The state of Washington’s program — in which young adults ages 18-21 can continue to receive some support — could help even more people by expanding participation, providing greater flexibility in eligibility criteria, and extending benefits, according to a recent report from the 91̽��.

Commissioned by the state Department of Children, Youth and Families, the was completed by , which researches and advocates for policy and practice reforms in the child welfare system. The study was led by faculty in the 91̽��School of Social Work and conducted with guidance from an advisory group of young people with lived expertise in Extended Foster Care. Along with interviews and data collected by the state, the 91̽��team reviewed the literature on foster care programs nationwide and on the challenges this population of young adults faces.

The report has been submitted to Gov. Jay Inslee’s office for the 2024 legislative session, where that would implement recommendations from the report.

“Extended Foster Care can be very helpful, and the state should try to enroll everyone who is 18 and exiting foster care,” said , associate professor of social work at the 91̽��and executive director of Partners for Our Children, “Not everyone is aware of it and not everyone who is eligible for it is using it. There are issues with how it’s being implemented, but overall, it’s a program that works, and it’s needed now more than ever.”

The state Legislature in 2022 approved the systems assessment of services and benefits for young adults in Extended Foster Care. Legislators were interested in how to address any service gaps to better prepare participants for the transition to adulthood.

Washington state established its Extended Foster Care program in 2012 to provide additional services to young people who would typically “age out” of foster care but need some support to successfully transition to adult life. Among the services and benefits offered are placement supports and stipends for Supervised Independent Living (SIL) settings, health insurance and continued case management. With the help of federal funding, nearly every state offers a version of the program; as of June 2022, 858 young adults were enrolled in Washington.

To qualify for Washington’s Extended Foster Care, a person must, as of age 18, request continued placement in foster care or a Supervised Independent Living site. They must be enrolled in an educational, vocational or employment program, be working half or full time, or unable to engage in any of these activities due to a documented medical condition.

These can be significant obstacles for young people who have spent time in foster care, the report notes. , as researchers term it, is often described as a time of identify formation, exploration, and being in-between. It is ��a critical developmental period in which inequalities across education, income and social support accumulate as advantages or disadvantages with lifelong consequences. But it’s also a time of continued brain growth: Impulse control, reasoning and organizational skills can develop well into a person’s 20s.

“Emerging adulthood is such a critical time in someone’s life, and often the first time people are paying bills, living on their own, and trying to find their place in the world. Without support from our social network and resources from local, state and federal institutions, none of us are able to build the relationships and skills necessary to transition from dependent adolescents into interdependent and self-sufficient members of society,” said , an assistant professor of social work at the 91̽��and a co-author of the report.

Many have suffered trauma, abuse and discrimination. Some have been incarcerated. According to in the report, roughly one-third of young adults enrolled in or eligible for foster care are parents. , co-designed with young people with lived experience in Extended Foster Care, of 63 current or past participants in the program, nearly half were experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity.

The 91̽��report also identified specific subgroups of participants who may be especially marginalized, and whose needs can go unmet. In addition to those who are pregnant or parenting, these groups include BIPOC young people, who are overrepresented in the foster care system; LGBTQ+ young people; and individuals with disabilities.

That’s why expanded services are needed, the report finds. According to a longitudinal study based on California’s extended foster care system, called California Youth Transitions, each additional year of services increased the probabilities young people would complete high school and enroll in college. Each extra year also decreased the odds they’d be arrested or experience homelessness.

Based on such research and on interviews with community partners and social workers around Washington, the assessment team outlined key recommendations for the program:

• Extend participation to all young adults in foster care
• Expand eligibility criteria
• Focus preventive supports on groups such as young parents
• Allocate more funding and resources to long-term housing supports
• Add more peer support networks and services
• Prepare adolescents for Extended Foster Care before age 18

Increase DCYF staff throughout the state, potentially with units devoted only to Extended Foster Care, and add trainings in developmentally tailored and culturally responsive practice

“This report demonstrates that youth who enroll in Extended Foster Care in Washington have better outcomes than those who do not. But we still have work to do,” Ross Hunter, secretary of the Department of Children, Youth and Families, wrote in a statement accompanying the report. “Beyond the recommendations in the systems assessment, we need to leverage existing resources to help youth access mental and behavioral health services, prevention services, and early childhood supports when they are pregnant or parenting. We must develop strategies that support them to complete high school, get postsecondary degrees and get on a path to a career.”

For more information, contact Tajima at etajima@uw.edu.

Some people look forward to the holidays all year – the decorations, the food, the get-togethers. Others find them stressful, and still others may not feel up to the festivities at all. Maybe you’ve felt all those emotions at times this season.

