It is perhaps self-evident that low-income households are more likely to find themselves vulnerable to climate change and the extreme weather that it encourages. Research from UCLA highlights how such homes are most likely to have their power disconnected after periods of high temperatures. “For low-income households, having just one hot day during the August billing period can lead to a 1.2% increase in the chance of being disconnected in October,” the researchers say. Feeling the heat The study highlights how low-income households have particular difficulties adjusting to extreme heat a ..read more

In a recent article, I explored how tech transfer to poorer countries is likely to be crucial in helping the world tackle climate change. Research from Iowa State University reminds us that migration and trade are likely to be equally important. The researchers developed an economic model to help understand how countries and markets might adopt according to things like job options, trade, and migration as the climate changes. “Most models don’t take into consideration that geographic locations are linked in particular ways through trade and migration and that people may change jobs,” the resea ..read more

The cost of living crisis is bad enough for precarious gig workers to cope with, but they also face the ongoing threat of the online reviews that govern how much work they get and how much they’re paid for it. Research from the University of Oxford highlights how fearful many gig workers are about their future income. The researchers analyzed the reputation systems used by gig economy platforms, such as Upwork. They found that these systems often lack transparency and are highly volatile, which can leave workers vulnerable to malicious customers. Unfair feedback The results showed that around ..read more

It might seem logical to believe that there might be a certain safety in numbers when it comes to protecting minority groups from discrimination. Research from Harvard Business School suggests that might not actually be the case, and that the largest minority group may actually be most vulnerable. The study suggests that hate crimes against minorities are strongly linked with the relative size of that group in their particular community, such that the largest minority group receives the most discrimination, followed by the second largest, and so on. The researchers believe that this is likely ..read more

While partisanship has certainly risen in recent years, there remains a hope that even the most partisan of individuals would step back from the brink if their chosen party was undermining the principles of democracy. Research from Northwestern University suggests that might be somewhat naive. “Interventions that reduce the extent to which partisans do not like each other do not seem to alter or reduce the extent to which they hold anti-democratic attitudes,” the researchers explain. “We need to think about ways to help people see the value of democracy unto itself regardless of party.” Reduci ..read more

Sleep has a big impact on both our professional and personal lives. A recent study from Washington State University showed that sleep quality can be particularly important for women’s careers. The research found that good sleep not only changes a woman’s mood but also how they feel about advancing in their careers. These career aspirations were not affected by the quality of men’s sleep. “When women are getting a good night’s sleep and their mood is boosted, they are more likely to be oriented in their daily intentions toward achieving status and responsibility at work,” the researchers explai ..read more

While bike-sharing schemes may seem ubiquitous across modern cities, there remain pockets where populations are not served well at all. A recent paper from Portland State University explores some of the factors that influence the availability of this increasingly popular mode of urban transport. The researchers examined evidence from three American cities (Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York) to explore the use and interest in bike-sharing schemes among people of color and lower-income residents. Lower usage The paper tested the hypothesis that usage of bike-sharing schemes was lower among the ..read more

As part of their ESG commitments, a growing number of companies are adopting pledges to not buy soybeans produced on deforested land. Unfortunately, research from the University of Cambridge shows that these pledges have not really made much of a difference, and companies need to go much further and adopt zero-deforestation commitments across their supply chain. Indeed, the researchers found that existing pledges have reduced tree clearance in the Amazon by just 1.6% between 2006 and 2015. What’s more, in Cerrado, a tropical savannah in Brazil, zero-deforestation commitments have been poorly a ..read more

The broken windows theory highlighted how tidying up vacant and derelict areas in a city can have a significant impact on reducing crime and disorder. A recent study from the University of Michigan comes to a similar conclusion, and shows that when vacant spaces are cleaned and repurposed, crime and violence in those neighborhoods also fall. The findings emerged after a three-year study that examined the so-called Busy Streets Theory and the greening hypothesis. These suggest that when community residents are engaged in repurposing vacant plots and generally cleaning up an area, it results in ..read more

Smiling is an obvious reflection of a good mood, but the act of smiling can also improve the mood we have. That’s the finding of a study conducted by Stanford, which shows that even when we fake a smile it can still lift our mood. It’s a question known as the facial feedback hypothesis and the study is among the first to provide strong evidence that it does, in fact, exist. Of course, the researchers are at pains to point out that the effect is relatively modest, so you can’t overcome depression just by forcing a smile, but it’s nonetheless useful to understand more about where emotions come f ..read more