Social sciences

News from 2005

27 December 2005: Japan census shows decline in nation's population. Ageing population and falling birthrate

23 December 2005: Japan deaths exceed births for 1st time in century. Foreshadowing a population decline

14 December 2005: Multiple children latest sign of China wealth gap. 40 percent of Chinese now able to afford the government-imposed maintenance fee of $NZ27,000 to have more children - social science researcher

12 December 2005: Economic factors affect suicide rates says Anderton. Government to target all age groups - taking focus off youth suicide - in four-year $10.3 million suicide prevention plan

8 December 2005: A new way to measure inequality in health. Uses the variations in survival across small areas

2 December 2005: Precocious puberty nothing new, says NZ researcher. Paleolithic girls arrived at menarche - the first occurrence of menstruation - between seven and 13 years, similar to modern girls

29 November 2005: Two 8000-year-old farming settlements discovered in Greece. Artifacts found at the site northwest of Athens include clay figurines of humans and animals, sealstones, pottery and stone tools

27 November 2005: Nelson proposes $A1m study into nuclear energy option. Australian science minister proposes an academic study into the geological, environmental, physical and social science aspects of a nuclear power industry

25 November 2005: Chile's mystery mummies possibly done in by arsenic. The primitive Chinchorro fishing tribe's elaborate death ritual to preserve babies included removing internal organs, stuffing the bodies with plants and sea grasses and decorating them with clay

24 November 2005: Bicultural, multicultural tensions surface again. NZ faces a choice - biculturalism or multiculturalism?

18 November 2005: Social inequality seen in SIDS risk. Better off families embrace campaign to place babies on their backs to sleep, US study finds

12 November 2005: Scots delve into indigenous Australian history. "The Macquarie Atlas of Indigenous Australia" is the brainchild of two ANU researchers, Frances Morphy and Bill Arthur

7 November 2005: Next generation of elderly Aussies will be stylish: study. A new study to be presented at the Emerging Researchers in Ageing conference starting in Brisbane tomorrow

1 November 2005: Chinese archaeologists discover 4,100-year-old observatory. The observatory consists of a semicircular platform 40 metres in diameter, surrounded by pillars that marked the movement of the sun through the seasons

26 October 2005: New Zealanders to get easier access to valuable statistics. Government launches new website containing official statistics on New Zealand's economic, social and environmental activities: www.statisphere.govt.nz

18 October 2005: Worker incentive key to EU social model – commission. Summit to discuss labour market reform in light of ageing population

13 October 2005: Ending discrimination against women key to ending poverty. Findings of the UN Population Fund's annual State of World Population report

12 October 2005: Pacific nations show the way in education for all. Commission chair, the Hon Margaret Austin, outlines New Zealand's achievements in working towards the 2015 goal set by UNESCO

12 October 2005: AgResearch chairman says nation ignored agriculture at the polls. Speaking at the Grasslands Association annual conference, Rick Christie says politicians and Kiwis have long overlooked the economic importance of the agriculture industry

12 October 2005: New Zealand proposes broader approach to ethics. New Zealand science commissioners to UNESCO, Rosemary du Plessis and Roy Geddes, are in Paris to attend the organisation's Plenary Assembly where they will argue for a more inter-disciplinary and inter-sectoral approach to the ethics of science

11 October 2005: Nobel Economics Prize for game theory used in war and peace. Awarded to Israeli-US citizen Robert Aumann and American Thomas Schelling

11 October 2005: US Nobel economics winner analysed human behaviour. Game theorist Thomas Schelling sees himself as a social scientist

7 October 2005: NZers have similar personality to Aussies – researchers. Findings of a landmark global study into human personalities and national character

5 October 2005: Young people are better educated but many illiterate. Almost half of the world's 15- to 24-year-olds living on less than $US2 a day - UN youth report

4 October 2005: Long hours clip wings of social butterflies. Work-life balance survey in UK

3 October 2005: TV stunts children's brain development – research. Found the most significant damage occurred from modest levels of viewing - between one and two hours a day

26 September 2005: Civilisation under threat from climate change. Australian scientists Tim Flannery and Ian Lowe look at the impact of climate change in new books dedicated to the issue they say is the most serious facing mankind today

22 September 2005: Report says global warming could spark conflict. Could also lead to more droughts, floods and typhoons, and increase the incidence of malaria, dengue fever and cholera

21 September 2005: Australia: skilled vacancies down 1.3 p/c in Sept. Science vacancies one of the hardest hit

19 September 2005: Museum exhibition presents the life and work of Darwin. The touring exhibition, put together by some of the world's leading science institutions, begins at the American Museum of Natural History and ends in London to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth

