May 2001
Research
Resources
Events
Notable
Welcome to Research Notes, a summary of Princeton
University research, events and experts of interest to the
media and general public. This issue includes news of
research on:
Seeing red: How have redheads been
portrayed in literature? One Princeton redhead seeks to
answer the question in her new book.
Second opinions: Was Al Gore's
lackluster performance the cause of his defeat? A Princeton
analysis suggests it might have been the economy
instead.
Birth control: A new paper argues
that the requirement that women undergo physical exams
before receiving birth-control pills is unnecessary, and
causes delay and unintended pregnancies.
Becoming American: An
interdisciplinary study examines patterns in immigrant
voting and makes predictions in light of the Census
release.
Class size & race: Two Princeton
economists find that smaller classes help close the
achievement gap between white and black students.
Mapping the brain: Princeton
biologists show how a virus usually known for its potent
attacks on the brain can be turned into a tool for mapping
and characterizing its former
battleground.
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Research
Seeing red: Jonathan Swift and James Joyce were
the first to make Anne Margaret Daniel see red.
Consider "Gulliver's Travels," where Swift notes that
young, female Yahoos are most dangerous to poor Gulliver
when "the hair of the Brute is of a red colour." Joyce
topped that in "Ulysses," where Buck Mulligan states simply:
"Redheaded women buck like goats."
That was enough for Daniel, a lecturer in English, to
begin a study of literary, artistic and cultural
representations of redheads from about 1600 through today.
In her work, based primarily on English, Irish and American
literature, Daniel examines real redheads, fictional
redheads, and even redhead-wannabes who dye their hair a
coppery cast.
"It started when I became interested and repelled by
depictions of redheads in Irish literature, particularly in
Swift and Joyce," said Daniel, a redhead herself. She soon
found that throughout literature and the arts, redheaded
women typically are portrayed as smart but venal, amoral,
sexy, ill-tempered, unpredictable, and either evil or zany.
Redheaded men often are portrayed as being large, noisy,
politically active or great warriors.
Daniel's subjects include Mary Magdalene ("the reformed
prostitute -- always a redhead"), Ludwig Bemelmans' Madeline
(smart and always in trouble, usually with young, suave
Pepito), and Queen Elizabeth I (a strong woman who sometimes
pretended to be weak and used her red hair to prove she was
not a bastard). Daniel also considers artistic
representations such as Michaelangelo's "The Temptation"
fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, in which Eve's
hair changes from mousy brown to copper after she accepts
the apple from a red-headed serpent.
Her subjects are mostly women, because when people think
of redheads, they don't think of men, she says. "We think of
the dizzy and dazzling Katharine Hepburn, or the lavish and
lustful Rita Hayworth," Daniel writes in a synopsis of her
work. "We think of copperheads and irresistible peril."
Daniel hopes to finish a book in about a year. She can be
reached at (609) 258-4068 or amdaniel@princeton.edu.
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Second opinions: Last fall, leading political
forecasters analyzing the presidential election gave the
clear advantage to the same candidate: Al Gore. After all,
he represented the incumbent party, running in peacetime
with a strong economy.
So what happened? The economy -- which wasn't that strong
after all, according to Princeton's Larry Bartels and his
co-author, John Zaller of the University of California at
Los Angeles.
In an article in the March issue of PS: Political Science
& Politics, the two political scientists take issue with
the most common explanations of the election's result --
that Gore was a flawed candidate who didn't know how to
campaign, or that elections simply cannot be predicted using
forecasting models based on historical "fundamentals."
Forecasters overestimated Gore's performance by an
average of 5.5 percentage points, largely because the models
didn't reflect the slowing taking place in the economy at
that time, Bartels and Zaller found. But the two political
scientists reviewed 48 different forecasting models
employing a variety of economic and political variables. If
the state of the economy had been reflected accurately, the
models would have shown that Gore's advantage was "modest at
best," and the result would have been no surprise.
"There have been some elections that make the
presidential vote models look bad, but 2000 is not one of
them," write the two political scientists.
"Obviously, in an election as close as the presidential
election of 2000, almost any potentially significant factor
can be considered decisive," they write. "Had Gore been as
moderate as Bush, our analysis suggests that he would have
done more than half a percentage point better and almost
certainly would have won, all else being equal. Had economic
conditions been as favorable for the incumbent party as in
the average post-war election year..., our analysis suggests
that Gore would have done about one percentage point better,
almost certainly enough to win. Had the Democrats been in
office for only one term rather than two, our analysis
suggests that Gore would have done about half a percentage
point better, almost certainly enough to win."
