Research

HISTORY - Julie Weise’s research on temporary migrant work policies is one of many projects around the country to lose NEH funding, but she remains focused on her work. Her upcoming book, Guest Worker: Lives across Borders in an Age of Prosperity, 1919-1975, looks at how this type of international policy agreement evolved during the mid-20th century, with a focus on the experiences of temporary workers in more economically prosperous countries: Mexicans in the US, Malawians in South Africa and Spaniards in France.

COMPUTER SCIENCE, EARTH SCIENCE, GEOGRAPHY - The world can be hazardous: seismic activity that shakes the earth, rising sea levels and volcanic eruptions that reshape the landscape. Meet some of the CAS scientists who are studying the most powerful forces that threaten humanity.

ECONOMICS - The cost of wildfire smoke could cost Oregon households $450 per day as they try to adapt by purchasing air purifiers, canceling trips and keeping children at home to minimize their exposure, according to a study led by a five-member nonpartisan group of economists and policy experts that includes economics researcher Keaton Miller from CAS. The Forum on Oregon Climate Economics, or FORCE, recently issued its first report, “The Economic Costs of Climate Change for Oregonians: A First Look.”

ECONOMICS - Rather than affecting workers for just a day or two, the adjustment to daylight saving time can affect worker productivity for up to two weeks, said Glen Waddell, a UO labor economist and co-author of new research in the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization. He collaborated on the paper with Andrew Dickinson, a doctoral student in economics at the College of Arts and Sciences.

ECONOMICS - Immigration is a part of the United States’s DNA, but it’s long been a contentious political subject. Economic models have found immigration to be a fiscal cost, but a recent study by a University of Oregon economist challenges these findings, showing that low-skilled immigrants on average contribute an additional $750 in annual fiscal benefits not previously accounted for.

ANTHROPOLOGY, HISTORY, LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES, NATIVE AMERICAN AND INDIGENOUS STUDIES - The Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation announced this year's Outstanding Research Awards, many of which went to College of Arts and Sciences faculty members: Professor Carlos Aguirre (history and Latin American studies) and Assistant Professor Gabriel Sanchez (anthropology).

INDIGENOUS, RACE AND ETHNIC STUDIES, PHILOSOPHY - Sensors collect data on all sorts of information, including gait consistency, body temperature, heart rate, and more. But where is the ethical line between using sensor data to help an athlete improve their performance—and even avoid injury—and that same data being used to sideline them or used as surveillance of behavior?

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES, GEOGRAPHY - Damp weather in the winter and spring doesn’t necessarily protect against wildfires later in the year, according to University of Oregon researchers. Instead, increased moisture can act to increase the threat of fire as summer heat bakes the landscape.