Social Issues News

April 6, 2016

Effective Policing Depends On Public Trust

How Your Brain Decides Blame and Punishment

Discrimination in Teens: Lasting Effect On Body

Planetary Boundary: Are We Using Too Much Water?

Latest Headlines

updated 6:05pm EDT

Discrimination on Facebook Is a Matter of Gender

Apr. 6, 2016 — While young, less educated males are those who share a greater amount of discriminatory content on Facebook, young university females share the least. According to a study conducted by sociologists ... read more

Household Food Insecurity at Record High in the North, Say Canadian Researchers

Apr. 5, 2016 — Despite anti-poverty efforts, hunger in Canada has not decreased, and it has now reached epidemic levels in Nunavut, where almost half of households ... read more

Effect of Economic Crisis on Birth Outcome in Spain

Apr. 5, 2016 — The unprecedented post-war European economic crisis which began in 2007 and the resulting fiscal austerity policies are generally considered to have had a negative impact on public health. A new ... read more

Disaster Plans Often Neglect Historic Preservation

Apr. 4, 2016 — Many communities fail to take historic preservation into account when planning for natural disasters, risking a loss of heritage and critical engines of the local economy in the event of catastrophe, ... read more

Classroom Program Increases School Breakfast Participation, Not Obesity

Mar. 30, 2016 — Serving free breakfast in New York City's classrooms has boosted the number of students eating what some consider the most important meal of the day at school, according to research. This increase in ... read more

Refugees Have a Substantially Higher Risk of Psychotic Disorders

Mar. 15, 2016 — Refugees face a substantially higher risk of psychotic disorders, including schizophrenia, compared to non-refugee migrants from the same regions of origin, finds a new ... read more

White Delinquent Youth More Likely to Abuse Hard Drugs Than Blacks

Mar. 17, 2016 — Abuse and dependence on 'hard drugs' (cocaine, hallucinogen or PCP, opiate, amphetamine and sedatives) are less common among delinquent African American youth than those who are non-Hispanic white, ... read more

Even 'Diversity-Friendly' Employers Discriminate Against Racial Minority Job Seekers

Mar. 17, 2016 — Minority applicants may fare even worse in the resumes pile at companies purporting to support diversity than they would at companies that don't make ... read more

When You Claim Social Security Influences Whether Your Spouse Enters Poverty in Widowhood

Mar. 15, 2016 — A recent study finds that when the primary wage earner in a marriage claims Social Security can significantly affect whether that person’s spouse ... read more

Wealth Doesn't Protect US Blacks from Greater Chance of Incarceration

Mar. 10, 2016 — The chances of incarceration in America are always higher for blacks than for whites or Hispanics, regardless of their level of wealth, according to a new study. In addition, blacks and Hispanics who ... read more

CDC Hosts Zika Action Plan Summit in Atlanta

Medical Experts Are Declaring War On The 'War On Drugs'

Study: Smartphones Not Always Helpful In Crisis

Japan Marks 5th Anniversary of Quake, Tsunami Disaster

Reasons Reported by Children, Youth for Being on the Streets

Apr. 4, 2016 — Poverty was the most common reason reported by children and youth, globally, for why they were on the streets, according to a new ... read more

Did Public Opinion of Immigration Take a Negative Turn During the Recession?

Apr. 1, 2016 — Increasingly popularity of right-wing political parties has not been because of an increase in anti-immigrant sentiment, suggests a new ... read more

Minorities' Homicide Victimization Rates Fall Significantly Compared to Whites'

Mar. 31, 2016 — While homicide victimization rates declined for whites, blacks, and Hispanics in the United States from 1990-2010, the drop was much more precipitous for the two minority groups, new research ... read more

For Doctors Behaving Badly, Which State's the Best? Team Finds Wide Variation

Mar. 23, 2016 — What happens when doctors misbehave? The answer depends a lot on which state they practice in, a new study shows. In fact, the percentage of doctors who get disciplined or pay a malpractice claim is ... read more

Should Doctors Boycott Working in Australia's Immigration Detention Centers?

