Social Sciences

Community energy projects, actively governed and managed by community members, play an essential role in advancing just energy transitions, for example, by providing energy in remote areas, facilitating the adoption of renewable technologies and building resilient electricity networks. However, their adoption remains limited. How does community energy work in practice,... Read more

You might not often think about the molars of livestock, but everything from the grass they eat to the water they drink can tell a story about how people lived centuries ago. An international collaboration led by University of Michigan researchers examined herd management in medieval Kazakhstan using isotopes embedded... Read more

A lack of data on prisoner characteristics is providing an incomplete picture of who dies in prison and why, which may be contributing to preventable deaths in custody, according to a new report.... Read more

For decades, court-ordered community service has been used as an alternative to incarceration. The intention is to reduce costs, provide restitution to the community and support individual rehabilitation. But does it actually work? A new report from the University of Georgia suggests it doesn't.... Read more

People described as "problematic" internet users report higher stress, worse mood and greater neglect of other activities than those who surf the web sparingly, according to a study published in PLOS One by Silke M. Müller from the University Hospital Essen, Germany, and colleagues. These users also reported a stronger... Read more

Comparing yourself with your partner is more common than you'd think. Psychologists even have a term for it: mate value discrepancy (MVD), which is the gap between how attractive, smart or successful each partner feels compared with the other.... Read more

Why do some people who embrace conspiracy theories simply hold those beliefs, while others act on them? A new study published in the British Journal of Social Psychology identifies three characteristics that help determine when conspiracy beliefs are most likely to shape real-world behavior: how certain people are that the... Read more

Paris Hilton's mother, Kathy Hilton, recently tried the "Jell-O diet" to lose weight. She believed other celebrities—Oprah Winfrey, Doctor Oz, Michelle Obama and Kelly Clarkson—had endorsed it. But the diet was fake, and so were the endorsements. Both had been generated by artificial intelligence (AI).... Read more

More than 4 in 5 physicians and dentists believe applicants who disclose a history of substance use on medical or dental school applications risk hurting their chances of admission, according to a new study by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and the University of Miami Miller... Read more

When Congress passed the Deborah Sampson Act of 2020—named for a woman who served in the Revolutionary War disguised as a man—the goal was to broaden access to government-provided medical care for female military veterans.... Read more

When brands spend millions every year to transport Super Bowl audiences back in time during commercials, what happens if they choose the wrong era? Knowing who prefers which part of history is valuable marketing knowledge, and a new tool developed at the University of Arizona offers a way to measure... Read more

Video gaming is a valued leisure activity in Australia. The latest data show 74% of Australian households own at least two gaming devices.... Read more

Changing patterns of heat and daylight in urban environments are creating growing inequalities, with climate-related shifts reshaping daily life and disproportionately affecting vulnerable communities.... Read more

Currently popular biographies of famous scientists may demotivate—rather than inspire—children's desire to study or pursue careers in science, according to researchers who studied the messages in 422 bestselling children's books. Study leader Jessica Gladstone, a professor of educational psychology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, said that while parents and... Read more

Prioritizing play offers a variety of benefits for children, from helping them grow their vocabulary to managing their big feelings with fewer behavioral problems.... Read more