But one thing the holidays tend to do, says , assistant teaching professor of psychology at the 91̽�� and director of the , is provide opportunities for social connection. And that, she says, is the No. 1, research-backed way to bring more joy into your life.

“Social connections, seeing your family, seeing people you care about, connecting with friends, connecting with neighbors, whatever that might be, that is what is really important for our happiness,” Titova says. “It’s not how well-decorated your house is. It’s really about creating those important memories and creating more meaningful social connections during the holiday season.”

Social connection can take many forms, Titova points out, whether large gatherings with family, friends and co-workers, a long-overdue dinner with a friend or even those brief exchanges with strangers. Greet the person you always pass on your morning walk. Make small talk with the friendly cashier. Thank the bus driver. Each momentary interaction can inject a little energy, even a smile, into your day, and that of someone else.

“Research consistently shows that no one wants to talk to strangers; everyone thinks it’s going to be super awkward, and it’s going to be a negative experience,” says Titova. “But then, research also shows consistently that when people actually do it, they feel really good, they feel happier, it contributes to their overall positive emotions.”

Along with introductory and upper-level psychology classes, Titova teaches an undergraduate course, simply titled “Happiness,” which focuses on the subject of her lab’s research. There students can try out strategies, such as striking up a conversation with a stranger, or what Titova considers the other key, research-proven tips for boosting happiness: expressing gratitude and getting outside.

Such actions contribute significantly to our well-being. While about half of happiness can be attributed to genetics, Titova said, 40% is due to intentional steps we can take. The remainder is what’s outside our control: environmental and other external circumstances. Simple strategies don’t solve big problems, Titova says, but they can help us adapt and find nuggets of joy in otherwise hard times.

People don’t always know what makes them happy, Titova says. There’s a difference between something that sparks joy in the short term – say, online shopping – and something that provides sustainable happiness in the long term. That sweater on sale may feel like a triumph, until the feeling wears off, then we think the next purchase will make us happy, until it doesn’t, and so on.

“Research shows that we’re just not very good at using past experiences to inform how we think we will feel in the future. That’s why I recommend trying the methods that have been shown to be effective in research. It doesn’t mean that something is going to work for every single individual, but it’s definitely worth trying,” Titova says.

Not sure how to start incorporating more happiness? Try one thing at a time, Titova says. If you want to practice gratitude more often, you can keep a gratitude journal – a regular log of things you’re thankful for, however small; you can write a thank you note to a long-lost mentor or friend; or simply develop a more deliberate habit around saying “thank you.”

“All of those are ways of practicing gratitude, but they provide different approaches that might be more suitable to one person rather than another,” Titova says. “Try one thing, make it your own, and see how it fits with what you want to do.”

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For more information, contact Titova at titovam@uw.edu.

The students combed the perimeter of the Nanoengineering & Sciences Building on a recent fall morning, as a pair of volunteers does every morning, looking for signs that a bird has met its end.

On this day, the students found only feathers – not remains – a sign that crows may have already scavenged the carcass.

With its facade of windows, NanoES is one of the buildings along a route – the route itself one of three campus loops – that volunteers trek as part of , a project led by College of Built Environments Ph.D. researcher . The goals: Count the number of bird-building collisions on campus, provide recommendations about bird-safe design to 91̽��architects, and educate the community about the harm that transparent and reflective glass presents to wildlife.

“We can find a balance in design that benefits humans and birds,” said Bowes, who discovered a love for birds while growing up in Pennsylvania. “Birds cannot detect glass. This is a design problem, not a bird problem. We can use less invasive designs and protect wildlife in ways that benefit all of us.”

For the past year, Bowes has been training and leading volunteers to walk through campus, using a student-created app to log where they’ve been and what they’ve found, along with photos. The volunteers wear gloves and carry with them a kit for collecting dead birds to bring them to the Burke Museum. Teams have found 20 different species of birds, Bowes said, most commonly the varied thrush. And perhaps not surprisingly, numbers of dead birds increase during the local winter migration season.

Volunteers find only about 10% of the more than 10,000 birds that collide with campus buildings each year, estimates based on Bird Friendly Campus’ collision data from last year and formulas that predict yearly loss that have been developed by other researchers in the field. .

Just in the past month, of the McCormick Place Lakeside Center in Chicago in just one evening. The remains were found the next morning by a volunteer monitor. recently featured a Manhattan condominium building, dubbed by some in the city as a bird “death trap,” and the efforts to retrofit the glass there so that it is more visible to birds.

Bird-safe glass is a key solution, Bowes explains, often in the form of tiny opaque dots, or a grid pattern made of weather-resistant vinyl that can be affixed to windows, allowing natural light to still enter the space. Apparent up close but not obstructive to the view of those inside a building, these tools can turn what is see-through or reflective into a barrier visible to birds, reducing collisions by as much as 80 to 90%. A few structures on campus, such as the Gallagher Law Library at William H. Gates Hall and the Life Sciences Building, use glass that incorporates bird-safe patterns.

