EurekAlert! News by Subject: Social & Behavior - News by Subject: Social & Behavior

Social & Behavior

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 4-May-2025 06:09 ET (4-May-2025 10:09 GMT/UTC)

Research into UK’s use of plastic packaging finds households ‘wishcycle’ rather than recycle – risking vast contamination

Lancaster University
Reports and Proceedings

Lancaster University researchers investigating consumer attitudes and behaviours around plastic food packaging have found UK households are ‘wishcycling’ - putting packaging in recycling bins and hoping for the best, rather than knowing it’s recyclable – due to confusing product labels and differing recycling facilities around the country.

Academics working on Lancaster University’s Plastic Packaging in People’s Lives (PPiPL) project have been working hand-in-hand with supermarkets, businesses, charities and waste management companies for the last 3.5 years to explore the ins and outs of how the UK thinks and acts when it comes to plastic food packaging. They say ‘wishcycling’ is a problem that everyone - government, food producers, waste management and residents – has to solve.

Outsourcing adult social care has contributed to England’s care crisis, argue experts

BMJ Group
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Outsourcing adult social care services in England to the private sector since the 1980s has led to worse care and should be rolled back, argue experts in The BMJ today.

Journal: The BMJ

Which risk factors are linked to having a severe stroke?

American Academy of Neurology
Peer-Reviewed Publication

People with conditions or habits such as high blood pressure, an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation, or smoking, not only have a higher risk of stroke, they may also have more severe strokes than people without these risk factors, according to a study published in the November 13, 2024, online issue of Neurology^®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Journal: Neurology

Opening borders for workers: Abe’s profound influence on Japan’s immigration regime

Doshisha University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Japan’s immigration policies underwent numerous changes during late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s second term from 2012 to 2020. Yet, the government denies having a formal immigration policy. A study by Mr. Maximilien Xavier Rehm from Doshisha University suggests that despite the government’s denial, Abe’s reforms laid the groundwork for bringing a fundamental change in Japan’s immigration regime. However, this change is yet to occur, highlighting the far-reaching implications for policymakers and foreigners in Japan.

Journal: Japan Forum
Funder: Japan Science and Technology Agency

12,000-year-old spindle whorls uncovered in the Jordan Valley

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study by researchers from Hebrew University has identified 12,000 years old spindle whorls — early tools used to spin fibers into yarn. This discovery, recovered from the Nahal-Ein Gev II dig site in northern Israel, provides the earliest evidence of wheeled rotational technology in the Levant, offering insights into the technological advancements of the Natufian culture during the important transition to an agricultural lifestyle.

Journal: PLOS One

12,000-year old stones may be very early evidence of wheel-like technology

PLOS
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A collection of perforated pebbles from an archaeological site in Israel may be spindle whorls, representing a key milestone in the development of rotational tools including wheels, according to a study published November 13, 2024 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Talia Yashuv and Leore Grosman from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.

Journal: PLOS One

Only certain paranormal beliefs may be linked with more stress and distress

PLOS
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In a new study, feelings of distress and reduced ability to cope with stress were associated with traditional paranormal beliefs, but not with new age philosophy. Kenneth Drinkwater, Ph.D. of Manchester Metropolitan University, U.K., and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on November 13, 2024.

Journal: PLOS One