Culture

Human impact on one of the world's most threatened bird species can be beneficial rather than destructive - and could even save it from extinction - according to counterintuitive new findings by the University of East Anglia (UEA).

Published today in the peer-reviewed journal Animal Conservation, the study by UEA conservation experts explores the exact reasons behind the decline of the critically endangered white-shouldered ibis.

Psychopharmaceutical use has risen over recent years. This is fact, but what is not clear is the reason why. Researchers from four Madrid-based health centres have shown that family conflict is not a significant factor. However, the results published in the journal Atención Primaria are striking: in Spain, 24% of women take antidepressants and more than 30% take tranquillisers.

Approximately 1 in 6 public health workers said they would not report to work during a pandemic flu emergency regardless of its severity, according to a survey led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Dr Geoff Hayward from Oxford University funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, who led the research points out, a high proportion of those with combined academic and vocational qualifications gained their qualifications in state-school sixth forms and have importantly similar backgrounds to the traditional academic applicants. Therefore, the increasing proportion of students applying to higher education with combined academic and vocational qualifications may be widening participation but not substantially.

People with potentially 'stigmatizing' medical conditions are just as likely as those with less stigmatizing illnesses to allow their personal information to be used for health research. A new study, published in the open access journal BMC Medical Ethics, found that the purpose of the research and the type of information to be collected were more important in determining patients' consent choices. In particular, they were very wary of allowing their personal information to be put to commercial use.

Psychologists have been studying the interplay of social injustice, righteous anger, and group allegiance. It appears that loyalists are not simply apologists for anything and everything the group stands for. In fact, loyalty may be a predictable step toward taking a firm and principled stand.

Four policy briefs just released by the CSSReg project led by M. Granger Morgan, head of Carnegie Mellon University's Department of Engineering and Public Policy say that Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology needs new federal regulations for optimum success.

Social scientist and political economist Elinor Ostrom's Science essay presents an updated version of a multilevel, nested framework for analyzing outcomes achieved in social-ecological systems. In the writing, she provides an example identifying 10 variables that affect the likelihood of self-organization in efforts to achieve a sustainable social-ecological system.

Australia's largest study of young drivers has shown that risky driving habits are putting young drivers at a significantly increased risk of crashing, irrespective of their perceptions about road safety. The study surveyed 20,000 young drivers and examined their crashes reported to police. Young drivers involved in the study who said they undertook risky driving were 50% more likely to crash.

Immigrants from the eight Central and Eastern European countries that joined the European Union in May 2004 are less likely to be claiming welfare benefits and less likely to be living in social housing than people born in the UK, according to a new paper from UCL. What is more, they have made a positive contribution to the UK fiscal system, paying more in taxes than they receive in direct and indirect public transfers (such as benefits, NHS healthcare and education).

As published in the July issue of the "Journal of Archaeological Science," paleoethnobotanist David Lentz of the University of Cincinnati has concluded that not only did the Maya people practice forest management, but when they abandoned their forest conservation practices it was harmful for the entire Maya culture.

Experts in infectious diseases medicine, infection prevention in healthcare settings, and public health and disease prevention announced their support for a provision requiring national reporting of healthcare-associated infection (HAI) rates, which is contained within the healthcare reform bill introduced by leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Adherence to modifiable lifestyle and dietary factors including maintaining normal weight, daily vigorous exercise, eating a diet high in fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products and low in sodium and taking a folic acid supplement was associated with a significantly lower incidence of self-reported hypertension among women, according to a study in the July 22/29 issue of JAMA.

Researchers have uncovered the first cases in which HIV almost certainly was transmitted from mothers to children through pre-chewed food. The source of HIV in the pre-chewed food was most likely the infected blood in the saliva of the people who pre-chewed the food before giving it to the children. The researchers said their findings suggest that HIV-infected mothers or other caregivers should be warned against giving infants pre-chewed food and directed toward safer feeding options.

A mother's exposure to air pollutants known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) can adversely affect a child's IQ, a study reports. PAHs are chemicals released into the air from the burning of coal, diesel, oil and gas, or other organic substances such as tobacco.