With a slipping economy and high unemployment rates, more and more people have to dip into savings or take on additional jobs to support themselves. But for some, that may still not be enough.

Dr. Anderson has devoted years of research into studying the low-income working class - those already poor becoming more impoverished during tough economic times.

Michael Kopish is a professor of teacher education at Ohio University’s Patton College of Education with expertise in instructional practices and assessments that emphasize disciplinary literacy in social studies. His major interests include teaching and learning in social studies classrooms; inclusive disciplinary literacy practices; and youth civic engagement.

Nicole Kaufman is an affiliate with Ohio University’s Center for Law, Justice and Culture. She received her doctorate in sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2014. Kaufman’s research areas cover political sociology, criminology and penology, law and society, and qualitative methods. Her research examines the meaning of social inclusion and the policies and laws that hinder and help extend citizenship rights to Americans.

Scanlan is a professor of Sociology at Ohio University. His research interests include development and comparative social change, environmental sociology, social stratification and social movements.  More specifically his published research has examined environmental justice and poverty in Appalachia; food deserts; food insecurity and the environment; gender and development; global hunger; and greenwashing and corporate environmental communication.

Health and communication are two topics that do not seemingly go together, but Dr. Parul Jain devotes her research to both subjects simultaneously in an effort to bridge the gap. With the continued advancement in media technology and the pervasiveness of social media combined with the ever-changing health care industry, she works to create an understanding of both subjects and how they work together.

Humor works! As a coauthor of the top-selling humor writing book  Comedy Writing Secrets , (2ed), Dr. Shatz teaches others how to think, write and apply fun.

"Humor is a life defibrillator - it enhances communication, health and relationships," he says.