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Social & Behavior

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 28-Oct-2026 08:17 ET (28-Oct-2026 12:17 GMT/UTC)

Food fraud costs UK economy up to £2 billion a year, new study finds

University of Portsmouth
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Food fraud is costing the UK economy up to £2 billion every year, according to the first study to calculate its full economic impact. The research, from the University of Portsmouth, estimates that food fraud costs between £400 million and £2 billion annually, making it one of the country's most expensive forms of economic crime.

Journal: Journal of Economic Criminology

Women who experienced adverse pregnancy outcomes had higher health-related social needs

Mass General Brigham
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Adverse pregnancy outcomes—such as preeclampsia, gestational hypertension, gestational diabetes, low-birth weight, and preterm birth—are associated with risk of further complications, chronic disease, and cardiovascular disease. They also disproportionately affect Black and Latina women. A new study by investigators from Mass General Brigham finds adverse pregnancy outcomes (APOs) among Black and Latina women are also associated with substantially greater health-related social needs, spanning domains such as education, transportation, food security, financial strain, employment, and social support. The researchers conclude that integrating social needs assessment into postpartum care could help improve long-term maternal health and reduce disparities. Results are published in JAMA Network Open.

Journal: JAMA Network Open

University of Phoenix white paper introduces predictive framework for improving workforce engagement and wellness

University of Phoenix
Reports and Proceedings

University of Phoenix has published a new white paper, “Aligning Experience and Perception: A Predictive Framework for Improving Workforce Engagement, Wellness, and Career Optimism,” by Jeffery Rhymes, DMgt, MBA, faculty in College of Doctoral Studies and fellow with the University’s Center for Organizational Wellness, Engagement, and Belonging (CO-WEB). In the paper, Rhymes introduces the Employee Experience Perception Alignment Model, a leadership framework proposing that workforce outcomes are influenced not only by the experiences organizations intend to create, but also by how employees interpret those experiences and assess their own capabilities. The framework draws on organizational research and findings from the 2025 and 2026 Career Optimism Index® studies to examine a growing workforce challenge: Employees’ capabilities, confidence and expectations may be evolving faster than the organizational systems designed to support them.

Negotiation is a routine part of daily life, not a rare high-stakes event, finds new study at ESMT Berlin

ESMT Berlin
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Many people think of negotiation as something reserved for salary talks, car purchases, or business deals: infrequent, high-stake encounters most people would rather avoid. A new study shows that this assumption is misleading. Negotiation is, in fact, a routine part of everyday life, occurring in roughly one in three social interactions, and it is more often collaborative than adversarial.

Journal: Negotiation and Conflict Management Research

Why is climate action “easier said than done”? The key lies in the strong coupling between climate and society

Science China Press
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new Perspective in Science Bulletin argues that the persistent gap between climate science and climate action stems from a conceptual blind spot: treating climate and social systems as separate domains rather than as one integrated, co-evolving entity. The authors introduce the Climate-Social Coupling System (CSS) paradigm and, by re-contextualizing the classic Environmental Kuznets Curve, sort national trajectories into “strong,” “weak,” and “de-coupling” states, showing that governance is the decisive, reversible steering mechanism that determines a country’s climate future.

Journal: Science Bulletin

How to design a space habitat that supports its residents’ mental health

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The Human-Environment Connection and Interaction Atlas (HECIA) is a tool for designing habitats in space and other extreme environments, where crews can not just survive but thrive. Users can explore the relationships between aspects of a habitat’s design and an inhabitant’s mental, emotional, and social wellbeing.

Journal: npj Microgravity
Funder: NASA

Women with endometriosis may lose a month’s salary each year

Semmelweis University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Menstrual leave and flexible work arrangements are the forms of support women with endometriosis say would help them most, according to a new study by researchers at Semmelweis University published in Preventive Medicine Reports. Pain and fatigue lead to more frequent absences from work and reduced job performance. The first large-scale study of its kind from Central and Eastern Europe found that women with endometriosis lose an average of €1,757 in income each year – roughly equivalent to one month’s average salary in Hungary. This estimate reflects income lost because of work absences and does not include the costs of reduced productivity at work or health care expenses.

Journal: Preventive Medicine Reports

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