Credit: Oxford Brookes University
How primates get from A to B gives vital information about their cognitive evolution, say researchers in a new study looking at the travel paths of animals in the wild. Using data from 164 wild primate populations, the global survey examines the mental abilities that primates, including ourselves, use to know where and when to travel in the most efficient way.
A birds eye view
Co-author Miguel de Guinea, expert in Evolutionary Anthropology at Oxford Brookes University commented: Imagine looking down on a huge outdoor market from high in the sky, perhaps from a drone hovering quietly above. The people below move in different ways. Some wander haphazardly among the stalls: they are learning what s available but are clearly not busy. Others take bee-line routes across the market to a destination they obviously wanted to reach, then, after buying what they need, head back in much the same way.
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New research is shining light on the importance of farmers markets ability to mitigate potential disruptions to distribution networks in the face of system shocks like the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a recent study, the researchers found the markets regional characteristics play a key role in the decision to move all or parts of their operations online and how that decision can help or hinder its surrounding community. By building online communities through their social media and website tools, farmers markets can play a role in keeping the community connected and supporting a sustainable and just food system through the pandemic and beyond, said researcher Josalyn Radcliffe, a PhD student in Waterloo s School of Public Health and Health Systems.
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Douglas Wilbur 14, a visiting Ph.D. scholar in the Department of Communication at UTSA, has published a study that shows how researchers can craft message campaigns to protect individuals from adopting extremist views.
According to his research, when people are explicitly told that they are free to accept or reject propagandistic claims, the likelihood of choosing a moderate view increases. This was a result of a survey of attitudes that tested counter-propaganda strategies, which stressed a person s autonomy, and then measured sentiments after exposure.
The study was recently published in
Social Influence with collaborators at the University of Missouri.
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Older adults are more willing to make an effort to help others than younger adults, according to new research from the University of Birmingham.
The study, led by researchers in the University s School of Psychology, is the first to show how effortful prosocial behaviour - intended to benefit others - changes as people get older. In particular, it focused on people s willingness to exert physical effort, rather than to give money or time, since attitudes to both these are known to change with age. The research results are published in
Psychological Science.
In the study, the research team tested a group of 95 adults aged between 18 and 36, and a group of 92 adults aged 55-85. Each participant made 150 choices about whether or not to grip a handheld dynamometer - a device for measuring grip strength or force,- with 6 different levels of how hard they had to grip. Before the experiment, the researchers measured each person s maximum grip strength, so they could make su
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BOSTON - Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have used a couples-based framework to describe the experiences of individuals diagnosed with young-onset dementia (YOD) and their partners. In a study published in
JAMA Network Open, the team conducted in-depth interviews to understand how couples navigate challenges related to YOD. This framework has been used to successfully develop patient-caregiver treatments for other severe medical conditions, including stroke, breast cancer and neurological injury. Using this approach to understand couples coping patterns within YOD can help increase much-needed resources for affected couples.
Young-onset dementias are defined by their symptom onset before age 65. The most prevalent form of the illness is Alzheimer s disease, followed by frontotemporal dementia, a progressive form of brain damage that affects behavior and personality. YOD significantly disrupts couples daily lives and challenges them to navigate co