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Social Sciences

Scientists believe that rock art sites were chosen for their visual and acoustic properties. Image credit - Curt Harrell
social sciences
01 March 2018

Shelters with echoes thought to be preferred sites for prehistoric rock art

The acoustic qualities of a rock shelter may have been a key factor in its selection as a site for rock art and indicate a spiritual significance to the practice, according to a recent study, while scientists are also looking into whether some caves were chosen as artistic sites because of the view.

Teleworking can make people happier and more productive, but can also lead to feelings of isolation and job fatigue if implemented badly. Image credit - Pxhere, licensed under CC0 1.0
social sciences
26 February 2018

Working from home could make you happier – especially if you're married

Married people who work from home report feeling happier than they were before doing so, and the reason could be that it allows for a fairer distribution of chores, according to a scientist studying the impact of teleworking on wellbeing.

Prof. Seán Ó Riain has been studying how workplaces have changed since 1995. Image credit - Maynooth University
interview | social sciences
21 February 2018

Era of flexible work requires new universal services – Prof. Seán Ó Riain

The future of work is here – and it’s defined by flexibility, autonomy and pressure, according to Prof. Seán Ó Riain from Maynooth University, Ireland, who has been studying how workplaces have changed since 1995. He says we need to rethink public services to help people balance work and family in this new era.

Lifelong learning opportunities can prolong your working life, according to researchers. Image credit - Pxhere
social sciences
01 February 2018

Early career decisions could affect when you retire

Policies to extend working life should not exclusively focus on older people as the decision on when to retire is influenced by the course of a person's career, according to researchers investigating the factors affecting how long people work.

Photography studios in Nepal use aspirational backdrops, such as an idealised landscape, to allow people to shed their day-to-day identities and imagine a different life. Image credit - Prof. Christopher Pinney/ PhotoDemos
social sciences
25 January 2018

Picturing the political imagination

Nepal’s 10-year civil war ended in 2006 but it still looms large in the political consciousness. Now, a new collection of photographs is exploring how people use the medium to express their political identities and their dreams for the future.

Scientists have unearthed photographs taken in countries including China during third plague pandemic, which killed 12 million people between the mid-19th and mid-20th centuries. Credit - Centre for the Study of World Christianity, University of Edinburgh/ reference number GB 237 CSWC47/LS8/45
health | social sciences
16 January 2018

Skeleton teeth and historical photography are retelling the story of the plague

New portraits of the evolution of some of history’s deadliest pandemics have been created through analysis of thousands of skeletons and new collections of historical photographs - and the results could indicate how similar diseases may evolve in the future.

Aggression is common in all animals and can help preserve the species. Image credit - Pixabay/ Gellinger
social sciences
05 December 2017

Lifting the red mist with research on aggression

For most people a bit of healthy aggression can give them a competitive edge, but in some it can spill over into violence and now scientists are hoping to unravel why.

Time lapse, slow motion and even music can alter our perception of how quickly time passes. Image credit – Unsplash/ Josh Calabrese
social sciences | health
24 October 2017

Movies and music play with our minds by bending time

Movie directors regularly manipulate the passage of time in films to entertain their audiences, but researchers are trying to unravel the effect this can have on our brains.

Brain activity recordings enable scientists to understand why some people struggle to read social cues. Image credit - Pexels/ Burst
social sciences
18 October 2017

Boosting social skills with brain scanning

Most people know even from a distance whether a couple is flirting or fighting, but brain researchers are studying why some, including those with autism, struggle to read these social cues.

The Explorathon Extravaganza brought researchers and the public together for an interactive, fun-filled night in Glasgow's Riverside Museum. Image credit - Explorathon - Researchers' Night Scotland
social sciences
03 October 2017

Super-sour sweets give the next generation a flavour of science

Could you keep a super-sour sweet in your mouth for three minutes without spitting it out? That was the challenge faced by youngsters in Glasgow on 29 September as researchers and the public came together to celebrate science at the Explorathon Extravaganza at the city’s Riverside Museum.

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