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Mexican drug war increased homicide rates

A new statistical analysis suggests that, in the short term, the Mexican government's war against drugs increased the average murder rate in regions subjected to military-style interventions.

The study--"Did the Military Interventions in the Mexican Drug War Increase Violence?"--was conducted by Valeria Espinosa, a quantitative analyst at Google and a 2014 doctoral graduate of Harvard University's statistics department, and Donald B. Rubin, Harvard University John L. Loeb Professor of Statistics.

South by Southwest - the case of the missing Latinos

In March, artists, media industry executives and new media experts gathered in Austin, Texas for the annual South by Southwest (SXSW) festival to discuss the future of music, film and interactive media.

Causalation paper: Each hour of TV daily increases risk of diabetes by 3.4 percent

Each hour spent watching TV daily increases the risk of developing diabetes by 3.4%, concludes a study published in Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes). The study, on the effects of sedentary or 'sitting' time on diabetes risk, is by Dr Bonny Rockette-Wagner (lead author) and Dr Andrea Kriska (senior author) from the University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA, and colleagues.

Obamacare harbinger: Massachusetts health reform didn't reduce preventable hospitalizations or racial disparity

A new analysis offers insights into possible effects of the Affordable Care Act on access to outpatient care - little improvement for the people that the public was convinced needed it most and a much higher cost.

Anxious, slow talkers often do not get the job

Researchers offer a few tips for those who are worried that their nerves might stand between them and acing their next job interview. Stop worrying about how much you might blush or your nervous tics, and focus more on being warm, friendly and assertive. The advice comes from Amanda Feiler and Deborah Powell of the University of Guelph in Canada, who carefully watched what anxious people do during an interview, and how others respond to them. Their findings are published in Springer's Journal of Business and Psychology.

Earned Income Tax Credit: Lifting families out of poverty with dignity

America's welfare state is quietly evolving from needs-based to an employment-based safety net that rewards working families and fuels dreams of a better life, indicates a new study led by a Michigan State University scholar.

The major reason: the little-known Earned Income Tax Credit, a $65 billion federal tax-relief program for poor, working families. The program has been expanded dramatically during the past 25 years, while cash welfare has been sharply curtailed.

Suicide, deployment of US military personnel not linked

Deployment to Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom was not associated with suicide in a study of more than 3.9 million U.S. military personnel in the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps and Navy, according to a new study. The suicide rate among active duty U.S. military members has increased in the last decade and research on the potential effect of deployment to Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) or Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) is limited, according to the study background.

Poses of power are mostly powerful in psychology papers

Poses of power, such as hands pressed to the hips or leaning back with arms crossed behind the head, are considered powerful, high status gestures in psychological jargon, but they may have been putting the cart before the horse in claims that they stimulate psychological and physiological processes.

Cancer prevention results in the US mixed

While there has been substantial progress in some cancer control efforts in the past several decades, like reductions in smoking and increased utilization of cancer screening, progress in some areas is lagging, according to a new report. Among the areas of most concern: smoking rates among certain populations, obesity, indoor tanning, and low utilization of a new vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes cervical and other cancers.

Childhood cancer survival up, but most have morbidities

Childhood cancer survival has increased but the majority of those who have survived five or more years beyond diagnosis may have at least one chronic health condition, according to cancer incidence and survival data recorded between 1975 and 2011 from nine U.S.

If it's a reality program, why aren't 60 percent of the characters obese?

More midriff, cleavage and muscle is seen in MTV's popular television reality television docu-soaps such as The Real World, Jersey Shore or Laguna Beach than in the average American household. Semi-naked brawny Adonis'es and even more scantily clad thin women strut around on screen simply to grab the audience's attention. In the process, they present a warped view to young viewers about how they should look. Such docu-soaps are definitely more ideal than real, say Mark Flynn of the Coastal Carolina University and Sung-Yeon Park of Bowling Green State University.

How diverse is your social network? The answer may reveal something about your values

A new study out of Wellesley College sheds light on the role of beliefs about the value of diversity in fostering attitudinally diverse friendships. Led by Angela Bahns, a social psychologist studying similarity and diversity in friendship networks, the study demonstrates that people who place a higher value on diversity are more likely to have friends of different races, religions, and/or classes, as well as friends with different sociopolitical views.

Sometimes products benefit from mixed reviews

How do consumers react to products with diverse online reviews? According to a new study, a mix of positive and negative reviews can benefit products that are evaluated based on personal taste.

The end of MP3: Young people prefer streaming

In a recent survey 76% of respondents listened to music from YouTube every day. YouTube and Spotify were by far the most popular music sources in the study. YouTube was the most frequently used service for music listening and new music discovery. Even active Spotify users visited YouTube often to complement Spotify’s incomplete music selection.

YouTube was also perceived as the most shareable music source by the students in their early 20s who participated in the internet-based study.

Green energy subsidies surge to $270 billion in 2014

Government subsidies for renewable energy rebounded strongly last year, registering a solid 17% increase after two years of declines. Major expansion of solar installations in China and Japan and government=backed investments in offshore wind projects in Europe helped propel green energy spending to $270 billion.