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Social Sciences

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.

Adam Jan Alexander Ohnesorge discovered his ancestor had been a prisoner of war, which ignited his research. Image credit – European Union, EUCYS 2017
social sciences | science in society
27 September 2017

Chance discovery from war book inspired 2017 EU young scientist award winner

An unlikely connection to a book about First World War prisoners provided the inspiration for a study that won its 20-year-old author top prize in the 2017 European Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS).

Dr Matteo Bonfanti says that we cannot rely on repressive measures alone to solve terrorism. Image credit - Dr Matteo Bonfanti
social sciences | interview
06 July 2017

Understanding links between terrorists and organised crime can thwart attacks – Dr Matteo Bonfanti

Investigators should capitalise more on the fact that terrorist cells often work with criminal organisations to achieve their goals, according to Dr Matteo Bonfanti, a senior researcher at the Center for Security Studies at ETH Zurich in Switzerland.

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