The social sciences are groups of academic disciplines that study the human aspects of the world. They diverge from the arts and humanities in that the social sciences emphasize the use of the scientific method and rigorous standards of evidence in the study of humanity, including quantitative and qualitative methods.

The social sciences, in studying both inter-subjective and objective or structural aspects of society, are sometime referred to as soft sciences. This is in contrast to hard sciences, which may focus exclusively on objective aspects of nature.

Social scientists engage in research and theorize about both aggregate and individual behaviors.

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UC Davis News: General Interest

Davis Apartment Vacancy Rate Increases Fourfold
Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0800
The apartment vacancy rate in the city of Davis increased fourfold since last fall to 3.2 percent, while rental rates rose by an average of 1.05 percent, according to a survey by the University of California, Davis. The UC Davis Office of Student Housing conducts the annual vacancy and rental-rate survey, now in its 34th year, to provide the campus and the Davis community with information for future planning. Last year, the apartment vacancy rate was 0.8 percent, and the average rental-rate increase was 4.36 percent. Economists and urban planners consider a vacancy rate of 5 percent to be the ideal balance between the interests of landlord and tenant. During the last 10 years, the vacancy rate has varied from as low as 0.2 percent in 2002 to as high as 4.2 percent in 2005. "The changes in the vacancy rate and the rental rate this year confirm that a better balance produces a benefit for our students as they seek housing in the Davis community," said Emily Galindo, director of Student Housing. According to the UC Davis survey, the average monthly rent this year for unfurnished two-bedroom apartments -- the most abundant type of apartment unit, accounting for 45 percent of units in the survey -- rose by $1, from $1,225 to $1,226. The student housing office surveyed 187 apartment complexes with five or more rental units in October and November; 166 complexes responded. Out of a total of 8,720 units reported, 278 were vacant. The 21 complexes that did not respond to the survey have a total of approximately 245 units. Rental rates Among 12 types of rental units included in the survey, the highest average monthly rent increase was 28.81 percent for 23 furnished studio apartments (from $611 to $787). Only one type of rental unit -- one-bedroom furnished units -- saw a rent decrease. Average rent fell from $847 to $746, or 11.92 percent, for the nine one-bedroom furnished units reported in the survey. The overall average increase in the rental rate is calculated by considering the percentage change for each type of rental unit and the proportion of each type of rental unit among the entire rental inventory. The survey excludes those apartments that require an income-eligibility test to qualify low-income residents for reduced rent, because students typically are not eligible for these units. Campus housing Total enrollment for fall 2009 is a record-setting 32,153, up 2.3 percent from last year's 31,426. Not all students attend classes on the Davis campus itself, and enrollment averaged over the three academic quarters is typically lower than fall enrollment. UC Davis has about 4,520 students living in residence halls, and an additional 1,155 students living in privately managed housing on campus, such as Russell Park for student families. Construction for new student residence halls, adjacent to the Tercero South complex at Dairy and La Rue roads, is expected to be completed by fall 2010. Three four-story buildings will add a total of 600 beds. Construction is also under way on the West Village mixed-use community that, at full build out, will provide housing for an estimated 4,350 people: 475 new homes for UC Davis faculty and staff and housing for 3,000 students. West Village Community Partnership, the developer, has broken ground on the first 130-acre phase and plans to have the village square and apartments for 600 students ready for occupancy in fall 2011. Help for the housing search To help students in their search for housing for the next academic year, Student Housing offers workshops in the residence halls beginning in late January. The sessions offer information on the local rental scene, provide search tips and address topics from budgeting to leases. The Associated Students of UC Davis will host its annual Housing Day from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 21, in Freeborn Hall. Students will have the opportunity to meet with representatives from local apartment complexes and to gather other information and tips for renting apartments. About UC Davis For more than 100 years, UC Davis has engaged in teaching, research and public service that matter to California and transform the world. Located close to the state capital, UC Davis has 32,000 students, an annual research budget that exceeds $600 million, a comprehensive health system and 13 specialized research centers. The university offers interdisciplinary graduate study and more than 100 undergraduate majors in four colleges -- Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Biological Sciences, Engineering, and Letters and Science. It also houses six professional schools -- Education, Law, Management, Medicine, Veterinary Medicine and the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing. To receive a copy of the survey, please e-mail jaeasley@ucdavis.edu through Dec. 16 and cmmorain@ucdavis.edu after Dec. 16.
Tears, Pride as Honorary Degrees Conferred
Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0800
