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Social Sciences - History / Archeology - 05.12.2024
A third of people from Chicago carry concealed handguns in public before they reach middle age
Major 25-year study reveals a "dual pathway" for when people start carrying. Carrying a concealed firearm is now a common event in the life course for Americans Charles Lanfear Around a third (32%) of people who grew up in Chicago have carried a concealed firearm on the city streets at least once by the time they turn 40 years old, according to a major study of gun usage taking in a quarter of a century of data.

Social Sciences - 03.12.2024
Owning a home linked to longer life in the US
A new study by an Oxford University researcher finds that owning a home in early adult life adds approximately four months to the lives of male Americans born in the early twentieth century. Dr Casey Breen , Senior Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Oxford University's Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science and Department of Sociology, conducted the study, published in Demography .

Health - Social Sciences - 21.11.2024
Global trends for menstrual tracking app use
A new study by researchers in the UK and Denmark, published in Digital Health , provides the first publicly accessible analysis of global downloads for menstrual tracking apps. While the market for menstrual tracking apps is rapidly growing, there have been no large-scale analyses about why users download these apps, and particularly few studies on their use in the Global South.

Health - Social Sciences - 21.11.2024
Study of menstrual tracking app usage highlights potential role in improving access to reproductive health services
A new study by researchers in the UK and Denmark, published in Digital Health , provides the first publicly accessible analysis of global downloads for menstrual tracking apps. While the market for menstrual tracking apps is rapidly growing, there have been no large-scale analyses about why users download these apps, and particularly few studies on their use in the Global South.

Social Sciences - Psychology - 13.11.2024
Time alone heightens ’threat alert’ in teenagers - even when connecting on social media
Scientists say the findings might shed light on the link between loneliness and mental health conditions such as anxiety disorders, which are on the rise in young people. People in their late teens experience an increased sensitivity to threats after just a few hours left in a room on their own - an effect that endures even if they are interacting online with friends and family.

Health - Social Sciences - 05.11.2024
'We were frontline workers in the community' - study finds pandemic contribution from voluntary sector is 'under-valued'
’We were frontline workers in the community’ - study finds pandemic contribution from voluntary sector is ’under-valued’
A study has found that the voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) sector played a 'crucial' role supporting Greater Manchester communities during the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccine rollout - but that their contribution has been undervalued and under-recognised by the wider health system.

Social Sciences - 28.10.2024
No incentive for older birds to make new friends
Like people, birds have fewer friends as they age, but the reasons why are unclear. New research suggests they may just have no drive to. In humans, it's often been assumed that older people have fewer friends because they're pickier about who they spend their time with. There's also the issue that there are fewer people of their own age around.

Social Sciences - 24.10.2024
Half of young adults support prison time for non-consensual condom removal
Half of young adults support prison time for non-consensual condom removal
Almost nine in 10 young adults in the UK believe that removing a condom during sex without the other person's permission is sexual assault, and around half support prison time as a penalty, finds a new study by UCL researchers. This is the first UK study to cover views on non-consensual condom removal.

Forensic Science - Social Sciences - 24.10.2024
Airbnb rentals linked to increased crime rates in London neighbourhoods
Rising numbers of houses and flats listed as short-term lets on Airbnb are associated with higher rates of crimes such as burglaries and street robberies right across London, according to the most detailed study of its kind. There may be social consequences to turning large swathes of city neighbourhoods into hotels with little regulation Charles Lanfear Latest research has revealed a "positive association" between the number of properties listed as Airbnb rentals and police-reported robberies and violent crimes in thousands of London neighbourhoods between 2015 and 2018.

Career - Social Sciences - 17.10.2024
New index reveals livelihood insecurity becoming ’entrenched’ in east London
Disadvantaged communities are not seeing significant benefit from years of urban regeneration in east London and local residents report feeling more insecure than ever about their livelihoods, finds a new report by UCL researchers. The report, " Prosperity in East London 2021-2031 " looked at living standards across five east London Boroughs where there have been significant physical, economic and social changes in the last few decades.

