news 2010

Social Sciences - 17.05
Psychiatric units safer as in-patient suicide falls
Suicides by psychiatric in-patients have fallen to a new low, research published today (Thursday) has found. The study by the University of Manchester's National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness, one of very few to look at trends over time, shows the rate of suicide among psychiatric in-patients fell by between 29% and 31% between 1997 and 2008, with nearly 100 fewer deaths per year.

Social Sciences - Medicine/Pharmacology - 1.05
Suicide risk for older people who self-harm
Older people who self-harm are at much greater risk of suicide than both the general population and younger adults who self-harm, a new study has found. Researchers from The University of Manchester studied 1,177 people over the age of 60 who presented to six general hospitals in Oxford, Manchester and Derby after self-harming.

Social Sciences - 24.04
Prison no bar to inmates’ generosity
Prisoners tend to be more generous than the general public because they could be looking for ways to atone for their crimes, research has shown.

Social Sciences - 9.03
Far right supporters - violence is largely inevitable
Far right supporters in the UK believe violent conflict between different religious, racial and ethnic groups is largely inevitable, according to a new survey on political extremism. From Voting to Violence? Far Right Extremism in Britain examines the beliefs of those identifying themselves as members of the British National Party, the English Defence League or the UK Independence Party.

Social Sciences - Medicine/Pharmacology - 9.02
Gap between Scottish and English suicide rates widens
A new study has revealed the widening gap in suicide rates between Scotland and England & Wales due to a large extent to the number of young Scottish men taking their lives. The research, carried out by the Universities of Manchester and Edinburgh and the Medical Research Council Social and Public Health Sciences Unit in Glasgow, examined suicide rates north and south of the border between 1960 and 2008.

Psychology - Social Sciences - 23.01
Why men ’exhibit warrior tendencies’
A new study has looked into how our psychology concerning war and conflict may have been shaped by our evolutionary past. Following a review of current academic literature by psychologists, biologists and anthropologists, the study concludes that men are biologically programmed to be warriors because of our deep ancestral history of inter-tribal war and conflict.

Social Sciences - Business/Economics - 2.11.2011
Half of British workforce ill-treated
One million Britons experienced workplace violence in the last two years, while millions more were subjected to intimidation, humiliation and rudeness, new research has shown. Surprisingly, managers and professionals in well-paid full-time jobs are among the groups most at risk.

Business/Economics - Social Sciences - 7.09.2011
Under threat: the legacy of the riots
The UK riots may have damaged properties and businesses, but the real damage hasn't even been properly considered yet, say University of Nottingham experts.

Social Sciences - Medicine/Pharmacology - 19.07.2011
Suicide and homicide rates in mental health patients revealed
Suicide rates among people with mental illness in England and Wales have fallen over the last decade, latest figures show. The 2011 Annual Report published today (Tuesday, 19 July) by The University of Manchester's National Confidential Inquiry (NCI) into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness reveals: Patient suicides have fallen from a peak of 1,315 in 2004 to 1,196 in 2008.

Social Sciences - 3.03.2011
Comprehensive schools do not reduce social mobility
Policy 03 Mar 11 Children are no worse off in socio-economic terms if they go to a comprehensive rather than to schools in the selective system, according to new research. The study found that when the total cohort of children was taken into account those who went to comprehensive schools were not disadvantaged in terms of social mobility compared the cohort who attended grammar schools and secondary moderns.

Social Sciences - Medicine/Pharmacology - 7.09.2010
Drugs and alcohol, not mental illness, explains violent crime risk
Health | Society 07 Sep 10 Bipolar disorder by itself does not increase the risk of committing violent crime, suggests a new study by Oxford University and the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.

Medicine/Pharmacology - Social Sciences - 9.07.2010
Call for more help for silent victims
PA 177/10 “I have had major bone problems and an operation on my spine, and I am now questioning whether that was to do with the beatings?”…the words of a 63 year old woman who took part in new research just published, into the effects of domestic violence on older women.

Social Sciences - Law/Forensics - 7.07.2010
Disclosure checks under scrutiny
Researchers at the University have found that enhanced disclosure checks, which contain details of both spent and unspent convictions, give a false sense of reassurance as the majority of persistent and serious offenders are unknown to either the children's hearing system or the adult criminal justice system.

Social Sciences - 25.03.2010
Fitzwilliam Museum residency coming to a close
Time is running out to see the celebrated Beijing painter Chen Hong at work in Cambridge, following his month-long residency at the city's Fitzwilliam Museum. Regarded as a 'cultural treasure' in his homeland, Mr Chen is an expert painter of traditional Chinese motifs, particularly famous for his striking images of fish.

Social Sciences - 16.03.2010
Family courts plan threatens children’s wellbeing
Children and young people's concerns about the government's proposal to allow the media to report more widely on family court proceedings are revealed in new research conducted by the University of Oxford.