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Firearm-related threats increase likelihood of gun owners to support more regulation, study finds
LAWRENCE — Most people probably assume that American attitudes toward gun regulation are fixed. But a new study reveals how such attitudes are malleable, even among gun owners themselves. The article “Gun Ownership, Threat, and Gun Attitudes in an Experiment,” co-written by a University of Kansas professor of political science, appears in a special issue of Sociological Perspectives on Guns in America.
KU announces online project management undergraduate programs for fall 2022
OVERLAND PARK — Driven by globalization, evolving technology and rapid automation of work processes, all types of organizations are placing growing emphasis on project-based planning, development and operations to gain a competitive advantage. The University of Kansas is launching two new online bachelor’s degree programs, as well as a minor, in project management for the 2022-2023 academic year to give students with an associate degree or equivalent hours the chance to enter a growing and in-demand field.
School of Architecture & Design announces Spring 2022 Architecture Lecture Series
LAWRENCE — The School of Architecture & Design at the University of Kansas has announced programming for the Spring 2022 Architecture Lecture Series. Artist-builder Mark West will visit March 29. Designer and researcher David Brown will visit April 1. Designer and bestselling author Trent Preszler will visit April 29. All events will be livestreamed.
Full stories below.
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Contact: Jon Niccum, KU News Service, 785-864-7633, [email protected]
Firearm-related threats increase likelihood of gun owners to support more regulation, study finds
LAWRENCE — Most people probably assume that American attitudes toward gun regulation are fixed. But a new study reveals how such attitudes are malleable, even among gun owners themselves.
The article “Gun Ownership, Threat, and Gun Attitudes in an Experiment” argues that although exposure to danger can increase the desire to be armed, gun owners primed with a gun-related threat soften their views on regulation relative to non-gun owners. It appears in a special issue of Sociological Perspectives on Guns in America.
“In general, most gun owners own guns for protection. Mostly this is based on a fear of crime, but owning a gun reduces that fear,” said Don Haider-Markel, a professor of political science at the University of Kansas.
His study focuses on an experiment conducted with several thousand participants in which half of the respondents were exposed to an image of a dark-skinned man pointing a gun.
“We infer that some gun owners exposed to the image perceived it as a threat and were therefore somewhat more likely to support increased gun regulation relative to gun owners in the control group,” said Haider-Markel of the study he co-wrote with Abigail Vegter, who earned her doctorate at KU and is currently an assistant professor of political science at Berry University.
“Non-gun owners did not increase or decrease their support for gun regulation, regardless of what experimental group they were in,” he said.
The professors contend that those who own guns often want to emulate virtues such as courage, bravery and honor. Gun groups such as “Fearless Firearms” and “For the Brave” reinforce this idea. Scholarship has shown that individuals may purchase a gun as a means of mitigating anxiety over threats and experience lower levels of victimization fear once acquiring the weapon.
Yet when faced with the possibility of a direct threat – such as a pistol being aimed directly at them — individuals may reconsider their general support for gun rights.
This study is more relevant than ever, as gun-buying during 2020-2021 was the largest on record. Many of these were reportedly first-time buyers. While such ownership in surveys is often underreported, current estimates hover around 35% of households possessing a firearm.
But another aspect of Haider-Markel’s study hinges on the actual picture shown to respondents.
“The image of a dark-skinned man pointing a gun may have invoked racial considerations among some exposed gun owners,” he said. “In other words, seeing an image of a dark-skinned man pointing a gun may have primed race among some gun owners, which led them to be more supportive of gun regulation.”
He said that many early gun regulations in the 1960s came about because of Black Panthers marching in public with firearms (such as California). Gun owners tend to score higher on racial resentment levels and are less supportive of gun ownership for non-whites, according to past studies.
However, this particular experiment does not specifically confirm this implication – especially considering the image shown to respondents was racially ambiguous — and he hopes to further explore racial impacts in a future study.
Now in his 25th year at KU, Haider-Markel has done extensive studies in criminal justice, policing and LGBTQ rights. His past research into gun-related topics includes “Intersectionality in Action: Gun Ownership and Women’s Political Participation,” “Emerging Political Identities? Gun Ownership and Voting in Presidential Elections,” “Gun Ownership and Self-Serving Attributions for Mass Shooting Tragedies” and “Gun Ownership Used to Be Bipartisan. Not Anymore.”
“Our attitudes about guns and gun regulations are not fixed in concrete,” Haider-Markel said of the key takeaway this research offers. “There are conditions under which people can shift their attitudes, which is encouraging for deliberative democracy.”
