Society & Culture
Society & Culture - Oct 26, 2011 11:29 - 6 Comments
Traffickers exploit state laws to move guns
BROWN (US) — Gun traffickers take advantage of the differences in firearm laws by moving illegal guns from states with weak laws into states with stricter ones, a new study shows. (more…)
Society & Culture - Oct 25, 2011 16:58 - 1 Comment
Early hunters: Pre-Clovis weapon found in US
TEXAS A&M (US) — The tip of a bone point fragment found embedded in a mastodon rib from an archaeological site in Washington state shows that hunters were present in North America at least 800 years before Clovis. (more…)
Society & Culture - Oct 25, 2011 9:56 - 0 Comments
Goofy TV ads sell chimps short
DUKE (US) — Television ads featuring cute chimpanzees wearing human clothes are likely to distort the public’s perception of the endangered animals and hinder conservation efforts, experts say. (more…)
Society & Culture - Oct 24, 2011 10:49 - 1 Comment
Alcohol brand names pop up on Top 40
U. PITTSBURGH (US) — The average U.S. adolescent is heavily exposed to alcohol brand references in popular music, new research shows. (more…)
Society & Culture - Oct 21, 2011 11:41 - 8 Comments
Winter blues depress financial markets
U. TORONTO (CAN) — People who experience seasonal depression avoid taking financial risks during seasons with less daylight, but are more willing to take a gamble in spring and summer. (more…)
Society & Culture - Oct 19, 2011 12:11 - 21 Comments
Psychopaths’ words expose predatory mind
CORNELL (US) — Psychopathic murderers use words that reveal selfishness, detachment, and emotional flatness, according to a new study that used computer analysis to identify speech patterns. (more…)
Society & Culture - Oct 18, 2011 10:39 - 1 Comment
Date’s friends may spur teens to drink
PENN STATE (US) — Teenagers are more influenced to drink alcohol by their date’s friends than they are by their own friends, according to a new study. (more…)
Society & Culture - Oct 18, 2011 9:13 - 0 Comments
Why pet owners love Purina’s ‘dog-noise’ ad
WASHINGTON U.-ST. LOUIS (US) — A dog food commercial for Nestlé Purina’s Beneful brand features high-frequency noises intended for dogs’ ears only, but one marketing expert says the ad speaks to pet owners, too. (more…)
Society & Culture - Oct 17, 2011 11:47 - 1 Comment
How to get (and give) better advice
CARNEGIE MELLON/ DUKE (US) — Advisers feel more empathy and may be more motivated to offer unbiased advice when they are advising one known recipient, rather than an anonymous group, new research shows. (more…)
Society & Culture - Oct 17, 2011 10:41 - 0 Comments
Music piracy: Restrictions don’t work
RICE / DUKE (US) — Contrary to the traditional views of the music industry, removal of digital rights management (DRM) restrictions can actually decrease piracy, new research shows. (more…)
Society & Culture - Oct 10, 2011 8:26 - 3 Comments
Ancient Maya road ‘frozen’ by volcano
U. COLORADO-BOULDER (US) — A team excavating a Maya village in El Salvador buried by a volcanic eruption 1,400 years ago has unexpectedly hit an ancient white road that appears to lead to and from the town frozen in time by a blanket of ash. (more…)
Society & Culture - Oct 10, 2011 7:39 - 2 Comments
Distant marriage: States allow Skype ‘I do’?
MICHIGAN STATE (US) — States should modernize marriage laws by allowing couples to marry outside state borders, utilizing videoconferencing technologies such as Skype, according to a first-of-its-kind proposal by two law professors. (more…)
Society & Culture - Oct 7, 2011 11:31 - 3 Comments
To be great, it may take more than practice
MICHIGAN STATE (US) — Can practice, practice, practice alone produce greatness? New research finds working memory capacity may be the deciding factor between being good or being great. (more…)
Society & Culture - Oct 4, 2011 9:45 - 0 Comments
Activism pushes poor youth to vote
MICHIGAN STATE (US)— Low-income youth are more apt to vote if they are involved in political activism, according to a new study that also notes the influence of friends and family. (more…)
Society & Culture - Sep 29, 2011 14:58 - 0 Comments
Freedom or repression: Twitter goes both ways
PENN STATE (US) — Twitter, Facebook, and text messaging were used both as tools for freedom and as weapons of repression in recent civil strife in Egypt and Kenya. (more…)
Society & Culture - Sep 29, 2011 11:31 - 3 Comments
‘People can change’ key to Mideast peace
STANFORD (US) — Fostering the belief that people are capable of change could be a powerful tool in resolving political conflicts between Israelis and Palestinians, according to a new study. (more…)
Society & Culture - Sep 28, 2011 11:53 - 5 Comments
Why class societies are rule, not exception
STANFORD (US) —The disproportionate suffering of the poor may have been a driving force behind the global spread of class structure during early human civilization, according to a new study. (more…)
Society & Culture - Sep 27, 2011 16:55 - 3 Comments
Dictator or democracy: Politics is politics
NYU (US) — There is no difference between tyrants and democrats; leaders do whatever keeps them in power, according to a new book by politics professors at New York University. (more…)