Also helpful: leaving space between buildings and vegetation and limiting the use of artificial lighting at night.

“It’s a big eye-opener for most people, particularly architects,” Bowes said. “I believe that we can just treat hot spots on buildings. We don’t have to treat every square foot of glass surface area. It’s our responsibility, I believe, to protect living things and to prevent collisions.”

Bowes and her team will submit data from their study to campus architects for inclusion in the UW’s Green Building Standards. An informational presentation is planned for the campus community this winter.

For more information, contact Bowes at jbowes2@uw.edu.

The Foundation honors six scholars nationwide for their work in advancing racial and economic justice, awarding each a $250,000 unrestricted grant. The Freedom Scholar awards were created in 2020.

Reddy specializes in challenging colonial systems, with a focus on migration, and racialized genders and sexualities. Since 2022, Reddy has been a co-editor of GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies. He is the author of “Freedom with Violence: Race, Sexuality and the U.S. State,” published in 2011 by Duke University Press.

“So much of the economic inequality and violence we see today, especially within and by so-called liberal democratic states, derives from U.S., British and European colonialism. And like the struggle for abolition, or Palestinian and Indigenous sovereignty, anti-racist struggles for migrant justice or community efforts to build up queer and transgender of color lifeworlds are part of a larger struggle against this ongoing colonial present. And yet our structures of knowledge and universities like the 91̽��have obscured this reality,” said Reddy, who holds affiliations with the Department of Geography, the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies, and at the South Asia Center in the Jackson School of International Studies. Reddy also is a board member of the 91̽��Center for Human Rights.

Reddy plans to use the award to continue to work with local groups in the region, like the Massage Parlor Outreach Project (MPOP) in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District and to complete a co-authored book with Jodi Melamed at Marquette University, “Operationalizing Colonial Racial Capitalism: On Liberalism’s Command Powers,” which is under contract with Verso Press.

According to the Marguerite Casey Foundation, the Freedom Scholar awards recognize scholarship “focused on shifting the balance of power in society to those who have long been excluded from having it and benefiting from its rewards.” Past and present recipients of the award study a range of social justice issues, including immigration, prison abolition, racial capitalism and queer liberation.

“The 2023 Freedom Scholars are at the forefront of teaching, researching and writing about shifting the balance of power in society,” said Carmen Rojas, president and CEO of the Marguerite Casey Foundation. “Marguerite Casey Foundation’s Freedom Scholars award is committed to providing social and economic justice scholars room to deepen their relationship with movement leaders fighting for a multiracial democracy and just economy.”

The UW’s Megan Ming Francis of the Department of Political Science and Angélica Cházaro of the School of Law were named Freedom Scholars in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

In addition to Reddy, this year’s recipients are faculty at Barnard College; Cal State University, Long Beach; Georgetown University; the University of California, Santa Barbara; and the University of Chicago.

Technology for older adults and their care partners, typically marketed for safety and security, has been evolving for years, and now includes everything from location trackers to companion robots.

But often left out of decisions about how and why to use that technology are the older adults themselves, says , associate professor of social work at the 91̽��. Berridge studies issues facing older adults, in particular technology that can support care or a person’s ability to live independently. She recently published two articles related to older adults and : In articles for the and , Berridge explores older adults’ opinions of companion robots, finding that such devices may not provide the blanket comfort or utility that creators presume – and that older adults have an interest in data protections.

“Older adults have been learning about, adapting and integrating technology solutions into their lives for longer than anyone,” said Berridge. “Older adults’ feelings about technologies on offer to them for care and living at home, and their creative use, resistance and other interactions with these technologies should be taken seriously. So much research, time and money has been focused on pushing acceptance of technologies that could be better spent by older adults over direction, purpose and design.”

Berridge spoke with 91̽��News about the importance of involving older adults in the design and use of technology.

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What do you think is important for people outside the field to understand?

CB: One of the themes in my research is that older adults are rarely empowered to refuse or negotiate how technology is used in their care. That doesn’t prevent many from and negotiating nevertheless – older adults are not passive users – but that this kind of engagement is often discouraged in design and implementation. My research on long-term care in peoples’ homes and in residential facilities has found that people are not meaningfully engaged in decisions about how and what data should be collected about them. There’s a misperception that most don’t want to be involved or consulted. Older adults are often configured as passive data points.

