Social Sciences
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Pill testing not a drug use driver
People say they’re not more likely to take ecstasy if they can get it tested.
New research from Edith Cowan University (ECU) has found that access to pill testing would not give people an incenti...
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Research
Why are reports of sexual assault delayed?
Machine learning reveals trends in under-reporting of sexual assault.
Reporting sexual assault is a very sensitive and nuanced matter, and identifying at-risk groups may illuminate areas ...
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Raising the dead
Planning a séance? Read this first.
Research into spiritualism – a belief system based on the idea that human souls endure beyond death and communicate w...
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You may have missed…
Stray science stories from last week to cheer up your Monday.
Big, BIG night sky map An international research collaboration has just released a map of more than 690 million ce...
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Football shock! Referees turn out to be clever people
Study finds soccer officials look at the big picture rather than the details. Andrew Patterson re...
From the grandest stadia to the shabbiest park pitches, the job of soccer referees is a difficult and often thankless...
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You are what you meat
Two studies find links between social status, psychological make-up, and food choices. Andrew Mas...
Personality and social status are more influential than hunger or nutrition when it comes to eating meat, two studies...
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Even scientists jump to conclusions – and that’s a problem
The latest in a raft of experiments suggests a predicted “train wreck” in social sciences is unde...
“Fully rational man is a mythical hero,” wrote the late German economist Reinhard Selten, not long after he snared th...
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Group loyalty is inherent, not learned
The simple status of belonging is enough to trigger defence and aggression. Andrew Patterson repo...
Today’s fractious social climate is painted by the collective mainstream media as snowflakes to the left of you, extr...
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Dateless and dreaming
People on online romance sites try to punch above their weight.
People searching for love using a popular online dating website tend to target potential mates who are more desirable...
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Extremism and curdled milk are more similar than you might imagine
Physicists find that internet hate groups can be described using a theory that predicts the forma...
The same theory that explains milk going off can be used to model the rise of extremism and hate on the internet, phy...
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Science alone can’t save us, say scientists
Researchers find that understanding human behaviour is the key to using science to solve real-wor...
Physical scientists need the social sciences if they’re going to solve some of the world’s biggest problems, accordin...
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Ditch religion to boost prosperity, study finds
Statistics reveal that secularisation precedes economic growth. Andrew Masterson reports.
A 1925 poster by Russian artist Dmitry Moor portraying religious belief as a driver of enslavement.GHI / Universal Hi...