Culture

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Researchers have found that using a combination of disturbing images and threatening messages to try and further limit smoking is not effective and could potentially cause the opposite reaction.

Efforts to improve traffic safety have been aided by mathematical models that allow researchers to better assess those factors that impact the degree of injury suffered as a result of traffic crashes, a Wayne State University researcher says.

Forget the myth that men 'get back down to dating weight' after a divorce, it actually causes a 'weight shock' in divorced men but it's marriage that leads to extra pounds in women, especially among those over age 30, according to research presented at the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association.

While there have been many studies about weight gain after marriage or divorce, most of them look at average changes in weight and find very small increases in weight after marriage and often small decreases in weight after divorce.

LAS VEGAS — American voters sympathetic to the Tea Party movement reflect four primary cultural and political beliefs more than other voters do: authoritarianism, libertarianism, fear of change, and negative attitudes toward immigrants and immigration, according to new research to be presented at the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association.

LAS VEGAS — Happy adolescents report less involvement in crime and drug use than other youth, a new University of California-Davis study shows.

The authors used 1995 and 1996 data from nearly 15,000 seventh- to ninth-grade students in the federally funded National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, the largest, most comprehensive survey of adolescents ever undertaken.

Atheists like to portray religious people as intellectually immature but 40% of scientists in the AAAS claim to be religious in surveys. Religious service attendance has decreased among white Americans since the early 1970s but the rate of decline has been more than twice as high for those that snooty urban progressives claim all religious people; those without college degrees.

Jobs that come with large paychecks but longer work hours are behind the slowdown women have made since the late 70s in narrowing the gender wage gap.

A study by sociologists from Indiana University and Cornell University finds that the growing trend of 'overworking', working 50 hours a week or more, is partly responsible for the slowdown Americans have experienced since the mid-1990s in the convergence of the gender gap in pay.

The decline in active memberships in civic groups, fraternal organizations and other local associations is greater than the increase in checkbook memberships, according to new research.

Hookah use among California youth ages 18 to 24 is rising rapidly according to a study conducted by researchers at the U.C. San Diego School of Medicine - and it's mostly rich, white kids.

Researchers speculate that the increased popularity of the hookah, a water pipe, could be due to the social nature of the behavior - few people smoke them alone - coupled with the misguided belief that it is less harmful than cigarettes.

Plus, smoking is cool when society tells you not to do it and California leads the nation in telling people what to think.

University of Alberta researchers looking at the effects of metformin and exercise in Type 2 diabetes patients found that a combination of these modalities didn't lower glucose control as much as hoped. Surprisingly, study participants showed better glucose control when sedentary. Researchers think that because metformin and exercise both act to lower glucose levels, the combination may have triggered a counter regulatory response by the body to prevent glucose levels dipping too much.

For many patients, cholesterol-lowering statin drugs can reduce the risk of strokes as well as heart attacks.But in a review article, Loyola University Health System neurologists caution that statins may not be appropriate for certain categories of patients who are at-risk for stroke.

English language ads have a greater impact in mobilizing Latino voters than Spanish language ads, according to a study recently published in American Political Research.

The study examined the effects of direct mail pieces on Latino voters. The direct mail piece, which was written in either English or Spanish, was sent to two separate groups while a third who received no mailing was used as a control group. The experiment was conducted in New York City Council District 21 prior to the February 2009 special election to fill a vacancy on the New York City Council.

Opponents of AB 1178 announced today that the coalition of public agencies and non-profit organizations lining up against the bill is expanding as momentum grows for its defeat. AB 1178 (Ma – San Francisco) would create a new statewide law to override local laws aimed at limiting waste imports into a community.

As Medicare expands a controversial "competitive" bidding program for home medical equipment and services, economists, consumer groups, and members of Congress have gone on record to oppose that program citing reduced patient access to care, flaws in the program design, and impact on local jobs.

Malawian villagers have found an unlikely platform to expose injustice and abuse of power and bring their leaders to task, according to research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Malawi's public radio station broadcasts are providing an alternative program of news stories, featuring contributions by ordinary Malawians, highlighting their everyday experiences of abuse and violation.