This matters because embedded in these technologies are certain values (e.g., that safety justifies invasion of privacy) or limitations on the older adult (i.e., they can’t deviate from routine, like younger adults can, without triggering an intervention). With the algorithmic management of care, the person being targeted by technology may not share the priorities embedded in the devices themselves. When the technology practice enables older adults to be controlled, rather than enabling them to have control, this intensifies unbalanced power dynamics in care. It can mean restrictions or exercise of control over their lives. There’s a lot of at play in how technologies used in care are developed, hyped and implemented. And ableism, particularly when it comes to .

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People might assume that surveillance technology is a means of protection. Can you talk about the positive and negative aspects of this kind of technology?

CB: Different people are going to weigh the range of implications differently – in a single day I have talked with a person who likened her daughter using sensors to track her routines to the Gestapo, and another person without a support network who “wish[ed] someone cared enough about me to watch me on camera!”

��As many – including faculty at the 91̽��– have , power is implicated in all the decisions (what data is collected, what’s excluded, how categories are determined, what behavior is allowed or prohibited – the very definition of the problem the technology is targeting). We have been in a wakeup call moment, as COVID further exposed the dramatic racial disparities in health among older people and the lack of access to home care. Where’s the meaningful policy action? Where’s the influx of resources needed to combat social exclusion and racial inequities in health and long-term care access? What we see are efforts to give lonely older adults AI companionship, deploy digital contact tracing in nursing homes, and employ AI to manage people more efficiently. Whose problem is that addressing? What are the opportunity costs of pursuing sideshow solutions that don’t touch the underlying problems?

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You note in a recent study that some state aging agencies are distributing companion robots to assist with loneliness. Are they a solution?

CB: Prompted by the pandemic, a lot of states have passed out furry pet-like or speaking robots with the goal of mitigating loneliness.

Together with researchers at Oregon Health & Science University, I surveyed more than 800 people, half of whom were over age 64, about whether they thought an artificial companion robot — one that can “talk and listen,” so not like Paro or other plush non-talking robots — would help them feel less lonely, if they were. Only 3% replied “definitely yes.” A quarter answered “definitely no” and a significantly greater percentage answered “probably no” than “probably yes.” We also asked about comfort with small companion robots and different types of data use on the horizon.

This comment we heard in the study echoed a common sentiment among participants. A participant told us: “One of the problems I see with how we care for the elderly is the lack of contact with others. I am afraid that these measures would lead to less and less human contact for these folks. It might become easier and cheaper for the care system to use these measures and for our elderly to become more and more isolated.” Others acknowledged positive potential uses of AI-enabled robots to assist with physical tasks — capacity that is limited at the moment — and drew a line at social interaction.

But the most-raised issue was invasion of privacy, and perception that artificial companion robot-based data collection is excessive monitoring. Many participants also raised concerns about data security, third party use, or exploitation of data. For example, a participant explained that an AI companion or device could be especially helpful in alerting emergency personnel, but they were concerned about how data from such a device would be stored and used by third-party companies. Clearly, older adults would benefit from new regulation of AI, though their interests haven’t been represented very well so far in those discussions.

How might older adults be more included in designing technologies?

CB: Last spring, I had the pleasure of working with design students from the 91̽��School of Art + Art History + Design with my colleague, , associate professor of interaction design at the UW. Her Interface Design 2 students designed fun and creative IoT (Internet of Things) system prototypes, many of which were better targeted to the breadth of desires and needs of older adults than what the current “AgeTech” space is producing. Dr. Desjardins had students each interview older people and then as a class share back and collectively identify themes — before conceiving of their products. And unlike many marketed devices, students provided their imagined users with transparent information about data flows.

You’ve developed a prototype web app, Let’s Talk Tech, that would help older adults with dementia and their caregivers make joint decisions about technology. What are you finding from that approach?

CB: This is the first-of-its-kind tool to help families meaningfully engage people living with dementia in decisions about technology use. I worked with the 91̽�� (CIRG) to develop Let’s Talk Tech as a web app and with doctoral student Natalie Turner to pilot the app with volunteers from the 91̽��Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.

Families or others supporting people living with dementia don’t have those conversations about what the person would or would not want used with them, for understandable reasons. So the families need help, because they’re left to navigate a complex technological landscape without a map. Having an informed conversation with the person living with mild-stage Alzheimer’s disease about their hopes and concerns and feelings about various technologies and other support options gave our pilot study participants a significantly better feeling of . They told us it provided the structure and direction for hard conversations that may not have otherwise happened. Many reported that it was not an easy conversation, but all noted that any discomfort was worth what was gained.

For more information, contact Berridge at clarawb@uw.edu.

Three new faculty books from the 91̽�� cover wide-ranging topics: oysters, the moral contradictions of religion, and Cherokee creature names and environmental relationships. 91̽��News talked with the authors to learn more.

