Society

Three out of four people with mental health conditions in low- and middle-income countries do not have access to needed mental health treatment. Even in high-income countries, this figure is relatively high at 35-50 percent, according to a WHO study. People with severe mental health conditions also are less likely to receive treatment for physical health conditions. People with schizophrenia are 40 per cent less likely to be hospitalised for ischaemic heart disease, compared with people without...

Taxi drivers in Mumbai may now have an additional task on their hands apart from ferrying passengers ― keeping the police informed about any suspicious activity. Taxi drivers, however, feel they will now be harassed more by the police. The Mumbai police is planning this initiative as part of its Alert Mumbaikar campaign to keep a tab on the movement of suspicious people in the city. The police in Mumbai want to emulate the practice followed by their counterparts in the Gulf countries where taxi...

For a country where the bulk of its population is below 25, here's a finding that won't surprise many: a majority of people from India do not consider themselves to be old – more than the international average. But here's something that not many would know: Indians in the age group of 18-24 years fear heart diseases most in old age (25 per cent) followed by diabetes (24 per cent) and cancer (16 per cent). The findings are from Bupa Health Pulse 2010, an international healthcare survey which...

The Fairy Queen, the oldest surviving functional steam engine in the world, is once again ready to haul a heritage train from India's capital New Delhi to Sariska National Park in Rajasthan state. This train, which is a great attraction among steam engine lovers across the globe, will run between Delhi Cantt. Station and Alwar from October 23 this year to March 12, 2011. However, the Northern Railway division of Indian Railways plans to run an additional trip on October 9 during the Commonwealth...

The traditional practice of using night dreams to make major life decisions is in widespread use among modern Muslims, reveals a new study. Night dreams are being used to make choices on issues such as marriage, business, career development and politics. Research leader, Durham University anthropologist Dr Iain Edgar focused on the centuries-old practice of Istikhara, or Islamic 'dream incubation'. His study is the first comprehensive and the most contemporary academic study on Istikhara prayer...

The brain’s right hemisphere is not involved in the initial processes of reading in Arabic, due to the graphic complexity of Arabic script. Therefore reading acquisition in Arabic is much harder in comparison to English, researchers have concluded. This has been shown in a series of studies that were carried out at the Department of Psychology and the Edmond J Safra Brain Research Center for the Study of Learning Disabilities at the University of Haifa. These studies have been published in the...

Those who use their cellphone to talk about news of the day or even to express opinions about issues, are more likely to be civically and politically engaged, a study by a communications expert has revealed. The study was conducted by Scott Campbell, an assistant professor of communication studies at the University of Michigan, US, and the study’s lead author. The co-author was Nojin Kwak, an associate professor in the university's Department of Communication Studies. Among the control variables...

Americans now view secrecy about possible terrorist attacks differently, depending on the type of the plot. There are dramatic differences in the willingness to accept government secrecy across various types of threats, a new study has found. Policies that would withhold information about terrorist plots involving commercial airlines will not be acceptable to more than 80 per cent of the people, but information about threats to airports or the financial system can be withheld from the...

Biases in eyewitness identifications in police line-ups have been observed empirically. Now scientists would be finding out more about these biases to determine if people avoid pointing the finger at someone they like in a police line-up. Eyewitness misidentification is the biggest cause of wrongful convictions the world over. In the US alone, more than 75 percent of convictions have been overturned through DNA testing. Till now, however, no one has studied this aspect of human behaviour...

The Asia Foundation has launched a five-year, $6.8 million project to prevent human trafficking, protect victims, and prosecute traffickers in six districts in Nepal. Its own contributions will bring the total amount to approximately $7.4 million. The award, given by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), goes into effect immediately. Trafficking in persons is serious and widespread in Nepal, a country facing a deepening political crisis. Ongoing internal conflict and economic...