Social Science News

Darkness truly ruled the night in the Europe of 1500. People feared almost everything about the hours after sunset, says University of Illinois historian Craig Koslofsky. Two centuries later well before the age of electricity the cities of northern Europe, at least, had embraced the night much as we do today, says Koslofsky, the author of Evenings Empire: A History of the Night in Early Modern Europe, recently published by Cambridge University Press.

We all know one, or think we do: the person whose self-regard seems out of proportion to his or her actual merits. Popular culture labels these folks narcissists, almost always a derogatory term. But a new study suggests that some forms of narcissism are at least in the short term beneficial, helping children navigate the difficult transition to adulthood.

Many of the adults living in Chicagos South Lawndale neighborhood are first-generation immigrants, raised in Latin American communities where people feel close to nature, leave their doors wide open to their neighbors and the outdoors is an extended space for socializing with the community.

Reality television series such as Intervention that claim to provide unflinching portraits of addiction and treatment dont accurately depict either one, and, at worst, the shows focus on the most extreme cases may deter some viewers from seeking help, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Illinois.

With the bitter contract dispute between the National Football League Players Association and team owners apparently inching toward the goal line, armchair quarterbacks and television broadcast executives across the U.S. can breathe a collective sigh of relief that their favorite teams probably will kick off the 2011 season as expected and wont leave them with gaping holes in their schedules come fall.