fascinating. You might find yourself wanting to learn more. Look up the dancing peacock spider — you won’t be disappointed.”

Article by Sarah Tuxbury. If you’re a member of the media and would like to interview Danielson-Francois about this topic, give us a shout at ��Dearborn-News@umich.edu and we’ll put you in touch.

Nature or Environment

Natural Sciences

Off

Wed, 10/27/2021 - 05:00

Spiders are all over your home and in your yard. Associate Professor Anne Danielson-Francois, a renowned spider expert, says that’s a good thing. Hear her out.

How do you find the right person for the job?

rudmehta — Sun, 12 Jun 2022 18:51:14 +0000

How do you find the right person for the job? rudmehta Sun, 06/12/2022 - 14:51

As the nation navigates a worker shortage, College of Business Associate Professor Junghyun (Jessie) Lee's course Talent Acquisition and Management explores the "where are all the workers" question, looks at the resources available and shares ways to connect job-seekers and employers to what they want.

"The relationship between employer and employee is shifting and companies need to understand where people's priorities are so they can successfully compete,” said Lee, whose research expertise is in human resource management (HRM) and organizational behavior.

Associate Professor
Junghyun (Jessie) Lee

HRM 406: Talent Acquisition and Management is geared to help students improve their personal effectiveness in recruiting and selecting employees and is required in the Human Resources Management major.

To assist students in seeing how different organizations recruit and hire staff, student groups did research and evaluation projects with the Dearborn Fire Station, the City of Canton, BorgWarner and Real Estate One.

“Professor Lee is focused on giving us application-based learning experiences so we can be better prepared when we graduate,” said College of Business senior Rebekah Carnes. “This class has given me knowledge that I’ll use in my career and connected me to people with HR experience that I can go to for advice.”

In addition to learning how to evaluate staffing processes, the course shared a variety of ways employers can attract talent. Here are three top take-a-ways from the class.

Let technology help.

Midsize companies and mom-and-pop shops don’t have the resources that Fortune 500 companies do when it comes to human resources. This means there is little time or ability to address finding new talent strategically.

That’s where technology comes in. Lee’s class explores the pros and cons of available human resources management information systems and applicant tracking systems through student-led current events reviews and discussion. Some of the classroom chat revolved around artificial intelligence’s role in the hiring process, keyword resume sorting and more.

COB student Chealsey Jones

Lee shared that HR technology can be very beneficial. It creates consistency in application vetting, ensures compliance and eligibility verification, and speeds up the hiring process overall. However, there are some downsides. With the copious amount of resumes submitted per position, applicant tracking systems may be filtering out qualified candidates if instruction is not carefully provided.

When sharing the Sept. 4 Wall Street Journal article “Companies Need More Workers. Why Do They Reject Millions of Resumes?” with the class, College of Business senior Chealsey Jones, said technology should be paired with human oversight. For example, if the qualified talent yield seems low, put time into reviewing the filtered-out resumes to make sure they didn’t miss a good candidate for the role. “Businesses may want to consider having a process in place to review filtered resumes to make sure there’s a qualified candidate who didn’t get overlooked,” said Jones, a Human Resources Management major.

Another consideration for employers is the job posting itself, Lee said. With the systems reviewing resumes based on keywords — which are often pulled directly from the posting — it’s important to have a well-written description. An accurate, well-written positing that communicates the core values of talent philosophy and your employer brand is also beneficial in attracting better candidates to begin with.

“Rewrite ads and job descriptions to emphasize the benefits of working for you, in addition to job qualifications,” Lee said. “This approach often leads to finding a good fit.”

Be open to new recruiting tactics.

Who you know is just as important as what you know. So reach out to your networks to expand the talent pool.

With younger adults on social media, use it to a recruiting advantage to advertise job openings.

Share an image of a workplace perk on Instagram or Facebook. Search LinkedIn for people whose skillsets are comparable to what you have in mind for a role and reach out to them to apply. If you can give people a fun, friendly workplace, create a TikTok video to go along with a job posting — yes, people use TikTok for job connections — to show what the work environment looks like.

COB student Alyssa Zaleski

There are other creative sourcing routes to go too.

Companies are offering sign-on bonuses to new employees — consider doing a similar program for employee referrals if new hires stay with the company for a set amount of time. College of Business junior Alyssa Zaleski said BorgWarner has a similar program where a staff member gets the bonus after the referred person is employed for nine months.

“Employee referrals are usually reliable because you know someone you can talk to about the company’s mission and vision before applying to see if they're a good fit,” said Zaleski, a Human Resources Management major.

With the Baby Boomer generation age 65 or older by 2030, younger generations may not have the experience necessary to fill many of the jobs left behind. So having an employee connection may help you find someone that has desirable attributes like a positive attitude or strong work ethic and can gain job-related skills through training, college courses or certifications.

Associate Professor Junghyun (Jessie) Lee, second from right, with students in her HRM 406 class.

Cash isn’t king: People want work-life balance.

We all know that the last year has changed the way employees view and approach work. But why? One answer is that older adults, who were loyal to long-term company relationships, are retiring in large numbers due to eligibility, early leave incentives and COVID-related health concerns. And the skilled workers remaining have different priorities. In short: Work-life balance is more important than money.

COB student Rebekah Carnes

Carnes, a Human Resources Management major, said the data she gained through her team’s class research project reinforces this. Working on a staffing project for the City of Canton, employees shared that they were attracted to their roles because of the community connection and available time off.