Updated ‘Heaven on the Half Shell’ a ‘love letter’ to oysters

Oysters are a beloved food in the Pacific Northwest, but many people don’t realize what it’s taken to bring this bivalve from tide to table. “” dives into this very topic, providing readers with insight into the diverse history and communities involved with all things oysters

The book was written by and of the along with author . Originally published in 2001, “Heaven on the Half Shell” has been updated and republished two decades later by 91̽��Press.�� Double the length of the original, the new version includes an additional chapter as well as more photos and text.

“Over the course of 20 years, it needed a lot of updating,” said Gordon. “There was originally no mention, for example, of ocean acidification in the book. That is probably the biggest confrontational point nowadays, but it wasn’t on the radar then. I felt it badly needed some updating, and I’m glad that the Sea Grant people agreed with me.”

The story of the oyster “includes a lot of social history, environmental history and the development of what we know as the Pacific Northwest,” Larson said.

“One big focus that we had on this new edition was really elevating our treatment of the tribal history and carrying that history up to date with how important many tribes are in terms of owning and operating their own shellfish farms today,” Larson said. “That’s another slice of history that can be told and looked at through this kind of unique perspective.”

Apart from oyster history, the book also provides readers with a behind-the-scenes look at modern-day oyster farming and recipes for how to enjoy oysters after the harvest.

“The ways that we’ve been eating them in the past and the ways that we’re eating them now are different,” Wagner said. “I personally wanted to document that and show how it changed over time and the different faces that have contributed to those recipes.”

The oyster farming industry has evolved since the book’s initial publication, with environmental changes like ocean acidification and rising temperatures causing new issues for farmers. But the underlying theme of the book and the main requirement for a thriving oyster industry remains clean water, Gordon said. The Pacific Northwest still has pristine waters in many places and a growing population that understands its role in the industry.

“This book is basically a love letter to the oyster,” Gordon said. “And it’s great, because I’ve always felt that in order to get people motivated to protect the natural resources, you have to get them to love the environment.”

For more information, contact Wagner at maryannb@uw.edu, Larson at larsonsa@uw.edu, and Gordon at david@davidgeorgegordon.com.

Mark Smith’s ‘Right from Wrong’ reveals moral contradictions of religion

It seems harder and harder in today’s world for people to come together to respectfully debate an issue, consider alternative viewpoints and reach a consensus. But such a process is vital to determining how we will function and progress as a society, argues in his new book.

In “,” published by Prometheus Books, Smith tackles religious and secular approaches to establishing a moral code. He underscores contradictions in the texts and challenges the defenses of Christianity – a form of theology known as apologetics.

“One major part of my book explores how pious members of book-based religions grapple with scriptures that any modern person would have difficulty swallowing,” said Smith, a 91̽��professor of political science. “If the text justifies genocide, or defends patriarchy, or requires capital punishment for minor offenses, how can the believer respond?

“If you’re absolutely convinced that God is good, and that a set of scriptures captures his speech either through inspiration, as in Christianity or directly as in Islam, you’ve got to reconcile any challenges you face.”

Smith proposes that a process of inclusive deliberation is a more thoughtful, rational basis for establishing objective morality and the means of working together in community. He points to what is today a practice widely recognized as immoral – slavery – and prohibited around the world. But it took centuries of heated debate (and a civil war in the United States), as well as the spreading of abolitionist views through the printing press, and the stories and speeches of formerly enslaved people.

Today, Smith said, the shrinking of traditional media and the rise of social media often keep people from engaging in meaningful discussion.

“You can curate what you read, watch, and listen such that you never have to hear from people with contrary views. Social media, for its part, rewards those who preach to the choir.�� By doing so, you attract likes and followers. Anyone who tries to engage with the ‘other side’ gets quickly dismissed as a traitor to the cause,” Smith said. “The result is that we have many siloed conversations that rely on distortion and straw man tactics rather than true deliberation across lines of political difference.”

But it’s still possible, Smith said, among people of all faiths, or no faith.�� He writes in the book’s conclusion: “No person has all the answers, but if we put our minds together, we can make progress on even the most difficult moral questions.”

For more information, contact Smith at masmith@uw.edu.

Exploring nature through Cherokee creature names

In “,” , professor and chair of American Indian Studies at the UW, explores nature and the world through Cherokee creature names, environmental relationships, traditional stories and philosophical discussions with fluent Cherokee speakers and knowledge keepers.

Published by 91̽��Press, the book provides a unique perspective of the world we live in by bringing together decades of oral history. The creature names – Cherokee words for the natural world, including birds, animals, edible plants, reptiles, amphibians, trees, insects, plants and fish – were collected orally from elders over a 30-year span by , the late Cherokee cultural leader.

