News by Subject Social & Behavior

UK researchers reported that men in Uganda and Nicaragua were generally less hung up about their body image and cared less about pursuing a muscular physique than British men. The study employed new body-imaging technology and machine learning to understand different cultural attitudes around the drive toward ideals of muscularity. Understanding variation between groups is important to ensure any strategies or interventions addressing negative behaviors are tailored to a specific cultural context.

Early-view essay in Hastings Center Report, March-April 2020.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has already resulted in mass layoffs in several industries, other essential industries will instead face critical workforce shortages, according to a new report.

Cryptocurrencies have been treated as a financial terra incognita -- they enjoyed growing interest but also raised concerns due to their virtuality. The use of statistical methods utilizing correlation matrices to analyze the hundred most-traded virtual currencies shows that the cryptocurrency market in the last two years is less and less different from the mature global currency market (Forex) and becomes independent of it. It means cryptocurrencies can be considered a serious and full-fledged financial instrument.

The risk for violent clashes increases after weather extremes such as droughts or floods hit people in vulnerable countries, an international team of scientists finds. Vulnerable countries are characterized by a large population, political exclusion of particular ethnic groups, and low development. The study combines global statistical analysis, observation data and regional case study assessments to yield new evidence for policy-makers.

The authors describe measures taken to reduce the risk of transmitting severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to medical staff and cancer patients seeking treatment during the COVID-19 outbreak in China.

A study published in the JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery examines the effect of Medicaid expansion on head and neck cancer patients, finding that the expansions under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) were associated with improved access to care for these patients and selective Medicaid expansion may worsen existing regional disparities in terms of access to care and outcomes.

The temptation for businesses to use artificial intelligence and other technology to improve performance, drive down labor costs, and better the bottom line is understandable. But before pursuing automation that could put the jobs of human employees at risk, it is important that business owners take careful stock of their operations.