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Prioritizing prenatal care may decrease low birth weight outcomes in The Gambia, Notre Dame research finds

2025-06-20T13:50:00-04:00

A new study co-authored by University of Notre Dame researchers provides evidence from The Gambia that can inform policy to prioritize the health of mothers and newborns.

In The Gambia, a small country in West Africa, 1 in 10 newborns have a low birth weight — less than 5.5 pounds — and face daunting challenges. They are more likely to die within a month of birth or in their first year, and they experience higher rates of physical and cognitive impairment and higher risks of developing chronic health issues throughout their lives.

But there is a solution: More prenatal checkups support improved birth outcomes. That is a key finding of a new study co-authored by University of Notre Dame researchers, which provides new causal evidence from The Gambia that can help improve the health of newborns. The study was published in PLOS Global Public Health.

“Newborn health, measured by birth weight, is an important marker that not only reflects an infant's immediate well-being but also predicts future health and development,” said co-author Santosh Kumar Gautam, associate professor of development and global health economics and director of doctoral studies in sustainable development for the University of Notre Dame’s Keough 91��Ƶ of Global Affairs. “Our study found that more prenatal checkups produce better birth outcomes, and these findings can inform policies that will prioritize the health of mothers and their newborn children.”

Previous studies in other contexts have shown a causal link between prenatal checkups and improved birth outcomes, Gautam said. Within The Gambia, previous studies had shown an association between checkups and outcomes, but there was limited empirical evidence estimating the causal effects these checkups have on low birth weight. However, in this latest study, Notre Dame researchers moved beyond correlation to demonstrate a causal link, Gautam said.

Study co-author Santosh Kumar Gautam conducts research exploring the intersection of global health and poverty reduction.

The study analyzed data on more than 4,400 births from the 2019-20 Gambian Demographic and Health Survey. Researchers found that each prenatal checkup was associated with a small increase in birth weight — about .77 ounces — and a 1.2 percent reduction in low birth weight, Gautam said.

But Gautam stressed that prenatal checkups had a cumulative effect: Mothers who had four or more prenatal checkups were 3.9 percent less likely to have a newborn with low birth weight than mothers who had fewer than four checkups. The average treatment effect for having four or more checkups was a 2.5-ounce increase in birth weight and a 4.7 percent reduction in the incidence of low birth weight. Gautam said these improvements would help to reduce deaths within the first month and the first year after birth.

Prenatal checkups play a vital role in detecting and managing conditions like intrauterine growth restriction, Gautam said, which occurs when a baby does not grow at the expected rate during pregnancy. The interventions delivered during these visits, including iron and folic acid supplementation and ongoing education about healthy behaviors, can target the causes of low fetal growth and ensure babies have a healthy weight at birth, he said.

Gautam co-authored the study with Alasana Suso, a 2024 graduate of the Keough 91��Ƶ's Master of Global Affairs program, and Elizabeth Wood, associate professor of the practice and director of the Master of Science in Global Health program within the University's Eck Institute for Global Health.

Elizabeth Wood, one of the study’s co-authors, works to build human and institutional capacity within low- and middle-income countries.

The research is part of the larger work that the Eck Institute for Global Health does to address the critical healthcare needs of pregnant and postpartum women and their children. Through its Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Initiative, the institute fosters interdisciplinary collaborations and inspires advancements to improve health outcomes around the world. The research is also part of larger work by the Keough 91��Ƶ to address issues relating to global poverty and inequality.

Gautam and Wood said future research should examine the comprehensiveness and quality of prenatal checkups to determine which components most effectively support fetal growth and neonatal survival in resource-constrained settings such as The Gambia.

Ultimately, researchers said, this study and new work that builds on it can provide additional evidence that will inform public health policy and improve birth outcomes.

“Our findings are especially valuable for guiding policy in sub-Saharan Africa, as they highlight both the quantity and quality of care as essential for meaningful gains in neonatal health,” Wood said. “These insights underscore the urgent need for sustained investments to ensure mothers have access to comprehensive prenatal checkups so that their children start life on a healthy path.”

Originally published by Josh Stowe at keough.nd.edu on June 19.

Contact: Tracy DeStazio, associate director of media relations, 574-631-9958 or tdestazi@nd.edu

Designing ethical technology to save democracy: Notre Dame researcher unveils policy blueprint to address online misinformation, polarization

2025-06-19T12:28:00-04:00

Lisa Schirch (left) participated in a campus panel on social media and democracy along with Nick Penniman (center) founder and CEO of Issue One, and former House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt (right), co-chair of Issue One’s Council for Responsible Social Media. (Photo by Michael Caterina/University of Notre Dame)

Today’s social media environment threatens to rip the fabric of democracy and jeopardize self-governance in the United States and around the world, according to Lisa Schirch, a researcher at the University of Notre Dame. But she has worked with a team of more than two dozen technologists to identify a solution: Building prosocial technology that prioritizes trust, cooperation and problem solving.

Schirch, the Richard G. Starmann, Sr. Professor of the Practice of Peace 91��Ƶ at the University of Notre Dame’s Keough 91��Ƶ of Global Affairs, recently shared these findings at Notre Dame’s National Convening on Social Media and Democracy.

Led by the Notre Dame Democracy Initiative, and in partnership with the Council for Responsible Social Media and Issue One, this gathering of government, industry and academic leaders sought to facilitate policy changes that can potentially redirect social media to foster healthy civic engagement, improve understanding of political issues, build trust in public institutions, bridge divided viewpoints and transform polarizing conversations.

The findings Schirch presented are synthesized in a policy blueprint that builds on eight years of research and consultation by the Council on Technology and Social Cohesion, which Schirch co-founded. This effort included a dozen workshops with more than 450 experts that Schirch convened over the past two years to analyze the root cause of harmful online content.

“Digital platforms are not neutral — their design influences human behavior,” Schirch said. “So it’s critical that we address major issues with current designs, which cause the misinformation, polarization and other public discourse issues that we experience on social media and ultimately undermine democracy.”

User experience design choices drive toxic polarization, misinformation

Critics of today’s frequently toxic online environment often focus on bad actors. But that’s a mistake, Schirch said. The larger issue is user experience, or UX design. Often, she said, deliberate design choices prioritize profit at the expense of individual and societal well-being. These choices algorithmically amplify problematic content that preys on users’ fear and anger.

Schirch said this profit-at-all-costs approach explains why people encounter and ultimately embrace online falsehoods, why they fail to exercise healthy skepticism when targeted by disinformation campaigns and why they develop negative opinions about people who don’t share their political views. And this dynamic, she said, leads to dire consequences.

“We are in a very dangerous situation here where we have severe threats to our democracy in the United States,” Schirch said during a public panel at Notre Dame’s recent technology and democracy conference. “I want to start moving toward a solution.”

Fellow panelist Dick Gephardt, former House Majority Leader and co-chair of Issue One’s Council for Responsible Social Media, reinforced the urgency of finding solutions: “We are going to lose this democracy, in my humble opinion, unless we can pull this to a better place.”

Using prosocial technology to strengthen civic engagement

How do policymakers address misinformation and polarization online? How can societies develop technologies that enable citizens to build trust and find common ground?

Schirch’s policy blueprint proposes solutions that focus on three key areas:

Advancing prosocial technology design. Recommendations include implementing a tiered certification system that incentivizes platforms to be more mindful of their impact; requiring minimum technology design building codes; and supporting third-party services that help mediate users’ relationships with technology platforms, giving them more control over their data.
Providing foundational governance for digital platform research. Recommendations include requiring democratic oversight of platforms as well as audits to increase transparency on everything from content moderation to ad targeting to algorithmic recommendations; developing a data standard for prosocial technology metrics; and enforcing safe harbor protections for independent, accredited researchers who evaluate platforms and their impact, empowering them to document abuses without facing backlash.
Shifting market forces to support prosocial design. Recommendations include encouraging competition by enforcing antitrust and anti-monopoly laws; codifying product liability for adverse effects of technology; and incentivizing and investing in prosocial technology through channels ranging from private philanthropy to support from universities and nongovernmental organizations.

Importantly, Schirch said, these recommendations enlist government, civil society and the private sector as stakeholders, providing incentives for them to collaborate on proactive governance to address platform design issues and hold technology companies accountable.

The result, Schirch said, can be a more productive, less polarized public discourse that empowers citizens to find areas of agreement across party lines and encourages them to work together to find workable solutions to major challenges.

Supporting Notre Dame’s broader democracy work

Lisa Schirch explores how digital technologies can support or undermine the social cohesion that is vital to democracy.

The policy blueprint draws upon Schirch’s earlier research on democracy and technology. Ultimately, it is part of larger University efforts to study and strengthen democracy. This includes the work of the Notre Dame Democracy Initiative as well as the Keough 91��Ƶ, which researches issues relating to democracy and human rights.

Faculty experts from across campus are supporting this work. They include researchers from the Lucy Family Institute for Data and Society, the Notre Dame-IBM Technology Ethics Lab, the Rooney Center for the Study of American Democracy and the Kellogg Institute for International 91��Ƶ, part of the Keough 91��Ƶ.

Together, these experts will create an interdisciplinary and University-wide foundation for sustaining the work that extends beyond the recent campus convening. And Schirch is eager to support this mission.

“Technology is a tool that can be used to either support or erode democratic institutions and practices, and the choice is up to us,” Schirch said. “Ultimately, I want this work to guide evidence-based solutions that strengthen the health of democracy worldwide.”

The policy blueprint was co-published by three organizations: the Council on Technology and Social Cohesion, which Schirch co-founded; the Peacetech and Polarization Lab that Schirch directs, which is housed within the Keough 91��Ƶ’s Kroc Institute for International Peace 91��Ƶ; and the Toda Peace Institute, where Schirch is a senior research fellow.

Originally published by Josh Stowe at keough.nd.edu on June 17.

Contact: Tracy DeStazio, associate director of media relations, 574-631-9958 or tdestazi@nd.edu

Partial peace deals may facilitate comprehensive accords, offering roadmap for policymakers, practitioners

2025-06-11T11:07:13-04:00

Partial peace deals that focus on limited sets of issues can help build trust among negotiators and facilitate comprehensive accords, according to new Notre Dame research. Findings can inform the work of policymakers and practitioners working to end conflicts.

Over the past two decades, conflicts in more than 40 countries, including El Salvador, Northern Ireland, Senegal and The Philippines, have ended in comprehensive peace agreements. But these broader accords don’t happen all at once.