15 September 2005: Life's knocks hit men harder than women - UK study. Women in the study were actually twice as likely to be downwardly mobile but generally avoided the depression and poor psychological wellbeing shown by men

15 September 2005: Researchers urge China to relax its one-child policy. Critics say the policy has led to forced abortions, sterilisations and a dangerously imbalanced sex ratio

8 September 2005: Why small brains didn't hold back those clever hobbits. New study shows part of the brain associated with cultural evolution in Indonesia's Flores hobbits was as advanced as those of the early human species, Homo erectus

8 September 2005: Studies of Asian civilisation pass $1m mark in taxpayer funding. New Zealand researcher Charles Higham - a global authority on South East Asian archaeology - has been granted nearly $800,000 to show that rice farming revolutionised Neolithic civilisation in Asia

7 September 2005: It's ageism, more than sexism or racism, in UK. Survey shows 29 percent of Britons suffer age-related discrimination

1 September 2005: Asia tries to put SMS genie back in its bottle. Asia is cracking down on a technology that has become a powerful social tool, used to organise mass protests, sow wild rumours, perpetrate crime and, it is feared, trigger bombs

18 August 2005: Drop in animals used for experiments and teaching. Lowest number of animals "manipulated" since 1997

16 August 2005: Waiariki social work graduates want $40,000 compo each. Majored in subjects not recognised by the Social Workers' Registration Board

9 August 2005: Moves to counter a growing obesity epidemic. Onus needs to go on all members of society, including, Government, food manufacturers, chefs and caterers, says visiting UK obesity specialist Professor Michael Lean

9 August 2005: Schools' fund-raising undermines healthy eating education. 58 percent of all products sold by primary and intermediate schools and 62 percent of all products sold by secondary schools for fund-raising fall into the high sugar/fat category - University of Otago research

4 August 2005: Dog cloning reignites ethical debate over human replica. The world's first cloning of a dog has raised concerns that scientists are one step closer to replicating human embryos

1 August 2005: Gay young people face higher risk of mental health problems. Five times more likely to develop mental health problems than their heterosexual counterparts

31 July 2005: 1500 child deaths a year linked to disadvantage. Death rates among Australian children rise in association with worsening levels of disadvantage

19 July 2005: Britons want to enjoy life not leave inheritance – poll. New research on inheritance attitudes shows older people are not prepared to scrimp and save in order to leave their property or money to family or friends

15 July 2005: Children in low-income homes have greater chance of dying. Newly published Otago University research shows that while New Zealand's childhood mortality rates dropped between 1981 and 1999, children from low-income households were considerably more at risk of dying than those in high income households

13 July 2005: Parkinson's drug linked to gambling and s*x addiction. The very rare, but reversible side-effects have been reported in the journal Archives of Neurology

12 July 2005: Australians increasingly living alone as population ages. As many as 3.7 million Australians are predicted to be living alone by 2026, up from 1.8 million in 2001 - social trends report

12 July 2005: Australia's Aborigines need urgent health aid. While employment and education rates have risen, Australia's indigenous people are likely to die 17 years younger than white Australians, a new statistics report shows

9 July 2005: Most New Zealanders proud to be a Kiwi – survey. Those aged between 18 and 24 were less likely to be committed to living in New Zealand (66 percent), than tertiary educated people (75 percent) and those with primary education (80 percent) - Massey University survey

5 July 2005: Children being starved of outdoor fun. Need three periods of traditional play a day to develop the social skills needed to interact well with their peers later in life, experts say

3 July 2005: Ethicists raise concerns about Catholic medical school. Officials at Australia's first religiously-affiliated medical school describe contraceptive use as immoral

1 July 2005: Greatest humanitarian crisis is in southern Africa – UN. 8.3 million requiring food aid in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe, more than double that six months ago

1 July 2005: Asia must attack Aids now or face ballooning epidemic: UN report. Report predicts 12 million new cases within five years if funding is not made available to target vulnerable groups

8 June 2005: Ethicist says it's OK to create 'better people'. Society has a moral obligation to use genetic technologies to create "better people", an Australian ethics expert says

7 June 2005: Dull, low-level jobs linked to heart risk – study. Causes the heart to steadily beat faster, not vary like a healthy heart does

5 June 2005: Integration crucial to immigrants’ survival, conference told. Massey academic Paul Spoonley tells conference Asian integration is essential for New Zealand's economic future

1 June 2005: Key facts and figures about obesity. 155 million school-age children worldwide are overweight or obese

26 May 2005: Families of fat women face slimmer pay – study. Heavy-set women are likely to face worse socio-economic outcomes than slimmer colleagues, but fat men do just fine, a new research study has found

