EurekAlert! Staff Picks

I was surprised by the findings of this study from the University of British Columbia, which, based on a large survey of California voters, found that portraying social and economic problems as “civil rights” issues could decrease public support. This may be because of another finding from this study, which is that people think of civil rights primarily as the right to equal treatment based on one’s identity or religious beliefs, but do not view economic issues like poverty or access to healthcare as civil rights issues. This sociological research could help to provide guidance in how to best frame social, political, and economic issues for the public.

I found this release from the University of Edinburgh interesting, which described a new study that tested how autistic and non-autistic people communicate. The researchers put together groups—where either everyone was autistic, no one was autistic, or there were both autistic and non-autistic people—and asked the members of the groups to each repeat the same story. The researchers scored how effectively each person told the story. They ultimately found that there was no difference in how effectively autistic people versus non-autistic people communicated, though they also found that autistic people preferred interacting with acting with other autistic people, and vice versa. The researchers noted that they hope this study reduces stigma around autism and increases awareness of autistic communication styles as different, rather than deficient.

I thought this study from the University of Exeter, which found a possible shared behavior between chimpanzees and people, was interesting. After setting up cameras in a national park in Guinea-Bissau, researchers captured footage of chimpanzees sharing fermented fruit, which contains alcohol. This is the first time this behavior has been caught on camera, and it raises the possibility that, like people, chimpanzees could share “feasts” including alcohol to socially bond.

I thought this release from University of California – Davis was interesting and timely. The release describes a fire modelling study focused on an old growth forest in Lake Tahoe, California. The study found that forest thinning, followed by a prescribed burn, could increase the forest’s resilience to wildfires, and that this method could also apply to other old-growth forests. With wildfires in the news so often lately, determining the best ways to protect forests from uncontrolled fire is clearly needed, and studies like can play an important role.

I found this release from McMaster University on a recent collaborative study interesting. The researchers studied whether showing a narrative film about parenting to caregivers who had migrated from Myanmar to Thailand, including many who had been displaced, would reduce physical violence toward children in this population. They found that caregivers who were shown the film showed reduced physical violence against children and increased positive parenting practices. I appreciate that this study shows the potential for positive interventions in parenting and caregiving for people facing adversity, especially since the researchers are now studying how to effectively scale up the use of media to provide parenting support.