Loretta Shade, Hastings’ wife, and their son, Larry, shared the collection with Teuton and said they wanted to publish. Written in collaboration with the Shades, “Cherokee Earth Dwellers” documents more than 600 creature names.

“As we went over the collection and looked through all these different names, and all the stories that are attached to the creature names, we realized this is more than just something like a dictionary,” Teuton said. “It’s actually a Cherokee ecology through words and relationships. And so, we began to work together and reached out to other elders to get their input on the project and to reflect on the collection created by Hasting Shade.”

This community-driven collaboration was written “with the goal of creating a work of art and a work of language, revitalization and cultural revitalization that would be valued by all Cherokee people.” Teuton hopes it can be used as a resource by people studying the Cherokee language as it includes spellings, pronunciations, meanings for various names and stories told by traditional storytellers in the community.

“This book can teach about the natural world and about traditional ways of understanding oneself in relation to the relatives that we have among us —plant relatives, animal relatives, fish relatives,” Teuton said. “All the different creatures of the natural world with whom we have relationships, dependencies and reciprocal engagements with.”

For more information, contact Teuton at teuton@uw.edu.

Picture a bench. Maybe you imagine the wooden seat of a picnic table, the metal of a bus shelter, the plastic of a school cafeteria.

Different materials, different locations, same basic purpose: to welcome more than one person.

This spring quarter, in Architecture 231: Making and Meaning, that was the essential mission of the culminating project: Build a bench, create a social opportunity.

“Architecture is taking an idea and turning it into a reality that someone can experience,” said co-instructor .

And so, this month, there were some two dozen benches, scattered around both Gould Hall and Architecture Hall in a pop-up demonstration of student work. There were benches with backs, with ramps, with steps and shelves and swings. Benches in the shape of an L, or a C, or an ocean wave. Nicholls encouraged students to find places that were underused, or even overused, and “help them out with a bench.”

The class started with small, individual projects, made of reclaimed and found materials, such as cardboard and sticks, to teach scale and structure. Then came the bench project, a team endeavor that involved planning and sketching, trial and error, and use of the College of Built Environments’ Fabrication Lab to cut and assemble the lumber.

Sophomore Jasmine Madrigal was part of a group that constructed a bench with squared-off, V-shaped legs and a corner shelf.

“I’ve learned about the materials, that not everything will stay the same as you first conceptualize it, and we sometimes had to compromise our ideas in order to develop it further,” Madrigal said.

That’s the point of the class, co-instructor and Architecture alum said – to learn process, collaboration and attention to detail.

“Students come into the class having an idea and think it’s built automatically,” Leanos said with a smile.

While a few benches may find a permanent home at Gould or Architecture Hall, most will be taken apart, so the materials can be used again, in a future class.

A handbook designed to help parents advise their young adult children leaving for their first year of college has been shown to increase family connections and moderate risky behaviors like drug and alcohol use, according to research by Washington State University and the 91̽��.

In an article published March 18 in , students whose families used the handbook reported their alcohol use over the past 30 days had increased 28% once they got to college, compared to a 39% increase among students whose parents didn’t receive the book. Cannabis use went up 23% for those control students, but only 16% for students whose families used the book.

“The handbook gives parents evidence-based guidance for threading the needle of supporting students’ autonomy and maintaining a parental role,” said Laura Hill, a WSU professor in the Department of Human Development and corresponding author on the paper. “It’s not about telling students what to do or to not drink. It’s about supporting and guiding them to reinforce expectations that have been set over the previous 18 years of parenting.”

The handbook, called “First Years Away from Home: Letting Go and Staying Connected,” provides suggestions for talking about use of substances like alcohol in a productive way that supports students’ autonomy but also communicates expectations. Researchers say this helps avoid what can be an awkward conversation for both parents and young adults.

“The first six weeks of college are critical,” said Hill, WSU’s senior vice provost. “A lot of students have significantly more freedom and a lot less structure than at home, so it could be their first exposure to alcohol. Providing a way for parents to talk with their children before they move out helps set expectations and re-emphasizes values-based decision-making.”

Following the study, and ahead of the 2022-23 academic year, the Washington Health Care Authority funded distribution of the handbook to families of incoming students at six universities in the state, said study co-author , professor emeritus of social work at the 91̽��and former director of the 91̽��Social Development Research Group. The 91̽��sent out the books last fall.

“One of the most amazing things about doing this kind of research is the ability to get it to the people who need it the most,” said Haggerty, who, along with the 91̽��co-authors developed the Raising Healthy Children programs to help young people navigate independence. “It’s satisfying to know the state was so struck by the data that they wanted to get it in the hands of as many students as possible.”