Mar. 23, 2016 — Two experts debate whether doctors should boycott working in Australia's immigration detention centers. Last month, the president of the Australian Medical Association finally denounced ... read more

Social Networks Used in the Assessment of Damage Caused by Natural Disasters

Mar. 11, 2016 — It is possible to determine the damage caused by a natural disaster in just a few hours, by using data from social networks, such as Twitter, say ... read more

Spending on Public Higher Education Overlooks Net Benefits as Investment in State's Future

Mar. 10, 2016 — Thinking of higher education funding as an investment that lowers costs -- and not as mere consumption spending -- could reframe the debate in Springfield, according to ... read more

News Coverage of Fukushima Disaster Found Lacking

Mar. 10, 2016 — A new analysis finds that US news media coverage following the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan minimized health risks to the general ... read more

Risks Less Likely to Be Reported by Public-Health Researchers Paid by Industry or Military

Mar. 9, 2016 — Scientists looking for environmental and occupational health risks are less likely to find them if they have a financial tie to firms that make, use, or dispose of industrial and commercial products, ... read more

Disparity in Student Loan Debt Between Blacks, Whites

Mar. 8, 2016 — Black young adults not only have substantially more student loan debt than their white counterparts (68.2 percent more) but are not nearly as protected by their parents' wealth as their white ... read more

Welfare Recipients Seen as Immoral for Buying Ethical Products

Mar. 8, 2016 — Shoppers making ethical purchases, such as buying organic food or environmentally friendly cars, are generally seen as more virtuous -- unless they're receiving government assistance. If ethical ... read more

Four Simple Factors Can Determine Future Poverty risk

Mar. 2, 2016 — A new poverty risk calculator can determine an individual's risk of poverty based on four basic factors: race, education, marital status and ... read more

Childhood Poverty, Parental Abuse Cost Adults Their Health for Years to Come

Feb. 29, 2016 — Growing up in poverty or being abused by parents can lead to accumulated health problems later in life, according to new ... read more

Women Who Feel More at Risk of Crime Also Prefer Physically Dominant Partners

Feb. 26, 2016 — Women who prefer physically formidable and dominant mates (PPFDM) tend to feel more at risk of crime regardless of the situation or risk factors present, according to new ... read more

Genome Editing: US Could Apply UK's Approach to Evaluate Safety, Ethics

Feb. 25, 2016 — Two potential ways of stamping out serious disease by manipulating the genomes of human embryos are under intense public debate: mitochondrial replacement therapy and germline genome editing. The UK ... read more

Clinical Community Has Crucial Role to Play in the Future of Mitochondrial Replacement Techniques, Say Experts

Feb. 25, 2016 — There is a unique role for the United States medical community to play in determining the future application of, and ethically acceptable approach to, mitochondrial replacement techniques (MRTs), ... read more

Zika Epidemic Highlights Need for Priority Vaccine Research for Pregnant Women

Feb. 24, 2016 — The recent outbreak of Zika virus disease and its link to fetal development highlights the need for pregnant women and those of reproductive age to be a priority group for developing and evaluating ... read more

Clinical Manual Addresses How to Approach Organ Donation After Euthanasia

Feb. 23, 2016 — A new practical manual addresses the controversial topic of organ donation after euthanasia, providing guidance to clinicians whose patients have requested euthanasia and the desire to offer their ... read more

Tough Social Issues Provide a Challenge for Companies and Researchers

Feb. 22, 2016 — Multinational companies are facing tough issues like climate change, poverty and human rights. A new study suggests that they are increasingly seen to have a responsibility to support sustainable ... read more

Goods Targeted in Thefts 'Change With Market Values'

Feb. 22, 2016 — The more expensive an item, the more likely it is to be targeted by thieves and stolen, a has revealed. The findings also show that the rise in the theft of goods such as mobile phones, bicycles, ... read more

Monday, April 4, 2016