Partial peace agreements — deals signed along the way that address issues ranging from ceasefires to constitutional reforms and human rights — could provide a blueprint for peacebuilding policymakers and practitioners, new research from the University of Notre Dame suggests.

The study, published in the Journal of Peace Research, draws on a newly expanded dataset from the University’s Peace Accords Matrix — a trusted resource for global peace practitioners seeking actionable evidence. Researchers examined 51 provisions from 42 comprehensive peace agreements and 236 partial peace agreements.

“Thanks to this newly expanded dataset, we uncovered findings that can inform the work of negotiators in various global contexts,” said lead author Madhav Joshi, research professor and associate director of the Peace Accords Matrix, which is housed within the Kroc Institute for International Peace 91��Ƶ, part of Notre Dame’s Keough 91��Ƶ of Global Affairs. “These insights are possible because of the impactful research that takes place at the Peace Accords Matrix.”

Expanded data yields fresh insights

Partial peace agreements offer multiple strategic advantages, Joshi said. They can help negotiating parties consolidate incremental progress; serve as metrics for stakeholders and the international community; allow parties to test specific measures before fully committing to them; and signal a larger commitment to the peace process.

The new study provided a deeper look into how these agreements work, Joshi said. Researchers found the following:

A greater number of partial agreements is associated with higher implementation of comprehensive agreements.
Generally speaking, it is a better strategy to pursue more partial agreements, even if this lengthens negotiations.
Longer negotiations that do not produce partial agreements are never better than short negotiations.

Madhav Joshi’s research explores peace agreement design and implementation.

“These findings suggest that partial peace agreements play an important role in building trust and strengthening relationships between negotiators to help peace processes succeed,” Joshi said.

The study also helped identify additional avenues for future research, Joshi said, which might explore why parties in some processes (but not others) pursue further partial agreements. Further studies could explain why some partial agreements are implemented immediately while others are not, and why only some partial accords reaffirm previous agreements.

“Ultimately, this study is an example of our evidence-to-action approach,” Joshi said. “Our research can guide the work of policymakers and practitioners on the ground who work to end conflicts and save lives. Putting this evidence in their hands is critical to designing effective policies that will yield a tangible impact, helping societies escape the destructive cycles of violence and war.”

The study received funding from the Keough 91��Ƶ’s Kroc Institute for International Peace 91��Ƶ. Joshi co-authored the report with Matthew Hauenstein, assistant research professor at Notre Dame’s Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society and Jason Quinn, research associate professor and a principal researcher for the Peace Accords Matrix data project.

Originally published by Josh Stowe at keough.nd.edu on June 10.

Contact: Tracy DeStazio, associate director of media relations, 574-631-9958 or tdestazi@nd.edu

World’s biggest polluters are least affected by environmental damage and conflict, new research warns

2025-05-15T15:07:31-04:00

Children are pictured in Idlib Governorate in Syria. Since 2011, the Syrian civil war has caused significant environmental damage, including water pollution, deforestation and soil erosion, as well as worsening drought and water scarcity.

Study highlights urgent need for policy to address global inequality

The world's largest polluters are also the safest from the environmental damage they help create — while the countries least to blame face the greatest threats, including the increased possibility of violent conflict.

These findings, from a new study co-authored by a University of Notre Dame researcher, challenge conventional understandings of the relationship between conflict and the environment, highlighting inequalities that disproportionately harm countries in the Global South. The study was published in Communications Earth & Environment, a Nature series journal.

The new findings underscore the need to reimagine the conversation around the environment and conflict, with an eye to helping countries that contribute the least to climate change and yet suffer the most from resource extraction, environmental risks and conflict, said co-author Richard (Drew) Marcantonio, assistant professor of environment, peace and global affairs at the University’s Keough 91��Ƶ of Global Affairs.

“Our study highlights the gap in current research evaluating the connection between ecological sustainability and peace,” Marcantonio said. “This is crucial for designing evidence-based policies that address global inequalities and support human dignity.”

The link between environmental risks and conflict is well documented, Marcantonio said: Conflict often leads to environmental deterioration and depletes resources; and environmental risks like climate change or resource scarcity can trigger or worsen conflicts by displacing people or creating competition over limited resources.

Overall, Marcantonio said, greater environmental risks are associated with higher levels of conflict, and social norms and institutions play an important role in this connection.

Previous research had suggested that the inverse might also be true — that high levels of ecological sustainability and peace were similarly correlated. But the new study found just the opposite, Marcantonio said.

A key difference in the new research lies in how it measures both sustainability and peace. Previous studies have used conventional measures of sustainability and peace, Marcantonio said, and these measures overestimate both characteristics in wealthier countries. But the new study used more holistic measures that account for total ecological footprint and participation in intrastate conflicts that harm other countries.

The result was a more thorough and accurate assessment that highlighted pressing global inequalities, Marcantonio said.

Richard (Drew) Marcantonio is an assistant professor of environment, peace and global affairs at Notre Dame’s Keough 91��Ƶ of Global Affairs. His research explores connections between conflict and the environment.

“In evaluating where peace is most prevalent, our results reaffirm the need to ask and answer the question of how to achieve a good life for all within planetary boundaries — or, in this case, comprehensively sustainable peace for all,” Marcantonio said. “And, although our results suggest that ecological sustainability and peace are not positively correlated, this relationship is not a necessary one. Ecologically sustainable peace is possible.”

Marcantonio, who is affiliated with the University’s Environmental Change Initiative, co-authored the study with Sean Field, an assistant professor in the 91��Ƶ of Computing and Department of Anthropology at the University of Wyoming. The research was funded by the Kroc Institute for International Peace 91��Ƶ, part of the Keough 91��Ƶ.

The study’s findings suggest directions for additional work that can provide further evidence for effective peace and sustainability policies, Marcantonio said.

“Future research should focus on how comprehensively sustainable peace can be attained and sustained for all to enjoy without potentially externalizing conflict risks,” he said. “As rates of conflict and environmental risk continue to rise globally, exploring and determining how to effectively address this paradox is essential.”

Originally published by Josh Stowe at keough.nd.edu on May 15.

Contact: Tracy DeStazio, Associate Director of Media Relations, tdestazi@nd.edu; 269-769-8804

Empowering South Bend entrepreneurs: Notre Dame loan partnership aims to fuel opportunity, deepen community engagement

2025-05-09T11:00:00-04:00

Raymond Barbour, owner of Ko's Port-a-Pit Barbecue, prepares smoked ribs under a tent at AutoZone on Western Avenue in South Bend.

Raymond Barbour knows the impact a well-timed loan can make for a small entrepreneur.

Barbour, the owner of Ko’s Port-a-Pit Barbecue, plans to build a new trailer that will help him haul his slow-cooked pulled pork and smoked ribs around the South Bend area to better serve customers. So he was pleased to learn about a University of Notre Dame initiative that will provide loans to help small local entrepreneurs scale up their operations.

“The smallest thing can make the biggest difference,” said Barbour, a graduate of the South Bend Entrepreneurship and Adversity Program, which is administered by the McKenna Center for Human Development and Global Business, part of the University of Notre Dame’s Keough 91��Ƶ of Global Affairs. “The right timing is everything. When you have the financing, you can take things to the next level.”

That’s the goal of the loan initiative, said Michael H. Morris, professor of the practice at the Keough 91��Ƶ. It is an expansion of the Jubilee Initiative for Financial Inclusion, a longtime program run by students in Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business.

Although the Jubilee Initiative began as a way to teach financial literacy and assist local residents with emergency expenses, the new loan initiative, which will begin in September, will broaden this work to include supporting graduates of the South Bend Entrepreneurship and Adversity Program, Morris said. Entrepreneurs can apply for 24-month loans of up to $1,500 for revenue-generating, non-recurring expenses; and, if they pay the loans off as agreed, interest will be waived. The new initiative will provide up to five loans per year, and more information on how to apply will be available this fall.

“Even small amounts of cash, say $1,500 or $2,000, can make a significant difference, particularly for entrepreneurs who don’t qualify for conventional lending and who don’t have the personal networks that can enable them to access other sources of funding,” Morris said. “We teach people to be resourceful and leverage all the resources they can, whether it’s cooking in a church kitchen or adopting unconventional marketing tactics to gain visibility. But money is tight for the entrepreneurs with whom we partner. Most of them can’t get a traditional business loan, even from their local credit union. So a quick infusion of cash can really help them gain traction.”

Often, Morris said, such loans might help entrepreneurs with much-needed equipment purchases. That’s the hope for Barbour, who needs to acquire additional parts he can weld together as he builds his new trailer.

It’s also something Jamie McKinstry thinks about.

McKinstry is the owner of Jetta’s Kettle Corn, a home-based business she launched after a 30-year career driving buses for the South Bend Community 91��Ƶ Corporation. She started the business — its name being a combination of her first initial and her middle name — as a way to make income in retirement. Now she sells her sweet and salty treats, which are organic, gluten-free and vegan, at area locations including the South Bend Farmers Market.

Jamie McKinstry, the owner of Jetta’s Kettle Corn, shows off her products. McKinstry started her business as a way to make money after retiring from a three-decade career as a school bus driver.

“People see me out and about in the area,” said McKinstry, another graduate of the South Bend Entrepreneurship and Adversity Program. “What they don't see is how I use a kettle pot to make the corn. I make sure everything comes together just right, and then I package and label it so that it’s ready for my customers. All that requires equipment. If I were to get additional funding, I would modernize my equipment. I would also like to purchase a miniature school bus and turn it into a mobile kettle corn vehicle.”

Students who work with local entrepreneurs are excited about the loan initiative. Louis Rauch, a senior finance major and the CEO of the Jubilee Initiative, welcomed the chance to collaborate with the McKenna Center through its downtown South Bend Collaboration Hub.

“We are enthusiastic about utilizing student consultants at the Collaboration Hub to help clients navigate our loan process,” Rauch said.

Marshall Smith, a senior international economics major, also welcomed the partnership. “As we move forward with these entrepreneur loans,” he said, “we have an opportunity to build meaningful relationships with the local community.”

Deepening community engagement is key, said Kristen Collett-Schmitt, the Jubilee Initiative's faculty adviser and associate dean for the undergraduate and specialized master’s programs in Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business. The loan initiative will provide important opportunities for students to partner closely with members of the South Bend community, she said.