24 May 2005: S African woman killed by partner every 6 hours – study. A new report based on data collected by the Medical Research Council, the University of Cape Town and the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation shows deep social scars remain post-apartheid

20 May 2005: Snapshot of nation's kids reveals disturbing trends. First stage findings of a landmark study of 10,000 young Australians

20 May 2005: University team to monitor drug trends. Massey University health researchers are to interview hard-out party people in cafes and bars throughout New Zealand in an effort to get a better idea of today's most popular drugs and what is new on the party scene

19 May 2005: Sustained investment in science supports wealth creation for New Zealand. Association of Crown Research Institutes' comment on Budget

16 May 2005: Local bodies welcome Government's digital strategy. Measures to close the digital divide include the Advanced Network, which will link New Zealand universities and research organisations with colleagues and collaborators around the world by 2006

15 May 2005: Adrenosexual man kills off the metrosexuals. More UK men interested in adrenalin rush than self-preening, sports survey finds

12 May 2005: We're all capable of murder – scientist. Evolutionary psychologist says humans are programmed to kill

28 April 2005: Two-thirds of young Kiwis know someone who has attempted suicide. Auckland University study of nearly 400 NZers aged 17-25

26 April 2005: Brain drain research planned by Dunedin study group. To use data from a benchmark health and development study of people born in the city in the 70s

25 April 2005: Social inequality entrenched in Britain, US. Damning LSE study shows education system fails lower income groups in the two countries

19 April 2005: Richer children may have weaker bones: study. Children from privileged backgrounds are likely to be taller and leaner than those from poorer families, but they are also likely to have weaker bones

5 April 2005: Children who watch TV more likely to bully - US study. A study of more than one thousand four-year-olds with a history of bullying once they started school

3 April 2005: Children under 10 need adult help to cross roads – journal. Australian child health study on pedestrian safety

30 March 2005: Kiwi families show that a nurtured child most likely a good mum. Findings of a study lead by UK child development expert Jay Belsky involving 200 New Zealand families

22 March 2005: Pensioners 'set to outnumber children'. If current trends continue, Britons over the age of 65 will surpass those below 16 in eight years time, a new UK statistics report shows

19 March 2005: Wealthy the biggest wasters. 30 percent of Australian households earning more than $A100,00 waste $A30 a fortnight on fresh food and more than $A100 on clothes per year, a social policy research report has found

17 March 2005: Obesity epidemic expected to cause drop in longevity. Study is likely to generate controversy because it conflicts with other estimates that predict continued rising life expectancy in years to come

12 March 2005: Dramatic increase in teenage gamblers: health groups. Gambling teen numbers double in a year

3 March 2005: New studies point to crisis among US black men. Ignites a debate within the black community about who is to blame and what can be done

28 February 2005: Tertiary education providers under review. ITOs, institutes of technology and polytechnics to be reviewed by the Tertiary Education Commission

19 February 2005: 'Atkins diet' may have fuelled evolution. An early version of the diet big on meat may have given humans the edge over other apes, new research suggests

10 February 2005: City of fables unearths real heroes from Roman era. Archaeologists have found the remains of a chariot racing track in the English city of Colchester, further evidence that Britain's oldest recorded town was an important Roman outpost

10 February 2005: Study finds high rates of depression in young Australians. Long-term study has tracked the development of 1157 young Victorians since they were babies in 1983

9 February 2005: Birth of a terrorist - US scholars seek clues. 60 psychologists, political experts and other social scientists will examine a database of 70,000 attacks since 1970 and conduct surveys in several Arab and Islamic states to learn more about the societies and circumstances that have spawned militant groups

8 February 2005: Waiariki course gets green light. Provisos mean Waiariki Institute of Technology's Bachelor of Applied Social Sciences can continue for now

21 January 2005: Govt to test systems for catastrophic disease outbreak. Biosecurity officials will lead a major disease-outbreak exercise in March simulating an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease

11 January 2005: Professor and economic historian Robert Heilbroner dies at 85. Author of the best-seller The Worldly Philosophers: The Lives, Times and Ideas of the Great Economic Thinkers

10 January 2005: Women who want health should get rid of their man. A new Australian study has found divorced, widowed and never-married elderly women have significantly better health than married women

6 January 2005: Rapid brain expansion propelled human intelligence – study. Smarter may not be better say University of Chicago researchers who have found some of the genes that make for a bigger and better brain may also be the ones that predispose people to mental disorders and addiction

5 January 2005: Overweight children have health, social problems. Findings of new Australian research