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Contact: Hannah Lemon, KU Edwards Campus, 913-897-8755, [email protected], @KUEdwardsCampus
KU announces online project management undergraduate programs for fall 2022
OVERLAND PARK — Driven by globalization, evolving technology and rapid automation of work processes, all types of organizations are placing growing emphasis on project-based planning, development and operations to gain a competitive advantage. The University of Kansas is launching two new online bachelor’s degree programs, as well as a minor, in project management for the 2022-2023 academic year to give students with an associate degree or equivalent hours the chance to enter a growing and in-demand field. KU’s School of Professional Studies currently offers project management at the graduate level, but the need for highly skilled project managers in a variety of industries prompted the addition of its new undergraduate offerings.
Stuart Day, dean of the KU Edwards Campus and School of Professional Studies, said these new programs offer unique opportunities for students looking to advance their careers.
“By offering the program through the School of Professional Studies, we are able to ensure an interdisciplinary approach to project management, which allows students to explore a variety of emphasis areas and ensures that they take a broad approach to project management,” Day said. “Offering these programs online gives more students the chance to succeed.”
According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), organizations and companies across sectors and geographic borders steadily embrace project management. As a growing profession, project management is on track to gain nearly 2.2 million new jobs globally each year through 2027.
“Project management’s significant and sustained growth across many industries has increased the demand for project managers, and we have expanded our existing project management offerings to help address this growing need.” said John Bricklemyer, professor of the practice and director for engineering management and project management programs in the School of Professional Studies. “Students looking to finish their degree in project management will learn how theory and practice work together to solve real-world problems in a wide variety of fields.”
These new online project management degrees, supported by the Johnson County Education Research Triangle (JCERT), aim to graduate professionals ready to fill in-demand jobs in the Kansas City area and beyond.
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Don’t miss new episodes of “When Experts Attack!,”
a KU News Service podcast hosted by Kansas Public Radio.
https://kansaspublicradio.org/when-experts-attack
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Contact: Dan Rolf, School of Architecture & Design, 785-864-3027, [email protected], @ArcD_KU
School of Architecture & Design announces Spring 2022 Architecture Lecture Series
LAWRENCE — The School of Architecture & Design at the University of Kansas has announced programming for the Spring 2022 Architecture Lecture Series.
The Architecture Lecture Series welcomes architecture and experiential design leaders from around the country to the School of Architecture & Design. Lecturers bring a wide range of expertise in areas such as sustainable building, digital environments, public interest design, historic preservation, health and wellness design, and more.
Spring 2022 lectures will be offered in-person in the Forum at Marvin Hall and livestreamed. See events site for streaming information. All lectures will begin at 11:30 a.m.
March 25
Mark West is an artist, builder, researcher and educator. He is the inventor of many fabric-formed concrete techniques and founded the first academic laboratory and studio dedicated to fabric formwork technology: the Centre for Architectural Structures and Technology (CAST) at the University of Manitoba. After teaching architecture and civil engineering for over 30 years at universities around the world, West now works independently at his Atelier Surviving Logic in Montreal.
West will also host a concrete casting workshop March 23-24 at the School of Architecture & Design’s East Hills Design-Build Center.
This lecture and workshop were made possible by the 80 + 40 Lecture Fund.
April 1
David Brown is a designer, researcher and educator based at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Architecture. As a practitioner and scholar, he investigates non-hierarchical, flexible and variable approaches to urban design. Brown’s work has been exhibited at the Venice Architecture Biennale, the Chicago Cultural Center’s Expo 72 and the Chicago Architecture Biennial. In 2006, Brown curated the exhibition Learning from North Lawndale: Past, Present + Future at the Chicago Architecture Foundation (now the Chicago Architecture Center). Brown’s writing includes the book “Noise Orders: Jazz, Improvisation, and Architecture” and numerous essays.
April 29
Trent Preszler is a designer, builder, winemaker and author. He is the founder of Preszler Woodshop in New York where he makes bespoke wooden canoes molded from hundreds of hand-cut wood strips, then finished with cast bronze trim and hand-stitched leather seats. His bestselling memoir, “Little and Often,” was a USA Today Best Book of 2021. A documentary about Preszler’s life, “Winemaker and Boatbuilder,” won a 2018 New York Emmy Award. His work has been featured in Esquire, Robb Report, Financial Times of London and The Wall Street Journal Magazine.
This lecture was made possible by the Sallie Casey Thayer Lecture Fund.
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