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Special Projects

YOLA's Impact

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

In an exciting new education project, SPARQ is partnering with Youth Orchestra Los Angeles (YOLA) to examine the effects of rigorous orchestral training on children’s development. A program of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, YOLA gives some 700 children, ages 6 to 18, free instruments, intensive music training, and academic support.

Supporting Entrepreneurs in West Africa

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

For several years, the Stanford Institute for Innovation in Economic Development (SEED) has operated its Transformation Program in West Africa. SPARQ is working with SEED to research and develop ways to increase the impact of this program and amplify the successes of its participants.

Changing Mindsets To Build Cultures of Health

Monday, December 15, 2014
Fruits and Veggies
The United States ranks #1 in the world in per capita health care spending, but ranks in the bottom half of wealthy nations in life expectancy, infant mortality, cardiovascular disease mortality, obesity, and diabetes. Low-income and ethnic minority Americans bear a disproportionate amount of this disease burden. With a generous grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, SPARQ is exploring an under-examined source of health disparities...

Equal Policing

Monday, November 10, 2014

In the wake of Ferguson and other high-profile cases, police departments all over the nation are struggling to improve their relationships with the communities they serve. Applying basic social psychological theory, SPARQ is partnering with the Oakland Police Department to research, develop, and implement better policing techniques.

Agency for Innovation in India

Friday, November 7, 2014
Many development projects fail because they impose the values and practices of western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (or WEIRD) cultures on non-Western, semi-literate, and poor people. A textile manufacturer in India, however, seems to bypass this problem by helping workers cultivate a more culturally appropriate form agency. Partnering with the manufacturer, SPARQ is...

Bias Busting

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Women faculty, especially women of color, are still underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), despite more than 40 years of Title IX, affirmative action, and concerted efforts to "equip the women," "level the playing field," and "value diversity." Research has failed to identify innate gender differences that would explain this lack of gender parity. Instead, cultural factors seem to drive what Yale astrophysicist Meg Urry calls a "slow drumbeat of [women] being underappreciated, feeling uncomfortable, and encountering roadblocks along the path to success." Using a model of cultural change developed by Stanford social psychologists, this Special Project will...

Connect to Health

Monday, September 1, 2014
The rollout of the Affordable Care Act (ACA, or "Obamacare") revealed many and large cultural misunderstandings between the healthcare industry and low-income Americans, including misunderstandings about how low-income people want to purchase and use healthcare. To amplify the voices of low-income Americans, SPARQ is partnering with Great Nonprofits to launch...

Peaceful in the Middle East

Thursday, March 27, 2014
Intractable intergroup conflicts, such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, represent the greatest threats we face as a species. These conflicts are inherently psychological, but social psychologists have only recently begun applying their methods to analyze and perhaps help heal these conflicts. In this Special Project, SPARQ Faculty Affiliates Carol Dweck and James Gross are collaborating with Eran Halperin of the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, Israel...

Be the Donor

Friday, February 28, 2014
Human Organ for Transplant
Every few minutes, a person in need of new stem cells or a new liver, kidney, heart, or other organ is added to a waiting list. Many of these patients will die for want of a transplant. African Americans, Asian Americans, and other people of color are more likely to perish than are European Americans because fewer people of color register to become stem cell or organ donors. To tackle this problem, SPARQ has teamed up with several collaborators...

The Impact of PUP

Wednesday, February 12, 2014
The Prison University Project (PUP) is the only onsite education program in the state of California that offers prisoners the opportunity to earn a college degree. PUP serves the inmates at San Quentin State Prison, California’s oldest and most notorious correctional facility, and is one of the largest prison education programs in the nation. By all indications, PUP has been extremely successful. But to improve its performance, attract funding, and expand to other prisons, PUP must conduct a more systematic evaluation...