Indiana University sociologist Stephen Benard is co-recipient of a new National Science Foundation award to study how dominant members of groups behave when a group is facing threats. The grant, which Benard shares with principal investigator Patrick Barclay of the University of Guelph, is part of a joint NSF/Department of Defense program supporting research that explores the social and behavioral dimensions of national security, conflict and cooperation.

Gossip in the workplace can be a weapon in reputational warfare or a gift and can offer clues to power and influence not found on organizational charts. New research from Indiana University details how the weapon is wielded -- and its influence muted -- in a rare study that catches this national pastime on video.

Dozens of Indiana University researchers participated in the American Sociological Association's annual meeting in San Francisco. In this media tip sheet, researchers discuss studies involving "coming out" in rural areas, public opinion about name change after marriage, the polarization of American politics, pet ownership, stigma and the medicalization of mental illness and bullies.

Should sociologists be involved in research on the genetics of illness and disease? A recent issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education recognized Indiana University Distinguished and Chancellor's Professor of Sociology Bernice Pescosolido for her research on alcoholism.

Sheldon Stryker, Distinguished Professor of sociology at Indiana University, has won the W.E.B. Dubois Career of Distinguished Scholarship Award from the American Sociological Association. The award honors scholars who have shown outstanding commitment to the profession of sociology and whose cumulative work has contributed in important ways to the advancement of the discipline.

A new study involving health care systems in 21 countries -- and the prospects for change in response to such common pressures as rising costs and aging populations -- casts doubt on the possibility of major overhauls of any of these systems because of the history and traditions that created them.

A new study involving health care systems in 21 countries -- and the prospects for change in response to such common pressures as rising costs and aging populations -- casts doubt on the possibility of major overhauls of any of these systems because of the history and traditions that created them.

Indiana University professors of law and sociology discuss the current debate in America about same-sex marriage.

Noted Indiana University political scientist Elinor Ostrom will deliver the inaugural Karl F. Schuessler Lecture in Social Science Research at IU Bloomington next month when she discusses "Sustaining Social-Ecological Systems." Her talk will be Nov. 6 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the President's Room of the University Club in the Indiana Memorial Union.

Cooperation between the Democratic Party and antiwar activists helped Democrats in the 2006 congressional elections, say researchers at Indiana University and the University of Florida, but the upcoming presidential election could see this support wane because of divisions among the antiwar activists and the instability of the "Party in the Street."

Children with depression or ADHD and their parents not only face the challenge of an illness, but may confront the stigma that accompanies treatment and social rejection, according to the first-ever national study to examine Americans' views of mental health issues in children.

Biracial parents, compared to their monoracial counterparts, are more likely to go the extra mile in the amount of time and money they spend on their young children, according to a national study by sociologists at Indiana University and the University of Connecticut.

The nation's schools often are blamed for the growing numbers of overweight youth, but a national study by sociologists at Indiana University and Ohio State University found that young children actually got fatter during their summer breaks than while in school.

Adoptive parents invest more time and financial resources in their children compared with biological parents, according to the results of a national study that challenges the more conventional view -- emphasized in legal and scholarly debates -- that children are better off with their biological parents.

Indiana University Bloomington professors are available to discuss several of the key issues expected to shape the 2006 midterm elections and the battle for control of Congress.

Nearly 50 professors and graduate students from Indiana University will be presenting research or otherwise participating in the American Sociological Association's annual meeting in Montreal Aug. 11-14. "Criminological transition" in Russia, the male marriage bonus and voter turnout trends are just some of the IU research findings that will be discussed.

The portrayal in the West of Islamic traditionalists or fundamentalists often emphasizes their relegation of women to lower status in the home and family, restrictions on sexual expression and reproductive rights, and harsh punishments for crimes, but a new study by Indiana University and DePauw University sociologists finds that Islamic orthodoxy has an "egalitarian face."

The following Indiana University researchers have conducted research relevant to discussions about sexual assaults on college campuses.

Middle-aged women who become caregivers for an ill or disabled family member are more likely to leave their jobs altogether than reduce their hours, according to a new Indiana University study, which found that unpaid family leave, of all family-friendly benefits, proved most useful in helping caregivers keep their jobs.

A majority of Americans believe in the effectiveness of psychiatric medications, but most are reluctant to use these drugs for the treatment of their personal problems, according to a report from the Indiana Consortium for Mental Health Services Research headquartered at Indiana University.

As the Oscars approach, several Indiana University Bloomington researchers are available to address issues related to the film Brokeback Mountain, including the politics of sexuality, challenges facing gay youth living in rural America, and the heterosexual male's attitudes toward gay concerns. Brokeback Mountain, which tells the story of the love between two cowboys, received eight nominations for the 78th annual Academy Awards, including "Best Picture." The awards ceremony is scheduled for March 5.

July's tips have a back-to-school focus and feature sleep and behavior problems, college parties and sexual assault, parent-teacher communication regarding students with disabilities, and after-school programs that help keep middle schoolers off drugs.

A greater percentage of people in developing countries recover from mental illness such as schizophrenia or depression than their counterparts in developed countries. To find out why, Indiana University medical sociologist Bernice Pescosolido is leading the first study comparing how ordinary citizens in 15 countries around the world regard mental illness. Funded with $3.5 million by the National Institutes of Health, the study may help improve the recovery rate of patients in the United States.

A team of researchers from Indiana University Bloomington has been awarded a grant of more than $600,000 to study the public and political debates surrounding three of the most significant educational reform movements undertaken after Brown v. Board of Education -- Title IX, school funding equalization and school vouchers -- and how those debates often have undermined equalizing efforts.