projects

Cultural Logic has conducted research on a wide range of public interest issues including health insurance, conservation, workplace safety, gender equity in schools, and farmers' use of herbicides, among others.

Economic Leadership

Demos with a grant from the Ford Foundation Research into public understandings of public intervention in the economy; Development and TalkBack testing of simplifying models to help lay people think more productively about the topic; Recommendations for ways of framing the issue to increase understanding and engagement.

Health Equity

Louisville (KY) Dept. of Public Health and Wellness, Center for Health Equity. Elicitations with Louisvilleans on the topic of health disparities between different groups, as well as analysis of media coverage of health outcomes, and development of message strategies (research brief and user's guide) for changing the public conversation. (Joint project with Public Knowledge LLC)

Worker Safety

The Labor Institute Cognitive elicitations with factory workers exploring patterns of reasoning connected with workplace safety.

Sustainable Food Systems (Europe)

The King Baudouin Foundation (Brussels) Qualitative research in France and the United Kingdom, as well as development and TalkBack testing of Simplifying Models to help European publics achieve a more constructive understanding of the issue.

Unions

Change to Win Cognitive elicitations with American workers on the role of unions in society and in the lives of workers.

Agricultural Toxins

National Resources Defense Council Ethnographic research with Iowa farmers exploring the shared understandings that guide use of agricultural herbicides.

In addition, research on the following topics was carried out in collaboration with the FrameWorks Institute, which received funding from various sources as indicated.

Sustainable Food Systems (U.S.)

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation cognitive elicitations with a diverse group of Americans on the subject of food production, as well as analysis of the current framing used by advocates in the field, and of patterns of newspaper coverage on food systems and their implications for Americans' thinking.

Early Childhood Development

A.L. Mailman Foundation;The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation; ThroughThe National Scientific Council on the Developing Child (Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University) Development and "TalkBack" testing of simplifying models to help lay people grasp key aspects of early childhood development, allowing productive shifts in thinking.

Rural America

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation Cognitive elicitations with urban, suburban and rural Americans from several regions of the country, exploring default understandings of the conditions of rural life, and obstacles to engaging with key economic issues.

Child Abuse

The Doris Duke Foundation, through Prevent Child Abuse America Analysis of the public's reasoning about child abuse, including both its causes and effects on child development.

Health Care Coverage

New Hampshire Endowment for Health; California Endowment; California Wellness Foundation Development and TalkBack testing of explanatory models that help the public grasp and engage with the systemic problem of uninsurance.

Ocean Conservation

Ocean Conservancy Ethnographic research with salt-water anglers, on both the East and West coasts, exploring patterns of reasoning associated with conservation.

Global Warming

The Climate Message Project funded by The National Resources Defense Council, with a grant from the Turner Foundation Research into public understandings of global warming; "TalkBack" testing of the public's ability to grasp and use particular terms and concepts. Recommendations for ways of framing the issue to increase understanding engagement.

Adolescence

The W. T. Grant Foundation, through UCLA's Center for Communications and Community Research into public understandings of adolescence and adolescents; cognitive analysis of television portrayals; framing recommendations for ways of promoting policies more favorable to teens' wellbeing.

Neighborhood Transformation

The Annie E. Casey Foundation Communications assessment of 40 public service campaigns from 22 cities around the country, from a cognitive perspective. Analysis of the messages conveyed in materials such as ads, posters and brochures, and recommendations for best practices.

Global Interdependence

The Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Rockefeller Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and Carnegie Corporation of New York, through the Aspen Institute Research into public and expert understandings of the United States' role in the world; analysis of media portrayals of the issue; framing recommendations for ways of promoting cooperative engagement as a central principle of U.S. foreign policy.