--> Attempt to display Flash video failed. Update Flash plugin to view Honorees.flv --> Honorary Degrees Flash video Videography by UC Davis Academic Technology Services Download Adobe Flash (free) Editor's note: Photos of the ceremony and recipients are available. "Talk about Kleenex. My daddy getting his degree, it just makes you want to cry." Christine Pooley swelled with emotion after a University of California honorary degree was conferred on her late father, who had been forced from his studies at what is now UC Davis during World War II. "This is like closure," she said. Pooley's father, Henry Satoru Marubashi, was one of 47 former Japanese American students honored amid the pomp and circumstance of a graduation ceremony at UC Davis on Dec. 12. Receiving their degrees in person were three California residents: Yoshio John Kashiki of Parlier; Ben Hatanaka of Stockton; and Harold Haruya Takahashi of Rocklin. Family members and friends represented 10 other honorees. "It was very nice," said Hatanaka, surrounded by proud family members representing three generations. "I'm honored." Hatanaka, the first one in his family to get into college, had his studies interrupted when he and more than 110,000 Japanese nationals and Japanese Americans were forcibly interned. Later, he served in the 442nd Infantry Regiment of the U.S. Army and was a truck farmer. "I made the best of it. At least I got to see Europe," he said with a grin. Dan Simmons, who co-chaired the UC task force that supported the effort to award the degrees, addressed the honorees and guests at a luncheon after the ceremony. "The creation of these honorary degrees … has opened the door for many of you to tell your stories to your children and grandchildren," he said. "This is a teaching moment for the University," said Simmons, who is a UC Davis law professor and UC Academic Senate vice chair. "We want our own graduates … and their families to know your stories. "We want them to know your stories so that fears born from misunderstanding of differences do not lead to hatred and discrimination. We want them to know your stories to learn that we do best by respecting each other’s commonality and each other’s differences," Simmons continued. The university continues to seek other former Japanese American students who are eligible for the honorary degree. More information is available online at http://honorary.universityofcalifornia.edu. A video of the graduation ceremony is available on demand at http://commencementvideo.ucdavis.edu/. The UC Board of Regents voted in July to grant special honorary degrees to hundreds of men and women forced to leave their studies at the university as a result of the internment of people of Japanese ancestry during World War II. Approximately 700 students at four UC campuses were interned in 1942 after President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the executive order giving the military the power to send Japanese Americans and Japanese nationals to internment camps. In the wake of Japan's 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, Order 9066 authorized military commanders to exclude all people of Japanese ancestry from "military areas," including California and most of Oregon and Washington. At the time they were on campus, most of the UC Davis honorees were from Sacramento, the Bay Area and the Central Valley; some were from Southern California. They were studying agricultural economics, plant science, truck crops, soil science and horticulture, among other specialties. The honorary degree was conferred on all of the 47 UC Davis students, living and dead and regardless of whether they earned degrees elsewhere after their release from the detention camps. The ceremony also acknowledged former students who were interned but returned to UC to finish their degrees. About UC Davis For 100 years, UC Davis has engaged in teaching, research and public service that matters to California and transforms the world. Located close to the state capital, UC Davis has 31,000 students, an annual research budget that exceeds $500 million, a comprehensive health system and 13 specialized research centers. The university offers interdisciplinary graduate study and more than 100 undergraduate majors in four colleges — Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Biological Sciences, Engineering, and Letters and Science — and advanced degrees from five professional schools — Education, Law, Management, Medicine and Veterinary Medicine.
Olive Oil Marketing and Communications Symposium Set for January
Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0800
Olive oil producers, wholesale buyers, retailers, importers/exporters and food writers will gather Jan. 15 at the University of California, Davis, for a special Olive Oil Marketing and Language Symposium. The public symposium is co-sponsored by the UC Davis Olive Center and the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade. It is planned to coincide with the 35th Winter Fancy Foods Show, which will be held Jan. 17-19 in San Francisco’s Moscone Center. The symposium will be held on the UC Davis campus from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Session topics will be devoted to communicating with buyers and consumers; scale, efficiencies and marketing strategies; and how to identify and sell to your target audience. Speakers for the olive oil symposium will include acclaimed food writer and food chemist Harold McGee; Bruce Aidells, founder of Aidells Sausage Company; Lisa McManus, senior editor of Cook’s Illustrated magazine; sensory scientist Herb Stone; food marketing consultant Dan Strongin; and Darrell Corti, co-owner and president of Corti Brothers, Grocers and Wine Merchants in Sacramento. “Olive oil is poised to be California’s next big specialty crop,” said Dan Flynn, executive director of the UC Davis Olive Center. “This is a terrific opportunity to learn about food marketing and communications from of the industry’s giants.” Registration fee is $225 per person for early registrants, increasing to $275 per person on and after Dec. 21. Registration can be completed online at the Olive Center site at http://conferences.ucdavis.edu/confreg/reg/index.cfm?confid=467 More information about the symposium can be obtained from Nicole Sturzenberger, assistant director of the UC Davis Olive Center, at (530) 754-9301 or ndsturzenberger@ucdavis.edu. About UC Davis For 100 years, UC Davis has engaged in teaching, research and public service that matters to California and transforms the world. Located close to the state capital, UC Davis has 31,000 students, an annual research budget that exceeds $500 million, a comprehensive health system and 13 specialized research centers. The university offers interdisciplinary graduate study and more than 100 undergraduate majors in four colleges — Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Biological Sciences, Engineering, and Letters and Science — and advanced degrees from five professional schools — Education, Law, Management, Medicine and Veterinary Medicine.

University of Chicago Press: Current Anthropology: Table of Contents

Editorial: The First 50 Years
help@www.journals.uchicago.edu (Mark Aldenderfer) Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:06:14 -0000
Current Anthropology, Volume 50, Issue 6, Page 753, December 2009.
Anthropological Currents
Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:03:29 -0000
Current Anthropology, Volume 50, Issue 6, Page 755-756, December 2009.
Current Applications
help@www.journals.uchicago.edu (M. N. Gemein) Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:06:21 -0000
Current Anthropology, Volume 50, Issue 6, Page 757, December 2009.

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