Images of maths 'geeks' stop people from studying mathematics or using it in later life, shows research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.
Many students and undergraduates seem to think of mathematicians as old, white, middle-class men who are obsessed with their subject, lack social skills and have no personal life outside maths. The student's views of maths itself included narrow and inaccurate images that are often limited to numbers and basic arithmetic.
The research revealed that many of the clichéd perceptions which it identified are linked to the way in which mathematics and mathematicians are presented in popular culture. Although there has been an increase since 2006, the number of people in England and Wales choosing to study maths has been in decline in the last decade. The subject's negative portrayal in popular culture contributes to this lack of interest. The research went on to suggest using popular culture as one way to promote a more positive view of maths.
An Oxford University neuroscientist has warned that human identity faces an unprecedented crisis, brought about by damage caused by various electronic gadgets and pharmaceuticals that blur the line between our bodies and the outside world.Writing in Britain's Daily Mail, neuroscientist Susan Greenfield, Oxford University Alzheimer's researcher and author of the book "ID: The Quest For Identity In The 21st Century", says modern technology, including violent video games, multichannel television and the Internet, is altering the way our brains work.
The death toll in the current outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease in China climbed to 39 on Monday as authorities announced the deaths of five more children in provinces across the country, the Xinhua news agency said.
The disease has spread rapidly in China since March, when children aged between two and six began to be admitted to hospitals in the central Chinese province of Anhui displaying symptoms of the potentially fatal virus.
The latest fatalities came as three children died in the southern province of Guangdong, and two deaths were reported in the eastern Anhui province and the island province of Hainan, the agency said.
As France's parliament considers a landmark bill that would outlaw media images glamorizing the extremely thin, psychology researchers are reporting some of the most definitive findings yet on how these images affect women.
In the May issue of Psychological Bulletin, University of Wisconsin-Madison postdoctoral researcher Shelly Grabe and psychology professor Janet Hyde describe a sweeping analysis of 77 previous studies involving more than 15,000 subjects. In it, they found that exposure to media depicting ultra-thin actresses and models significantly increased women's concerns about their bodies, including how dissatisfied they felt and their likelihood of engaging in unhealthy eating behaviors, such as excessive dieting.
Although on one level the results seem obvious, Grabe believes many people still resist the idea that a societal influence, like the media, can have a real impact on how women view themselves. When individual experiments have found this relationship in the past, she explains, critics have often dismissed them for focusing on groups of particularly body-conscious women, such as college students, or exposing test subjects to unusually racy photos.
A new study in Psychology of Women Quarterly explored the outcomes of sexual harassment on both boys and girls. While girls were harassed more frequently, boys were indirectly yet negatively affected through a school climate that tolerates the harassment of girls.
The study, led by Alayne J. Ormerod, PhD, of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, examined the relationship among peer-to-peer sexual harassment, school climate, adult-to-student harassment, and outcomes for the students. Approximately 300 girls and 250 boys were surveyed from seven public high schools in the Midwest.
Young children tend to think that other kids with glasses look smarter than kids who don't wear glasses, according to a new study.
Children between the ages of 6 and 10 who were surveyed for the study also thought that kids wearing glasses looked more honest than children who don't wear glasses.
Losing a limb can be a traumatic experience and, in some cases, emotional and physical pain can linger for years. To better understand the phenomenon, dubbed "phantom limb syndrome," Université de Montréal graduate student Emma Duerden is inviting amputees to come forward and share their experiences for a major study.
"Our main goal is to better understand why amputees retain the memory of pain after losing a limb," explains Ms. Duerden, who is completing her doctorate in the laboratory of Dr. Gary Duncan at the Université de Montréal's Department of Physiology and the Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal (CRIUGM).
Geneva -- The world still faces a substantial threat of a flu pandemic and countries need to speed up preparations for a global outbreak, health experts said Tuesday.
Injunction sought by foes appears to be headed for denialFluoride - hailed as a public health success and vilified as a toxic waste product - will be introduced into the water delivered today by the South Blount County Utility District.
The utility's board of commissioners voted at its May meeting Tuesday to fluoridate its water, despite statements of protest by some attending the meeting and picketing on the sidewalk outside before the meeting started.
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| Faythe Shores holds her sign high for motorists to see during a protest outside of the South Blount County Utility District on Tuesday. The district is about to introduce fluoride into the water it delivers.
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More than six decades after Grand Rapids became one of the world's first cities to fluoridate its drinking water, some local officials say it's time to reconsider the practice.
Municipal officials are talking with scientists at Grand Valley State University about potential long-term effects of exposure to fluoride, which some consider a toxic chemical.
"Because we're trying to eliminate toxins in our community, I thought we should study this issue," Corky Overmyer, the city's director of sustainability, told The Grand Rapids Press for a Wednesday story.
