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Emma Penrod

Sarah Simmons and her mom Amy Simmons go over stuff for the new school year at their home in Kamas on Saturday, Aug. 24, 2013. Sarah was adopted from Russia with three of her biological siblings.
Utah
Adoptions on the decline, advocates blame costly, time-consuming regulations
International adoptions have decreased 62 percent since a peak in 2004. The decline correlates with increased U.S. oversight of the adoption process, but experts say foreign governments have imposed strict rules for adoptions as well.
By Emma Penrod and Lois M. Collins
Lynette Boatright looks over her list of required supplies as her son Carter, 11, looks on at Target on Friday afternoon in Casper, Wyo.
Family
The back-to-school balancing act
Parental importance is critical to a student’s academic success, but the opposite extreme, helicopter parenting, can permanently cripple a student’s ability to function confidently in the future. How can parents find the middle ground?
By Emma Penrod
The BYU Quad
Utah
BYU among top 25 choices for high-performing high schoolers, study says
Where do America’s top high school students want to attend college? Harvard’s No. 1, but BYU is not far behind.
By Emma Penrod
While some parents believe fundraisers teach students valuable skills while raising funds for their school or for extracurricular activities, others told the New York Post they find the tradition "creepy and manipulative."
Family
School fundraising: teaching opportunity or exploitation?
While some parents believe fundraisers teach students valuable skills while raising funds for their school or for extracurricular activities, others told the New York Post they find the tradition “creepy and manipulative.”
By Emma Penrod
Landlords around BYU said they try to work with students to avoid "homeless" situations, and the school launched a campaign last week encouraging students to communicate with property managers if they discover a gap between housing contracts.
Utah
BYU students struggle with gap weeks between housing contracts
“Homeless” weekends are infamous among college students, but landlords say that many situations result from a lack of communication or planning.
By Emma Penrod
Families with children are more likely to own pets, but it's not the kids bringing home new puppies and kittens. It's their parents.
Family
Families more likely to own pets, but empty nesters gaining ground
First comes love, next comes marriage, then the baby in the carriage . . . and then a puppy and maybe a fish or two.
By Emma Penrod
BYU remains the nation's bastion of college sobriety, according to the Princeton Review, which has named BYU the nation's top "stone-cold sober" school for the 16th year running.
Utah
Surprise! BYU is nation’s ‘stone-cold sober’ school once again
Students may break out the chocolate milk to celebrate 16 years of undisputed sobriety.
By Emma Penrod
Taylor Holt works on her drawings while spending time at the Coffee Pod Friday, Aug. 2, 2013. Holt applied this summer to be accepted into the BYU animation program. It was her second and final chance.
Utah
Students vie for entrance in competitive BYU animation program
News of Pixar’s preference for interns and entry-level animators from BYU has increased the animation program’s appeal in recent years. It hasn’t made getting in any easier.
By Emma Penrod
Oregon State University graduate Josh Donahue, 23, stands at the edge of the Rogue River in his home town of Grants Pass, Ore., Tuesday, May 19, 2009. A new Pew study shows that the number of young adults — ages 18 to 31 — who live with their parents cont
Family Life
More Millennials living at home, despite end of recession
A new Pew study shows that the number of young adults — ages 18 to 31 — who live with their parents continues to increase. The share of young adults living with their parents represents the largest percentage to do so in at least four decades.
By Emma Penrod
BYU professor Jani Radebaugh, pictured here on a set in Tunisia, credits the Star Wars films for inspiring her interest in the geology of other planets.
Education
Dune swallows Star Wars Tatooine set in Tunisia at rate of 50 feet per year, BYU professor finds
A BYU geology professor who studies the moons of Saturn and Jupiter just published her research on the sand dunes of Mos Espa — an earthbound movie set in Tunisian where scenes were shot for the Star Wars movie about Anakin Skywalker’s childhood.
By Emma Penrod
Teen girls may be just as likely to abuse their partners as their male peers, according to new data released at a meeting of the American Psychological Association.
Family
Boys, girls may be equal perpetrators of teen dating abuse
Teen girls may be just as likely to abuse their partners as their male peers, according to new data released at a meeting of the American Psychological Association.
By Emma Penrod
Boys with autism spectrum disorders or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder are more likely to play video games and are at higher risk of becoming addicted to the games, according to a study published in the August issue of Pediatrics.
Family
Boys with autism spend more time playing video games
Autism, ADHD and video games often don’t mix well, according to a survey of the boys’ parents, but it isn’t entirely clear why children with these specific disorders are at risk of becoming addicted to video games.
By Emma Penrod
According to a new study released this week, proximity to women doesn't guarantee liberal leanings. In fact, men with sisters may be more likely to consider themselves conservative.
Family
Men with sisters lean toward conservative politics, survey says
Social studies have found men with daughters tend to believe in gender equality and lean toward feminism, but new research suggests men with sisters are more likely adopt traditional gender roles.
By Emma Penrod
The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington is seen on June 27, 2012.
Utah
Supreme Court justices get defensive when losing a vote, BYU study says
Analysis from a BYU statistician found that the justices use defensive language to intensify their arguments when writing minority opinions — even though many of those same justices have admonished others to avoid emotional arguments.
By Emma Penrod
Doctors say one of the most important things to leave your kids is your family history — your family's medical history, that is.
