A new study published in the Strategic Management Journal uncovers a significant and often-overlooked risk in microfinance: while social capital fosters financial stability in normal times, it can exacerbate default rates during crises. The research, conducted by Arzi Adbi, Matthew Lee, and Jasjit Singh, examines the loan repayment behavior of nearly two million low-income borrowers in the aftermath of India’s 2016 demonetization policy, revealing the unintended consequences of peer accountability in financial markets.

Over the past fifty years, microfinance has been hailed as a revolutionary tool for financial inclusion, particularly through group-lending models. These models rely on social connections and peer accountability to encourage loan repayment among low-income borrowers. However, as this study demonstrates, the very mechanisms that drive repayment in stable times can accelerate default rates when external crises arise.

Are we putting our faith in technology that we don't fully understand? A new study from the University of Surrey comes at a time when AI systems are making decisions impacting our daily lives—from banking and healthcare to crime detection. The study calls for an immediate shift in how AI models are designed and evaluated, emphasising the need for transparency and trustworthiness in these powerful algorithms. 

New research by Adrian Ward, associate professor of marketing at Texas McCombs, validates the growing concerns about the ipsychological effects of cell phone use . In a controlled experiment, he found that just two weeks of blocking mobile internet from smartphones improved three dimensions of psychological functioning: mental health, subjective well-being, and attention span.

“Smartphones have drastically changed our lives and behaviors over the past 15 years, but our basic human psychology remains the same,” Ward says. “Our big question was, are we adapted to deal with constant connection to everything all the time? The data suggest that we are not.”

Tactile teaching materials are designed to make maths and science more accessible for people with a sight impairment. The EUniWell university alliance's Seed Funding Programme supports the development of these materials. A joint project of the EUniWell universities in Santiago de Compostela (Spain), Murcia (Spain), Florence (Italy) and Konstanz (Germany).