news 2017
Social Sciences
Results 1 - 20 of 59.
Innovation - Social Sciences - 21.12.2017
Technology not taking over children’s lives despite screen-time increase
New Oxford University research has revealed that as digital past-times have become intertwined with daily life, children have adapted their behaviours to include their devices. Much like adults, they are able to multi-task and do all the things that they would do anyway, such as, homework and playing outdoors with friends.
Life Sciences - Social Sciences - 18.12.2017
Birds learn from each other’s ’disgust’, enabling insects to evolve bright colours
A new study of TV-watching great tits reveals how they learn through observation. Social interactions within a predator species can have "evolutionary consequences" for potential prey - such as the conspicuous warning colours of insects like ladybirds. We suspect our findings apply over a wide range of predators and prey.
Health - Social Sciences - 08.12.2017
Heart disease linked to depression, loneliness, unemployment and poverty
Social stress factors such as loneliness and being unemployed, in addition to conventional risks such as smoking and high blood pressure, are associated with higher risks of developing heart disease, according to a new UCL-led study. The study, published by PLOS Medicine this week, analysed cohort data from three eastern European countries and found that heart disease incidence is more likely among people who rarely see their friends and relatives, are single, unemployed, less wealthy, and have depression-like symptoms.
Social Sciences - Religions - 05.12.2017
Storytellers promoted co-operation among hunter-gatherers before advent of religion
Storytelling promoted co-operation in hunter-gatherers prior to the advent of organised religion, a new UCL study reveals. The research shows that hunter-gatherer storytellers were essential in promoting co-operative and egalitarian values before comparable mechanisms evolved in larger agricultural societies, such as moralising high-gods.
Social Sciences - Life Sciences - 04.12.2017
In mongoose society, immigrants are a bonus-when given time to settle in
Researchers from the University of Bristol studying wild dwarf mongooses have provided insight into what happens when immigrants join a new group. Researchers from the University of Bristol studying wild dwarf mongooses have provided insight into what happens when immigrants join a new group. The study published today in the journal Current Biology shows that, initially, recent immigrants rarely serve as lookout, which means they provide little information in this context to help the rest of the group.
Social Sciences - 04.12.2017
Replicating peregrine attack strategies could help down rogue drones
Researchers at Oxford University have discovered that peregrine falcons steer their attacks using the same control strategies as guided missiles. The findings, which overturn previous assumptions that peregrines' aerial hunting follows simple geometric rules, could be applied to the design of small, visually guided drones that can take down other 'rogue' drones in settings such as airports or prisons.
Social Sciences - Life Sciences - 15.11.2017
It’s (not) complicated: relationships may be simpler than they seem
New research sheds light on how social networks can evolve by showing that complex social patterns observed across the animal kingdom may be simpler than they appear. Image credit: Shutterstock New Oxford University research has shed light on the complexities involved in forming social bonds, and suggests that the process is much simpler than first thought.
Health - Social Sciences - 13.11.2017
Society’s excluded people ten times more likely to die early
People excluded from mainstream society in high-income countries have a tenfold increased risk of early death, according to research from UCL, homeless health charity Pathway and an international team of experts. The researchers found the mortality rate among socially excluded groups including homeless people, people who sell sex, prisoners and people who use hard drugs, was nearly eight times higher than the population average for men, and nearly 12 times for women.
Social Sciences - 10.11.2017
Study highlights how community violence fosters antisocial behaviour in kids
Children and adolescents who are regularly confronted with violence in their communities have a greater tendency to show antisocial behaviour according to the authors of a new study published in the journal Frontiers of Behavioral Neuroscience . The research, from psychiatrists and psychologists at the University Psychiatric Hospital Basel (Switzerland) and the Universities of Bath, Southampton and Birmingham (UK), examined the link between exposure to community violence and antisocial behavior in over 1000 children and adolescents from seven European countries.
Social Sciences - 24.10.2017
Researcher in launch of new information website for older British people living in the Costa del Sol
Fears of inter-generational tension between young and old are unfounded, according to a new study. Researchers at the University of Birmingham say that social, economic and demographic factors are generally pushing UK families together, rather than driving them apart along generational lines. Their key findings were: Instead of falling victim to inter-generational tensions, families are determined to support their own members financially.