She wasn’t surprised. In the conversations she has with her friends about career goals, work-life balance and mental wellness are top priorities.

“Of course money is important. But that’s no longer the big incentive that it used to be. We are looking for benefits and culture,” Carnes said. “People want to be managed by supervisors who care for their people. They want a good environment, which is challenging when people are overworked due to turnover and lack of current staff. That is one big thing that’s affecting workplaces.”

In the EY 2021 Work Reimagined Employee Survey, more than half (54%) of employees surveyed globally would consider leaving their job post-pandemic if they are not provided some form of flexibility in where and when they work. And in a recent survey of workers planning to look for a new job post-pandemic, 38% are doing so because of work-life balance challenges.

Benefits wanted more than money include: Family-friendly policies, remote or hybrid work, vacation time, professional development training and tuition assistance, and — if none of those can be provided because of the nature of the job or resources available — a friendly work environment.

To attract talent, Lee said to highlight the rewards programs they offer to job seekers. If you offer benefits like tuition assistance or paying for certification, emphasize it in a posting. And have flexibility, when possible, with your current employees so they share the positive experiences they have with others or on job review sites.

And the practices that bring people in, may also help keep good people with a company.

“The goal is to go beyond finding the right people. You also want to keep them,” Lee said “The benefits of good practices that help with recruiting and hiring will likely benefit employee retention too.”

Article by Sarah Tuxbury. If you’re a member of the media and would like to interview Associate Professor Junghyun (Jessie) Lee about this topic, please drop us a line at ��Dearborn-News@umich.edu.

Experiential Learning

Off

Mon, 12/13/2021 - 06:00

The College of Business course HRM 406: Talent Acquisition and Management helps people become more effective in recruiting and selecting employees. Here are three top take-a-ways from the class.

Graphic by Violet Dashi

Everything vs. Gen Z

tinahu — Tue, 15 Mar 2022 19:37:55 +0000

Everything vs. Gen Z tinahu Tue, 03/15/2022 - 15:37

There are comparative images circulating around social media. They look something like this: A soldier is on one side and, on the other, there’s a young person holding a cell phone. “My grandfather at 20: A war veteran, married with a kid on the way. Me at 20: Feeling like a big boy because I just made my first doctor’s appointment.”

Another uses the Me vs. My Parents meme. It says, “My parents at age 25: ‘We should start saving for retirement.’ Me at age 25: ‘If I go to sleep now, I won’t have to buy food’.” One with a bit more levity shows the parents thinking about getting married at 25 compared to the Me at age 25 saying, “I love Bulbasaur.”

Sociology Professor Pamela Aronson’s research focuses on the transition to adulthood. She said that Generation Z (individuals born after 1996) are aware of the differences between themselves and previous generations and they often go to the Internet to vent these frustrations and concerns through humor and sarcasm.

Aronson said there’s much more going on behind the scenes of seemingly clear cut generational responsibility differences — namely difficulty paying for postsecondary education, the lack of entry-level employment opportunities that could support a family, difficulty obtaining home ownership, and a shift in social norms to develop oneself personally and professionally prior to committed partnerships. She said these challenges have existed for some time — but the pandemic has made things much worse. That’s in addition to Gen Z already experiencing news of mass shootings, deportations, the opioid crisis and rising suicide rates.

Aronson, who’s spoken to media outlets like BBC, Salon and Vox about the pandemic’s effect on the transition to adulthood, shares what her research has shown when it comes to Generation Z’s coming of age and gives advice on how more established adults help this generation create pathways to success.

The pandemic experience is a defining characteristic of the Gen Z identity. Here’s how young people have been affected — and continue to be.

Established adults with developed careers may not understand why learning or working from home during the pandemic led to depression and anxiety among teenagers and early 20-somethings.

“Older adults have had time to establish themselves, so remote work or school was only a part of their lives. But it encompassed much more for Gen Z,” said Aronson, who has Gen Z-aged children. “Young people use school or entry-level workspaces to learn how to interact with others. At a time in life when identity, friendships and romance are very important developmentally, they were forced to abruptly end their social lives. They are at an age where they are developing interests, their identity and networks — and were isolated. That’s a big deal.”

The insecurity and uncertainty of the pandemic has had an impact on young adults’ lives too. A study of U.S. post-high school students during the early stage of the pandemic found substantial food insecurity, housing insecurity and anxiety. On the job front, large numbers of Gen Z lost their employment. Aronson, who has looked at this delayed transition to adulthood phenomenon at the global level, said the International Labour Organization estimates that more than one in six young people lost their jobs during the pandemic, and those with jobs had their hours reduced by nearly 25%. “Despite the supposed labor shortage, many recent college graduates are struggling to find a career path in their fields of study. The labor shortage is disproportionately in service jobs, not professional ones,” she said.

Even education was interrupted when it became a health risk. Aronson said remote instruction put many underserved students in the U.S. at a disadvantage because they didn’t have the resources, like computers or Internet access, yet needed to continue with educational programs. Due to getting further behind their peers, Aronson said it’s likely that these youth will lower their educational aspirations, have increasing difficulty completing school and vocational certification programs, and/or drop out.

“We don’t know yet how the pandemic and its associated economic uncertainties will impact young people, although we know that it is likely to be lasting.”

Memes, sarcasm and dark humor are other Gen Z defining characteristics.

To better understand Gen Z on their terms, Aronson researched memes on social media sites. Her recent publication “Zoom Memes for Self-Quaranteens: Generational Humor, Identity, and Conflict During the Pandemic” analyzed memes posted on popular online social groups established during the pandemic.