“The Jubilee Initiative for Financial Inclusion has long served as a powerful model for community engagement, providing Notre Dame students with practical experience in making a positive impact in South Bend through affordable loans and financial education,” Collett-Schmitt said. “The addition of the business loan initiative, in partnership with the South Bend Entrepreneurship and Adversity Program, marks a transformative step, enabling students to directly fuel the growth and innovation of our local entrepreneurs.”

Originally published by Josh Stowe at keough.nd.edu on May 8.

Contact: Tracy DeStazio, associate director of media relations, 574-631-9958 or tdestazi@nd.edu

Federally funded research explores how AI tools can improve manufacturing worker safety, product quality

2025-05-06T10:06:11-04:00

Recent artificial intelligence advances have largely focused on text, but AI increasingly shows promise in other contexts, including manufacturing and the service industry. In these sectors, targeted AI improvements can improve product quality and worker safety, according to a new study co-authored by an interdisciplinary team of experts from the University of Notre Dame.

The study, published in Information Fusion, explores how a class of AI tools capable of processing multiple types of inputs and reasoning can affect the future of work. These tools, which include ChatGPT, are known as multimodal large language models. And while most studies on AI and work have focused on office work, this new research examined production work settings, where the benefits of AI may seem less apparent.

Notre Dame researchers collaborated with Indiana welding experts at the Elkhart Area Career Center, Plymouth High 91��Ƶ, Career Academy South Bend, Plumbers & Pipefitters Local Union 172 and Ivy Tech Community College to gather images for the study, leveraging relationships cultivated through the work of the University’s iNDustry Labs. Northern Indiana has one of the highest concentrations of manufacturing jobs in the United States and iNDustry Labs has collaborated with more than 80 companies in the region on more than 200 projects.

Research focused on welding across several industries: RV and marine, aeronautical and farming. The study examined how accurately large language models assessed weld images to determine whether the welds shown would work for different products. Researchers found that while these AI tools showed promise in assessing weld quality, they performed significantly better analyzing curated online images compared to actual welds.

“This discrepancy underscores the need to incorporate real-world welding data when training these AI models, and to use more advanced knowledge distillation strategies when interacting with AI,” said co-author Nitesh Chawla, the Frank M. Freimann Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Notre Dame and the founding director of the University’s Lucy Family Institute for Data and Society. “That will help AI systems ensure that welds work as they should. Ultimately, this will help improve worker safety, product quality and economic opportunity.”

Researchers discovered that context-specific prompts may enhance the performance of AI models in some cases, and noted that the size or complexity of the models did not necessarily lead to better performance. Ultimately, the study’s co-authors recommended that future studies focus on improving models’ ability to reason in unfamiliar domains.

“Our study shows the need to fine-tune AI to be more effective in manufacturing and to provide more robust reasoning and responses in industrial applications,” said Grigorii Khvatski, a doctoral student in Notre Dame’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering and a Lucy Family Institute Scholar.

Yong Suk Lee, associate professor of technology, economy and global affairs in Notre Dame’s Keough 91��Ƶ of Global Affairs and program chair for technology ethics at Notre Dame's Institute for Ethics and the Common Good, said the study’s findings have important implications for the future of work.

“As AI adoption in industrial contexts grows, practitioners will need to balance the trade-offs between using complex, expensive general-purpose models and opting for fine-tuned models that better meet industry needs,” Lee said. “Integrating explainable AI into these decision-making frameworks will be critical to ensuring that AI systems are not only effective but also transparent and accountable.”

The study received funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation Future of Work program and is one of the federally funded research projects at the University of Notre Dame.

In addition to Chawla, Khvatski and Lee, study co-authors include Corey Angst, the Jack and Joan McGraw Family Collegiate Professor of IT, Analytics and Operations in the University’s Mendoza College of Business; Maria Gibbs, senior director of Notre Dame’s iNDustry Labs; and Robert Landers, advanced manufacturing collegiate professor in Notre Dame’s College of Engineering.

Originally published by Josh Stowe at keough.nd.edu on May 5.

Contact: Tracy DeStazio, associate director of media relations, 574-631-9958 or tdestazi@nd.edu

Through respectful dialogue and encounter, students learn about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and work for peace

2025-03-10T11:57:00-04:00

For Tess Jacob, a University of Notre Dame senior majoring in global affairs, a recent intercultural encounter in Rome provided a deeply humanizing way to understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The February trip, which included fellow Notre Dame students as well as both Arab and Jewish students from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv University, did not focus on the grim statistics of the conflict or the unrelenting shock of media headlines.

Notre Dame senior Tess Jacob helps paint a mural, one of the activities that enabled a diverse group of students to bond and build trust during their time in Rome.

Instead, the trip focused on the importance of understanding narratives, pursuing respectful dialogue and developing a deeper understanding of people who hold different perspectives. In this way, it built upon the University of Notre Dame’s larger focus on civil dialogue and the empathetic, people-first approach it has taken to teaching and learning about the conflict.

“My academic career at Notre Dame has involved reading, writing and talking about conflict, but I have never had an opportunity like this to meet and engage with the people who are living through it,” Jacob said. “This was a unique experience. It was about building a space where people felt comfortable in expressing their views and also being able to see each other in a different light. Ultimately, this provided the foundation for a nuanced and empathetic dialogue that was enriching and enlightening.”

Seeing shared humanity

And that, according to Notre Dame professors Mahan Mirza and Tzvi Novick, was the goal of the trip: an encounter that humanized people directly impacted by a deeply entrenched global conflict.

The two instructors co-teach a related class on the conflict, “Israel, Palestine and What We Owe Each Other,” and co-lead a series of related talks as part of this year’s Notre Dame Forum. Mirza and Novick co-led the trip along with Elitzur A. Bar-Asher Siegal, a colleague at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Together, the three instructors drew on their experience of bringing different audiences together in dialogue, working with partner organizations to facilitate an impactful encounter. In addition to participating in dialogue sessions, attendees pursued a variety of connection-building activities, such as painting a mural, touring Rome’s landmarks and attending an audience with Pope Francis.

“As I have processed the horrors of the violence in the region, I have recently found myself struggling to keep hope alive,” said Mirza, teaching professor in Notre Dame’s Keough 91��Ƶ of Global Affairs and executive director of the school’s Ansari Institute for Global Engagement with Religion. “But after witnessing the transformation of students as they learn with and about each other through this kind of powerful encounter, and after seeing them imagine a different kind of future together, it becomes impossible not to hope.”

The encounter made the conflict real, said Novick, the Abrams Professor of Jewish Thought and Culture in Notre Dame’s Department of Theology. And it also made the humanity of others real — something Novick said can change the way people think about the conflict.

Notre Dame professors Tzvi Novick, left, and Mahan Mirza, right, water a lemon tree, a symbol of hope and reconciliation. In teaching about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, they have focused on empowering students to understand different narratives and pursue respectful dialogue.

“You simply can't speak or think about the conflict in the same way when, for every statement that someone makes about a Palestinian or an Israeli, you can call to mind the name and something of the personality, and the personal story, of someone whom you sat down to a meal with, or spoke with directly, or painted a painting with,” Novick said. “There were plenty of strong words and raised voices throughout our conversations; these were not kumbaya circles by any means. And yet, everyone sat and ate with each other and genuinely appreciated the opportunity to learn more about each other.”

Students said they gained tangible benefits from the experience. For Majdulin Mujahed, a Palestinian student from Tel Aviv University, it was a chance to move past cultural barriers and truly see other people.

“Everyone has a veiled window into their identity and self-perception, and it becomes slightly more visible at moments of challenge or comfort,” Mujahed said. “This setting allowed me to glimpse beyond that veil and form a more intricate image of the person before me. I was thus able to understand the other’s narrative on a deeper level.”

For Tomy Stockman, a Jewish student from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the experience provided chances to authentically bond with people from different backgrounds, and to witness fellow participants doing so.

“I saw an Arab student and a Jewish student, who just a moment ago had a major argument about fundamental principles of this conflict, comfort each other in their frustration moments afterward, and then share a pasta dinner an hour later,” Stockman said. “This has shown me that building fruitful dialogue is only possible through creating a sense of community — being able to disagree but sticking together through the pain with mutual understanding and love.”

Max Kitchell, a first-year global affairs and economics major from Notre Dame, appreciated the opportunity to take his learning experience beyond the classroom and hear others’ perspectives. The result, he discovered, was a deeper, richer understanding of the human side of conflict.

“I think it is easy to say, ‘I've taken all the classes, I've gone to all the lectures, I've read the books, what more is there to understand?’” Kitchell said. “But this dialogue experience showed me how little I still understood. There is always more nuance, more complexity to grasp; dialogue reveals layers.”

Working for empathy and peace

One of the emotional highlights of the trip, participants said, was an audience with Pope Francis, during which students presented him with a heartfelt letter, handwritten in four languages: Arabic, English, Hebrew and Spanish.

The intercultural encounter sought to build a space where students felt comfortable expressing their views, providing a foundation for empathetic understanding around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“We came to seek not consensus but the capacity to understand each other,” the students wrote. “We emerge from this journey with deeper connections with one another, and thus with hope. As these encounters have shown us, honest cross-cultural conversations help us see each others’ dignity through and in our differences.

“May the Church continue to support these encounters for other communities and ours. Please join us in praying for the courage to dialogue and for peace.”

That meeting underscored the importance of dialogue and encounter, something Annika Singh, a sophomore economics major from Notre Dame, experienced repeatedly on the trip.

“Though each day had disagreements and tension, the group was united in its commitment to honesty and empathy with each other,” Singh said. “I've returned from this experience empowered to engage in conversations with people I may disagree with, keeping in mind that we all have common hopes and values we can work toward together.”

Partnerships make experience possible

The trip was made possible thanks to the generous support of many partners. Notre Dame worked with Middle Meets, an organization co-founded by Stockman that includes Jewish and Arab university students at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv University, under the guidance of Professor Bar-Asher Siegal.

The encounter also received generous support from Scholas Occurentes, an international organization founded by Pope Francis that seeks to create a culture of encounter by bringing young people from different backgrounds together in dialogue; and from Notre Dame Global, which hosted a gathering at Notre Dame Rome.

In addition, the trip received additional funding from several Notre Dame sources, including the Keough 91��Ƶ’s Kroc Institute for International Peace 91��Ƶ and its Ansari Institute for Global Engagement with Religion, and from the Abrams Chair in Jewish Thought and Culture in the Department of Theology, part of Notre Dame’s College of Arts & Letters.

