A new study by Prof. Gabriel Weimann, a senior researcher at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) at Reichman University and Professor Emeritus in the Department of Communication at the University of Haifa, and Daniel Haberfeld, a researcher and Head of the Cyberterrorism Desk at ICT, explored the activities of the Handala hacker group, which is linked to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS). The study sought to determine whether the group’s operations are best characterized as cyberterrorism or psychological warfare.

Denmark is investing heavily in restoring carbon-rich agricultural soils as wetlands to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, new research from Aarhus University shows that financial compensation alone is not enough to persuade landowners to participate.

Based on in-depth interviews with Danish farmers and landowners, the study highlights that decisions are shaped not only by economics, but also by identity, responsibility, uncertainty, and a deep attachment to the land. Farming practices are closely tied to values about what it means to be a “good farmer,” and these social norms can make it difficult to accept land-use changes such as rewetting fields.

The findings underline that successful climate policies must go beyond financial incentives and address the social and cultural dimensions of land management.

The Social Robotics Group of the Robotics Lab at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) has developed an innovative methodology based on artificial intelligence (AI) that allows a pet-type assistive robot to recognize the people it interacts with. The prototype, named Mía, is currently being tested in Madrid City Council day centers for the personalized affective stimulation of elderly people with cognitive decline.

A new study led by University of Maine researchers and published in The Rural Educator identifies strategies to make it easier for K-12 schools to make outdoor education part of their school curricula and culture. The study examined a rural Maine school that stood out for the breadth of its outdoor learning opportunities. Through interviews with teachers, administrators, parents and community partners, lead author Lauren Jacobs identified several factors that helped make outdoor education successful, including strong community support, collaboration among staff, dedicated outdoor learning spaces and a school culture that valued learning outside the classroom.

Most Americans, even those who most appreciate AI, strongly support more regulation of it, a new survey by Johns Hopkins University researchers finds.

More than 70% of Americans want the right to interact with a human rather than an AI in medical, legal, educational and government settings. This proposed regulation and others were endorsed across party lines and by both regular users of AI and novices.

In the new book "Nation and Gender in Higher Classical Music Education: Intersectional Perspectives", Swedish researchers describe how some of the most prestigious higher education in classical music in Europe still inform inform both the teaching and the repertoire about male genius and national character. The study focuses on the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music (1875) in Budapest, Hungary; the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (1919) in Tallinn, Estonia; and the Sibelius Academy (1882) in Helsinki, Finland. Their identity is largely based on notions of nation and gender. This can be partly explained by the countries’ ongoing struggles for independence at the time when the academies were founded.

A study of 52 college students found that VR mindfulness meditation improved emotion regulation, relaxation, and mindful attention more than audio-only practice. The strongest results came from a self-developed EEG-interactive VR forest that changed in response to users' brain signals, while lavender scent improved relaxation but appeared to reduce concentration.