Aronson, along with ��-Dearborn student researcher Islam Jaffal, found that three themes emerged: pandemic humor, generational identity humor and generational conflict humor. Posts emphasized commonly understood references to issues like online learning, productivity and mental health.

“Memes about the pandemic include sub-themes of a coming apocalypse, adults who deny the seriousness of COVID-19, and a more general expression of negative feelings — particularly anger and fear — through humor,” she said.

She said some posts emphasized hostility and mistrust with the older generations because young people felt abandoned by older adults and those in power who have been unable to provide adequate leadership through the pandemic.

“Essentially, young adults are depicting the failure of institutions to protect and nurture them during this time of incredible crisis and distress.”

At a critical period in their lives, history is coming down on them — they need resources and opportunities.

Collective trauma humor may be a defining feature, but Aronson wants parents, teachers and future employers to understand that what they are experiencing is not a laughing matter. Young people who are coming of age at such an unprecedented, uncertain and turbulent time are likely to be shaped by it and need support, she said.

“People who came of age during the Great Depression often continued to hoard food or be concerned about having enough even when they became financially secure. And Millennials, many of whom came of age during the Great Recession, are still impacted by that in terms of every life sphere. Studies of the Great Recession reveal persisting difficulties in terms of wages, career opportunities, wealth accumulation and home ownership. Experiences you have when coming of age often stick with you throughout life.”

With the changes that have taken place over the past two years, mental health issues among young people have drastically risen. Aronson said a lack of understanding, compassion and resources don’t help. “I think we need to turn this problem on its head — Gen Z is not at fault here. Society is not providing enough support to young adults during this critical period of life.”

If possible, parents and family can help navigate resources like education and employment. “Be patient, give them your time to listen, and help them access forms of support when available.”

To build a bridge for education, Aronson said more resources are needed for postsecondary education. In some countries, higher education is tuition-free. In many others, like the United States, Great Britain and Japan, college tuition can be a formidable expenditure for most families. That’s why it’s important for higher education institutions to create financial aid programs like Go Blue Guarantee and STEM Scholars.

As for social norms, Aronson said it's important to recognize there may be classroom or workplace faux pas because Gen Z have often viewed educational and office spaces from the outside. She suggests setting upmentor programs and making classroom or workplace expectations clear. Companies may also consider developing long-term training on both hard skills like technical knowledge and soft skills like teamwork.

And Aronson hopes that employers understand there will be resume gaps because many young people had reduced opportunities to complete internships or get professional entry-level jobs.

“Gen Z is at an intersection between history and biography — they are at a critical period in their lives and history is coming down on them in a dramatic way,” Aronson said. “Gen Z hasn’t had the opportunities of other generations at the same point in time. I hope we remember to give our young people a chance.”

Article by Sarah Tuxbury.

Off

Tue, 03/15/2022 - 19:37

Sociology Professor Pamela Aronson, who’s spoken to media outlets like BBC, Salon and Vox about the pandemic’s effect on the transition to adulthood, shares research and advice on how more established adults can help Generation Z create pathways to success.

Graphic by Violet Dashi

Should the price of gas fuel presidential performance ratings?

tinahu — Wed, 09 Mar 2022 17:02:01 +0000

Should the price of gas fuel presidential performance ratings? tinahu Wed, 03/09/2022 - 12:02

Gas prices are rising. No inflation relief is in sight. The pandemic is now in its third year. And there’s an international war. All while the U.S. political system continues to be politically polarized.

It’s a tough time to be a world leader. And the current U.S. presidential approval ratings like Gallup and Marist Poll — which act as a barometer into the political health of the president — echo this. Among post-World War II presidents elected to their first term,nearly all first-year presidents averaged 57% or better. But President Joe Biden’s recent Gallup low of 41% puts him near the bottom.

But is a failing grade deserved?

Associate Professor Julio Borquez

Political Science Associate Professor Julio Borquez, whose polling research spans 40 years, says it depends on who’s asked. His expert take? Biden got caught at the crossroads of unfortunate circumstances and unrealistic expectations.

“Biden’s approval ratings are following a pattern similar to what we’ve seen in recent presidencies. He began with a decent (Gallup) approval rating of 57%, and it has dropped in the year or so since down to its current 41%. The decline began last summer, and it can probably be pegged to inflation, the withdrawal from Afghanistan, the emergence of Omicron and a stalled legislative agenda.” Of course there’s also the “record high” gas prices — but, to be fair to Biden, gas prices were 32% higher in 2008 under President George W. Bush if inflation is taken into account.

Talking with Borquez recently, he examined how political polarization impacts the presidential approval rating, what a low approval percentage could mean at the midterm elections, and if there is anything Biden can do to appeal to the American public.

There’s been a bump in recent numbers (48% on March 4) according to the Marist Poll. What are your thoughts on this?

Julio Borquez: “JFK got a spike in his approval rating around the time of the Cuban missile crisis. (Jimmy) Carter got one when hostages were first taken in Iran. George W. Bush’s ratings rallied to 90% after 9/11. Approval ratings can increase, sometimes dramatically, immediately after foreign policy crises.

It may be from the State of the Union, but it’s more likely that Joe Biden is getting a bump from the public giving him the benefit of the doubt on how he’s handling the conflict in Ukraine. It’s a small bump — I wouldn’t call it a rally. We’ll see what the future brings because approval ratings often suffer as wars continue and casualties mount.”

