Radical ideology isn’t what makes extremists turn violent
By Matthew Francis, Lancaster University This week saw the convictions of two men at opposite ends of the process of radicalisation – one convicted for radicalising others, the other for being radicalised himself. In the United States, a court in...
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U.S. welfare spending up — but help for the neediest down
Although the United States is spending more on welfare than ever before, most of that money is going to better-off families rather than the very poorest. Robert A. Moffitt, the Krieger-Eisenhower professor of economics at Johns Hopkins University, found that...
Read moreDetailsNot just the poor live hand-to-mouth
When the economy hits the skids, government stimulus checks to the poor sometimes follow. Stimulus programs — such as those in 2001, 2008 and 2009 — are designed to boost the economy quickly by getting cash into the hands of...
Read moreDetailsTreat homelessness first, everything else later: Study
Providing safe, stable and affordable housing first is the best way to help homeless in Hamilton, Ont., according to new research. Researchers from St. Michael's Hospital and McMaster University assessed the success of Hamilton's Transitions to Home program – a...
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More should be done for female parolees
As the female prison population grows, a new study funded partly by the National Science Foundation says more should be done to help women probationers and parolees in poor urban areas remain crime-free. A team of Michigan State University criminologists...
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Analysis finds less research attention given to diseases of the poor
Death is not distributed equally around the world. In high-income countries, people typically die in old age of chronic diseases such as cancer or cardiovascular problems. In low-income countries, death comes primarily from infectious and perinatal diseases, and strikes at...
Read moreDetailsResisting domestic violence is a political act
Resisting domestic violence is more than a personal act; it's a form of activism, claims a Durham University academic. Writing in the current issue of Social & Cultural Geography and drawing on interviews with 16 male and female survivors of domestic abuse,...
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Researchers quarrel over study about hormonal influences on women’s political attitudes
The relationship between hormonal changes and women's political attitudes has sparked a debate among researchers. Research published last year in Psychological Science found that women's menstrual cycle influenced their religious and political orientation differently depending on their relationship status, but a replication of...
Read moreDetailsConservatives generally more willing to take business risks, study finds
Conservatives are more likely than liberals to take risks in the business world, according to new research publish in Social Psychology and Personality Science. The study by Becky L. Choma of Ryerson University and her colleagues disputes the assertion that...
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Does solitary confinement fuel more crime?
Solitary confinement does not make supermax prison inmates more likely to re-offend once they’re released, finds a study on the controversial penitentiaries led by a Michigan State University criminologist. The study – one of the first to examine recidivism rates...
Read moreDetailsExtreme weather images in the media cause fear and disengagement with climate change
The paper "Images of Extreme Weather: Symbolising Human Responses to Climate Change", by Brigitte Nerlich & Rusi Jaspal, published in Science as Culture, reveals that extreme weather images represent human suffering and loss. They are iconic of climate change and are...
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Study finds the less well-off are more opposed to harmful anti-social behaviors than the rich
Why do people so frequently disagree in their moral judgments? At least one reason, a new study shows, can be traced back to differences in material wealth. People with lower income tend to make harsher moral judgments, according to research published...
Read moreDetailsStudy on protesting finds non-violence better communicates the illegitimacy of a situation
Who has a more positive impact on public opinion: The anti-whaling activists who spray Japanese ships with butyric acid, or the people who post on your Facebook profile asking you to sign a Change.org petition against fracking? New research published...
Read moreDetailsDecibels and democracy: Loud voices can skew the accuracy of voice votes
The louder the voice, the cloudier the choice: So says research led by the University of Iowa, which found that a single loud voice can skew the result of voice votes, a common decision-making feature in American public life.
Read moreDetailsSocial status influences Democrats’ — but not Republicans’ — support for reducing inequality
With the United States facing unprecedented levels of economic inequality, new research examines which members of the House of Representatives support legislation to maintain the status quo.
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