To read the paper, visit
www.apsanet.org/PS/march01/bartels.cfm. Larry Bartels can be
contacted directly at (609) 258-4794 or by email at
bartels@princeton.edu.
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Birth control: Requiring women to have a pelvic exam
before they can obtain birth control pills usually is
unnecessary and causes delay that can lead to unintended
pregnancy, according to a new paper co-authored by Professor
James Trussell, associate dean of the Woodrow Wilson School
of Public and International Affairs.
While pelvic and breast exams are beneficial to women,
they do not help determine who can safely use birth control
pills, concluded the paper, which was published in the May 2
issue of the Journal of the American Medical
Association.
Measuring a woman's blood pressure and obtaining her
medical history are the methods doctors rely on to decide
whether to prescribe a hormonal contraceptive, the paper
found. "Medically speaking, there's no greater logic to
requiring pelvic and breast exams for women who want to use
hormonal contraceptives than there would be for requiring a
man who wants to use a condom to have a prostate exam," said
Trussell, a longtime advocate for the availability of birth
control.
"Having a prostate exam is a good thing, yes, but it's
not related to contraception. Because all would agree it's a
good thing to have these exams, women are held hostage to
them in order to use hormonal contraceptives," he said.
The exam requirement often means that women wait to get a
birth control prescription, and that delay can be harmful,
Trussell said. "Unintended pregnancy has important health
risks, and is very common when contraception is not used,"
he said. Trussell noted that the annual risk of pregnancy
among sexually active young women is about 90 percent when
contraception is not used, so each extra month of
unprotected exposure could mean up to 175,000 additional
unwanted pregnancies for every million women.
The physical exam requirement itself frightens some
women, particularly teens, from seeking birth control pills,
he added.
The paper is available online at http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v285n17/rfull/jsc00381.html.
Phone Trussell at 609-258-4810 or
258-4946.
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Becoming American: Findings from the new U.S. Census
point out the growing impact of immigrants in American
cities and beyond. But how do these immigrants become part
of the American political mainstream?
That's a question addressed by S. Karthick Ramakrishnan,
a fourth-year graduate student in the politics department
and the Office of Population Research; and Thomas J.
Espenshade, chairman of the sociology department, in their
study of immigrants' voting participation. The study is
available online at http://cmd.princeton.edu/workingpapers.htm.
The researchers find little support for standard theories
of assimilation, or for commonly held beliefs as to why some
immigrant groups don't vote in large numbers. "Immigrant
political incorporation proceeds in a different manner for
members of different racial/ethnic groups," they report.
Some findings:
• Anti-immigrant legislation gets out the immigrant
vote. For example, first-generation immigrants in California
were twice as likely as their peers in other states to vote
in 1994, when anti-immigrant legislation emerged in that
state. A strong "California effect" also existed that year
among citizens with immigrant parents. But when
anti-immigrant legislation appeared at the national level in
1996, that effect was not seen.
• Previous studies suggested that immigrants from
communist or repressive regimes would be more likely to vote
in the United States, but this study finds that is not the
case.
• Arguments that Spanish-language ballots would
increase voting among Latinos may be misplaced. The analysis
finds that Spanish ballots do not increase voting among
first-generation Latinos, who are the least likely to speak
English.
• State "political culture" matters. In states with
high voting participation in general, immigrants also are
more likely to vote. For example, members of immigrant
families are up to 58 percent more likely to vote if they
live in Delaware than if they live in Tennessee.
Given the census findings, Ramakrishnan suggested there
will be new patterns of voting participation. "Given the
high level of voting by Latino immigrants who have been in
the U.S. for a long time, we can expect a more powerful
Latino presence in state and metropolitan areas where Latino
immigrants are numerous," he said. "The increase in Latino
political power is already being felt in California and
Texas, but will also be felt in states such as Colorado and
New Jersey."
You can contact him at (609) 865-0942 or by e-mail at
karthick@princeton.edu.
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Mapping the brain: Research by Princeton biologists has
shown how a virus usually known for its potent attacks on
the brain can be turned into a tool for mapping and
characterizing its former battleground.
