Social Sciences

University at Buffalo Law School Professor Charles Patrick Ewing has added to his series of critically acclaimed books on some of the most unsavory but attention-grabbing aspects of the law, this time with a book questioning the legal logic and effectiveness of the country's increasingly harsh sex offense laws.

When a disaster's physical evidence is gone -- debris removed, shooter arrested, ashes cold -- the psychological effects of the disaster on emergency responders and civilians involved still may burn. Emergency mental health, a field often overlooked in the chaos, is a vital component of any disaster response, but may not be well represented in emergency preparedness planning.

Most Ponzi schemes, like almost everything else these days, enjoy a limited life in the public eye. Despite its explosive nature, the same would have been true of the Madoff con, except that nobody cooled Bernie's marks out.

As of Jan. 1, the first baby boomers turned 65. What can American society expect as boomers retire, age and continue to be active? How will this affect the stigma of growing old? As the birthday celebrations commence, University at Buffalo faculty experts are available to comment on tips and trends related to aging in America.

For years the tobacco industry has argued that efforts to ban tobacco advertising near schools would constitute a total ban on tobacco advertising in urban areas. But public health researchers at the University at Buffalo and Roswell Park Cancer Institute have presented research that shows this is not the case in Buffalo and Niagara Falls, N.Y.

Pick a decade, any decade. From secretaries in miniskirts in the "Mad Men"-style '60s and Southwest Airlines' "hostesses" in hot pants in the "liberated" '70s, to the present-day surge of provocatively dressed young female service workers -- the ubiquitous "Hooter Girl," for example -- University at Buffalo Law Professor Dianne Avery has a name for it all: "The Great American Makeover: "The Sexing Up and Dumbing Down of Women's Work."

The University at Buffalo's School of Social Work has recorded its 100,000th download to its "Living Proof" podcast series, a milestone the school's dean calls "a sign UB's School of Social Work's entrance into cyberspace is here to stay."

For veterans who have returned from conflicts overseas, fighting mental illness once home can be overwhelming. Often there are multiple medications prescribed for specific times throughout the day and adding to that are the medications that must be taken for chronic physical problems.

A University at Buffalo researcher's work with a state-of-the-art driving simulator is making better drivers among those considered to be the most risky motorists on the road: teens with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).

When a serious threat of a flu epidemic arises, public health officials advise persons to stay away from crowds and, as importantly, avoid shaking hands. But a Viewpoint piece in the current issue of Public Health Reports, authored by University at Buffalo public health faculty members, illustrates that, in certain situations, social pressures make such recommendations moot.