https://phys.org/science-news/political-science en-us The latest news on political science If Thanksgiving dinner conversations have turned into heated political arguments over the past two decades, social media may be to blame. Popular social media figures—or influencers—who create or share distorted political messages may cause political parties to moderate their policies to win over independent voters in general elections but tend to polarize the rest of society, according to researchers who created a model to study how social media may affect election cycles. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-social-media-affect-voter-opinions.html Social Sciences Political science Fri, 01 Dec 2023 15:28:47 EST news620666919 Modern slavery affects an estimated 120,000 people in the UK. Under international law, countries must identify and protect survivors, while prosecuting and punishing those who traffic and exploit them. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-dont-victims-modern-slavery-prisonwhy.html Social Sciences Political science Fri, 01 Dec 2023 10:18:24 EST news620648300 According to a recent survey by the News Media Association, 90% of editors in the United Kingdom "believe that Google and Meta pose an existential threat to journalism." https://phys.org/news/2023-12-news-sight-big-social-media.html Economics & Business Political science Fri, 01 Dec 2023 08:01:04 EST news620640062 An international team of researchers has released an exhaustive look at support for Russia's autocratic President Vladimir Putin across several neighboring countries. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-putin-men-older-generations-traditionalists.html Social Sciences Political science Thu, 30 Nov 2023 14:13:04 EST news620575982 The shaky pause in fighting agreed between Hamas and Israel is bringing much needed relief to the civilians of Gaza. With its future still uncertain, aid workers are rushing to deliver food, water and other vital supplies. However, it is clear that resources are insufficient to meet the current needs of Palestinian civilians. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-aid-workers-war-zones-gaza.html Social Sciences Political science Thu, 30 Nov 2023 12:20:01 EST news620567248 Despite a similar statutory tax rate for multinational corporations (MNCs) across many countries, the effective tax rate that MNCs actually pay differs greatly—as low as 1% of gross income in Luxembourg and as high as 67% in Norway. That's one conclusion of a study published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Javier Garcia-Bernardo of Utrecht University, the Netherlands, Petr Janský of Charles University, Czechia, and Thomas Tørsløv of Danmarks Nationalbank, Denmark. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-reveals-real-tax-paid-multinational.html Economics & Business Political science Wed, 29 Nov 2023 14:00:01 EST news620476111 Dutch youth are less informed about democracy than peers in similar countries. This is evident from the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS), an international survey conducted in 24 countries on citizenship among second-year high school students. The Dutch part of the study was conducted by the University of Amsterdam, the Kohnstamm Institute, and GION Education/Research at the University of Groningen and commissioned by the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-dutch-youth-knowledge-democracy.html Education Political science Wed, 29 Nov 2023 13:20:06 EST news620486368 A world-first report examining alternative ways for victim-survivors to report sexual assault says under-reporting could be reduced if moved away from law enforcement, but it will need greater support to be sustainable and secure. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-sexual-assault-survivors-gold-standard.html Political science Wed, 29 Nov 2023 12:32:37 EST news620483483 Alex Gutierrez worked for MUR Shipping and its predecessors for nearly 30 years. But in 2018 he was told, in line with company policy, it was time to set a retirement date. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-hard-workplace-discrimination-australian-bill.html Economics & Business Political science Wed, 29 Nov 2023 12:28:10 EST news620483288 During the COVID-19 pandemic, the speed with which available health and safety information evolved was novel to most people around the world. To assess how the public handled the changing guidance, an international research team compared information consumption among citizens of Germany and the United States. They found the two countries displayed some similarities in how people consumed pandemic news, but differences emerged between German and U.S. citizens who lean right politically. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-political-ideology-affected-covid-news.html Social Sciences Political science Wed, 29 Nov 2023 11:49:04 EST news620480941 Debunking, "prebunking," nudging and teaching digital literacy are several of the more effective ways to counter misinformation, according to a new report from the American Psychological Association. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-psychological-science-counter-misinformation.html Social Sciences Political science Wed, 29 Nov 2023 00:00:01 EST news620411348 Among Latinos and Asians living in California, immigrants are less likely than citizens to own a firearm and more likely to report being afraid of becoming a victim of gun violence, according to a new study from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-stronger-gun-violence-california-immigrants.html Social Sciences Political science Tue, 28 Nov 2023 17:47:03 EST news620416021 Servicewomen in the British military are being badly let down when reporting sexual violence, with some victims even punished for breaches of military rules when making a report, new research reveals. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-reveals-servicewomen-british-military-badly.html Social Sciences Political science Tue, 28 Nov 2023 16:34:50 EST news620411684 The link between human rights and climate change adaptation policy has not been a major source of discussion in national policies, according to a new Concordia-led study. Moreover, the researchers say the topic should play a bigger role in the upcoming COP28 conference, which opens this week in Dubai. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-human-rights-priority-national-climate.html Social Sciences Political science Tue, 28 Nov 2023 15:36:04 EST news620408161 Corporate America has heard the warnings: Generation Z is going to turn workplaces upside down with their competitive nature and demand for remote work. While the oldest Gen Zers have been in the workforce for less than a decade, there are dozens of books geared toward helping leaders successfully manage them. And don't forget entitled millennials, independent, aloof Gen Xers, and corporate-climbing baby boomers. