news 2016

A new study from The University of Nottingham will examine the issue of forced marriage among adults with learning disabilities. ' My Marriage My Choice ' is a two-year study which aims to improve understanding of the issue, as well as helping to develop policy and practice to support professionals in their work of safeguarding vulnerable children and adults.

Poor access to health care and confusion over post-detention care may have contributed to more than 400 deaths following police custody and prison detention since 2009, a new report has claimed. Here, in an article first published on The Conversation, report authors Prof Loraine Gelsthorpe and Prof Nicola Padfield of Cambridge's Faculty of Law, along with their colleague Jake Phillips from Sheffield Hallam University, discuss their findings.

For many households, crowding around the television for a family film or to watch the Queen's speech is as much of a Christmas tradition as opening presents and enjoying a turkey dinner. But in homes where one family member has a hearing aid, settling down to watch the box can become a festive flashpoint - leading to arguments about volume and tussles over the TV remote.

A new study from The University of Nottingham has found that a certain type of yoga could potentially help to improve the health and psychological wellbeing of children in care. The study, ' Kundalini Yoga as Mutual Recovery: A feasibility study including children in care and their carers ,' published at The Journal of Children's Services , found that the practice of Kundalini yoga in care homes, when both staff and children are involved, can lead to both individual and social benefits.

Researchers identify specific areas of DNA sequence that are related with the age at which we have our first child, and the total number of children we have during the course of our life. Researchers have identified 12 specific areas of the DNA sequence that are robustly related with the age at which we have our first child, and the total number of children we have during the course of our life.

A study by the University of Oxford, looking at rates of violent re-offences among former prisoners in Sweden, has shown that prescribing psychotropic medications can cut the risk of violent reoffending. Prescribing ex-prisoners psychotropic medications after release is associated with a decrease in reoffending, according to a new study led by the University of Oxford.

[Embed: J is for Jay]   What species of birds do we use? Our researchers study social and physical cognition in corvids (members of the crow family, which includes jackdaws, rooks and jays), from studies of alliance formation and post-conflict behaviours in rooks, and food-sharing in jackdaws, to tests of what jays and rooks understand about tools.

Our Facebook status updates, 'likes' and even photos could help researchers better understand mental health disorders with the right ethical safeguards, argue researchers from the University of Cambridge, who suggest that social networks may even be used in future to provide support and interventions, particularly among young people.

New research from the University of Bristol has found that embracing organic farming methods can bring gains in social sustainability, and benefits for farmers and workers. The study, by PhD candidate Lydia Medland, found workers in organic farming enjoy increased social sustainability of working conditions and relations.

Olivia Remes (Department of Public Health and Primary Care) discusses new research which suggests that generalised anxiety disorder is associated with a two times higher risk for cancer deaths - but only in men. About one in 14 people around the world are affected by anxiety disorders at any given time.

Although doctors and nurses are becoming more aware of patients experiencing domestic violence, the needs of children are often ignored, according to new research published today that reveals a lack of training about how to identify and support children exposed to domestic violence. Experts from the universities of Bristol and Central Lancashire say better training, coupled with improved information-sharing between agencies, could greatly improve outcomes for these children.

A new study led by researchers from King's College London, the University of Edinburgh and Imperial College London, will investigate whether a drug called methylphenidate (MPH) reduces symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and antisocial behaviour in young male prisoners with the disorder.

Researchers conclude that being kind to others causes a small but significant improvement in subjective well-being. The review found that the effect is lower than some pop-psychology articles have claimed, but also concluded that future research might help identify which kind acts are most effective at boosting happiness.

Bumblebees can learn to pull strings for food and pass on the ability to a colony, according to researchers at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). Pulling strings to obtain food is an experiment often used to test the intelligence of apes and birds, but it is the first time this technique has been discovered in an insect.

Experts from Cardiff University are developing a statistical tool that uses social media to make real-time predictions of where hate crimes may occur. The team, from the University's Social Data Science Lab, will be using Los Angeles County as a test bed for their study, thanks to over $800,000 in funding from the US Department of Justice.

Those with a taste for adult education classes have long known it, but now Oxford University scientists have confirmed that taking part in the weekly sessions can boost wellbeing - regardless of the subject studied.

We all know that social insects, such as ants, often work together to achieve effective responses to environmental challenges. However, research by the University of Bristol, published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, has now uncovered that the contributions of different individuals within such groups vary.

Using the common pain-relieving medication acetaminophen - or paracetamol - during pregnancy is associated with increased risk for multiple behavioural problems in children, new research has found. Acetaminophen is generally considered safe in pregnancy, and is used by many pregnant women for pain and fever.

Sussex-led research explodes the myth of a 'West vs. Rest? cultural divide Cultural psychologists have long argued that people living in Western cultures show a rather distinctive pattern of self-beliefs, compared to those who live in other parts of the world. Westerners, it is claimed, are unusual in that they tend to see themselves as independent from others.

An orangutan called Rocky could provide the key to understanding how speech in humans evolved from the time of the ancestral great apes, according to a study led by Dr Adriano Lameira of Durham University and published in the journal Scientific Reports . Learned behaviour Dr Lameira , a Junior Research Fellow in the Department of Anthropology led a research project to look at whether an orangutan could demonstrate the ability to learn new sounds and control its voice.