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Digital Payment Platforms Can Easily Be Misused for Drug Dealing
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Digital Payment Platforms Can Easily Be Misused for Drug Dealing

Digital payment platforms such as Venmo work great for sharing a dinner bill with friends, buying gifts at a pop-up shop or making payments without cash or credit cards. But these digital payment platforms have a dark side: They can be misused for drug dealing and other illicit activity, suggest researchers from the University of...

What a Biannual Gathering of 1967 Impalas Reveals About the Blurry Line Between Fandom and Religion
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What a Biannual Gathering of 1967 Impalas Reveals About the Blurry Line Between Fandom and Religion

Among the many spooky events happening over Halloween weekend was the biannual “Haunting of Impalas” at Family Business Brewing, a 15-acre brewery in Dripping Springs, Texas, owned by actor and musician Jensen Ackles. Along with Jared Padalecki, Ackles is the star of “Supernatural,” a television series that ran from 2005 to 2020. A weekly science-fiction...

Chicago Community Violence Intervention Program Shown to Reduce Gun Violence
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Chicago Community Violence Intervention Program Shown to Reduce Gun Violence

Study shows a steep drop in arrests for violent crime among program participants New research shows large reductions in gun violence involvement for participants of a Chicago-based community violence intervention (CVI) program. Researchers from Northwestern University evaluated outcomes for the Chicago CRED (Create Real Economic Destiny) program and found that those who completed the full...

New Research Highlights the Role of TikTok in Spreading Videos That Encourage Violence Against Women
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New Research Highlights the Role of TikTok in Spreading Videos That Encourage Violence Against Women

Researchers focusing on the concerning rise of groups who perpetuate misogyny, sexism and even violence against women have uncovered the use of TikTok by incels to spread their extreme beliefs.  Incels are men who are involuntary celibates. Recent violent incidents linked to incels (e.g.,  the 2021 Plymouth shooting, the 2020 Toronto machete attack, the 2018...

Study Looks at Attitudes Towards Political Violence
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Study Looks at Attitudes Towards Political Violence

A small segment of the U.S. population considers violence, including lethal violence, to be usually or always justified to advance political objectives. This is according to newly published research from the UC Davis Violence Prevention Research Program (VPRP). The study provides a complex portrait of the attitudes and concerns about the state of democracy in...

Electrifying Vehicles in Chicago Would Save Lives, Reduce Pollution Inequities
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Electrifying Vehicles in Chicago Would Save Lives, Reduce Pollution Inequities

If the Chicago region replaced 30% of all on-road combustion-engine vehicles — including motorcycles, passenger cars and trucks, buses, refuse trucks and short- and long-haul trucks — with electric versions, it would annually save more than 1,000 lives and over $10 billion, according to a new Northwestern University study. The new study, which simulates air...

UC Economist Finds Strong Link Between Park Funding, Home Values
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UC Economist Finds Strong Link Between Park Funding, Home Values

Ohio residents who vote against tax renewals for parks and recreation spending could be costing themselves a significant amount of wealth in the form of their homes’ value, a University of Cincinnati economist found. David Brasington, PhD, the James C. and Caroline Kautz Chair in Political Economy and professor of economics in UC’s Carl H....

Six Strategies Could Boost NY City Housing by 300,000 Units Over Decade
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Six Strategies Could Boost NY City Housing by 300,000 Units Over Decade

Six policies aimed boosting residential housing construction in New York City could spark the production of roughly 300,000 additional new housing units over a decade, according to a new RAND Corporation report. The additional housing units would represent more than a 160% increase over recent annual housing production levels in the city, according to the...

Closure of Pittsburgh Coal-Processing Plant Tied to Local Health Gains
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Closure of Pittsburgh Coal-Processing Plant Tied to Local Health Gains

The closure in January 2016 of one of Pittsburgh’s biggest coal-processing plants led to immediate and lasting declines in emissions of fossil fuel-related air pollutants. These in turn were linked to near-instant decreases in local heart-related emergency department visits and hospitalizations for cardiovascular diseases, a new study shows. The impact of the closure persisted through...

Mesoamerica a Model for Modern Metropolises
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Mesoamerica: A Model for Modern Metropolises

Jakarta … San Francisco … Shanghai … Phoenix … Houston. These major cities and others around the globe have many similarities, but they share one particular commonality that is concerning for residents. They are among the global cities most affected by climate change. While each of these cities has proven resilient for centuries, urban planners,...