Do these approval numbers matter?

“Lots of people take it seriously as a barometer. That includes members of Congress, journalists and lobbyists. The real danger in Biden's current approval rating is for his party's candidates in the midterm election. Congressional incumbents today can’t separate themselves from national political currents as they once could. And anemic approval ratings like Biden’s are certainly an unwelcome current for Democratic congressional incumbents.

In general, an approval rating over 50% is considered good and approval ratings below 50% are considered to be concerning. In 2018, Donald Trump's approval rating in the Gallup poll before the midterm election was in the low 40s. Republicans lost 40 House seats and the majority. In 2010, Barack Obama's approval rating had dipped to 45%. Democrats lost 63 seats and the majority. In 1994, Bill Clinton's approval rating was 46%. Democrats lost 53 seats and the majority. You get the picture. George W. Bush’s approval ratings were over 60% throughout the fall of 2002, and the Republicans gained two Senate seats and eight House seats.

Biden’s approval rating of 41% might not have his staff hitting the panic button, but they’ve probably double-checked on where the button is.”

Is it fair to be so critical of Joe Biden?

“In Biden’s case, he encouraged high expectations. He was optimistic about reigning in the pandemic, he advanced an ambitious policy agenda on infrastructure, climate, jobs, election reform and voting rights. Many Americans perhaps do expect too much from presidents — but Biden asked us to expect a lot.”

He’s getting blamed for rising gas prices. Is that warranted?

“I’ve recently returned from California and have seen our future when it comes to gas prices — $5.59 a gallon in Oakland. That’s not going to go over well for Biden. But the price of gas is not something a president can control or quickly fix outside of reducing or suspending the federal tax on it — that will only have a limited effect (taxes on gasoline and diesel are 18.4 and 24.4 cents per gallon respectively). I get why people are upset — it’s something we are seeing on Main Street and it’s impacting our lives. But we need to understand that Biden cannot control all of the external factors behind the record high oil prices, he can only react to them.

Joe Biden has done good things. The infrastructure bill that he signed into law back in November comes to mind. But tangible results of that bill will be slow to roll out — specific spending decisions are yet to be made and the projects themselves will play out over months, if not years. It’s no accident that when Biden made a recent trip to Ohio, one of his tasks was to remind voters about the infrastructure bill.”

Is there more at play here than Biden setting high expectations?

“Going back to the 2020 elections, it was evident that a lot of Biden voters weren’t wildly enthusiastic about him and they voted for Biden because he wasn’t Donald Trump. The erosion of support for Biden we’re seeing now among Democrats and Independents might be among those citizens who were motivated more by dislike of Trump than by admiration of Biden.

In recent years, as American politics has become more polarized, many analysts now see presidential approval as primarily a measure of partisanship. Obama’s approval ratings didn’t change much with fluctuations in the economy. That’s because Democrats supported, and Republicans opposed him regardless. We saw the same thing with Trump’s approval ratings, except with the partisan patterns reversed.

Biden’s current Gallup overall approval rating is 41%. But if you look down party lines, it shows the division that exists — approval ratings among Republicans have never topped 12%, and they’ve been in single digits since last August. Biden’s current approval rating among Democrats is 78% and it’s 7% among Republicans. Partisan polarization creates both a floor and a ceiling for Biden’s approval ratings. Persistent Republican opposition sets the ceiling, ongoing Democratic support provides the floor. This appears to be an important new feature in presidential approval ratings. Partisan polarization sets limits to how much approval ratings can rise or fall.

A president’s ‘power to persuade’ depends, in part, on his ability to get members of Congress to think that it’s in their best interest to support the president’s agenda. A president with a robust approval rating — say, over 50% — can more easily make that case. Biden’s 41% rating isn’t much of an asset. Realistically, there’s not much he can do to drastically change it because of the partisan patterns that exist.”

If our leaders are relatively ineffective because of political polarization, what can we do?

“Use your vote to demand that both parties take a responsible role in government. Currently, in Congress, Republicans are sitting on the sideline and their strategy is rock-solid opposition to most Biden-backed proposals that are brought forward. They don’t want to advance anything — so they do nothing. And Democrats are trying to grapple with disagreements among themselves because they need to maintain near unanimous Democrat support to get anything moving.

I do understand that the Build Back Better bill was massive and the size of it gave some Democrats and most Republicans an easy rationale to say no. Perhaps Congress could have done a piece-by-piece strategy and voted on it that way. The issue is that no one wants to give any appearance of a win to the other party. That’s become more important than working together to best represent the American public.

We need to put pressure on both parties to step up to the plate. At this time, only one party is really trying to do that. We need to use our votes to back politicians who will take policymaking seriously and who will work for the people and not just their party.”

Article by Sarah Tuxbury.

Civics Awareness

https://app.e2ma.net/app2/audience/signup/1713510/33277/?v=a

Off

Wed, 03/09/2022 - 17:02

Political Science Associate Professor Julio Borquez says many factors go into a president’s approval rating and breaks down the factors behind Biden's current polling numbers. He also shares what we, as voters, can do to foster a future where polarization doesn't get in the way of progress.

Graphic by Violet Dashi

Putting research in the driver's seat

tinahu — Mon, 07 Mar 2022 17:49:13 +0000

Putting research in the driver's seat tinahu Mon, 03/07/2022 - 12:49

Some car warranties are three-year/36,000 miles. Others are five-year/60,000 miles. There are even a few that go as high as 10-year/100,000 miles.