Family
Doctors want you to do your family history
Doctors say one of the most important things to leave your kids is your family history — your family’s medical history, that is.
By Emma Penrod
Teens feel closer with their parents when they connect on social media, according to a new study out of BYU.
Family
BYU study: Use social media to build relationships with teens
Parents can develop stronger bonds with their teens while promoting positive social behaviors if they use social media to connect with their teens, according to a new study out of BYU.
By Emma Penrod
Lile Squires, a grad student studying manufacturing systems at BYU, bonds metals together with friction bit joining.
Utah
BYU inventors solve manufacturing problem for car companies
Collaboration with an Orem-based business led two BYU professors to invent a technique that could allow automotive companies to bond lightweight metals to stronger, durable varieties — a breakthrough with the potential to impact fuel efficiency.
By Emma Penrod
U.S. Department of Energy deputy secretary Daniel Poneman, left, awards a $100,000 check to the Inviroment team, Brock Bennion, Nathan Parkin and Devan Bennion.
Utah
BYU entrepreneurs find road to success neither straight nor narrow
BYU student entrepreneurs have raked in a record half-million dollars in funding for their startups, but what are the odds their fledgling companies will last?
By Emma Penrod
Panelists predicted a hybrid online classroom model will replace general education courses and other introductory classes, which are often taught in large lecture halls with hundreds of students.
Education
Changing job market could dramatically change education, panel says
As the job market continues to grown more competitive and new technologies continue to replace jobs, education will morph into something students today might not recognize, according to a panel of experts at the New Knowledge Economy summit.
By Emma Penrod
A survey by The Allstate Foundation found that most teens cited the cost of owning a car as the reason they choose not to get a driver's license.
World & Nation
Teens delaying driving to avoid car-ownership costs
Teens today are more likely to put off what previous generations considered a rite of passage: getting a driver’s license. Studies suggest the trend is rooted in the Great Recession, but it has yet to reverse.
By Emma Penrod
A new report from the Economic Policy Institute looks at how many children Americans can afford to raise and where they can afford to raise them.
Family
Report estimates what it takes to raise a family in American cities
A new report from the Economic Policy Institute looks at how many children Americans can afford to raise and where they can afford to raise them.
By Emma Penrod
The U.S. has higher infant mortality rates than most developed countries. A trend toward scheduled labor and C-sections could be one reason why, according to Premier health care alliance CEO Susan DeVore.
World & Nation
Scheduled labor may put infants at risk, health care expert says
The U.S. has higher infant mortality rates than most developed countries. A trend toward scheduled labor and C-sections could be one reason why, according to Premier health care alliance CEO Susan DeVore.
By Emma Penrod
BYU undergraduate Ryan Sweetwood stands at an excavation site in Tikal, Guatemala.
Utah
BYU study sheds light on Mayan agriculture
BYU soil scientists spent eight years analyzing soil samples from Tikal, Guatemala, to solve a Mayan mystery: how did thousands of people build a wealthy civilization in an area that today supports only a small, impoverished population?
By Emma Penrod
A high-dimension statistical model that describs powerful solar storms.
Utah
BYU professor, a former NFL consultant, earns major stats honor
American Statistical Association has named BYU professor Shane Reese an association fellow. The statistician has worked on a wide variety of projects over the years, touching everything from sports to astrophysics.
By Emma Penrod
Graduates from Skyline High pose on May 31, 2012.
Education
What parents need to tell teens about student loans
Parental support is a key indicator for post-college succes. Discussions about paying for college should begin during high school or earlier, experts say.
By Emma Penrod
As the decades-long fight against the objectification of women continues, a new generation of activists has arrived on the scene, ready to spread positivity and self-acceptance with online tools.
Media & Books
Teen activists combat body image negativity with online tools
Social media have put teens on the front lines of both sides in a battle against negative body image and disordered eating.
By Emma Penrod
Cousins Markham Reid Carter, left, and Lucas Dowell Richardson pose for a photo illustration on how babies as young as 5 months old can communicate.
Family
BYU study: Babies read peers’ emotions at five months
Babies are capable of recognizing emotions in other, unfamiliar peers, as early as five months of age, according to a new study from BYU and Florida International University. Infants in the study could match facial expressions with vocalizations.
By Emma Penrod
A screenshot from the BYUtv app for Xbox 360.
Media & Books
BYUtv announces it will stream its content on new Android, Xbox 360 free apps
BYU Broadcasting announced Wednesday that it is developing free apps for Xbox 360 and Android that will give users of those devices nearly unlimited access to BYUtv content, including sports programming, live streaming TV and video on demand.
By Emma Penrod
A still from BYU Broadcasting's 2012 film "Silent Night."
Faith
BYU Broadcasting film ‘Silent Night’ wins Catholic film award
The Catholic Academy of Communication Professionals honored BYU Broadcasting with a Gabriel Award for the 2012 feature film “Silent Night.”
By Emma Penrod
Money really can buy you happiness, but you're probably spending it wrong, according to a new book by Harvard professor Michael Norton and co-author Elizabeth Dunn of the University of British Columbia.
Money, when spent correctly, really can buy happiness, Harvard professor says
Money really can buy you happiness, but you’re probably spending it wrong, according to a new book by Harvard professor Michael Norton and co-author Elizabeth Dunn of the University of British Columbia.
By Emma Penrod
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