Watch: Highlights from the Rome Intercultural Encounter

Special thanks to Scholas Occurentes, one of Notre Dame’s partners in organizing this trip, for producing this video.

Originally published by Josh Stowe at keough.nd.edu on March 6.

Using robots in nursing homes linked to higher employee retention, better patient care

2025-01-08T12:51:00-05:00

Facing high employee turnover and an aging population, nursing homes have increasingly turned to robots to complete a variety of care tasks, but few researchers have explored how these technologies impact workers and the quality of care.

A new study from a University of Notre Dame expert on the future of work finds that robot use is associated with increased employment and employee retention, improved productivity and a higher quality of care. The research has important implications for the workplace and the long-term care industry.

Yong Suk Lee, associate professor of technology, economy and global affairs at Notre Dame’s Keough 91��Ƶ of Global Affairs, was the lead author for the study, published in Labour Economics. Most studies of robots in the workplace have focused on manufacturing and the industrial sector, but Lee’s research broke new ground by analyzing long-term care — and by looking at the different types of robots used in this setting. Researchers drew on surveys of Japanese nursing homes taken in 2020 and 2022.

“Our research focused on Japan because it is a super-aging society that provides a good example of what the future could entail elsewhere — a declining population, a growing share of senior citizens and a declining share of working-age people,” Lee said. “We need to be ready for this new reality.”

In 2022, for instance, more than 57 million U.S. residents were 65 or older, according to the National Council on Aging. The Census Bureau forecasts that by 2050, this number will grow to 88.5 million.

The impact on workers

In a future where there are more senior citizens requiring care, using robots in a targeted fashion could benefit workers and patients alike, Lee said. The study analyzed three types of robots that are increasingly used in assisted living facilities:

Transfer robots, which nurses use to lift, move and rotate patients in beds and around rooms.
Mobility robots, which patients use to move around and to bathe.
Monitoring and communication robots, which include technologies such as computer vision and bed sensors that can monitor patient data such as movement and share it with care providers.

Robots now help nursing home workers complete a variety of care tasks, reducing employee turnover and improving the quality of care patients receive.

“We found that robot adoption complements care workers by reducing quit rates,” Lee said. “This is important because turnover is a big concern in nursing homes. Workers typically experience a great deal of physical pain, particularly in their knees and back. The work is hard and the pay is low. So robot use was associated with employee retention.”

While robot use was associated with an overall employment increase, Lee said, the trend seems to have helped some workers more than others: It was associated with an increased demand for part-time, less experienced employees and with less demand for more experienced workers.

Improving patient care

Patients benefited in facilities that have used robots, according to the study. The nursing homes that Lee’s team studied reported a decrease in the use of patient restraints and in the pressure ulcers or bedsores that nursing home residents commonly suffer, largely because of a lack of mobility. Both metrics are widely used in the long-term care industry to measure patient outcomes, Lee said.

By removing the physical strain associated with certain tasks, Lee said, robots may have made room for care workers to focus on tasks better suited for human beings.

“Robots can improve productivity by shifting the tasks performed by care workers to those involving human touch, empathy and dexterity,” Lee said. “Ultimately, robots can help workers provide a higher level of patient care.”

“This research provides critical insights into how societies can successfully navigate the challenges of caring for aging populations”

The future of work

Lee co-authored the study with Toshiaki Iizuka from the University of Tokyo and Karen Eggleston from Stanford University. The study received funding from Stanford’s Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, Stanford’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International 91��Ƶ Japan Fund and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, as well as the Keough 91��Ƶ’s Liu Institute for Asia and Asian 91��Ƶ and Kellogg Institute for International 91��Ƶ.

This latest research fits into Lee’s ongoing work to examine how new technologies, including artificial intelligence and robotics, affect inequality and the future of work. Lee serves as program chair in technology ethics for the Institute for Ethics and the Common Good, a key element of the Notre Dame Ethics Initiative. He is also a faculty affiliate of the Keough 91��Ƶ’s McKenna Center for Human Development and Global Business and a faculty fellow of the school’s Kellogg Institute for International 91��Ƶ, Pulte Institute for Global Development and Liu Institute for Asia and Asian 91��Ƶ.

“This research provides critical insights into how societies can successfully navigate the challenges of caring for aging populations,” Lee said. “It will help inform the work of the long-term care industry and help us better understand how technologies impact workers and patients.”

Originally published by Josh Stowe at keough.nd.edu on Jan. 8.

Contact: Tracy DeStazio, associate director of media relations, 574-631-9958 or tdestazi@nd.edu

Research on Colombian peace accord shows that addressing gender issues strengthens peace agreements

2025-01-02T12:04:21-05:00

When it comes to peace processes and negotiations, U.N. Women highlights a stark reality: All too often, women remain invisible and excluded. But a new study by University of Notre Dame political scientist Madhav Joshi draws on evidence from Colombia to show that addressing gender-related issues helps peace agreements succeed.

Gender-inclusive peacebuilding: lessons from Colombia

The study, published in Policy 91��Ƶ Journal, is the first peer-reviewed research that examines Notre Dame’s ongoing work to monitor the Colombian peace accord. It has implications for strengthening peace agreements as well as the women, peace and security agenda that was inspired by a landmark U.N. resolution more than two decades ago.

“An inclusive approach that sees women as changemakers and addresses gender-specific concerns empowers other marginalized groups and cultivates meaningful buy-in from more people,” said Joshi, research professor and associate director of the Peace Accords Matrix, part of the Kroc Institute for International Peace 91��Ƶ at the University of Notre Dame’s Keough 91��Ƶ of Global Affairs. “When you prioritize gender, you end up addressing the broader society’s needs.”

Monitoring progress on Colombia's peace agreement

Madhav Joshi, research professor and associate director of the Peace Accords Matrix, part of the Kroc Institute for International Peace 91��Ƶ at the University of Notre Dame’s Keough 91��Ƶ of Global Affairs. (Photo by Barbara Johnston/University of Notre Dame)

The study is a natural progression for Notre Dame researchers. Since the 2016 Colombian peace agreement ended 50 years of conflict, the Peace Accords Matrix has had primary responsibility for technical verification and for monitoring the implementation of the agreement through its Barometer Initiative.

In his latest research, Joshi analyzed monthly monitoring data for provisions outlined in the Colombian accord. He examined approximately 70 reforms and programs designed to support more than 570 key stipulations in the agreement.

Joshi found that a higher implementation status for gender-related measures (for instance, identifying obstacles that kept women from voting) was related to the agreement’s overall success rate.

Investing in safeguards for gender provisions

Importantly, Joshi also confirmed that negotiators must invest the resources needed to overcome resistance.

When he examined stipulations in the Colombian agreement, he found that the implementation of gender-specific provisions lagged behind the implementation of gender-neutral ones. This indicates a level of societal resistance to changing norms, Joshi said, and the need for policymakers to invest in safeguards.

“This study highlights that gender measures and women’s mobilization are not sufficient without proper safeguards to ensure their implementation,” Joshi said. “But with the necessary support, they will succeed and strengthen peace agreements. And the resulting quality of peace could be really impactful, particularly for transitioning societies such as Colombia.”

Advancing women, peace and security debates

Joshi said the study provides data and methods that other researchers can draw upon as they build on this work.

“My research will advance women, peace and security debates in peace processes,” Joshi said. “This study will help researchers identify factors that help or hinder women’s inclusion in peacebuilding.”

Joshi’s support team for the study included research assistants Clare Barloon, a 2024 Notre Dame graduate who majored in global affairs and art history, and Grace Sullivan, a sophomore majoring in global affairs and minoring in peace studies and gender studies. Jenna Sapiano, a specialist on women, peace and security and a visiting fellow at the Keough 91��Ƶ’s Kroc Institute, provided feedback to help guide the study.

The Peace Accords Matrix Barometer Initiative in Colombia received funding from the U.S. Department of State, Humanity United, the U.N. Multi-Partner Trust Fund and the European Union.

Originally published by Josh Stowe at keough.nd.edu on Dec. 20.

Contact: Tracy DeStazio, associate director of media relations, 574-631-9958 or tdestazi@nd.edu

As Northern Ireland grapples with legacy of the Troubles, Notre Dame experts influence policy to prioritize victims’ rights

2024-11-25T15:59:00-05:00

Northern Ireland has long struggled to reckon with the trauma of the Troubles, a 30-year conflict that killed approximately 3,700 people — many of them civilians — through sectarian violence. Experts in the University of Notre Dame’s Keough 91��Ƶ of Global Affairs recently influenced the design of a Northern Ireland commission to address the conflict’s legacy, sharing key lessons from Colombia on the importance of centering victims in truth and reconciliation.

The open consultation used expertise from the Peace Accords Matrix, part of the school’s Kroc Institute for International Peace 91��Ƶ, as well as the Clingen Family Center for the Study of Modern Ireland, part of the school’s Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish 91��Ƶ. Notre Dame was one of 11 organizations that provided input during the consultation and the only entity outside of Ireland or Northern Ireland to participate. The consultation draws on the school’s experience partnering with universities and civil society organizations that deal with the legacy of conflicts.

Josefina Echavarría Álvarez, director of the Peace Accords Matrix.

The work addressed a critical issue with the United Kingdom’s Legacy and Reconciliation Act of 2023, the most recent step in a series of proposals dealing with the Troubles. Since the conflict ended in 1998 with the Good Friday Agreement, no formal measures included larger issues of memory and reckoning with the past. The act created the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery, which was widely criticized for offering de facto amnesty for crimes that occurred during the conflict. Notre Dame experts emphasized the need to provide opportunities for victims and their families to participate in designing strategies to help the country move forward.

“We told the commission that if you want to address the concerns of the population, it is vital to put victims at the center of your work, and this will ensure decisions and policies are more sustainable,” said Josefina Echavarría Álvarez, professor of the practice and director of the Peace Accords Matrix.

Sharing lessons from Colombia

Experts drew on lessons from the historic 2016 Colombian peace accord when crafting their recommendations, Echavarría said. The agreement ended more than 50 years of armed conflict. The Peace Accords Matrix has had primary responsibility for technical verification and for monitoring the implementation of the accord through its Barometer Initiative.

Notre Dame experts recommended that the Northern Ireland commission:

Engage with wider family members to understand individual preferences and circumstances (recognizing victims’ chosen family, not just blood relatives).
Prioritize the needs of victims and their families and publish a clear guide on how both individuals and groups could participate in its processes.
Hold briefing meetings with requesting individuals and families to share information before publishing final reports.
Handle draft publications with more transparency and respect individual preferences and needs when finalizing reports.

