news

A groundbreaking study led by researchers at The University of Manchester has exposed significant gaps in global research on transboundary rivers, revealing that the water needs of people in the Global South are being disproportionately overlooked. Rivers which flow across international borders are essential for the lives of billions of people - they supply drinking water, support agriculture and provide livelihoods.

Northerners, Scots and Irish excel at detecting fake accents to guard against outsiders, study suggests People from Glasgow, Belfast, Dublin and the north-east of England are better at detecting someone imitating their accent than people from London and Essex, new research has found. Cultural, political, or even violent conflict are likely to encourage people to strengthen their accents as they try to maintain social cohesion Jonathan Goodman People from Belfast proved most able to detect someone faking their accent, while people from London, Essex and Bristol were least accurate.

Research shows 'new chauvinism' characterised by softer, more subtle language New research from the University of Bath has identified a 'new chauvinism', fuelled by a resurgence in right-wing populism, and distinguished by the use of softer, more subtle language than traditional chauvinism. The study focused on language and attitudes in software development, a profession known for perpetuating chauvinistic language.

The University of Glasgow has contributed to research that finds only 40% of people in England trust their police force. The study, commissioned by the Economic and Social Research Council (ERSC), spotlights London's Metropolitan Police as the area where women trust the least - and Conservative voters have higher levels of trust in the force.

The public and politicians do not see eye to eye in prioritising plastic pollution, according to new research. As the UK's political parties gear up to do battle for No. 10, a team of researchers from the Birmingham Plastics Network and the Institute for STEMM in Culture and Society (ISTEMMiCS), have published findings of a YouGov survey which show that there is a significant mismatch between the UK public and MPs, when it comes to prioritising the environmental impact of plastics.

Published on Wednesday 15 November 2023 Last updated on Wednesday 15 November 2023 Focus groups that feed views, experiences and opinions into politics, business and research might yield more open interaction and discussion within groups by moving moderators to a separate room, shows new research. The study developed and tested a novel 'remotely-moderated' focus group method where questions are posed on a screen, and moved along by a moderator watching the group from a different room.

People are beginning to reconsider their reproductive decisions due to complex concerns about climate change, with many choosing to forego childbearing, or reduce the number of children they have as a result, finds a new study by UCL researchers. The research, published in PLOS Climate , is the first systematic review to explore how and why climate change-related concerns may be impacting reproductive decision-making.

Cross-national research carried out by the University of Southampton and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VUA) into public opinion on LGBT+ rights has shown that anti-immigrant prejudices, particularly towards Muslims, contributes to explaining some of the widespread shifts in tolerance towards the LGBT+ community.

Psychologists surveyed over 4,000 people to test social ability to analyse what factors determine how well you understand and get on with others. Political parties regularly claim to have their finger on the pulse and be able to read the public mood. Yet a new study challenges the idea that being political makes you good at understanding others: it shows gender, not politics, is a far more important factor in determining people's social skills.

New research led by experts from The University of Manchester , the University of St Andrews, the University of Essex and the University of Nottingham suggests that people from ethnic and religious minority groups are more likely to be interested in politics than White British people. Evidence for Equality National Survey (EVENS) is a major new survey of racism and ethnic inequalities carried out by the Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity (CoDE).

Those educated at private schools are twice as likely to be consistent Conservative voters in adulthood as those who had a state education, according to a new study involving UCL researchers. Published in the journal Sociology , the study uses data from a longitudinal study of almost 7,000 British people born in 1970.

Trust in politicians is at a low ebb and the health of the UK democracy matters as much to voters as issues such as crime and immigration, according to a new report by the UCL Constitution Unit. Published today, the report found that most voters believe stronger mechanisms are needed to ensure politicians follow the rules, with four out of five saying the current system needs reform so that politicians who do not act with integrity can be punished.

Researchers argue that the findings hold lessons for social media companies and the -perverse incentives- driving political polarisation online. Shifting the motivations to post on social media could help rebuild some of the shared reality lost to political polarisation Sander van der Linden Offering a tiny cash reward for accuracy, or even briefly appealing to personal integrity, can increase people's ability to tell the difference between misinformation and the truth, according to a new study.

New report reveals that in the past 10 years, public opinion has warmed to immigration which could lead to changes in immigration policy in the UK. A new report published by Professor Robert Ford from the University of Manchester and Marley Morris written for the Institute of Public Policy Research reveals that public attitudes towards immigration have warmed in recent years.

Writing in The Conversation, Dr Vageesh Jain (UCL Institute for Global Health) looks at the connection between a country's democratic strength and the success of it's response to Covid-19. Through the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become clear that an effective response to an emergency of this nature goes beyond the health system.

A new academic study finds that an over-representation of MPs with social sciences backgrounds limits debate on STEM topics. Last updated on Wednesday 1 September 2021 Political parties need to put more effort into recruiting candidates with scientific backgrounds in order to increase 'cognitive diversity' among MPs, say the authors of a new academic study.

"Geography of disillusion" poses a major challenge for democratic countries across the continent, according to researchers. As disenchantment rises in European hinterlands, democratic politics risks being eroded from within Davide Luca A new study reveals the extent of the political divide opening up between city and countryside right across Europe, with research suggesting that political polarisation in the 21st century may have a lot to do with place and location.

New research from international academics challenges a myth that progressive policies towards asylum seekers pose a threat to domestic security. Last updated on Tuesday 4 May 2021 Ahead of US President Joe Biden's plan later this month to lift the country's historically low cap on asylum seekers, a new political study finds that liberal, progressive refugee policies do not pose domestic security challenges for states.

The biggest study of its kind has proven the link between local political context and the risk that humanitarian aid money is lost to corruption. The study also provides reassurance that the controls that donors may insist upon can be effective at preventing money going astray. The paper " Controlling Corruption in Development Aid: new evidence from contract-level data? is published in the Studies in Comparative International Development journal.

Expectations are rising that the 2021 Northern Ireland census may act as a trigger for a referendum on Irish unification, but 'new' census questions on religious background and national identity are likely to shape the debate about Northern Ireland's constitutional future, a new study reveals. While 'sectarian head-counting' has featured in Northern Irish politics since partition in 1921, the 1998 Good Friday Agreement (GFA) introduced a mechanism for a 'border poll' on Irish unification.