Working in the automotive service industry prior to his academic career, Decision Sciences Assistant Professor Wayne Fu wondered why.

“The first thing I’d do is check the warranty to see what was covered — because of how warranties are structured, every transaction was different. It could get a bit complicated, almost like they were testing our intelligence,” said the College of Business faculty member. “I was curious why there wasn’t a standard coverage across the industry. Did it have to do with quality, psychology or something else? And if companies offered longer warranties, would it translate to more sales?”

Assistant Professor Wayne Fu

Today — after a decade of research — he has some answers: And those findings were recently published in Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, which is on the Financial Times top 50 journal list.

Fu’s research shows longer warranties do play a role in purchasing, but only for vehicles that are rated with very good or very bad reliability. Those ranked in middle-of-the-road don’t benefit from extending their warranty length — showing a “U” shape when charting the research. So why is this? Fu said research shows it’s because of the used/secondary car market.

The industry has taken notice.

We Predict Inc. Competitive Quality Benchmarking Vice President Renee Stephens, an expert in the automotive warranty bench-marking practice who previously has worked in automotive quality management for J.D. Power and General Motors, said Fu’s work adds important data to decision-making processes.

We Predict's Renee Stephens

“Manufacturers believe that offering a longer warranty period will give consumers more confidence in their products and allow them to sell more. But Dr. Fu’s research shows that is not always the case,” she said. “There have been several hypotheses on the impacts to manufacturers when changing warranty policies, but, until Dr. Fu’s research, very few empirical studies to support the hypotheses.”

When Fu started this research in 2012, he discovered the lack of available information. But instead of curbing his enthusiasm, he decided to pave the road for this new area of research.

Fu worked with collaborative partners Professor Atalay Atasu at INSEAD Europe and Associate Professor Necati Tereyagoglu at the University of South Carolina. Stephens, an executive at J.D. Power during that time, also assisted Fu with data.

Fu gathered information from J.D. Power regarding vehicle make and models on the primary market. He looked at the quality assessment and compared it to the offered warranty. He also sorted through several years of U.S. Labor and Bureau survey data to track vehicles bought and sold on the primary and secondary markets, while also factoring in vehicles that were sold for parts or junked.

Following the data, Fu created a mathematical model that helps evaluate current warranty prediction. The model takes the automotive secondary market into consideration since it seems to be a factor when it comes to the U.S. vehicle market — the used vehicle industry is about three to five times the size of the primary market.

Fu said this model works because of the used car market’s interference from consumer incentive programs like trading up or trading in programs. And it reflects the data collected very well.

Fu said producers with sufficiently low product reliability can use secondary markets to jointly avoid vehicle cannibalization — that’s the reduction of sales from its own products — and high warranty fulfillment costs associated with long warranties for low-reliability products.

“Manufacturers use the past to predict the future. But, at the same time, they should realize that the secondary market changes all the time in ways that are often unexpected, and will affect their decisions” he said, referencing the used car frenzy recently experienced during the past two years. “The model we created considers what may happen in the secondary market and incorporates that.”

He said the unexpected makes the automotive industry a bit exciting because there is always something new to learn and discover. And he’s seen some interesting changes after he began his research. For example, Kia — which ranked among the lowest quality in 2012, but had a longer warranty at 10-year/100,000 miles — is now ranked among the highest quality vehicles in the most recent J.D. Power data.

“They pretty much went from worst to first. They had low quality, so they offered a longer warranty for buyer peace of mind,” he said. “When more people bought, Kia invested in improving their quality to mitigate their risk because they have such a long warranty. It was interesting to see a vehicle that was assessed as lower quality a decade ago be among luxury cars today.”

Fu’s work focuses on the manufacturer side of warranties, but with the information gathered, what does the data show when it comes to warranties from the consumers point of view?

“Manufacturers have evaluated the risk. They want to improve their reputation and maintain their costs,” he said. “I wouldn’t buy an extended warranty, but you should always go with the warranty coverage you are most comfortable with.”

Fu said the past 10 years have taught him and his collaborators a lot when it comes to warranty lengths and secondary markets. With electronic and better-connected vehicles, there are even more areas to explore. For example, Stephens’ company We Predict has been investigating service and warranty cost information into components and their suppliers.

In the future, as new data become available, Fu would like to look more closely at these areas because research helps put decision makers — both manufacturers and consumers — in the driver’s seat.

Article by Sarah Tuxbury.

Off

Mon, 03/07/2022 - 17:49

College of Business Assistant Professor Wayne Fu’s research has looked into car warranties for a decade. His discoveries provide manufacturers with important data for their decision-making processes — and Fu shares if he, as a consumer, would buy an extended warranty.

Graphic by Violet Dashi

Professor preserves Arab American stories by restoring forgotten history

tinahu — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 18:50:13 +0000

Professor preserves Arab American stories by restoring forgotten history tinahu Mon, 02/28/2022 - 13:50

Speaking as a volunteer to a classroom of children in Flint, Michigan about the influence of Arab culture in Spain, one of the young audience members asked Professor Hani Bawardi a question: “Why do Arabs own grocery stores?”

Reflecting back to the late 1990s experience, Bawardi said it was a valid question — 104 of 108 of Flint’s convenience stores and supermarkets were owned by Arabic-speaking immigrants at the time. “To be honest, I had wondered the same thing,” said Bawardi, himself an Arab American who successfully dabbled in business pursuits.

The question became the subject of Bawardi’s thesis in a U-M Rackham graduate program, and started him on a research journey that culminated in an academic career.