Lynn Enquist, a professor of molecular biology, and
colleagues in his lab and at Rockefeller University
developed a genetically engineered virus that infects only
nerve cells joined to each other in the same neural circuit.
The virus carries with it a fluorescent marker that
essentially draws a map of the brain's wiring. The
achievement gives neuroscientists an unprecedented tool for
understanding how the billions of neurons in the brain work
together to perform complex tasks.
"These are unbelievably small, self-amplifying circuit
tracers," said Enquist. "It's like putting a dropper full of
something on the tail light of your car and watching it
light up the the battery and all the wires in between."
In a paper published in the March 30 issue of Science,
Enquist and graduate student Mark Tomishima collaborated
with scientists at Rockefeller University in New York and
the University of California - San Diego to demonstrate the
system by mapping neural circuits related to appetite
control in mice.
The researchers injected the genetically engineered virus
into mouse brain regions that are known to handle aspects of
appetite control. Tracing the progress of infection, they
found connections between these appetite centers and several
other parts of the brain, including those devoted to the
highest levels of reasoning.
Although this particular result does not by itself give
major insights into appetite control, it is a clear
demonstration of how scientists can investigate this and
other brain functions. Further study of the brain areas
connected by these newly traced neurons could lead, for
example, to the discovery of brain chemicals that control
feeding. Such chemicals would be of great interest to
pharmaceutical companies developing weight-loss drugs.
For a copy of the paper, contact Steven Schultz at (609)
258-3601. To contact Enquist, phone (609) 258-2415 or e-mail
lenquist@molbio.Princeton.edu.
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Class size and race: Smaller classes can help narrow the
achievement gap between black and white students and might
even aid in reducing crime and teen births, according to a
new analysis by two Princeton researchers.
The report by economics Professor Alan Krueger and Diane
Whitmore, "Would Smaller Classes Help Close the Black-White
Achievement Gap," which is available online at www.irs.princeton.edu/pubs/pdfs/451.pdf,
answers its own question: Yes.
In general, students who are enrolled in smaller classes
in the early grades have higher test scores both while they
are in those grades and when they move on to larger classes,
although the edge is reduced in the higher grades. The
benefit is even more pronounced for black students.
African-Americans who are assigned to a small class for an
average of two years between kindergarten and third grade
are more likely to take college-entrance exams and have
higher scores on those exams than students assigned to large
classes in the early years, the study found.
The Princeton study analyzed an experiment known as
Project STAR in Tennessee, involving 11,600 elementary
students and teachers. Between 1985 and 1989, students were
randomly chosen for smaller classes of 13 to 17 students,
compared to average classes of 22 to 25 students. The
students returned to regular-sized classes in the fourth
grade.
Contact Krueger at (609) 258-4046 or by e-mail at
akrueger@princeton.edu.
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Resources
Environment / climate change: In its first three
months, the Bush administration has rankled many
environmentalists with its conservative approach to issues
of greenhouse gas emissions and global climate change.
Princeton has several experts who can speak on the science
of climate change. Jerry Mahlman, a leading climate expert
and former director of Princeton's Geophysical Fluid
Dynamics Lab, can be reached at (609) 258-2790 or
jerrym@gfdl.gov. Other experts are V. Ramaswamy
(609-452-6510; vr@gfdl.noaa.gov) and Ronald Stouffer
(609-452-6576; rjs@gfdl.noaa.gov), who both are among the
authors of a recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change, which confirmed the influence of humans on
climate change.
A group of Princeton scientists is studying ways to solve
the greenhouse problem by removing carbon from fossil fuels
and storing it deep in the earth. Early data shows that this
approach, called carbon sequestration, may be able to
dispose of all the excess carbon generated by fossil fuels
for the next 50 years. For more information, contact Robert
Socolow, co-principal investigator of the Carbon Mitigation
Initiative, at (609) 258-5446 or socolow@Princeton.edu.
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Investment psychology: As the gyrations of the Dow and
the Nasdaq continue to leave investors
reeling, Professor Daniel Kahneman can comment on
negotiating the stock market from a psychological vantage
point. Kahneman, a professor of psychology and public
affairs who specializes in decision theory, has found that
investors are not fully rational in their decisions. For
instance, Kahneman says people are so apprehensive about
losses that they tend to sell stocks that are doing well too
soon, and hang on to losing stocks for too long. He can be
reached at (609) 258-2280 or by email at kahneman@princeton.edu.