The study recruited 919 parent-student duos at WSU — two-thirds of whom received the book — and monitored them through regular surveys from the summer before the first semester at college, through the last semester of the students’ second year.

Researchers say the study shows that reinforcement of expectations leads to students using substances less often than their control group peers whose parents did not receive the handbook. Binge drinking increased by 41% for the control group versus 33% for the intervention (handbook) group, and extreme binge drinking — more than 10 drinks in a sitting — increased by 13% for the control group compared to 9% for the intervention group.

Going beyond substance use, the book is a guide to starting discussions about the expectations both parents and students have for college. The book includes activities like a financial planning worksheet, as well as plans for how often students will call home, what grades are expected, and who will pay for textbooks, laundry, meals and more.

“We helped design key areas, such as helping parents become more of a coach, a cheerleader and an advisor to their children,” Haggerty said. “I was a parent of kids going to college and you often think your kids don’t want to hear from you. The opposite is true. It’s just that the relationship changes — to more of a coach, cheerleader and advisor.”

The study was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Co-authors were Martie Skinner and Richard Catalano of the 91̽��and Matt Bumpus and Brittany Cooper of WSU.

For more information, contact Hill at laurahill@wsu.edu or Haggerty at haggerty@uw.edu.

Adapted from a Washington State University press release.

Three new faculty books from the 91̽�� cover topics ranging from children’s use of technology to the life experiences of Black women to neuroscience and brain research. 91̽��News talked with the authors to learn more.

Guiding healthy interactions between children and technology

Technology plays a fundamental role in nearly every aspect of our lives, but finding ways to guide healthy usage of technology among young minds remains a tumultuous process.

In “,” , associate professor in the 91̽��Information School, explains how technology affects children in the various stages of their childhood. Published in March by MIT Press, the book provides parents and teachers with ideas to help kids navigate the digital world in a healthy way.

“I’ve been researching technology’s role in child development for almost 20 years now, and throughout that time I have repeatedly gotten questions like, ‘Is technology good or bad for my kid?’” Davis said. “So I really wanted to take this complicated landscape of research that has accumulated over the last couple of decades and make sense of it in a way that could offer something concrete for parents, teachers and policymakers, and even for technology designers and researchers.

“The goal here is to offer a concrete framework for making sense of what we know about the interaction between technology design and child development that will guide good decisions on these different levels.”

Using her experiences as a researcher, parent, teacher and older sister, Davis highlights the difficulties in identifying a clear approach to dealing with technology and children.

“We have accumulated quite a bit of research over the last couple of decades. It doesn’t point to one clear answer,” Davis said. “That’s partly because technologies are different. But also children are very different, and their circumstances are very different. A one-size-fits-all approach really doesn’t work when we’re talking about kids and technology.”

In the book, Davis introduces the idea of the “good enough digital parent,” updating the mid-twentieth century theory of the “good enough mother” to fit the modern world.

“The good enough digital parent is trying to do their best,” Davis said. “They’re trying to steer their children towards self-directed, community supported digital experiences, but with the recognition that they’re not going to be perfect all the time. It’s the idea that, with your child, you’re both developing and figuring this out together, making mistakes and adjusting along the way, and then also importantly recognizing that these are challenging things to deal with.”

Davis concludes that some of the onus must be taken off the family unit and placed back on industry and government regulation. It’s important, she said, to think of ways in which the different levels of society can pitch in and help solve these challenges.

For more information, contact Davis at kdavis78@uw.edu.

Emotion, creativity and knowledge intertwine in ‘Feelin’

Early in her new book exploring the art, emotion and life experiences of Black women, makes clear the title, “Feelin,” is intentional, to be written, uttered and understood exactly as is.

“I’m grounding it in the cultural space of African American language and knowledge production. The context in which the word feelin would be used — I’m feelin that, I’m not feelin that, you feel me — that marks knowledge, a kind of complete understanding of something,” says Judd, an associate professor of gender, women and sexuality studies. “I consider the word whole in its own right, and to use an apostrophe would mark where something is missing. To take seriously the cultural meanings of the term, the language from which it comes from, I’m no longer using the standard English reference. I’m using the cultural term.”

Published by Northwestern University Press, “” is a book that, like the very meaning of the title, Judd wants the reader to experience. Each chapter delves into an issue, idea or perspective through the lens of creative works.

A chapter on song as ecstatic practice delves into the music of a series of vocalists and in particular, of Aretha Franklin and Avery*Sunshine. Another chapter confronts the stereotype of the angry Black woman, and the emotion of anger, through Nina Simone’s song “Mississippi Goddam” (and the backlash she faced for it), and Judd’s own poetry and haunting video reflecting on Sandra Bland, who died in police custody after a 2015 traffic stop in Texas.