He has since diversified his collection of oral histories with entrepreneurial Arab American grocers and their descendants to include the founders of most major Arab American organizations. A distant family member, Roy Farah, gave Bawardi a box full of letters and documents that were collected by his father Ameen, who came to the U.S. from Nazareth, a city in geographic Syria, in 1913. Those contained details about what life was like for Syrian immigrants in the early 20th century and — most surprisingly — complete records of several previously unknown organizations and correspondence with prominent writer Mikhail Naimy, Palestinian leader Hajj Amin al-Husseini, author Ameen Rihani and others.

“I couldn’t sleep that night. I was up until 6 in the morning because I couldn’t believe I was reading letters from pivotal figures in the Middle East,” said Bawardi, who is trained to read classical Arabic. “Those documents set a new course for my intellectual pursuits.”

Bawardi started an archive at the ��-Flint special collections, wrote a book on the topic and curated exhibits at ��-Dearborn, the Arab American National Museum, the Sloan Museum in Flint, Mich., and in several other locations that spanned from Michigan to the Middle East. His research gained international exposure, and the attention of Arab American preservationists for the oldest Arabic-speaking community in the U.S.; a New York City location where influential Arab American authors lived. Bawardi has some of their primary documents in his archive collection.

Associate Professor Hani Bawardi preserves Arab American history by creating archives, curating exhibits and more.

Bawardi now serves as a board member for Washington Street Historical Society, focused on preserving the history of the Syrian and Lebanese populations who lived on Manhattan’s lower westside.

He worked with other society board members on planning a memorial to honor “the Poets of the Syrian Colony.” The Save Washington Street Historical Society recently secured a nearly $1.5 million Mellon Foundation grant for the art installation. He said ACCESS Dearborn also played an important role in helping write the grant and will be housing it.

The grant funds will be used to install a 3D art memorial celebrating Arab immigrant diaspora authors like Naimy, Rihani, an intellectual who reflected on American freedom and religious tolerance, and Kahlil Gibran, author of The Prophet, one of the best selling books in history. These authors were among the members of the famed Pen Bond in New York City. This group of 10 poets and writers revolutionized the standard Arabic language a century ago. Their poetry and prose continue to be an essential part of education across the Arab World and beyond.

“Visitors will learn about the Arab immigrant presence in Lower Manhattan a century ago, as well as the ideas of that community’s writers and their contribution to Arabic and English literature both then and now.”

The site of the future memorial, New York City’s Elizabeth H. Berger Plaza, lies immediately adjacent to the former Syrian Quarter near Washington Street — just steps away from where the immigrants disembarked at Battery Park starting in the 1880s.

French Moroccan artist Sara Ouhaddou’s proposal was selected after a years-long international selection process. There will be plantings of hardy shrubs and trees native to the Eastern Mediterranean. Quotations from Pen Bond authors will be set in stone, tile and stained glass. In addition to the decorative alphabet, the texts of quotations will be displayed in plaques along the park, written in standard Arabic script with English translation. A key to deciphering the geometric alphabet and their Arabic letters also will be provided.

Bawardi also will work with the Arab American Center for Culture and the Arts, a local literary group, on developing programming — like displays, workshops, readings and podcasts — to go with the monument completion in 2024.

Just like he’s done when creating first-year seminars on Ameen Rihani at ��-Dearborn and curating archival displays, Bawardi will utilize his archives to educate students and the public while commemorating the Arab Americans who played vital roles in the early 20th century.

“I want to remember and honor those pioneers who worked to preserve our mother tongue and Arab culture in the U.S., and to uphold their ancestral homelands’ quest for democracy and equality.” In the future, Bawardi hopes that regional repositories for the surviving documents — photos, oral histories, letters and more — are created and maintained.

Bawardi said he’s inspired by the “tireless work” of scholars like the late Arab American historian Alixa Naff, known as the mother of Arab American oral histories. Naff herself grew up in Michigan after her parents left the Ottoman province of Syria, now modern-day Lebanon. Naff’s family owned and managed a successful grocery story that they sold in 1949.

The Michigan-based convenience store owners may not be named in the memorial, but the families Bawardi spoke with over two decades ago — the ones who shared their stories and explained why they were in the grocery business — played an important role in this too. Bawardi said they are vital to the immigrant experience and much history would have been lost without the documents and knowledge they shared with him.

That brings us back to the question: “Why do Arabs own grocery stores?”

Bawardi found that grocery retail was a natural outcome of peddling door to door for many early Arab American pioneers. Owning a general store became economic and social anchors in their new lives. Later, when immigration restrictions were lifted in 1965 and larger numbers came as students or through family sponsorship, economic decline in the inner city offered the opportunity to provide a much needed service. Family ties, hard work and long hours did the rest. But there are aspects of this complex experience that defy binary black-white race relations. Arabs, Bawardi concluded, found “a haven from the glare of anglo-conformity” in Black communities.

“Arab Americans are among the few immigrant groups who have yet to write their story in their own voices based on first hand accounts,” he said. “Pioneering scholars of Arab American studies in the 1970s and 80s didn’t focus on the first 70 or so years of the Arab American experience, because most were not trained historians or keen on archival evidence. The problem persisted because newcomers to this area of research do not possess the requisite Arabic language skills. But through families and communities collectively sharing, we are working together to preserve these histories, take pride in them and educate others now and into the future.”

Article by Sarah Tuxbury.

