Feature Channels: Story Ideas: Life

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By pointing out similarities between themselves and assailants, potential victims may be able to defuse violence before it happens, a new study suggests.

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Not everyone enjoys a murder mystery with a surprise ending, new research suggests. People who have lower levels of self-esteem prefer crime and detective stories that confirm their suspicions in the end, while those with higher self-esteem enjoy a story that goes against expectations.

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A study by a University of Missouri-Columbia researcher has found that bridal magazines show predominantly white brides and a few African-American bridesmaids. Fewer than 2 percent of the advertisements analyzed featured African-American brides, and not a single magazine analyzed had an African-American bride on the cover.

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"Oprah does things in a religious manner, but she is not a religion," says Professor Kathryn Lofton of the Indiana University Department of Religious Studies. In studying how Oprah Winfrey has influenced so many people, Lofton approaches her as someone committed primarily to spiritual change through material means.

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Immigrants from Asia have lower rates of psychiatric disorders than American-born Asians and other native-born Americans, according to the first national epidemiological survey of Asian Americans in the United States.

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An Iowa State University faculty member who co-authored an annual video game report card released today in Washington, D.C. believes it shows mixed results on the state of video games and kids, although vigilance is paying off.

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Nearly every federal policy directed toward Native Americans since the time of America's discovery has been a policy of either annihilation or assimilation. For this reason, Native Americans have not been fully recognized as vibrant, valued and productive, says Dana Klar, J.D., founding and interim director of the Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies at Washington University in St. Louis.

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Based on 20 years of detailed archival research, "At Day's Close: Night in Times Past" is an enthralling, compelling study of the darker side of human history. Author Roger Ekirch received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1998 to finish the book, and is now receiving awards for the effort.

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Money changes everything, and that includes changing people's motivations for the better and their behavior toward others for the worse, according to a new study published in the international journal Science.

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Who doesn't love a world's fair? Now, thanks to a five year effort at the University of Maryland, researchers and world's fair afficianados can go online to see photos and other parts of the Architecture Library's "Treasury of World's Fair Art and Architecture." It's just one of many new digital collections the university has been hard at work on.

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In his recently published book, an Elizabethtown College religious studies professor argues that Billy Graham opposed Martin Luther King Jr.'s dreams for an integrated America and his tactics of civil disobedience.

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A new program aimed at helping African-Americans improve their diet and fitness is taking advantage of a higher power. The church plays an important role in the social lives of many African-Americans. That's why University of Michigan researchers are targeting black churches to help bring a message of healthier lifestyle choices to their congregation.

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The study, published in the latest issue of the journal Evolution and Human Behavior, used three-dimensional imaging and morphing software to remove wrinkles and furrows from pictures of women, leaving skin tone as the only variable. Researchers were then able to determine exactly what impact facial skin tone has on how young, healthy and attractive people perceive the women to be.

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Like fashion, slang terms for drugs constantly change and evolve. Staying abreast of current slang terms for drugs, and which drugs are popular, can be challenging for parents. Parents can test their drug slang IQ, using a quiz based on drug slang terms commonly heard by staff at The Menninger Clinic.

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A new report finds serious gaps between the principles of humanitarian action and the perceptions of aid beneficiaries in Afghanistan and other countries. Failure to address and reverse present trends threatens the time-tested humanitarian system.

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Children who can accurately assess how their classmates feel about them "” even if those feelings are negative "” are less likely to show symptoms of depression, according to Florida State University researchers in Tallahassee, Fla.

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The news media seriously underreport the role alcohol plays in violent crimes, injuries and traffic accidents, according to a new national study. While alcohol is believed to play a role in about one-third of homicides and fatal motor vehicle accidents, media reports linked alcohol to specific accidents or crimes significantly less frequently.

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In a world where self-promotion and assertiveness seem to be the norm and, in many cases, rewarded, humility can be considered a weakness. But a new study conducted by a Baylor University researcher indicates humility is actually a character strength with possible benefits.

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Adolescents with positive feelings toward their ethnic group say they are happier on a daily basis than those who have a more negative attitude about their ethnic identity.

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Dr. Geoffrey McKee, a forensic psychologist has spent nearly three decades understanding why mothers kill their children. His book, "Why Mothers Kill: A Forensic Psychologist's Casebook," gives an in-depth look at this incomprehensible crime and offers points of intervention for healthcare professionals and family members.

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A Purdue University medieval scholar is taking a "beautiful" look at how art, history, literature and philosophy relate to the Holy Eucharist, a Catholic sacrament.

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In The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf, Mohja Kahf offers a complex coming-of-age novel about a devout Muslim woman from Syria "“ and Indiana.

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It won't be hard to spot 45-year-old Nooria Nodrat among the 37,000 or so runners participating in the New York City Marathon on November 5. She'll be the one in an Achilles Track Club t-shirt accompanied by a coterie of six runners, one of whom will be tethered to her with a dish towel.

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UTEP will host "Emerging Faces in Hispanic Advertising," a conference focusing on how top industry marketers are creating new and effective advertising and communication strategies to reach the Hispanic consumer.

