Culture

As the microfinance sector passes the 150 million customer mark, an intense debate continues over the movement toward greater commercialization of an arena once led by nonprofits. "Microfinance Meets the Market," just published in the Journal of Economic Perspectives, advances the debate, presenting new research from Jonathan Morduch of the Financial Access Initiative, housed at New York University's Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, and Robert Cull and Asli Demirgüç-Kunt of the World Bank.

BATON ROUGE – LSU researchers have identified a link between the diversity of crops grown in farmlands and the pollution they create in lakes and rivers. In a Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment e-View paper, these ecologists show that when the biodiversity of crops is high, less dissolved nitrogen is found exiting the surrounding watersheds.

AUSTIN, Texas—It matters whether you give your loved one a material gift or an experience for Valentine's Day, say researchers at The University of Texas at Austin's McCombs School of Business and Washington University in St. Louis.

Past research has shown that opting for shared experiences such as vacations and theatre tickets will lead to more long-term happiness than will buying material goods. However, new research to be published in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Consumer Research shows that sometimes experiences can backfire.

The identity and origin of tiny, potentially hazardous particles emitted from common laser printers have been revealed by a new study at Queensland University of Technology.

Professor Lidia Morawska from QUT's International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health lead the study to answer questions raised by earlier findings that almost one third of popular laser printers emitted large numbers of ultrafine particles.

These tiny particles are potentially dangerous to human health because they can penetrate deep into the lungs.

Researchers have identified a link between the diversity of crops grown in farmlands and the pollution they create in lakes and rivers. In a Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment e-View paper, ecologists show that when the biodiversity of crops is high, less dissolved nitrogen is found exiting the surrounding watersheds.

New research by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) with responses from 80 of CDP’s signatory investors across the globe revealed that three-quarters factor climate change information into their investment decisions and asset allocations.

Of these, more than 80% consider climate change to be important relative to other issues impacting their portfolio. Interestingly, some of the institutions surveyed revealed a willingness to go beyond requesting disclosure on climate change, such as asking companies to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

The book "Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus" and its gender stereotypes on how the sexes communicate remains fodder for debate, but two Indiana University researchers have confirmed one thing: When men and women talk through technology, it's the women who are more expressive.

The first comprehensive analysis of air emissions associated with natural gas and oil production in the Barnett Shale area finds that emissions can be a significant contributor to Dallas-Fort Worth smog formation, comparable to the combined emissions from all Metroplex cars and trucks.

It's a question heard at countless bus stops: "Have you seen the number 48 go by?"

Cold, impatient bus riders stamp their feet, check their watches, and wonder if that bus is ever going to come. But in Seattle, a cell phone and the ingenuity of two University of Washington students has come to the rescue.

Brian Ferris, a UW doctoral student in computer science, spent one too many rainy nights waiting for the bus before deciding to take action.

Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore and Washington DC -- Television & New Media (published by SAGE) turns ten this month. To commemorate that milestone, the journal has published a special issue which includes podcasts of three key articles.

Google "Edward the Confessor" and you'll get page after page of links to biographies of this 11th-century English king, to Westminster Abbey, which he founded and where he is buried, and to the Magna Carta, which was partly inspired by laws enacted during his 24-year reign.

But a completely digitized manuscript of the oldest surviving Anglo-Norman history of the king does not turn up — at least on the first 20 search pages — even though Cambridge University painstakingly scanned the sumptuously illustrated manuscript in 2003.

Columbus, OH—February 10, 2009—A new study in the journal Social Science Quarterly reveals that music participation, defined as music lessons taken in or out of school and parents attending concerts with their children, has a positive effect on reading and mathematic achievement in early childhood and adolescence. Additionally, socioeconomic status and ethnicity affect music participation.

Stanford, CA—February 10, 2009—Many people assume that individuals who identify with one race should be better off than multiracial individuals who identify with a mixed race heritage. However, a new study in the Journal of Social Issues found that students who reported they were from multiple ethnic/racial groups were more engaged at school and felt better in general than those who reported they were from a single group.

Public support is growing for expenditures on mass transit and infrastructure and remains high for education and health care, according to a National Opinion Research Center survey at the University of Chicago that has been following spending trends for 35 years.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – A new study by Oregon researchers has found a significant correlation between "absolute" humidity and influenza virus survival and transmission. When absolute humidity is low – as in peak flu months of January and February – the virus appears to survive longer and transmission rates increase.

Results of the study were published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).