Quirky Science
A hidden crisis of violence against women and girls
Current efforts to prevent violence against women and girls are inadequate, according to a new series published in The Lancet. Estimates suggest that “globally, 1 in 3 women has experienced either physical or sexual violence from their partner and that 7% of women will experience sexual assault by a non-partner at some point in their lives.”
Despite existing efforts, the report adds, “levels of violence against women—including intimate partner violence, rape, female genital mutilation, trafficking, and forced marriages—remain unacceptably high, with serious consequences for victims' physical and mental health.”
MASS SHOOTINGS
DON'T BLAME MENTAL ILLNESS
When a mass shooting occurs there seems to be a familiar narrative that untreated mental illness is the primary cause for the terrifying act. But a new study published in the American Journal of Public Health by Dr. Jonathan Metzl and Kenneth T. MacLeish of Vanderbilt University finds that an isolated focus on mental illness is misguided.
There are 32,000 gun deaths in the United States on average every year and people are far more likely to be shot by relatives, friends or acquaintances than they are by lone violent psychopaths, according to the researchers.
MOVIE MYTHS INFLUENCE SHARK POLICY IN AUSTRALIA
In Western Australia, the official policy on sharks has been formulated based on movie myths, a review of over a decade of state government policy has found.
According to Science Daily, “Dr Christopher Neff of the University of Sydney has examined the narratives and shark hunt policies implemented by different WA Governments between 2000 and 2014 and found striking similarities to the 1975 Spielberg classic.”
Dr Neff's research, which has been published online in the Australian Journal of Political Science, spells out the 'Jaws Effect' as a political device based on three themes from the film: the intentionality of sharks, the perception that all human-shark interactions are fatal and the idea that killing 'the shark' is the only solution.
"In particular, the Western Australian Government's current 'Imminent Threat' policy to catch and kill 'rogue' sharks is predicated on Hollywood fiction," writes Dr Neff, a lecturer in public policy at the University's Department of Government and International Relations.
A single conversation can change the mind
Conventional wisdom holds that changing the views of voters on divisive issues are difficult if not impossible—and that when change does occur, it is almost always temporary.
Two US researchers have demonstrated that a single conversation can go a long way toward building lasting support for a controversial social issue. The effect tends to spill over to friends and family members.
The key is putting voters in direct contact with individuals who are directly affected by the issue. The findings are reported in a study that was published in the journal Science.
"You forget the message, but you remember the messenger," writes LaCour, the study's lead author and a research affiliate at the California Center for Population Research at UCLA. The issue the researchers were mainly studying was Americans' support for gay marriage.
Main Source: SCIENCE DAILY
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