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In advance of World Food Day (October 16), the International Food Policy Research Institute is releasing its new Global Hunger Index, an innovative and enhanced approach for measuring hunger in developing and transitional countries. The index reveals hunger hotspots, shows which countries and regions have improved over time, and demonstrates the links between hunger and violent conflict.

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Tattooing"¦piercing"¦anorexia"¦self-cutting"¦plastic surgery"¦body-building"¦the use of life extension technologies: A new book coedited by UC Santa Cruz professors explores our fascination with altering our bodies, offering a fresh perspective on the widespread and dramatic changes that have taken place over the past two decades in attitudes about the body.

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The term "failed state" is coming into increasing use in various contexts, but opinions on what is a "failed state" vary widely. Several scholars are meeting at Westfield State College to try to agree on some common definitions.

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At least 46 million people in the United States don't have health insurance, and it's a growing middle-class problem affecting people who make $75,000 a year and more.

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As more and more African Americans try to trace their ancestry to Africa, a study finds that mitochondrial DNA -- a popular test being used -- is reliable in only about 10 percent of the cases, according to a University of South Carolina biology researcher.

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Americans who are reluctant to openly express their opinions when they believe others disagree also tend to avoid publicly visible political activity, such as working for a political campaign or circulating petitions, a new study shows.

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Despite growing numbers of mixed couples in America, movie relationships between men and women of different races are most likely to be short-lived, oversexed and downright dangerous, a new University of Florida study finds.

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A new book by a University of Illinois at Chicago literary theorist explores American society's emphasis on cultural differences and the resulting lack of attention devoted to economic inequality.

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Florida State University's Institute on Napoleon and the French Revolution in Tallahassee, Fla. will host a public lecture next week by a renowned expert on military and diplomatic history. Jeremy Black, a professor of history at the University of Exeter in England, will speak on "The Struggle for Mastery in North America, 1700-1871."

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Specific personality variables, such as anger or irritability predict the tendency to either engage in aggressive behavior willingly or to engage in aggressive behavior when provoked.

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You ate cake for breakfast, yelled at your husband on his way out the door, and haven't walked the dog all week.

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Alynna Lyon, associate professor of political science at the University of New Hampshire and director of the university's Model UN program, is available to discuss the change in leadership at the United Nations, Kofi Annan and his tenure, Ban Ki Moon, the history and relevancy of the United Nations, and issues the next secretary-general will face.

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"Behind Bars: Latinos and Prison." Latino Studies, an international, peer-reviewed journal based at the University of Illinois at Chicago, presents a conference Oct. 20 examining the Latino experience in the U.S. criminal justice system.

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From Pope Benedict XVI to actor Mel Gibson to Virginian Senator George Allen, the state of public apologies is not truly a sorry one, according to Gettysburg College philosophy professor Steven Gimbel.

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When the international mathematics community celebrates the 300th anniversary of the birth of famous Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler in 2007, they'll have additional insights into his genius thanks to the work of Rowan University students and their professor.

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When Robert Browning wrote "grow old along with me, the best is yet to be," he had no inkling of a future University of Florida study showing that narcissists are more interested in sexual pleasure than lasting intimacy.

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The newest and, some say, the most comprehensive approach to positive psychology along with new research findings about improving a person's quality of life are laid out in a new book, Quality of Life Therapy, by Dr. Michael B. Frisch, an internationally recognized positive psychology researcher and a professor of psychology at Baylor University.

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University of Arkansas poet Michael Heffernan explores time, place and travel in a series of poems published recently in two renowned journals.

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A museum director's detective work is restoring a visionary 18th century Venetian artist to his rightful place in the history of art.

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Everybody has heard of Martin Luther King Jr., but what about Edwin King? Or for that matter, how about Dave Dennis and Mildred Bell Johnson? A new book edited by Florida State University communication professor Davis Houck in Tallahassee, Fla. puts the spotlight on these and other little known players in the Civil Rights Movement.

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Teachers College Professor and others to use complex systems theory to unravel ongoing destructive behavior patterns

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In a randomized survey of Rwandans, genocide scholar Samuel Totten found support for the reconciliation process tempered with profound skepticism.

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Crime and violence against abortion clinics are no longer in the headlines, but that doesn't mean they no longer happen. A new study reports on the ongoing vandalism and harassment that are part of the job for those who work in many abortion clinics across the United States. Surprisingly, the researchers found that state legislation designed to protect abortion clinics has had no effect on anti-abortion violence.

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Researchers are using computerized analysis of the writing of Shakespeare to dispel lingering doubts about his authorship of many works and to trace the outlines of his total body of compositions. Researchers count the frequency of common words, and rare words, to detect Shakespeare's writing style, producing his distinct "literary fingerprint."

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The phrase "easy on the eyes" may hit closer to the mark than we suspected. Experiments led by Piotr Winkielman, of the University of California, San Diego, and published in the current issue of Psychological Science, suggest that judgments of attractiveness depend on mental processing ease, or being "easy on the mind."

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A new study finds that people are willing to endure the wait for airport security screening, especially if delays are consistent among airports and at different times of day.