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Census results: Reporters analyzing the results of the
U.S. census can speak to several Princeton faculty members
researching immigration issues. Thomas Espenshade, chairman
of the sociology department, can comment on issues relating
to highly skilled immigrants, such as those in the U.S.
through the controversial H-1B visa program. He can be
reached at (609) 258-5233, or by email at tje@opr.princeton.edu.
Joshua Goldstein, a demographer, has published several
papers on the new multi-racial category in 2000 Census as
well as on family demography. Goldstein is an assistant
professor of sociology and public affairs, and can be
reached at (609) 258-5513 or by email at josh@princeton.edu.
Marta Tienda, director of the Office of Population
Research and a professor of sociology and public affairs,
can comment on issues of race and gender inequality in the
economy and in the transition from school to work. To
contact her, phone (609) 258-5808 or send email to tienda@princeton.edu.
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Internet in society: Paul DiMaggio, research director at
the Center for Arts and Cultural Policy studies; and Eszter
Hargittai, a graduate student at the center, can comment on
the social impact of the Internet. Their project examines
whether the Internet exacerbates social inequalities;
whether it promotes civility and democratic participation --
or polarization, alienation and extremism; and whether the
Web exposes people to wide-ranging cultural sites and
artistic forms. DiMaggio can be reached at (609) 258-1971 or
dimaggio@princeton.edu;
Hargittai at 609-258-2452 or eszter@princeton.edu.
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Events
Mom, Dad and God: For much of the nation's
history, the fortunes of American religion have been
intimately tied to the fortunes of American families.
Princeton's spring conference on religion and family will
assess the contemporary state of this relationship with some
of the nation's top scholars in sociology, religion, and
law&endash;including Larry Bumpass, William Doherty, Robert
Franklin, Irwin Garfinkel, Theodora Ooms, and Linda Waite.
The conference, "The Ties that Bind: Religion & Family
in Contemporary America" will take place on May 16-17,
2001.
These scholars will address three central issues: (1)
whether religious institutions are responding to recent
demographic, economic, and cultural changes affecting
American families; (2) the role of religion in shaping
intergenerational ties; and, (3) what religious leaders
should do to meet the critical economic, moral, and
spiritual challenges facing American families.
The conference is free but registration is required. To
view a schedule and register, click on http://crcw.princeton.edu/CRCW/religionandfamily.htm.
For more information, call Brad Wilcox at (609)
258-6977.
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Reunions: Princeton's Alumni Reunions, the yearly
gathering of alumni and their families, takes place May 31
to June 3. A highlight is the P-rade, which originated in
the 1890s and features alumni parading with their classmates
-- sometimes wearing outrageous costumes and accompanied by
live animals, bagpipers or samba bands. That tradition has a
long history: In 1910, the class of 1900 paraded in long
gowns as suffragettes with a former football player leading
on horseback, portraying Joan of Arc. The P-rade kicks off
Saturday, June 2 at 2 p.m. at the FitzRandolph gates in
Front of Nassau Hall.
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Notable
On May 5, Princeton trustees elected Shirley M.
Caldwell Tilghman as the 19th president of Princeton
University. One of the architects in the effort to map the
human genome, Tilghman also is known as a national leader on
behalf of women scientists and scientists at the early
stages of their careers. Tilghman has been on Princeton's
faculty since 1986 and is founding director of the
Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics. She takes
office June 15, becoming the first woman to lead Princeton.
A celebration to mark her presidency is expected to be
scheduled in the fall. If you are interested in speaking to
some of her peers about her scholarship and leadership
activities, contact Marilyn Marks at (609) 258-5748 or
mmarks@princeton.edu.
In March, Princeton opened six boxes of papers donated by
Charles Lindbergh and his wife, Anne Morrow
Lindbergh, and made the documents available to
researchers. The papers include the Lindberghs' views on
American neutrality before World War II, as well as more
than 1,500 letters in response to their opinions. The
Lindberghs gave the papers to Princeton in 1941 with the
stipulation that they be unsealed only after the death of
both Charles and Anne. Anne died early this year, Charles in
1974. To view the manuscripts, contact Don Skemer, curator
of manuscripts, at (609) 258-3186. An inventory is available
by clicking on http://libweb2.Princeton.EDU/rbsc2/aids/msslist/maindex.htm
and then on "Lindbergh, Charles."
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