ScienceDaily: Society - October 24, 2023
Top society research news
People who communicate more, show expertise are more likely to be seen as essential team members
A new study sheds light on the vital role of communication and expertise within organizations, revealing their impact on group performance. Researchers examined how individuals become part of communication networks and the effect of selection processes on group performance. The study found that people who communicated more during training were more likely to be chosen as a central member of the network. In addition, teams that chose their central member performed as well as and often better than teams whose central member was randomly assigned.
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Increased West Antarctic Ice Sheet melting 'unavoidable'
The West Antarctic Ice Sheet will continue to increase its rate of melting over the rest of the century, no matter how much we reduce fossil fuel use, according to new research. A substantial acceleration in ice melting likely cannot now be avoided, which implies that Antarctica's contribution to sea level rise could increase rapidly over the coming decades.
Harsh workplace climate is pushing women out of academia, review finds
In the largest-ever review of faculty retention in the United States, researchers reveal how harassment, a sense of not belonging and other factors contribute to a lack of gender diversity among senior faculty.
Does suspending kids from school harm their grades and health?
Being suspended from school or sent to the office is tied to a big drop in grade point average (GPA), especially for Black and Latinx children, according to researchers.Â
Keeping a human in the loop: Managing the ethics of AI in medicine
Increasingly used in medicine, AI raises both hopes and concerns. An international task force has laid out recommendations to ensure AI medical devices help patients and avoid worsening health inequity.
Ensuring fairness of AI in healthcare requires cross-disciplinary collaboration
New perspective argues pursuing fair AI for healthcare requires cross-disciplinary collaboration to translate methods into real-world benefits.
Researchers urge: It's high time for alliances to ensure supply chain security
Governments and companies emphasize the importance of protecting themselves from disruptions. Yet, they hesitate to share data with each other. But why should they embrace the idea of building a supply chain mapping alliance? There are several compelling reasons for this.
Grouping English learners in classrooms yields no benefit in reading development, new study finds
Grouping English learners together in classrooms, a longstanding practice in schools, has no impact -- positive or negative -- on reading development for elementary school students, shows a new study by a team of literacy education researchers.
'I'd rather not know': Why we choose ignorance
When given the choice to learn how their actions will affect someone else, 40% of people will choose ignorance, often in order to have an excuse to act selfishly, according to new research.
Cut emissions and improve farming to protect wilderness
Humanity must cut carbon emissions and use farmland more efficiently to protect our planet's remaining wilderness, new research shows.
Urgent action needed to address climate change threats to coastal areas
Global coastal adaptations are 'incremental in scale', short-sighted and inadequate to address the root causes of vulnerability to climate change, according to an international team of researchers.Â
Greener neighborhoods can protect us -- at the cellular level
A new study finds that greenspace -- the vegetation in a neighborhood's yards, parks and public spaces -- has a positive impact on a key genetic marker associated with exposure to stress. However, the study also finds that the positive impact of greenspace isn't enough to compensate for other environmental challenges, such as air pollution.
Power grids -- the web of electrical networks that sprawl across countries and continents -- are under stress. Extreme weather events and volatile energy demands often push the system to the brink. Although these high-impact events can be very damaging, often overlooked is the impact of minor disruptions that trigger a domino effect throughout the system, according to a study analyzing European power blackouts. The findings showed that recovering power within 13 hours can reduce up to 52% of the power loss stemming from cascading events.
The changing information technology industry, latest artificial intelligence applications, high demand for IT professionals, and evolving need for learning are leading to the search for innovations in education that will allow current and future employees to acquire knowledge in a contemporary and accessible way. This is particularly relevant in the field of programming, where the complexity of the process often creates learning difficulties. Researchers are now proposing to gamify this process. Â
Founder personality could predict start-up success
Research shows start-up founders have distinct personality traits, and they're more important to the success of their companies than previously thought.
Familiarity breeds contempt for moral failings
People judge members of their own circles more harshly than they judge individuals from other groups for the same transgressions, new research has found.
Depression, anxiety common among college students
Depression and anxiety among college students is a growing public health problem. And new research suggests the problem may be worse for students who aren't the same race as most of their peers. The new study found that students who were not the majority race at a predominantly white college reported significantly higher rates of depression than their white peers. At the mostly white university, more than half of the students who self-identified as races other than white reported feelings of mild depression. An additional 17% said they were experiencing moderate to severe depression.
World may have crossed solar power 'tipping point'
The world may have crossed a 'tipping point' that will inevitably make solar power our main source of energy, new research suggests.
Study examines role of working memory, cognitive functions in English learners learning to write
A new study has examined the role of several cognitive functions in young students learning to write English, their second language. The study conducted a battery of cognitive tests, gauged the writing skills of the students and then tested the functions again. Working memory, or how we store thoughts we want to convey, was shown to be the most significant predictor of writing ability. Other cognitive functions like phonological awareness and oral language development increased as the students aged, but were not associated with improved writing. The results not only help us understand how English learners, a growing population, learn to write, but can help educators design better interventions to help the students, researchers argue.