Academic Excellence

Off

Mon, 02/28/2022 - 18:50

Nearly a decade ago, CASL faculty member Hani Bawardi joined the preservation effort to restore the forgotten history of the oldest Arabic-speaking settlement in the U.S., located on Washington Street in New York City — and recently scored a $1.5 million grant to commemorate the community.

Photo of a Syrian grocery store in NYC in the early 20th century. Photo courtesy Washington Street Historical Society

Rock. Water. Metamorphism.

tinahu — Wed, 16 Feb 2022 19:31:25 +0000

Rock. Water. Metamorphism. tinahu Wed, 02/16/2022 - 14:31

The Earth moves in mysterious ways. In some parts of the world, movement creates mountains, faults and earthquakes. However, in others, there aren’t any noted land deformations along areas where movement occurs.

Why is that? Geology Professor Sven Morgan has a hunch — but he’s looking to gather scientific evidence to prove it.

“Quartz is an abundant material in the Earth’s crust. In the lab, we’ve seen that if water gets into quartz grains, it weakens the rock. But we don’t have any evidence from natural examples,” said Morgan, who is campus’ Natural Sciences department chair. “If we can demonstrate this in a natural setting, it will affect how we study the Earth. It could also have implications on materials science, like, for example, how concrete is produced.”

Geologically speaking, the reason water is important is because it has major implications for how plate tectonics works.

For example, where the Indian and Asian tectonic plates meet to produce the Himalayas. “The Indian plate is strong and smashing into the Asian plate —but the Indian plate is not deforming. There are no mountains, faulting or earthquakes. The Asian plate is crumpled and weak and the collision produced the Himalayas and the Tibetan plateau (an area uplifted to an average elevation of 15,000 ft and is five times the size of France). We hypothesize that’s happening because water got into the interior grains of the Asian plate millions of years ago whereas the rocks making up the Indian plate are dry.”

Thanks to more than $500,000 in grant funding, Morgan is embarking on a three-year research project looking at how water gets into quartzites in a unique area in eastern California near the Nevada border.

Looking to prove the hypothesis, the research side of Morgan’s project will be supported by a team of three ��-Dearborn students, professional colleagues from Fayetteville State University and Central Michigan University, and a postdoctoral student.

He said the team will collect samples along a 5 km long traverse of quartzite (which is formed when quartz and sandstone are put under tectonic pressure) in California that exhibits both strong and weak behavior. Most of the quartzite seems to have behaved “strong” whereas one end seems to have behaved very weak. They will then examine the quartz grains in detail in the lab.

“Our idea is that the weak part of the quartzite got heated up by a nearby magma body that intruded 180 million years ago. When that happened, the grain boundaries migrated and allowed the water to get into the interior of grains and cause the weakening,” he said. “The implications are pretty grand because we believe that sub-microscopic amounts of water in minerals may be the factor on why the mostly dry Indian plate is stronger than the ‘wet’ Asian plate.”

Morgan said they’ll use various micro-analytical techniques — like Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry and a Scanning Electron Microscope — to measure if and how water gets into quartz and significantly weakens rocks.

Part of the NSF grant is also for outreach in science education and he’s working with Biological Sciences faculty member Patricia Hartshorn, who specializes in science education, to include teachers and students from Cesar Chavez Academy High School in Detroit.

“We’re designing a geology-based dual-enrollment class on the tectonics of the western U.S. and how water plays a big part in shaping the landscape. I’ll go into the classroom and teach along with their teachers. Then, at the end of the class, 10 students and three teachers will have the opportunity to come out west to California,” said Morgan, noting that the National Sciences Foundation grant he secured makes the experience free for participants. “I have a passion for geology because I had a teacher who inspired me. The scenery in eastern California is also very beautiful. Dry desert ranges are to the east and Sierra Nevada Mountains are to the west. There is a lot of geological diversity there too: earthquakes, trilobites, volcanoes and glaciers. If there is a place to spark a love for geology, this is definitely it.”

With the data he gathers, he hopes to prove a longtime scientific speculation and inspire a few minds along the way.

“Geologists are storytellers who use land formations and other clues to share what monumentally occurred in the past. We can’t go down and sample the center of the Earth, but there are still ways to find out why things came to be as we see them today,” he said. “And, in discovering how the Earth works and affects everything we do, I hope that students will be inspired to continue to fill in future chapters of the story.”

Article by Sarah Tuxbury.

Natural Sciences

Off

Wed, 02/16/2022 - 19:31

Geology Professor Sven Morgan's scientific research — funded by more than $500,000 from a National Science Foundation grant — brings nature and nurture together by looking to prove a hypothesis on why land masses form while also expanding career interests for young learners.

Graphic by Violet Dashi

The Love Connection

tinahu — Wed, 09 Feb 2022 15:45:04 +0000

The Love Connection tinahu Wed, 02/09/2022 - 10:45

I love it. I love it not. Wait…can we really feel love for a thing? And, if we can, what does that say about us?

College of Business Marketing Professor Aaron Ahuvia has been studying questions related to consumer-based love connections for decades. To find answers, he’s consistently researched the psychology of how brands, money and spending influence our happiness — it’s made him a “Brand Love” pioneer who earned the first Consumer Brand Relationship Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award and he’s internationally known as a leading expert on brand love.

“I was hardly the first person to notice that people love things. But to my good fortune, I was the first person to collect scientific data specifically on this kind of love. It has remained a research interest of mine for more than 30 years.”

