Miércoles, 12 de Septiembre de 2007
New research warns of the lack of specialisation within the Spanish forensic scientists when judging individuals with mental disorders
Research carried out by the Department of Criminal Law of the University of Granada has analysed for the first time all the criminal sentences passed in Spain since 1870 in which the defendant was acquitted of the charge or the sentence was reduced on account of mental disorder. This research, in which more than 3000 sentences were studied, has reported the need for greater cooperation between Criminal Law and Psychiatry at determining the effect of (...)
Lunes, 10 de Septiembre de 2007
A study of the mental mechanisms which lead people to develop risk conducts that are used when driving, practicing sex and taking drugs.
Which are the mental mechanisms leading people to develop risk conducts such as illegal overtaking manoeuvres, practicing unsafe sex or to consume drugs knowing the consequences? Such is the aim of a group of scientists of the Department of Experimental Psychology and Physiology of Behaviour from the University of Granada (UGR), who are working on the project “Risk Behaviour: Cognitive, Emotional and Neuropsychological Foundations” (El comportamiento de riesgo: bases cognitivas, emocionales y neuropsicológicas), and which (...)
Lunes, 10 de Septiembre de 2007
Relatives who look after patients in hospital are ignored by the health system and suffer from emotional stress, according to a study
There are people who have traditionally been forgotten in the field of health. However, they are vitally important for patients’ well-being: they are the family caregivers in hospitals. A study carried out at the Department of Social Anthropology of the University of Granada and led by lecturer Rafael Briones Gómez, shows that Spanish hospitals are not adapted to caregivers who look after their sick relatives, since most of them suffer from emotional stress during their (...)
Lunes, 16 de Julio de 2007
Study shows the factors which have most influenced human height throughout history
The science which studies all the aspects of human physical growth is known as auxology. This science has become very important in recent times, as it is being used to classify nutritional level in many countries. Similarly, the science of anthropometric studies, in particular, the physical measurements of humans. Currently, organisms such as the UN use human height to compare and contrast health levels around the world thanks to studies such as those of Robert (...)
Lunes, 02 de Julio de 2007
A pioneering study analyzes the relationship between fashion and art, and the role of clothes as a reflection of social values
A lecturer from the department of Drawing of the University of Granada (Universidad de Granada) has carried out the first exhaustive research project in Spain that analyses fashion as an artistic discipline, in relation to painting, sculpture or architecture. The thesis written by Luis Casablanca Migueles studies fashion as “a plural phenomenon, one of the most important contemporary artistic disciplines”. He has focused particularly on the work of the Spanish designer Jesús del Pozo and (...)
Viernes, 22 de Junio de 2007
Scientists design the first map of active faults in the Gibraltar Arc to prevent earthquakes
Africa and Europe get about 4 mm closer every year in a northeast convergence direction. The exact position and geometry of the boundary between the African and Eurasian plates is unknown, but it is located near the Gibraltar Arc — an area of intense seismic activity which was not studied deeply until now.A group of researchers from the Andalusian Institute for Earth Sciences (CSIC) and the Department of Geodynamics of the University of Granada (UGR) (...)
Lunes, 18 de Junio de 2007
Housewives are more ecologically aware and recycle more than university students
Research carried out in the Department of Social Psychology and Methodology of Behaviour Sciences of the University of Granada has shown that the level of academic training is not related to the ecological awareness of people, despite the great proliferation of programs designed to educate and increase social awareness of the environment. Thus, according to research, housewives are more ecologically aware than university students, given they are more willing to recycle glass. This research was (...)
Viernes, 15 de Junio de 2007
The Spaniards’ level of English could be improved with better examinations methods
Two out of three Spaniards cannot speak or write in English, according to a recent report from the Centre for Sociological Research. This alarming figure is due, to a large extent, to the current teaching methods of English in primary and secondary schools, as well as the low level of English expected of students in compulsory education.A study carried out in the Department of English and German Philology at the University of Granada (Universidad de (...)
Martes, 29 de Mayo de 2007
Half of the people suffering from head injuries that go to court fake their ailments to receive financial help
How can it be proved that a patient is lying when they say that they have a cognitive problem, such as memory or concentration problems or anxiety? There are many people who exaggerate their injuries and even feign them in order to receive more money from insurance companies or obtain a sick leave, according to a pioneering research in Spain. This research was carried out in the Department of Personality, Assessment and Psychological Treatment of (...)
Martes, 29 de Mayo de 2007
Pilot programme reduces the number of undergraduates who drop their studies and improves the quality of teaching
Recent studies show that 30% of Spanish undergraduates do not finish their studies compared to 16% of undergraduates from other European countries. Is it possible to reduce these alarming levels of academic failure at public Universities?A doctoral thesis carried out in the Department of Evolutionary and Education Psychology at the University of Granada (Universidad de Granada) by Francisco Fernández Martín, and led by researchers José Luis Arco, Fernando Justicia and María Carmen Pichardo, introduced a (...)