In response to the consultation, the commission published an operational design framework, which outlines what to expect from the commission, the standards it has set for itself and how it can be held accountable by people who engage with it.

From left, Notre Dame graduate students Maria Camila Salamandra Arriaga and Nicolás E. Buitrago Rey participate in a transitional justice workshop in Northern Ireland along with Roberto Vidal of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace in Colombia.

The consultation was part of ongoing work organized by the Clingen Center and the Peace Accords Matrix. This past summer, they convened a workshop with Corrymeela Community, Northern Ireland’s oldest peace and reconciliation organization. The gathering was part of Notre Dame’s Legacy Project, which shares lessons from the Colombian transitional justice program with peacebuilders in other contexts.

The workshop convened experienced transitional justice and peacebuilding practitioners, policymakers and scholars to discuss innovative approaches to the field, and was followed by a conference on addressing human disappearance.

Emma Murphy, a postdoctoral research associate with the Clingen Family Center for the Study of Modern Ireland and the Peace Accords Matrix, said the work represented an important step forward.

“While Northern Ireland is often upheld as a successful case in the field of transitional justice, ongoing issues related to the legacy of the conflict show the need to engage more deeply with the underlying dynamics that led to the outbreak of violence in the first place,” she said. “Colombia offers so many lessons on that front.”

Inclusive approach seeks broad input

Ultimately, Echavarría said, the consultation helped influence policy, nudging the commission to be more responsive to the needs of conflict victims by presenting evidence from Notre Dame’s work in Colombia.

“Restorative justice means that the process, as well as the outcomes, entail listening to all stakeholders involved in the truth-seeking process — and that includes witnesses, victims and offenders,” Echavarría said.

“We know from studying the conflict in Colombia that when policymakers include the people who would benefit from a measure in its design, you see greater transparency, participation and engagement, and the measures adopted are more effective. When people feel they have ownership in the process of seeking justice, that has a significant impact on the outcome.”

Originally published by Josh Stowe at keough.nd.edu on Nov. 25.

Contact: Tracy DeStazio, associate director of media relations, 574-631-9958 or tdestazi@nd.edu

Student research strengthens State Department’s global conflict prevention work

2024-11-14T08:00:00-05:00

Momodou B. Bah, left, a Master of Global Affairs student, discusses his conflict prevention research with Maura Policelli, executive director of the Keough 91��Ƶ Washington Office and professor of the practice.

Momodou B. Bah wants to help prevent atrocities across coastal West Africa, a region at risk for violent conflict. He has interviewed local leaders in Guinea and experts in Washington, D.C., to support this work.

Ishika Sharan is also helping to promote peace and stability in the region, which includes the countries of Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea and Togo. She has studied the bureaucratic hurdles that limit donors’ ability to work together in funding conflict prevention.

Bah, a second-year Master of Global Affairs student, and Sharan, a 2024 Master of Global Affairs graduate, have completed two of the four Keough 91��Ƶ of Global Affairs student projects so far that support the Academic Centers of Conflict Anticipation and Prevention (ACCAP). This collaboration includes the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations (CSO) and several university partners, including the Keough 91��Ƶ.

Input from student research projects will inform the CSO’s ability to anticipate, prevent and respond to global conflict. Undergraduate and graduate students at the Keough 91��Ƶ will have continued opportunities to conduct research with impact.

“Our students have seized the opportunity to engage with State Department officials and produce research that is based on specific policy priorities of the U.S. government,” said Maura Policelli, executive director of the Keough 91��Ƶ Washington Office and professor of the practice at the Keough 91��Ƶ. Policelli has advised and facilitated student projects for ACCAP.

Pursuing policy-relevant research

Students say they appreciate the opportunity to inform the work of policymakers who address global challenges.

“I analyzed drivers of conflict and resilience factors that contribute to atrocity prevention,” said Bah, who is pursuing a concentration in international peace studies. “My research provided me with an opportunity to study coastal West Africa and recommend the necessary actions for the short, medium and long term to help policymakers take a holistic approach to peacebuilding.” For countries such as Guinea, Bah said, that includes monitoring the transition to elections that the ruling military junta has promised, as well as facilitating dialogue to help bridge ethnic and political divides and strengthen social cohesion.

Bah’s research supports the implementation of the Global Fragility Act of 2019, a whole-of-government approach to strengthening fragile states that are at risk for violent conflict. Policymakers have prioritized coastal West Africa as they focus on preventing the spread of extremism from nearby countries in the Sahel region of Africa.

Ishika Sharan, left, has conducted conflict prevention research for ACCAP, drawing on the skills and background she developed as a Master of Global Affairs student working with the Keough 91��Ƶ’s Integration Lab.

Sharan’s research also supports regional conflict prevention. The Keough 91��Ƶ graduate, who pursued a concentration in governance and policy, began her project during her final semester as a student, working with classmate Yaryna Pysko on donor mapping. They analyzed how often-overlooked processes related to bureaucracy, funding mechanisms and coordination among government agencies can affect policy outcomes in the field.

“As a governance and policy student, this experience has been imperative to understanding the nuances and intricacies of policymaking as well as their unintended consequences, despite the best intentions,” Sharan said. “Often, we think of policy in terms of the rigor of the policy intervention itself, not realizing how back-end bureaucratic processes, as well as contextual factors, affect the outcomes. To be working on these intricacies in the sphere of foreign policy was a particularly enlightening and rewarding experience.”

Lexi Koplas, right, discusses her conflict prevention research with Brad Kent, left, and Keith E. Noble, center, of the State Department. Koplas analyzed how non-state actors such as the terrorist group Hamas are adapting to do more with less.

Both Bah and Sharan will present their research findings to policymakers at the inaugural ACCAP conference, which will take place Nov. 18-19 at the Keough 91��Ƶ Washington Office.

Undergraduate global affairs students have also contributed to ACCAP research. Lexi Koplas, who graduated in 2024, studied the strategic ability of non-state actors to do more with less. Her case study of Hamas found that the terrorist group successfully transformed its drone warfare capabilities, in part by capitalizing on basic technologies and access to various drone components in open markets.

Koplas recommended that the United States work with other countries to enhance proliferation prevention capabilities, regulate commercial sales of drone technology and encourage information sharing and international coordination.

“After conducting my research, I appreciated the opportunity to provide policy recommendations in my final paper as an opportunity to comment on U.S. interests in connection with this issue,” Koplas said. “I was able to contribute to conflict prevention research from the perspective of an undergraduate interested in national security and foreign policy.”

Building skills for policy careers

Alexandre Lacaze, a senior from France majoring in global affairs, is working on another research project as part of his global affairs policy capstone seminar with Steve Reifenberg, teaching professor of international development for the Keough 91��Ƶ. Lacaze’s team is helping Global Affairs Canada and the Department of State’s CSO understand how climate change impacts security dynamics in coastal West Africa.

Senior Alexandre Lacaze, left, talks with classmate Tavin Martin during professor Steve Reifenberg's global affairs policy capstone seminar. Lacaze has appreciated contributing to a team research project analyzing how climate change affects security dynamics.

Lacaze, who also serves as a captain for the Notre Dame fencing team, has used his French language skills to help translate interviews. He’s found the project has provided opportunities to develop a variety of skills including leadership, communication, adaptability, teamwork and design thinking.

The project, he said, has been helpful for his professional development. Lacaze plans to pursue a career in international development with a focus on Africa.

“As a French national, I feel compelled to contribute to efforts in countries affected by the legacy of colonization, which I see as a significant factor behind underdevelopment, especially in Africa,” Lacaze said. “Additionally, these countries face severe impacts from climate change despite being some of the least contributors to the issue. This motivates me to play a role in fostering sustainable and long-term development in the region.”

Originally published by Josh Stowe at keough.nd.edu on Nov. 11.

Keough 91��Ƶ invites members of the community to join in International Day of Peace events

2024-09-18T16:25:00-04:00

The Our Lady of the Lake World Peace Plaza includes a prayer for peace, inscribed in six languages, that can be understood by an estimated 97 percent of the world’s population.

The Keough 91��Ƶ of Global Affairs will observe the International Day of Peace with two campus events: a prayer service featuring University President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., on Friday (Sept. 20) and a talk by a Notre Dame graduate who serves in the Sierra Leone government on Tuesday (Sept. 24). Both events are free and open to the public.

Established in 1981 by the United Nations General Assembly, the International Day of Peace is on Saturday (Sept. 21) this year, and this year’s theme is “cultivating a culture of peace.”

University President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., will join the Keough 91��Ƶ for a prayer service on Sept. 20.

At 2 p.m. Friday, Father Dowd will join the Keough 91��Ƶ for a prayer service at the Our Lady of the Lake World Peace Plaza, which is located west of the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes (view on map). Guests can use this link for visitor parking.

The plaza was made possible through the legacy of William J. Pulte, a master builder and community member, who had a passion for world peace. It includes a fountain that displays a prayer for peace in six languages: English, Spanish, Hindi, Arabic, Mandarin Chinese and French. It is estimated that the inscribed prayer can be understood by 97 percent of the world’s population.

The event is hosted by the Keough 91��Ƶ’s Pulte Institute for Global Development. Mary Gallagher, the Marilyn Keough Dean of the Keough 91��Ƶ, will speak at the service, which will include prayers in multiple languages and from multiple faith traditions. Tracy Kijewski-Correa, the William J. Pulte Director of the Pulte Institute, will offer a reflection.

The Honorable Chernor Bah, Sierra Leone’s minister of information and civic education, will speak on campus on Sept. 24.

At 4 p.m. Tuesday, the Honorable Chernor Bah, Sierra Leone’s minister of information and civic education, will speak in the Hesburgh Center Auditorium (view on map). Bah is a 2011 graduate of Notre Dame who earned a master’s degree in international peace studies. His talk is organized by the Keough 91��Ƶ’s Kroc Institute for International Peace 91��Ƶ, and he will also receive the institute’s Distinguished Alumni Award while on campus.

As a child, Bah faced displacement multiple times during Sierra Leone’s 11-year civil war. At the end of the war, at age 15, he founded and led the Children's Forum Network, a mass movement of children who organized and mobilized to demand their voices be included in peace and reconciliation efforts. He was invited to present a report on the experience of Sierra Leonean children to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2002. Since then, Bah has worked with youth in Liberia, Lebanon, Haiti, Uganda and other emergency settings, leading efforts to strengthen youth voices in development and policy processes.

