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Politics - Law - 07.08.2018

Visa restrictions can lead to increase in illegal migration
While Government-imposed restrictions on immigration can reduce overall migration, they can also be ineffective or even counterproductive, pushing more would-be migrants into unauthorised channels, finds new UCL-led research in collaboration with Royal Holloway and University of Birmingham. The study, published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , investigated how individuals are likely to move from one country to another based on varying levels of restriction.

Social Sciences - Politics - 01.08.2018

Differences in social status and politics encourage paranoid thinking
Differences in social status and political belief increase paranoid interpretations of other people's actions, finds a new UCL experimental study. Paranoia is the tendency to assume other people are trying to harm you when their actual motivations are unclear, and this tendency is increased when interacting with someone of a higher social status or opposing political beliefs, according to the study published today in Royal Society Open Science .

Career - Politics - 30.07.2018

Decline in working class politicians, shifted Labour towards right wing policy
The decline in working-class MPs and rise of career politicians shifted the Labour Party towards a more right wing policy stance on welfare, according to a new study by UCL. The research, published in Comparative Political Studies , examined the policy preferences of working-class and career politicians within the Labour Party both pre and during Tony Blair's leadership of the Labour Party.  The study shows that working-class MPs were substantially more in favour of traditional welfare policies than their careerist colleagues.

Politics - Career - 05.07.2018

Barriers continue to prevent potential Assembly candidates from standing, report concludes
Action is needed to encourage a wider range of people from underrepresented groups to enter politics, academics say. The team from Cardiff University's Wales Governance Centre and London Metropolitan University studied what motivates and discourages people from considering running for election to the National Assembly.

Politics - Social Sciences - 16.05.2018

BioHub Birmingham tenant to develop rapid diagnostic test for mastitis in dairy cows
Researchers from the University of Birmingham and the London School of Economics have found that the number of elections across the world has reached an all-time high, but that this has done little to increase the quality of democracy in the world. The findings published today by Yale Books in 'How to rig an election' demonstrate that a remarkably high proportion of national elections are not free and fair - enabling authoritarian leaders to remain in power - with the emergence of new technology playing a part in the process of manipulation.

Politics - Administration - 11.05.2018

People power
In politics, your voices make a difference. At least at the state level of U.S. politics, that is. A new study co-authored by an MIT political scientist shows that state policies in the U.S. from 1936 through 2014 have been responsive to public opinion - and have become even more aligned with it in recent decades.

Politics - 24.04.2018

Climate change not the key driver of human conflict and displacement in East Africa
Over the last 50 years climate change has not been the key driver of the human displacement or conflict in East Africa, rather it is politics and poverty, according to new research by UCL. Human displacement refers to the total number of forcibly displaced people, and includes internally displaced people - the largest group represented - and refugees, those forced to across international borders.  "Terms such as climate migrants and climate wars have increasingly been used to describe displacement and conflict, however these terms imply that climate change is the main cause.

Politics - Media - 17.04.2018

Study looks at social media humour during US election
New research from The Australian National University (ANU) has looked at the use of humour on Twitter during the 2016 US Presidential election. The study found that 35 per cent of election related posts used humour, and that Hillary Clinton supporters were almost three times more likely to use jokes than Donald Trump supporters.

Politics - Psychology - 12.04.2018

Superiority complex? People who claim superior beliefs exaggerate their own knowledge
ANN ARBOR-No one likes smug knowit-all friends, relatives or co-workers who believe their knowledge and beliefs are superior to others. But now these discussions at the dinner table, bar or office might be less annoying. A new University of Michigan study indicates what many people suspect: these know-it-all people are especially prone to overestimating what they actually know.

Politics - Social Sciences - 29.03.2018

Biracial youth’s political views, self-identification examined
With the mixed-race population rapidly increasing in the United States, Stanford political scientist Lauren Davenport says it's important to figure out what factors shape this group's political attitudes and self-identification. Biracial youth who identify with the races of both of their parents tend to be more socially progressive and liberal than their peers who are of a single racial background, according to new research from a Stanford political scientist.

