University of Wisconsin–Madison

Year: 2025

Uncovering Gender Stereotypes in Controversial Science Discourse: Evidence from Computational Text and Visual Analyses Across Digital Platforms

Posted on

Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication (2024) Authors: Kaiping Chen, Zening Duan, Sang Jung Kim Abstract: This study examines how gender stereotypes are reflected in discourses around controversial science issues across two platforms, YouTube and TikTok. Utilizing the Social Identity Model of Deindividuation Effects, we developed hypotheses and research questions about how content creators might use gender-related stereotypes to …

Conversational AI and Equity Through Assessing GPT-3’s Communication with Diverse Social Groups on Contentious Topics

Posted on

Scientific Reports (2024) Authors: Kaiping Chen, Anqi Shao, Jirayu Burapacheep, Yixuan Li Abstract: Autoregressive language models, which use deep learning to produce human-like texts, have surged in prevalence. Despite advances in these models, concerns arise about their equity across diverse populations. While AI fairness is discussed widely, metrics to measure equity in dialogue systems are lacking. This …

The Impact of Public Deliberation and Identity-Based Storytelling on Civic Empowerment among Latinx Communities on Environmental Issues

Posted on

Environmental Communication (2024) Authors: Amanda L. Molder, Isabel I. Villanueva, Kaiping Chen Abstract: Environmental issues already disproportionately impact communities of color in the U.S., where there is a long and well-established history of environmental racism. Despite efforts to diversify voices in deliberation, engaging marginalized populations remains a key challenge. Drawing from environmental communication, civic empowerment, and social …

Engaging White Parents to Address Their White Children’s Racial Biases in the Black-White Context

Posted on

Child Development  (2023) Authors: Katherine E. Scott, Tory L. Ash, Bailey Immel, MaKayla A. Liebeck, Patricia G. Devine, Kristin Shutts Abstract: Multiple studies (n = 1065 parents, 625 females, 437 males, 3 nonbinary, 99.06% White; n =  80, 5 to 7-year-old children, 35 girls, 45 boys, 87.50% White; data collection September 2017–January 2021) investigated White U.S. parents’ thinking …

A Multigenerational Model of Environmental Risk for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) Children and Families

Posted on

Environmental Health Perspective (2024) Authors: Janean E. Dilworth-Bart, Thea Sankari, Colleen F. Moore Abstract: In recent years, public discourse has increasingly brought institutional and structural racism to the foreground of discussion on the well-being of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities. Environmental toxicity in combination with the social triggers of institutional and structural racism are …

Are Neighborhood Effects Explained by Differences in School Quality?

Posted on

American Journal of Sociology (2023) Authors: Geoffrey T. Wodtke, Ugur Yildirim, David J. Harding, and Felix Elwert Abstract: It is widely hypothesized that neighborhood effects on academic achievement are explained by differences in the quality of schools attended by resident children. The authors evaluate this hypothesis using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study and a diverse set …

Rearranging the Desk Chairs: A Large Randomized Field Experiment on the Effects of Close Contact on Interethnic Relations

Posted on

American Journal of Sociology (2023) Authors: Felix Elwert, Tamás Keller, Andreas Kotsadam Abstract: Contact theory predicts that interethnic exposure reduces antiminority discrimination. By contrast, conflict theory predicts that interethnic exposure worsens discrimination. Received scope conditions, however, are vague and do not properly differentiate between the domains of the theories. Furthermore, prior evidence is mostly correlational, and supportive …

Nonparametric Causal Decomposition of Group Disparities

Posted on

Annals of Applied Statistics (2025) Authors: Ang Yu, Felix Elwert Abstract: We introduce a new nonparametric causal decomposition approach that identifies the mechanisms by which a treatment variable contributes to a group-based outcome disparity. Our approach distinguishes three mechanisms: group differences in: (1) treatment prevalence, (2) average treatment effects, and (3) selection into treatment based on …

Taking the Budget to the Streets: Street-level Mobilization and Inclusion in Participatory Budgeting

Posted on

Local Development & Society (2023) Author: Denia Garcia Abstract: Community engagement is crucial to fulfilling the democratic potential of participatory budgeting. In the United States, the inclusion of racialized groups is imperative, given the country’s socioeconomic and political inequality. This article critically examines inclusion, focusing on one practice that I call streetlevel mobilization. This practice is …

The Signaling Power of Unexcused Absence from School

Posted on

Educational Policy (2023) Authors: Jaymes Pyne, Eric Grodsky, Elizabeth Vaade, Bo McCready, Eric Camburn, Dominique Bradley Abstract: State and national school accountability policies situate preventing chronic absenteeism on par with meeting state standardized test benchmarks. We question relying on school attendance as both a component of accountability policies and a means of enhancing equity in schools. …