That video is just one of many works Judd invites the reader to view, listen to or read by scanning QR codes scattered throughout the book. But they’re not meant to be supplementary, like the CD-ROMS that used to be tucked inside covers, Judd says. “I think of it as a part of the experience of the book. It’s not bonus material. It IS the material.”

Judd sees “Feelin” as a coalescing of ideas over time.

“It was understanding the depth of how these Black women artists, writers and musicians were calling on people to detach themselves from this idea that valuable knowledge is non-emotional and exists only in the realm of what one set of people thinks is rational, and that desire to remove us from knowledge that is felt is another way of discounting our stories, another way of discounting our experience,” Judd said.

And the cover art? Judd’s own, a mixed media piece called “Following the Bright Back of the Woman.”

For more information, contact Judd at bjudd@uw.edu.

Look inside your brain with ‘Neuropedia’

Neuroscience and brain research is a vast and deeply complicated field. A new book by , research associate professor in the 91̽��Department of Bioengineering and executive director of the 91̽��, is written specifically to take a public audience inside the fascinating world of the brain.

—published by Princeton University Press as part of their Pedia series and illustrated by Chudler’s daughter, Kelly Chudler — explores the mysteries of the brain and offers a peek behind the curtain of what really goes on inside our heads.

“This kind of book is more for the general public. It’s not supposed to be a textbook,” Chudler said. “It’s one of the many ways that I can communicate neuroscience and brain research to the public.”

Chudler hopes the book will help audiences develop a deeper appreciation for the intricacies of the brain and the field of neuroscience.

“There are many misconceptions, what we call neuro-myths, about the brain,” Chudler said. “So, I’d like people to get a basic understanding of the structure and function of the nervous system and some of the controversies involved. I hope that people will be able to appreciate and even empathize with people who are affected by diseases of the nervous system.”

Neurological and psychiatric diseases are a part of human life, and Chudler wants to help combat some of the negative beliefs associated with these diseases.

“I hope that people can better understand what’s going on with friends and family,” Chudler said, “and maybe even reduce stigma attached to neurological and mental disorders and perhaps even help people affected by these conditions.”

Written like an encyclopedia of all things neurological, the book functions like an extended glossary with entries from A-Z.

“People don’t have to read it from cover to cover. They can just flip through and read the short three or four paragraphs for each entry,” Chudler said. “Because each entry is short, you can’t get into too much depth. I hope people will read a particular entry and want to learn more and do some of their own research, because an entire book can be written about each entry.”

The book also includes references, illustrations and resources for those who want to learn more about various topics like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and even the neurological effects of COVID.

“They’ll be provided with a basic understanding of how the nervous system works, some of the limitations of our understanding of the brain, the current state of research and maybe learn some facts or figures for the next time they’re on Jeopardy or at a trivia night,” Chudler said.

For more information, contact Chudler at chudler@uw.edu.

For months, the students have come to the Burke Museum classroom at least once a week to carve canoe paddles from yellow cedar.

With only hand tools to shape the wood, the students – mostly 91̽�� undergraduates, as well as a few alumni, faculty and staff – carve the traditional Coast Salish paddles not for themselves, but for a canoe, the Willapa Spirit.

They are also part of the first , a registered student organization whose members will participate in this summer’s , the . The journey, an event founded by Quinault elder Emmett Oliver as the Paddle to Seattle in 1989, brings together tribal and First Nations participants to ply Northwest waters in traditional canoes. This year’s journey is the first since 2019, due to the pandemic.

On April 21, members of 91̽��Canoe Family, the Department of American Indian Studies and others celebrated the Willapa Spirit Honor Canoe with a Canoe Awakening ceremony. They carried the canoe – a promised gift to the 91̽��from the Oliver family – from the AS 91̽��Shell House to Union Bay.

But first, there has been nearly a year of meticulous paddle carving under the guidance of Philip H. Red Eagle (Salish/Dakota). Red Eagle, who was instrumental in continuing the tradition of the Tribal Canoe Journeys, is the Native knowledge-in-residence coordinator for the . His role at the 91̽��funded by the Mellon Foundation, Red Eagle created the paddle design and worked with students on the use of tools such as the crooked knife and the adze. The work is meant to be careful and focused, but also to foster community and appreciation for tradition, for not all of the students have been able to connect to their Native culture in the past.

“It’s amazing to see the commitment and dedication of the students,” said Todd Clark (Wailaki), programs manager for the Center for American Indian and Indigenous Studies and a member of the paddle-carving class. “It’s good for our Native students to work in this world and still do the academics and all those other things of campus life. Canoe Family is a connection to who you are, your family, your tribe and all the other tribes.”