African Poverty Linked to Agricultural Technology

People in Africa are poor because their labor as farmers has not yet been improved by science, including modern biotechnology. That's the overall conclusion of a new book by Wellesley College professor of political science Robert Paarlberg. He says U.S. foreign assistance to agricultural science in Africa has fallen by 75 percent in the past two decades, he notes, and the foreign assistance of European governments is now often predicated on staying away from modern agricultural science.

Surviving Black Friday and Beyond

On four-year college campuses, few courses focus on how to manage your money. Wellesley College economics professor Ann Witte and a former student, Saundra Gulley, offer help through a class called "Personal Finance," now in its second year at the college.

Why Truth Doesn't Always Win

Having escaped from war-torn Bosnia as a child, Sanja Jagesic knows about the frailty of justice in a harsh world. As a 21-year-old sociology student at Wellesley College, Sanja now immerses herself in research to explain why truth doesn't always win in a contest of ideas. Her work suggests that status and prestige affect knowledge proudction, and it has caught the attention of leaders in the field.

Local TV News Audiences Value Quality over Hype

The largest study of local television news ever undertaken bucks the conventional wisdom on what viewers want to watch. Wellesley College's Marion Just, one of the researchers who conducted the five-year study. says the study shows viewers aren't as interested as commonly believed in hyped story lines that emphasize danger, dirt, doom and gloom. She says local TV news could improve ratings by following the rules of good journalism -- putting in the effort to get good stories, finding and balancing sources, seeking out experts, and making stories relevant to the local audience.