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-policymakers-shouldnt-generational-stereotypes-economist.html Economics & Business Political science Tue, 28 Nov 2023 13:56:04 EST news620402161 An inquiry into the death of a 19-year-old soldier in the British army found that relentless sexual harassment by her line manager was "almost certain" to have been a causal factor in her death. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-uk-servicewomen-military-culture-sexual.html Social Sciences Political science Tue, 28 Nov 2023 12:20:03 EST news620396401 On 21 March 1960 at 1.40 in the afternoon, apartheid South Africa's police opened fire on a peaceful crowd of about 4,000 residents of Sharpeville, who were protesting against carrying identity documents that restricted black people's movement. The police minimized the number of victims by at least one-third and justified the shooting by claiming that the crowd was violent. This shocking story has been misrepresented for over 60 years. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-sharpeville-massacre-dead-massively-undercounted.html Social Sciences Political science Tue, 28 Nov 2023 12:17:04 EST news620396221 According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), more than 80% of the global population are motivated by faith or spirituality. Faced with the triple planetary crises of pollution, biodiversity loss, and climate change, what role can faith communities play in saving the planet? https://phys.org/news/2023-11-faith-communities-rallying-climate-changetheir.html Social Sciences Political science Tue, 28 Nov 2023 12:05:04 EST news620395501 We must "bulldoze through" the planning system to "get Britain building again". So said Sir Keir Starmer at the Labour party's last annual conference. He argued it's time to "fight the blockers" and build the 1.5 million homes that he thinks Britain needs. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-big-uk-builders-profitable-housing.html Economics & Business Political science Tue, 28 Nov 2023 12:04:04 EST news620395442 During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Detroit residents got a break from water shut-offs. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-pandemic-detroit-restarts-shut-offspart-nationwide.html Economics & Business Political science Tue, 28 Nov 2023 11:29:04 EST news620393341 International Criminal Court judges have taken a "cautious" attitude to considering the impact of mental health issues on witnesses and the accused, a new analysis shows. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-international-criminal-court-cautious-impact.html Social Sciences Political science Mon, 27 Nov 2023 17:23:03 EST news620328181 Conquest, subjugation and plunder are words that spring to mind when we consider colonization. George Orwell, who spent time during the 1920s as a policeman for the British occupiers in what was then Burma, described colonization as a racist system of "despotism with theft as its final object." https://phys.org/news/2023-11-nationalism-colonies.html Political science Mon, 27 Nov 2023 16:54:04 EST news620326442 ESG standards (Environment, Social and Governance) are metrics designed to guide responsible investing. The "S" in ESG has evolved into the financial innovation of social impact investing (SII), which promotes social benefits such as environmental protection, gender equality and human development, and also generates profits for beneficiaries and investors. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-opinion-responsible-esg-investing-global.html Economics & Business Political science Mon, 27 Nov 2023 11:50:04 EST news620308202 A new report has highlighted how a decline in local and community media is producing a growing trend of "media deserts" across Europe that is undermining local democracy and inclusivity. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-declining-local-media-jeopardizing-democracy.html Political science Fri, 24 Nov 2023 13:38:27 EST news620055503 A new research report has raised concerns that policing efforts targeting "county lines" drug operations in the U.K. rely on discriminatory assumptions about minority groups and contribute to the criminalization of minoritized communities. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-uk-policing-county-lines-criminalizes.html Social Sciences Political science Fri, 24 Nov 2023 13:26:02 EST news620054761 Chinese and Russian cooperation has grown significantly in the past three decades thanks to joint work on energy trade, politics and official visits, analysis shows. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-chinese-russian-cooperation-significantly-years-analysis.html Economics & Business Political science Wed, 22 Nov 2023 17:09:02 EST news619895341 The COP climate meetings are organized in a way that benefits richer and larger countries at the expense of smaller and poorer countries, according to a new study from Lund University and the University of Leeds. The study also labels the participating countries as either Radicals, Opportunists, Hypocrites or Evaders. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-climate-benefits-richer-larger-countries.html Economics & Business Political science Wed, 22 Nov 2023 15:25:03 EST news619889101 Even as artificial intelligence (AI) becomes embedded into every fabric our daily lives—from language translation to virtual personal assistants—it continues to be a divisive issue. As its reach expands, Virginia Tech researchers are seeking to understand which sections of society might be more receptive to AI and which sections may be more averse to it. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-media-ai-political-ideology.html Social Sciences Political science Wed, 22 Nov 2023 15:12:30 EST news619888348 To meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and limit global heating to 1.5°C, global annual emissions will need to drop radically over the coming decades. A new paper from climate economists at the University of Oxford says that this goal could still be within our reach. They identify key "sensitive intervention points" that could unlock significant progress towards the Paris Agreement with the least risk and highest impact. These include: https://phys.org/news/2023-11-climate-economists-interventions-15c-paris.html Economics & Business Political science Wed, 22 Nov 2023 15:12:04 EST news619888321 A new analysis suggests that a person with higher cognitive ability may have been more likely to vote "Remain" in the 2016 Brexit referendum, and that a spouse's cognitive skills may also be linked to Brexit voting decisions. Chris Dawson and Paul Baker of the University of Bath, U.K., present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on November 22, 2023. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-higher-cognitive-ability-linked-chance.html Social Sciences Political science Wed, 22 Nov 2023 14:00:01 EST news619867735