Health - Social Sciences - 11.10.2024
Regional inequalities in community resilience exposed in new research
Regional inequalities in community resilience exposed in new research
Coastal, rural and areas in the North of England are less able to withstand and recover from adverse events, according to new research which highlights regional disparities in community resilience. The analysis shows that regionally, Yorkshire and the Humber and the North East had the lowest resilience scores, while London and the South East had the highest.

Health - Social Sciences - 04.10.2024
Water fluoridation less effective now than in past
Water fluoridation less effective now than in past
The dental health benefits of adding fluoride to drinking water may be smaller now than before fluoride toothpaste was widely available, an updated Cochrane review has found. The team of researchers from the Universities of Manchester, Dundee and Aberdeen reviewed the evidence from 157 studies which compared communities that had fluoride added to their water supplies with communities that had no additional fluoride in their water.

Psychology - Social Sciences - 09.09.2024
1 in 10 people with dementia experience suicidal thoughts
1 in 10 people with dementia experience suicidal thoughts
People with dementia are more likely to have suicidal thoughts but are not necessarily more likely to attempt or die by suicide than the general population, finds a new study led by UCL researchers. The study, published in Ageing Research Reviews , analysed 54 studies that investigated various aspects of mental health - including the prevalence and risk of suicide - in people with dementia, between 1991 and 2023.

Social Sciences - 29.08.2024
New WHO/Europe report reveals high rates of unprotected sex among adolescents
A new report from the WHO Regional Office for Europe reveals that condom use among sexually active adolescents has declined significantly since 2014, with rates of unprotected sex worryingly high. The new data were published as part of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study, which surveyed over 242,000 15-year-olds across 42 countries and regions in the period 2014 to 2022.

Pedagogy - Social Sciences - 19.08.2024
Social segregation increases where primary free schools open
On average, social segregation of students has increased in neighbourhoods where mainstream primary free schools opened, and neighbouring schools have lost students, finds a report by UCL researchers. The association between primary free schools and social segregation was relating to ethnicity, in that pupils in some areas were less likely to meet peers from other ethnic backgrounds at school than before the primary free school opened.

Health - Social Sciences - 07.08.2024
Researchers spearhead study on justice system’s health impact
Glasgow researchers spearhead study on justice system's health impact Researchers from the University of Glasgow are set to play a crucial role in a groundbreaking £1 million study examining the impact of Scotland's justice system on public health. The project, led by the University of Strathclyde and funded by the Scottish Government's Chief Scientist Office, aims to identify ways to improve health outcomes in disadvantaged communities across Scotland.

Health - Social Sciences - 29.07.2024
Income and regional disparities dictate how young people use healthcare services
There is a stark contrast in how young people access healthcare, depending on their income and where they live. According to a new study from Imperial College Business School , people aged 14 to 17 living in more affluent areas have easier and faster access to outpatient care, including mental health and dental services.

Health - Social Sciences - 20.07.2024
Shorter life expectancy during COVID-19 for India’s marginalised
A new paper published in Science Advances finds that life expectancy in India was 2.6 years lower in 2020 than 2019, with women and marginalised social groups suffering the greatest declines. The international study, co-authored by the Department of Sociology and the Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science 's Dr Aashish Gupta and Professor Ridhi Kashyap , reveals that life expectancy in India suffered large and unequal declines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Innovation - Social Sciences - 15.07.2024
AI Chatbots have shown they have an ’empathy gap’ that children are likely to miss
New study proposes a framework for "Child Safe AI" following recent incidents which revealed that many children see chatbots as quasi-human and trustworthy. When not designed with children's needs in mind, Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots have an "empathy gap" that puts young users at particular risk of distress or harm, according to a study.

Social Sciences - Life Sciences - 02.07.2024
Huge study identifies suicide risk factors to improve preventions
In the largest study of its kind, scientists at the University of Warwick have investigated a range of contributing risk factors for suicide - helping to identify individuals who might benefit from interventions. The behavioural and biological predictors, include elevated white blood cells, neuroticism, childhood experiences and reduced grey matter in the brain.