New Book: “Research for the Public Good”

May 15, 2012

Elaine Wethington and Rachel Dunifon at the 2009 Bronfenbrenner Conference

Co-edited by Elaine Wethington and Rachel Dunifon, Research for the Public Good: Applying the Methods of Translational Research to Improve Human Health and Well-Being (American Psychological Association Books), is the second volume to be published from the Biennial Urie Bronfenbrenner Conference series.  The book represents work presented at the 2009 Bronfenbrenner Conference, Improving the State of Americans: Prospects of Translational Research in the Social and Behavioral Sciences and is available as of May 15, 2012.

From the Cornell Chronicle article on the book:

In recent years, Wethington said, translational research has been closely associated with medicine, where billions are spent annually to develop new treatments and interventions to combat sickness. But increasingly the National Institutes of Health and other major funding agencies are calling for social scientists to address issues relevant to human health and to collaborate with medical scientists to improve application of basic findings to communities.

“Translational research has gained prominence in biomedical research, where there’s an emphasis on speeding lab findings into practice,” she added. “It also goes back to the work of Urie Bronfenbrenner and his colleagues, however, who were ahead of their time with an ecological approach to human development that brought together research, policy and practice. This book defines the term in that context and provides practical insights for doing translational research.”

Video from the 2009 Urie Bronfenbrenner Conference can be viewed here.

The volume from the 2007 Urie Bronfenbrenner Conference is Chaos and Its Influence on Children's Development: An Ecological Perspective edited by Gary Evans and Theodore Wachs.