College students have more empathy for battered dogs than they do for battered human adults, according to a recent study. Puppies and human children, meanwhile, evoke equal levels of empathy. In a study of 240 students, most of whom were white and between the ages of 18 and 25, Northeastern University sociology professors Jack Levin […]

Led by the late Republican campaign operative Lee Atwater, Bush’s campaign seized on the case of Willie Horton, a convicted murder who was allowed out of prison on a weekend furlough designed to aid the reintegration process. While out, Horton raped a woman. The highlighting of the crime by Bush and his allies proved devastating […]

“The government has understood in the past that the airline industry may have been too competitive, resulting in a bankruptcy by almost every single major carrier, and so the government permitted some mergers,” said Harlan Platt, a finance professor at Northeastern University who specializes in airlines and corporate governance. “But eventually you get to the […]

A 2003 study by Northeastern University researchers James Alan Fox and Jack Levin found that only 3 to 4 percent of all acts of homicide involve multiple victims. It’s impossible to rule out that an ordinary person might someday commit extreme, irrational violence. But in most cases, a seemingly normal killer probably isn’t really as […]

News just in, guaranteed to stir smug nods from non-believers and incite irritation among the devout: intelligence correlates negatively with religious belief. You may have seen similar – or contradictory — reports in the past. That’s because scores of studies have asked if religiosity is associated with intelligence. But a just-published meta-analysis in Personality and Social Psychology Review considered […]

If you think job opportunities are dim for Americans with a high school diploma and a degree- try making it without one- or both in the new American workforce. When the Center for Labor Market Studies (CLMS) at Northeastern University analyzed 2012 unemployment data, they found that Black youths who left high school sans a […]

Chenglong Zhao, postdoctoral fellow in engineering science and mechanics, Penn State, designed and conducted the experiment; Yongmin Liu, assistant professor of mechanical and industrial engineering, and electrical and computer engineering, Northeastern University, worked with Nicholas Fang, associate professor of mechanical engineering, MIT, to analyze the results and develop simulations; and Yanhui Zhao, graduate student in […]

What’s harder to watch: An adult human kicking a puppy or an adult human kicking another adult human? Science says: the puppy. A new study has found abused dogs — both puppies and adults — elicit more sympathy than abused adult humans. Abused human kids, however, are equally sympathetic as abused dogs, LiveScience reports. “The […]

One by one, the court clerk read aloud the verdicts on the multitude of charges against the former Boston mob boss, James Joseph Bulger, Jr. As expected, the 83-year-old defendant was found guilty of murder, extortion, racketeering, money laundering, drug trafficking and various weapons violations. For us here in Massachusetts, it will certainly be a relief to have this protracted saga over and done. No more news reports […]

Depending on the program, courses with an international travel component can last anywhere from two weeks to an entire semester. At schools such as Saint Leo University, Northeastern University, Webster University, Washington State University and Arizona State University, students spend months or weeks studying business trends in their specific country prior to departure. During their visit, students typically meet […]

An improperly fitting bicycle, and a too-low seat can also raise the risk of knee injury, says Greg Cloutier, MPH, Project Manager for the Human Performance and Exercise Science Lab at Northeastern University. Frequently I see cyclists grimacing as they bear down upon the pedals, and I wonder if they think the bulkier, stronger muscles […]

People have more empathy for abused puppies and dogs than they do for adult humans who have been abused, a new study suggests. However, empathy for abused children was about the same as that for puppies and dogs, the study found. Researchers surveyed 240 college students and asked them to read one of four versions […]