Bah has twice been appointed by the United Nations secretary-general to high-level steering committees and has spoken at the White House, the United Nations General Assembly, the European Union, the African Union and the World Bank. He has also lectured at universities around the world.

Originally published by Josh Stowe at keough.nd.edu on Sept. 18.

Contact: Tracy DeStazio, associate director of media relations, 574-631-9958 or tdestazi@nd.edu

As chief contributor to pollution, business will also be crucial to addressing it and protecting human health

2024-08-12T15:49:00-04:00

A factory smokestack in New Jersey emits pollutants into the atmosphere. (Photo by John Isaac / United Nations Photo via Flickr, licensed under Creative Commons)

Toxic pollution is the single largest cause of death and poor health, killing up to 9 million people each year — about 100 times more than war and terrorism combined. Business produces the bulk of this deadly pollution, but can also play a critical role in addressing it and mitigating its effects, according to new research by University of Notre Dame expert Richard (Drew) Marcantonio.

Marcantonio, whose study was recently published in Business Horizons, is assistant professor of environment, peace and global affairs in Notre Dame’s Keough 91��Ƶ of Global Affairs.

His new research underscores the importance of promoting access to a safe, clean and healthy environment as a human right, as well as the need for business to help protect that right, both of which the United Nations has advocated for in recent years.

“Business is the top cause of pollution,” Marcantonio said. “But it is also one of the most potent tools for countering it and equitably restoring affected communities and ecosystems.”

Pollution, whether in the air, water or soil, harms health and well-being in multiple ways, Marcantonio said, noting that it causes respiratory conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and contributes to malnutrition, chronic stress and disability.

Importantly, the risks are not evenly distributed, Marcantonio said. Most of the people harmed by pollution are neither producing it nor participating in the overconsumption that causes it. About 92 percent of toxic pollution deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, he said. And within more developed countries, the people who are most harmed by pollution live in lower-income and marginalized communities.

Policymakers have called for action to address the global health consequences. In 2021, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed a resolution that recognized access to a healthy environment as a human right. In 2022, the United Nations General Assembly reaffirmed the resolution, declaring that a healthy environment is a human right.

In addition, the United Nations’ Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights say that businesses should respect human rights. The principles specify that business must avoid infringing on the human rights of others and should further address any adverse impacts they have on human rights.

Richard (Drew) Marcantonio’s latest research examines how business contributes to and can help address toxic pollution, which kills up to 9 million people each year. (Photo by Barbara Johnston/University of Notre Dame)

Marcantonio’s study builds upon this human rights perspective of environmental damage and harm to health, leveraging his expertise as an environmental peacebuilder who has conducted research on five continents.

As an environmental peacebuilding expert at Notre Dame, Marcantonio is affiliated with the Business Ethics and Society Program and the Deloitte Center for Ethical Leadership in the Mendoza College of Business; with the Environmental Change Initiative and Lucy Family Institute for Data & Society; and with the Keough 91��Ƶ’s Kellogg Institute for International 91��Ƶ and Kroc Institute for International Peace 91��Ƶ. His study received funding from the Meyer Business on the Frontlines Program, part of the Mendoza College of Business, and from the Environmental Change Initiative.

The research describes toxic pollution as a contributor to “environmental violence,” a form of structural violence that, although less dramatic than armed conflicts, is nevertheless more deadly and debilitating. It calls for business to help address the systemic and structural health inequalities that come with pollution.

“Businesses can take much-needed steps to curb pollution, in part by embracing innovations like adaptive construction, which reuses existing structures, as well as alternative energy options that cut emissions,” Marcantonio said. “In addition, they can provide health services to the communities in which they operate, ensuring that residents are healthier and less vulnerable to pollution.”

“The goal is to protect health as a human right.”

Marcantonio said policymakers can help businesses protect the human right to health by adopting regulations that push companies to innovate and mitigate. For instance, he said mandatory carbon damage disclosures encourage companies to reduce their carbon footprint, and similar disclosures for toxic pollutants might have a similar impact.

“To ignore the role of business in producing the environmental violence of toxic pollution is immensely dangerous and naive,” Marcantonio said. “But to ignore its role as a primary solution would be equally unwise. Policymakers, researchers and business leaders should embrace both realities and work together toward policies and practices that sustainably prioritize human health by reducing toxic pollution and doing more to mitigate its effects. The goal is to protect health as a human right.”

Originally published by Josh Stowe at keough.nd.edu on Aug. 12.

Contact: Tracy DeStazio, associate director of media relations, 574-631-9958 or tdestazi@nd.edu

COVID-19 pandemic tied to low birth weight for infants in India, study shows

2024-07-02T09:00:00-04:00

A mother and her newborn child are pictured in Odisha, India. Photo by Pippa Ranger via Flickr.

The incidence of low birth weight rose sharply in India amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new research from the University of Notre Dame.

Globally, 1 in 4 newborns has a low birth weight (less than 5.5 pounds), and the problem disproportionately affects low- and middle-income countries — particularly in South Asia, home to approximately one-fourth of the world’s population.

Santosh Kumar, associate professor of development and global health economics at Notre Dame’s Keough 91��Ƶ of Global Affairs, co-authored the study published in Communications Medicine, a Nature series journal.

“This research shows that low birth weight became more common in India during the pandemic,” Kumar said. “We saw the exacerbation of a global health problem that affects educational outcomes and poverty rates.

“Children who have lower birth weight as infants often go on to struggle with school, and this limits their capacity to develop what economists often call ‘human capital’ — the key knowledge and skills that will affect their ability to earn a good living and support themselves and their families.”

The study found that babies born between April 2020 and April 2021 had lower birth weights than previous birth cohorts (those born before the pandemic), Kumar said. Researchers analyzed data from more than 200,000 infants, Kumar said, including a pandemic cohort that included almost 12,000 infants and a pre-pandemic cohort of approximately 192,000.

The prevalence of low birth weight was 20 percent in the pandemic group, up from 17 percent in the pre-pandemic group, Kumar said, and infants in the pandemic group weighed about four-tenths of an ounce less than those in the pre-pandemic group.

Santosh Kumar is associate professor of development and global health economics at Notre Dame’s Keough 91��Ƶ of Global Affairs. His research explores the intersection of global health and poverty reduction.

Multiple factors related to the pandemic may have affected the health behaviors of pregnant women and contributed to lower birth weights, Kumar said, including the SARS-CoV-2 virus, stress related to social distancing, economic upheaval and the disruption of maternal and neonatal care.

The study’s co-authors were Clare Hill, a Notre Dame undergraduate student majoring in political science and global affairs with a minor in data science, and Timothy J. Halliday, an economist at the University of Hawaii. The study received funding from the Keough 91��Ƶ’s Kellogg Institute for International 91��Ƶ.

Kumar said this latest research, which expands on his work at the intersection of poverty and global health, highlights the need for targeted policies that reduce the incidence of low birth weights — for instance, ensuring that women from low-income populations have adequate nutrients and caloric intake during pregnancy and also have access to quality prenatal care.

“Our research underscores the need for targeted policies to reduce the risk of low birth weight,” Kumar said. “This will help create greater educational and economic opportunity and, ultimately, reduce poverty.”

Originally published by Josh Stowe at keough.nd.edu on July 1.

Contact: Tracy DeStazio, associate director of media relations, 574-631-9958 or tdestazi@nd.edu

Rigorous new study debunks misconceptions about anemia, education

2024-06-18T10:25:00-04:00

A math teacher explains concepts to a high school class in Hajipur, India. Photo by TESS-India via Flickr.

In low- and middle-income countries, anemia reduction efforts are often touted as a way to improve educational outcomes and reduce poverty. A new study, co-authored by a global health economics expert from the University of Notre Dame, evaluates the relationship between anemia and school attendance in India, debunking earlier research that could have misguided policy interventions.

Santosh Kumar, associate professor of development and global health economics at Notre Dame’s Keough 91��Ƶ of Global Affairs, is co-author of the study, published in Communications Medicine. Kumar’s research explores the intersection of global health and poverty reduction. His latest work evaluates the relationship between anemia and school attendance in India.

The study investigated whether there was a link between anemia and school attendance in more than 250,000 adolescents ages 15 to 18. Earlier observational studies have shown a link between anemia and attendance, even after accounting for variables such as gender and household wealth, according to Kumar. But the new study, which applied more rigorous econometric statistical analysis, did not find such a link, he said.

Santosh Kumar’s research explores the intersection of global health and poverty reduction. His latest work evaluates the relationship between anemia and school attendance in India.

“Most previous research on this topic has used conventional study designs or focused on small geographical areas, which limits its policy relevance,” Kumar said. “Earlier estimates may have been distorted by unobserved household factors related to both anemia and school attendance. So in this study, we focused on the relationship between anemia and attendance among adolescents who were living in the same household.

“Ultimately,” Kumar said, “we found that the link between anemia and schooling is more muted than previously suggested by studies that did not consider household-level factors.”

The findings have important implications for policymakers seeking to improve education in low- and middle-income countries like India, Kumar said. India has widespread school attendance issues and struggles with health conditions such as anemia caused by iron deficiency, particularly in children and adolescents. The country has pushed to improve educational outcomes, in keeping with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, Kumar said. But to achieve that, he said, more research is needed to pinpoint an evidence-based intervention.

This study is part of an ongoing project to do that work and was co-authored with Jan-Walter De Neve of the University of Heidelberg, Omar Karlsson of Lund University in Sweden, Rajesh Kumar Rai of Harvard University and Sebastian Vollmer of the University of Göttingen. The project received funding from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the Swedish Research Council and the West Bengal State Department of Health and Family Welfare in India.

The latest study builds on an earlier one in which Kumar and fellow researchers helped evaluate the results of an iron fortification school lunch program for students ages 7 and 8 in India. That study showed that fortification reduced anemia but did not affect students’ performance in school. A forthcoming study, set to launch in summer 2024, will look at iron fortification for children ages 3 to 5. The research hypothesis is that an early-age nutritional intervention among preschoolers would make a significant impact on physical and cognitive development.

“Our findings have implications for policymakers who want to improve educational outcomes and reduce poverty,” Kumar said. “Effective policies are based on evidence. We need more rigorous statistical analysis to examine the causal relationship between anemia and education.