Ahuvia’s findings have been featured in The New York Times and on National Public Radio. When Oprah had a talk show, Ahuvia was on it. And now he’s got a book coming out that dives into this hot topic, The Things We Love: How Our Passions Connect Us and Make Us Who We Are. (Little, Brown and Company, 2022)

Ahuvia works his research into his ��-Dearborn marketing classrooms to help students better understand consumerism today. When Ahuvia isn’t on campus, he’s working with Fortune 500 clients — like Google, L'Oreal and Samsung — to look at brand impact and effectiveness.

And he says that love does have something to do with it.

“There is scientific evidence that our love for things is really love,” he said. “But it’s important to note that this doesn’t mean that our love for things is the same as our love for people. Love comes in many forms.” This scientific evidence includes noticing that oxytocin — the brain hormone that’s linked with triggering feelings of love and protection — played a role in bonding people to their favorite brands.

In honor of the Valentine’s Day holiday, we asked him what he's learned when it comes to love and a few of our favorite things.

Our love continues to evolve.

Aaron Ahuvia: “First I’ll share a bit of science: The brain’s neocortex is essential for love and many other aspects of social relationships. Our neocortex has evolved to become very large; humans have the largest brain relative to body size of any animal due to it. But this isn’t a physical advantage. Our brains use up to 10 times as many calories per unit of mass than our skeletal muscle. That means even though our brain only makes up 2% of our body weight, it uses up 20% of our daily calories. So why would we evolve to have a larger brain?

One reason is because of the role that love plays in our lives. In all sorts of animal species, the main purpose of a larger brain is to allow for more complex and cooperative relationships between parents. Species that mate monogamously and parent their offspring have significantly larger brains than species that don’t.

In humans, this love bond expanded — along with the size of our neocortex — to form bonds in people outside of our immediate family. This allowed us to have even more powerful social organization based on a shared willingness to make sacrifices for other people. So it went beyond parental, romantic and familial love and expanded into the type of platonic love we feel for friends or neighbors.

Objects do not fall into these person-to-person categories of love — our love for people is different than our love for things — but there is definitely a bond occurring. The Industrial Revolution plays a role in love expanding to things. The access to more items gave opportunities for people to make associations with them. But the Industrial Revolution went far beyond simply inundating us with stuff. It also led to a profound cultural change: It increased individualism. As our Western society became richer, people got more choice over how they wanted to define their identity. So it became more common for objects to become a reflection of who you are and create an extension of self. That connection to a person’s identity plays a big role in why a brand or item rises to love status.”

The things we love are often people in disguise.

Ahuvia: “We are exposed to many things every day. Sure, there are a lot of things we like — but the items that evoke a stronger response are a chosen few. Of course, the product needs to be useful to you on some level and be a good item for you to connect with it. But there is an added layer going on with the things we love — the product is often representative of a person or people.

Typically, with everyday objects, we have person-thing interactions. But the things we love are often person-thing-person. For example, a student might love U-M because of the way it connects her to her friends. In that case, the person-thing-person would be student-campus-friends.

However, there is a downside to this: Your love for the product rises and falls depending how you feel about the person or people. For example, if you are upset with your favorite quarterback, you might be angry at your jersey and not wear it.”

Most things are superficial — but loved objects are not.

Ahuvia: “I have been doing research studies about love for decades — starting with personal dating ads in the 1980s before moving over to the market research side. Just like people, most brands aren’t likely to appeal to everyone. But there will be a few people who absolutely love them.

In one survey of 720 people, we asked which brands they loved. Participants named thousands of brands. We found that for every brand loved by over 100 people, there were hundreds loved by just one person. So there really is something for everybody.

Advertisers spend a lot of money trying to get us to care about their products. They collectively spent $724 billion in 2017. That’s a lot of money to explore bonds that often happen in unpredictable ways. So what do we know? As a researcher, I’ve learned that brands need to go beyond the superficial. It’s just like how when we’re single we’re attracted to good-looking people, but to fall in love there needs to be something more — like having a match to our values or being a partner to reach goals with — for that person to become a ‘keeper.’

There’s also that feeling of ‘rightness’ about an object that makes us feel that it is authentically part of who we are, like it has taken a part of our identity and made it visible. For a musician, that might be a family heirloom violin. Or, for a marathon runner, a certain type of shoe in your favorite color. With all the products available in the world, you connected with the right one. It’s kind of how we view the elusive Mr. Right.

The way companies get there is to stay true to who they are and know that there is someone out there, even right now, who is madly in love with their product. We can’t all be the Apples or Samsungs of the world — and I believe they are widely loved because of the frequency people interact with their products and see their phones as extensions of themselves — but your business can still be important and make a difference.”

Whether you are marketing a product or yourself, be authentic.

Ahuvia: “Back when I was a Ph.D. student, I had a part-time job helping people create attractive profiles for dating services. Mom was right. Just be yourself. If you falsely advertise yourself, you’ll lose trust, which is essential when it comes to building relationships that lead to love. Also: avoid cliches. No one cares if you enjoy walks on the beach. Instead talk about your values, expectations and what you offer. Bonds are created when connecting with someone over what you find important in life — and that’s true when it comes to both people and things.”

If you’re a member of the media and would like to interview Professor Aaron Ahuvia about the love of things, please drop us a line at ��Dearborn-News@umich.edu.

Ahuvia’s book, The Things We Love: How Our Passions Connect Us and Make Us Who We Are, will be out in July. It’s a revealing investigation of the emotional relationships people have with things—drawing on cutting-edge findings from the fields of psychology, neuroscience and marketing.