Social Sciences - 24.10.2017
Starting school at a younger age could benefit children in South Africa
Starting school at a younger age could benefit children in South Africa (24 October 2017) Children in South Africa could benefit from starting school a year earlier, according to new research by Durham University in the UK and the University of Pretoria in South Africa. The study found that those children who started school in Grade R, equivalent to Reception in the UK, were better prepared for school than those who started in the usual Grade 1.
Social Sciences - Sport - 18.10.2017
Gentle touch soothes the pain of social rejection
The gentle touch of another individual soothes the effects of social exclusion, one of the most emotionally painful human experiences, according to new UCL research. The study, published today in Scientific Reports and funded by the European Research Council, tested the impact of a slow, affectionate touch against a fast, neutral touch following social rejection and found a specific relationship between gentle touch and social bonding.
Life Sciences - Social Sciences - 18.10.2017
Exploring why some primates have bigger brains
The accepted view of why some primates, including apes and humans, have evolved to have large brains is contested in new research from the Department of Anthropology. The study also questions whether brain size is a useful indicator of cognitive ability. Brain size and behaviour The research project, led by PhD student Lauren Powell, and published in Royal Society's Proceedings B journal , has found little evidence to support a long-held view that larger brains have developed to help primates cope with increasingly complex social structures - known as the Social Brain Hypothesis.
Health - Social Sciences - 12.10.2017
Risk factors for heart health linked to marital ups and downs
Risk factors for heart health seem to be linked to changes over time in the quality of marital relationships - at least for men - finds a University of Bristol study published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. The available research points to an association between marital status and health, but it's not clear whether this observed link is influenced by the health of people entering into marriage or the protective effects of the marriage itself.
Religions - Social Sciences - 06.10.2017
Religion and social factors top IVF concerns
Although one in 8 couples experience fertility issues and many of them turn to Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) to help them have a child, usage varies significantly across Europe. A new Oxford study has shed light on some of the reasons behind this - pinpointing moral and social acceptance of the treatment and religion as key.
Social Sciences - Religions - 06.10.2017
Social factors top IVF concerns
Although one in 8 couples experience fertility issues and many of them turn to Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) to help them have a child, usage varies significantly across Europe. A new Oxford study has shed light on some of the reasons behind this - pinpointing moral and social acceptance of the treatment and religion as key.
Social Sciences - 28.09.2017
Great minds think alike - or are they just copying? Great minds think alike - or are they just copying?
A new study has shown that children as young as eight years old know the difference between independent agreement and copying and can take into account individuals' independence when evaluating the reliability of a consensus. The research, Thinking for themselves' The effect of informant independence on children's endorsement of testimony from a consensus has been published in Social Development and was carried out by Dr Shiri Einav, Assistant Professor in the School of Psychology at the University of Nottingham.
Social Sciences - Health - 26.09.2017
Guide puts Birmingham in UK’s top 15 universities
A major study involving researchers from the University of Birmingham is aiming to help older people stay fitter and live independently for longer. Project REACT (REtirement in ACTion) engages people aged 65 years old and over who are starting to find everyday activities such as walking, climbing stairs and getting up from a chair difficult to take part in a specially designed 12-month physical activity and social programme.
Social Sciences - Sport - 26.09.2017
Understanding football violence could help the fight against terror
Football has long been tarnished by outbreaks of fan violence. Although media headlines often link the behaviour to 'hooliganism', the activity could stem from potentially more positive motivations, such as passionate commitment to the group and the desire to belong. Understanding the root cause of football violence may therefore help in tackling the behaviour and channelling it into something more positive, Oxford University scientists suggest.
Social Sciences - Health - 20.09.2017
Study suggests you can pick up a good or bad mood from your friends - but it also suggests that depression doesnt have the same effect
New research suggests that both good and bad moods can be 'picked up' from friends, but depression can't. A team led by the University of Warwick has examined whether friends' moods can affect an individual therefore implying that moods may spread across friendship networks. The team analysed data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health which incorporates the moods and friendship networks of US adolescents in schools.
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