“This work ties into my larger research agenda, which explores the intersection of global health and poverty reduction. I want to use my academic research to support human dignity by helping to identify evidence-based health policies that will make a tangible difference in people’s lives.”

Originally published by Josh Stowe at keough.nd.edu on June 12.

Contact: Tracy DeStazio, associate director of media relations, 574-631-9958 or tdestazi@nd.edu

'Hybrid’ disaster response shows how localization saves lives

2024-06-13T16:22:00-04:00

A responder surveys damage following Haiti’s 2021 earthquake.

In August 2021, an earthquake struck southwest Haiti, killing thousands of people and leaving more than half a million seeking help. Assessment of this disaster and its response can serve as a model for evaluating future disasters and making life-saving improvements, according to new research from a University of Notre Dame professor.

Tracy Kijewski-Correa, professor of engineering and global affairs and the William J. Pulte Director of the Pulte Institute for Global Development, part of Notre Dame’s Keough 91��Ƶ of Global Affairs, was the lead author for the study, published in the Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering.

“This research shows how the 2021 earthquake response in Haiti leveraged both local data collection and remote expertise on a large scale to quickly assess the damage and inform local decision makers,” Kijewski-Correa said. “This hybrid approach shows how we can proactively embrace localization, empowering affected populations to play a significant role in generating solutions.”

A hybrid disaster assessment approach

This building was damaged by the 2021 earthquake in Haiti, which killed thousands of people and left more than half a million seeking help.

Kijewski-Correa, partners at GeoHazards International and students at Notre Dame helped coordinate the assessment, which she said unfolded amid travel constraints following the assassination of the Haitian president in July 2021. But going hybrid turned out to be an advantage: Small teams of Haitians used smartphones to share data and images with remote engineers.

This divide-and-conquer approach allowed responders to cover more ground more quickly than they could have with a conventional arrangement where engineers traveled to see damage sites firsthand, Kijewski-Correa said. And after any disaster, she said, gathering forensic information quickly, before debris shifts, is critical to determining what caused the damage.

Responders captured a representative sample of different building classes, including residential, educational, commercial, government and medical facilities, Kijewski-Correa said, facilitating a rapid assessment that assigned global damage ratings to more than 12,500 buildings.

Next, remote engineers used machine learning to analyze approximately 40,000 collected images and to identify some 200 homes that were built using traditional Haitian construction, Kijewski-Correa said. This, in turn, enabled data collectors in Haiti to conduct forensic documentation of 30 of these homes that performed well in the earthquake using another mobile app.

Leveraging traditional building techniques

The results were surprising, Kijewski-Correa said: Structures built using traditional Haitian construction fared better than those built with contemporary concrete and masonry approaches that experts had been touting in Haiti. She said the traditional homes’ bracing scheme, which determines how buildings distribute and support the shock imparted by the earthquake, made all the difference.

“This was a crucial takeaway,” Kijewski-Correa said. “Our data showed that traditional Haitian building techniques performed better than poorly implemented modern construction approaches we had recommended in the past. This has key implications for how we should build in Haiti, which has widespread informal construction, lacks mortgages or well-documented land rights, and experiences higher poverty rates.

“In this cultural context, these traditional Haitian approaches are more sustainable on every front,” Kijewski-Correa said. “They use local materials and skill sets, are easier to repair when damaged, and have lower costs and smaller carbon footprints. We absolutely need to promote more of this approach.”

Strengthening disaster resilience

Tracy Kijewski-Correa’s research helps vulnerable communities improve disaster resilience. Her latest study shares a model that empowers local actors in life-saving disaster assessments.

Kijewski-Correa has shared takeaways from the earthquake assessment with researchers and humanitarian responders, including those at the World Bank, to help better support housing recovery after major disasters.

The resulting study received funding from the National Science Foundation, the United States Geological Survey and USAID through the partnership with GeoHazards International, and from the International Scholars Program at the Keough 91��Ƶ’s Kellogg Institute for International 91��Ƶ.

Kijewski-Correa co-authored the study with Eric Canales and Lamarre Presuma (graduates of the Keough 91��Ƶ’s Master of Global Affairs program), Notre Dame engineering graduate student Rachel Hamburger, and former Kellogg International Scholars Angelique Mbabazi and Meredith Lochhead. The research is part of the Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering’s special issue on remote data collection and analysis methods for disaster reconnaissance.

The study has implications for building more sustainably in low-income countries and for promoting localization in disaster assessments, Kijewski-Correa said.

“For years, organizations such as USAID have increasingly emphasized localization, or empowering local people to take a leadership role in programs,” Kijewski-Correa said. “But there has been real reticence to extend that to life safety professions such as engineering because the assessments, if they’re wrong, could have deadly consequences.

“Our model shows that you can have a best-of-both-worlds approach that pairs local knowledge and remote networks with highly specialized engineering expertise. This innovative hybrid approach to localization helped us respond more effectively and ultimately uncovered a key finding that will improve housing recovery recommendations by leveraging local insights. This model can help vulnerable communities worldwide more swiftly learn from disasters and ideally build back better to reduce future risk.”

Originally published by Josh Stowe at keough.nd.edu on June 11.

Contact: Tracy DeStazio, associate director of media relations, 574-631-9958 or tdestazi@nd.edu

Keough 91��Ƶ and Organization of American States partner to protect democracy and human rights

2024-06-06T16:00:00-04:00

From left, Scott Appleby, the Marilyn Keough Dean of the University of Notre Dame’s Keough 91��Ƶ of Global Affairs, and Organization of American States Secretary General Luis Almagro celebrate the announcement of a new partnership to protect human rights and democracy.

The University of Notre Dame’s Keough 91��Ƶ of Global Affairs and the Organization of American States (OAS) have launched a new partnership to strengthen democracy and defend human rights efforts across Latin America. To that end, the institutions will collaborate on joint research and policy projects, exchange faculty experts and train undergraduate and postgraduate students and researchers who work in development, human rights and democracy.

The partnership, outlined in a cooperation agreement, deepens the existing relationship between the Keough 91��Ƶ and OAS, which share a focus on defending democracy and human rights. It will facilitate additional opportunities for mutually beneficial collaboration among researchers, students and policymakers, with the ultimate goal of fighting poverty, building peace and strengthening democracy in an era of backsliding.

Andrés Mejía Acosta, the Keough 91��Ƶ’s Kuster Family Associate Dean for Policy and Practice, and OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro praised the agreement.

“We salute our partnership with the OAS, an organization committed to strengthening democracy, the protection of citizens’ rights and social inclusion,” Mejía Acosta said. “We look forward to making our research knowledge more accessible, exchanging policy lessons and offering students practical experiences by working with OAS colleagues in Washington, D.C., and the region.”

Almagro agreed. “This partnership marks a significant step forward in our shared commitment to upholding the principles of democracy and advancing the well-being of our hemisphere,” he said.

“The University of Notre Dame’s dedication to excellence in education and research is renowned, and we are honored to partner with such a distinguished institution,” Almagro said. “By joining forces, we strengthen our capacity to promote cooperative research and to facilitate the exchange of ideas on issues related to democracy, development and human rights in the OAS member states.”

The collaboration draws on the expertise of faculty and researchers in the Keough 91��Ƶ’s Kellogg Institute for International 91��Ƶ, which specializes in democracy; in its Kroc Institute for International Peace 91��Ƶ; and in its Pulte Institute for Global Development. In addition, it leverages the experiential learning opportunities available across the school and its nine institutes and centers. Finally, it enables Keough 91��Ƶ students to learn from the real-world experience of professionals at OAS.

The arrangement will facilitate dialogue among faculty, staff and administrators who translate research for policy impact; strengthen postgraduate training at the Keough 91��Ƶ; encourage joint conferences and meetings on key issues of shared interest; facilitate the exchange of academic materials; and provide experiential learning opportunities for Keough 91��Ƶ students who can help support OAS goals.

The agreement is the latest development in an ongoing relationship since the school and OAS have worked closely together for years. In 2023, the Keough 91��Ƶ partnered with the OAS’ Department of Social Inclusion to host a training for diplomats that explored migration, asylum and forced displacement in the Americas. And in 2021, the school partnered with the OAS’ Inter-American Commission on Human Rights for a series of panel discussions on promoting human rights.

Mejía Acosta said the partnership will also enable the Keough 91��Ƶ to influence policy by leveraging expertise from its core research programs.

“Our experts will share rigorous academic research that has clear takeaways for policymakers and practitioners,” Mejía Acosta said. “This evidence-based approach will ensure that policy design and implementation is effective and impactful. We are honored to work with our friends and colleagues at the OAS to help support their mission. We share their belief that one of the best ways to support human dignity is by defending human rights, and we look forward to strengthening and deepening our partnership in the coming years.”

Originally published by Josh Stowe at keough.nd.edu on May 29.

Contact: Tracy DeStazio, associate director of media relations, 574-631-9958 or tdestazi@nd.edu

Political elites take advantage of anti-partisan protests to disrupt politics

2024-05-23T09:00:00-04:00

Occupy protesters are pictured in Oakland, California, in 2011. The movement, known for its slogan “We are the 99 percent,” criticized mainstream political parties for representing only the interests of the rich. It was part of a global wave of anti-partisan protests that have disrupted politics in recent years. (Photo by Brian Sims via Flickr, licensed under Creative Commons.)

Protest movements that reject political parties have an unintended consequence, according to new research from the University of Notre Dame: They empower savvy politicians who channel them to shake up the status quo.

The findings provide a framework for understanding recent global political realignments and offer lessons for activists who want to make a meaningful impact. They are particularly relevant in an era when mass protests have become an increasingly common tool to voice dissent with powerful institutions and draw attention to overlooked issues ranging from climate and conflict to inequality and human rights.

Ann Mische, associate professor of sociology and peace studies at the Keough 91��Ƶ of Global Affairs at Notre Dame, and Tomás Gold, a Notre Dame doctoral candidate and doctoral fellow at the Keough 91��Ƶ’s Kellogg Institute for International 91��Ƶ, co-authored the study, published in the American Journal of Sociology. The authors received funding from the Kellogg Institute and the Nanovic Institute for European 91��Ƶ, as well as Notre Dame’s Graduate 91��Ƶ.

“Despite protesters’ strong rejection of parties, political parties have not ignored the protesters,” Mische said. “In fact, many partisan actors have found ways to use this hostility to their advantage, disrupting ‘politics as usual’ and contributing to political reconfigurations that surprised both actors and spectators.”