Politics - 14.03.2018

Could anti-Trump sentiment mobilize African-American voters in 2018?
African-American voters who dislike and feel threatened by Donald Trump and his presidency are much more likely to vote and to engage with politics, according to new research from California State University, Sacramento, and the University of Washington. The findings, the researchers say, indicate sentiment against Trump and his policies creates an opportunity for African-American mobilization as the country heads toward the 2018 midterm elections.

Religions - Politics - 07.02.2018

Better Knowledge of Evolution Leads to Greater Acceptance of the Concept
Prevailing theories about evolution state that belief in the concept is tied only to a person's politics, religion or both. But according to new research out of the University of Pennsylvania published in BioScience , the journal of the American Institute of Biology, whether Americans accept or reject the subject also depends on how well they understand it.

Politics - Social Sciences - 29.01.2018

Sociologist’s research on Filipino leader reveals insights into populist politics
By many accounts, Joseph Estrada had a lackluster record of helping the poor in the Philippines. The former president was ousted in 2001 and later convicted of plunder for stealing $80 million from the government. Nevertheless, the urban poor in Manila have continued to support the former film actor, who ran for president in 2010 after being pardoned.

Politics - Health - 26.01.2018

Study hints magic mushrooms can alter how you feel about nature (and politics)
Long-held beliefs can become entrenched over time, making them hard to change. But psychedelics might provide a way to alter them, a study suggests. Researchers have been exploring psilocybin, the psychedelic compound found in magic mushrooms, as a potential therapeutic avenue for a small group of patients with depression who do not respond to mainstream treatments - with initial results suggesting a lasting reduction in symptoms.

Politics - 30.12.2017

Political scientist studies apocalyptic political rhetoric
Stanford political scientist Alison McQueen's research shows that apocalyptic rhetoric can make wars, natural disasters, economic collapse and even the possibility of nuclear war easier to understand. But although it can rouse people to action, apocalyptic rhetoric also carries great peril. Stanford political scientist Alison McQueen has studied the use of political rhetoric that evokes the end of the times, finding that it can comfort people during crises, making wars or economically troubled times, for instance, easier to understand.

Politics - 21.12.2017

European Commission grants five million euros for international project on European foreign policy: Research consortium to be coordinated at Freie Universität Berlin
European Commission grants five million euros for international project on European foreign policy: Research consortium to be coordinated at Freie Universität Berlin The European Commission has approved five million euros for a research project to assess foreign policy of the European Union. It will be coordinated at Freie Universität.

Environment - Politics - 20.12.2017

Political instability and weak governance lead to loss of species, study finds
Big data study of global biodiversity shows ineffective national governance is a better indicator of species decline than any other measure of "anthropogenic impact". Even protected conservation areas make little difference in countries that struggle with socio-political stability.

Politics - Economics / Business - 19.12.2017

Street signs
Day after day in early 2011, massive crowds gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square, calling for the ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Away from the square, the protests had another effect, as a study co-authored by an MIT professor shows. The demonstrations lowered the stock market valuations of politically connected firms - and showed how much people thought a full democratic revolution was possible.

Health - Politics - 05.10.2017

Majority of cancer drugs enter market without evidence of survival or life quality benefit
Almost two thirds (57%) of cancer drugs authorised by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) between 2009 and 2013 came onto the market without any clear evidence they improved the quality or quantity of patients' lives, according to research from King's College London and the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), published in the BMJ today (Thursday 5 October).

Politics - 04.09.2017

Experts call for added focus on the impact of glacier mass loss on downstream systems
Healthcare professionals have little structure or set policy in place to help with decision making and implementation when decommissioning and replacing healthcare services, a study has found. Researchers at the University of Birmingham found that a lack of policy and procedure led to higher levels of conflict, with outcomes harder to predict than for other areas of decision making, leading to confusion over roles and responsibilities.