Called a “passionate advocate of developmentally appropriate, immersive learning” and a “guiding light” by members of organizations she lent her time to, Sarah Gray Gund is a person who has left her mark on Riverdale and the special educational field.
Sarah Gund died unexpectedly but peacefully in a Boston hospital on the evening of Aug. 17, 2023 after suffering an aneurysm. She was surrounded by her husband, her children and grandchildren, step-children and their children, and some beloved friends. She was 81.
When the message matters, use science to craft it An interdisciplinary initiative called the Message Effects Lab aims to understand, tap into, and develop communication around what motivates specific behaviors for specific populations. Its first projects center around COVID-19 testing and vaccines.
Penn researcher Jessica Fishman has always been fascinated by what sways decision-making.
“As a teenager, one word could dramatically influence whether I wanted to do something,” she says. “I remember once, when my dad was excited to serve his family a fish dinner, he proudly announced that the fish cost very little. For him, this was good because food was hard to come by when he was growing up. But for me, his description of the ‘cheap’ fish signaled it was of little value or even undesirable rather than a good deal. It immediately decreased my interest in eating that food. We now know a lot more about the types of messages that can backfire.”
Researchers examined individuals motivation to self-test and to distribute self-test kits given the urgent need to increase COVID-19 testing coverage and contact tracing.