Mische and Gold analyzed data from the Varieties of Democracy Project, which provides several authoritative ways to measure democracy. The international project, widely cited by scholars, is affiliated with the Keough 91��Ƶ’s Kellogg Institute.

Using the data, Mische and Gold analyzed 12 case studies across Europe, Asia, and North and South America between 2008 and 2016, amid the fallout of the global financial crisis and the ongoing rejection of parties that were seen as unable or unwilling to confront it.

Ann Mische’s research focuses on communication, deliberation and leadership in social movements and democratic politics.

They found that in response to massive anti-partisan protests, these countries generally experienced one of four outcomes: internal factional challenges within highly established parties (e.g., Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in the United Kingdom); the emergence of new or renovated parties (Podemos, or “We Can,” an anti-austerity Spanish party); the formation of new anti-incumbent party coalitions (the Broad Front UNEN and Cambiemos coalitions in Argentina); and the rise of extreme populist leaders (such as Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil).

Mische and Gold said these varied outcomes could be explained by looking at the project’s data measuring parties’ institutional strength, the degree to which parties were cohesive or fragmented, and the overall numbers of viable political parties competing for power.

They used a comparative approach that bridged insights from sociology and political science, drawing on datasets to determine how the combination of these three variables generated different opportunities for political actors to navigate the challenges to the status quo. They complemented this analysis with a process-oriented account of how party-movement interactions contributed to these diverging pathways.

“We focused on how political elites can take advantage of the fact that they are rejected by protesters,” Gold said. “That paradox lies at the heart of this paper.”

Ultimately, Mische and Gold said, the study could serve as a cautionary tale to protesters who reject political parties rather than trying to negotiate with them. This rejection can paradoxically undermine activist goals by amplifying distrust in institutions and paving the way for populist demagogues.

“Sometimes you need social movements to challenge entrenched systems and respond to the needs and aspirations of the people,” Mische said, adding that further research could help explore the dynamics of insider-outsider coalitions for enacting reforms.

“But if you reject working with the state, then you cannot influence the development of policies that are important for the things that you care about. You may, instead, empower autocrats who don’t share your values but are adept at weaponizing institutional distrust. Understanding this dynamic is important to working for change and to strengthening global democracy at a time when institutions are increasingly under attack.”

Originally published by Josh Stowe at keough.nd.edu on May 21.

Contact: Tracy DeStazio, associate director of media relations, 574-631-9958 or tdestazi@nd.edu

Disadvantaged entrepreneurs often fear success, but new research can help

2024-05-07T10:55:00-04:00

Michael H. Morris, professor of the practice in Notre Dame’s Keough 91��Ƶ of Global Affairs and director of the Urban Poverty and Business Initiative, a program offered by the school’s McKenna Center for Human Development and Global Business.

When low-income entrepreneurs start their own businesses, they frequently fear failure — a well-documented phenomenon. But over time, they may also fear success, given the costs and unknowns it can bring, and this barrier to growth is under-studied and underappreciated. A new study from a Keough 91��Ƶ of Global Affairs expert breaks new ground by explaining this fear and offers five recommendations to help entrepreneurs overcome it and move out of poverty.

Michael H. Morris, a professor of the practice in the University of Notre Dame’s Keough 91��Ƶ and director of the Urban Poverty and Business Initiative, a program offered by the school’s McKenna Center for Human Development and Global Business, is lead author of a journal article where these recommendations are outlined, as recently published in Business Horizons.

“This study is one of the first to deepen our understanding of the fears that poor entrepreneurs commonly face, in particular the unexpected and counterintuitive fear of success,” Morris said. “We believe it’s crucial to address these fears, or they can become a behavioral roadblock that prevents individuals from navigating the uncertainties of creating a new business. We have identified several key priorities that policymakers and support organizations can focus on in order to work more effectively with them.”

Five key priorities

Morris and his co-authors documented the fears experienced by many disadvantaged entrepreneurs by conducting six focus groups with participants from the Urban Poverty and Business Initiative program.

Notre Dame students consult with local entrepreneurs as part of the McKenna Center’s South Bend Entrepreneurship and Adversity Program. The program helps people facing hardships, providing guidance so they can start and grow their own businesses.

More than 90 percent of participants were people of color and 68 percent were women. Approximately 4 percent were formerly incarcerated, 2 percent were refugees and 1 percent were women who lived in shelters. All came from underprivileged backgrounds. The research was funded with support from WorkRise, a research-to-action network hosted by the Urban Institute.

Disadvantaged entrepreneurs face specific obstacles that mid- and higher-income businesspeople generally do not, Morris said, including lower literacy levels, a scarcity mindset, significant non-business distractions and lower access to finance.

Fear is a common occurrence for people in this group, Morris said, whether it is at the start of a new venture or as a business gains traction and encounters new challenges. And fear of success — while less studied — can have damaging outcomes, Morris said, because it can lead to procrastination, self-sabotage and failure to make key decisions that could help a business grow.

Ultimately, Morris and his co-authors issued five recommendations to help address these fears:

Providing entrepreneurial role models to help individuals recognize different paths to, and outcomes from, a successful enterprise
Teaching entrepreneurship early, with an emphasis on experiential learning, where success is made more tangible and manifested in different ways beyond just profitability
Providing mentorship, where experienced entrepreneurs help business founders understand and address the costs versus benefits of different types and degrees of success
Positioning venture creation as an option in workforce development programs (These programs traditionally focus on training participants to work for others.)
Developing more flexible and holistic microfinance programs where investments are tied to incremental progress in meeting success goals and targets

A playbook for policymakers and support organizations

Morris co-authored the study with Donald F. Kuratko of Indiana University, Susana C. Santos of Florida State University and Sohab Soleimanof of Louisiana State University. The authors drew on their deep experience to create a playbook they believe can assist policymakers and people who work with disadvantaged entrepreneurs.

Ultimately, Morris said, while success might seem scary and costly to underprivileged businesspeople, identifying a handful of key priorities can focus and sharpen initiatives aimed at helping them succeed.

“We hope that educators, policymakers and the various stakeholders who work with poor entrepreneurs will apply these recommendations,” he said, “and, in so doing, help them overcome their fears and embrace entrepreneurship as a viable pathway out of poverty."

Originally published by Josh Stowe at keough.nd.edu on May 2.

Contact: Tracy DeStazio, associate director of media relations, 574-631-9958 or tdestazi@nd.edu

Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz addresses inequality with a people-centered economy

2024-04-25T08:00:00-04:00

Economist Joseph Stiglitz met with students during his campus visit, answering questions about policies that could help address inequality.

Inequality is a policy choice — not an inevitable outcome — and can be addressed through economic approaches that prioritize human dignity, economist and Nobel laureate Joseph E. Stiglitz said during a recent visit to the University of Notre Dame’s Keough 91��Ƶ of Global Affairs.

Stiglitz, a Columbia University professor and former chief economist at the World Bank, met with faculty and students as well as Keough 91��Ƶ and Notre Dame leadership during his April 15 visit to campus, during which he delivered the inaugural Joseph E. Stiglitz Lecture on Inequality and the Good Society.

The new lecture series, made possible with support from the Ford Foundation, was organized by Ray Offenheiser, director of the Keough 91��Ƶ’s McKenna Center for Human Development and Global Business. The series is dedicated to bringing outstanding scholars to Notre Dame to share groundbreaking scholarship and policy insights on inequality and is a part of larger strategic efforts by the school and the University to address global poverty.

Watch a discussion between Joseph Stiglitz and Ray Offenheiser on global inequality here.

Rules create structural inequality

During his public remarks, Stiglitz outlined the ways inequality is written into the rules of the U.S. and global economies by powerful interests that prioritize profit.

“Markets don’t exist in a vacuum,” Stiglitz said. “We structure our market with rules and regulations. Rules matter for creating inequality. [In the United States], we’ve frankly made a choice to have more inequality than other countries.”

In the United States, some 40 years of neoliberal — or free-market-oriented — economic policies have bolstered corporations and lowered the living standards of everyday people, Stiglitz said. In particular, rules have weakened antitrust protections and permitted monopolies; weakened worker bargaining power, ensuring that wages haven’t kept pace with profits; crafted bankruptcy laws that favor companies while forcing bankrupt consumers to repay student loans; and allowed corporations to pay low taxes while enjoying massive profits.

A student listens as Joseph Stiglitz answers questions during his campus visit. Stiglitz also met with faculty as well as Keough 91��Ƶ and Notre Dame leadership.

As a result, Stliglitz said, the United States has less economic mobility than peer countries — meaning that for U.S. residents, life outcomes are more dependent on their parents’ income and education levels than they are for people in other wealthy countries.

These regressive policy choices are reinforced by the United States’ political system, Stiglitz said, where Supreme Court decisions like Citizens United have given corporations more power to make political donations and shape the rules in their favor. And inequality remains a problem globally as well, he said: Multinational corporations lobby to keep their tax rates low, and the international debt architecture favors wealthy creditors over cash-strapped countries that slash public spending in order to afford high debt payments.

Ultimately, the inequality created by these systems and structures threatens the future of democracy, Stiglitz said, adding that widespread dissatisfaction leaves voters vulnerable to demagogues who mislead the public and discard democratic norms.

Prioritizing human dignity: Policy and practice

While Stiglitz was unsparing in his critique of the status quo, he also expressed optimism that voters and policymakers could make different choices and reframe how they think about and discuss the concept of freedom. He urged audience members to think of freedom not as fewer government regulations but rather as the opportunity for everyday people to live a good life.

“Freedom should be about human dignity and human flourishing,” Stiglitz said.

Such an approach — one that prioritizes the needs of marginalized people and communities — made Stiglitz a natural fit to inaugurate the Keough 91��Ƶ’s new inequality lecture series, said Scott Appleby, the Marilyn Keough Dean of the Keough 91��Ƶ.

“Confronting inequality can make us uncomfortable because it may challenge us personally to face some hard facts about our economic system and who it benefits at the expense of others,” Appleby said.

“But such moral and intellectual discomfort may be just the challenge we all need. Indeed, commitment to human dignity and intellectual development challenges us to examine those social structures and systems that explain and sustain the marginalization of the poor, and to pursue policies and practices that would create a more equitable and just world.”

Watch the full lecture here.

Originally published by Josh Stowe at keough.nd.edu on April 22.

Contact: Tracy DeStazio, associate director of media relations, 574-631-9958 or tdestazi@nd.edu