by Iliyah Maddox | Feb 12, 2026 | business and economy, social and behavioural sciences
If you ask someone in the United States whether to reconsider their health insurance plan choices, they may sigh, roll their eyes, and offer a story about navigating a maze of deductibles, networks, and confusing brochures. In practice, most people end up doing the simplest thing possible: they stay in the same plan they are already in. Economists have long noticed this pattern. Even when plans raise their prices or competitors offer better deals, people tend to remain where they are. This raises a fascinating question: do people stay because switching is difficult, or because they genuinely prefer the plan they already have? A new study by the economist Prof. Ariel Pakes of Harvard University, and colleagues Prof. Mark Shepard and Prof. Jack Porter, digs into this puzzle and uncovers some surprising answers. Although the study uses sophisticated mathematical tools, the insights are straightforward and important for anyone interested in how health insurance markets work.
by Iliyah Maddox | Jan 30, 2026 | arts and humanities, social and behavioural sciences
As the practice of psychotherapy increasingly embraces the spiritual dimensions of the human experience, therapists are investigating new ways to weave faith and meaning into healing. Dr Suzanne Coyle, a licensed pastoral counsellor and family therapist, explores the role of spirituality in psychotherapy and how this intersection can support the journey of healing. Her work provides practitioners with the tools and knowledge to meaningfully integrate spirituality into clinical practice.
by Iliyah Maddox | Jan 16, 2026 | social and behavioural sciences
We often take our bodies for granted, treating them as vehicles to get us through the day or as objects to manage and control. But author and Jungian Analyst Barbara Holifield’s book Being with the Body in Depth Psychology challenges this view, arguing that the body is the foundation of our sense of self and the lens through which we encounter the world. Depth psychology has seldom treated the body as an intrinsic aspect of our psychology, and when it has, it rarely delves into the body as experienced. Through in-depth case studies, Holifield’s two important chapters – Chapter 2, Sensing the Self, Sensing the World, and Chapter 4, Attaining Embodiment: A Developmental Perspective – explore how we come to feel at home in our bodies and why this matters for both psychological health and human growth.
by Iliyah Maddox | Dec 12, 2025 | arts and humanities, social and behavioural sciences
In today’s world, the internet is more than a tool. It can be a place where friendships are built, identities are explored, and young people find connection. For teenagers, digital spaces are a huge component of their lives. However, the way we talk about online safety often feels like it belongs to another era, one rooted in adult fears rather than young people’s lived experiences. A project led by the Young and Resilient Research Centre at Western Sydney University, in partnership with the PROJECT ROCKIT Foundation with funding from Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, set out to bridge this disconnect. Instead of telling young people how they “should” behave online, the researchers conducted a survey of 104 young people and workshops with 31 young Australians aged 12 to 17 which asked them directly: What does online safety mean to you? What do you wish adults understood? What would your ideal online world look like? How do you want to learn about online safety?
The results were eye-opening and led to the development of a framework to reimagine how online safety education for young people is designed and delivered.
by Iliyah Maddox | Nov 3, 2025 | social and behavioural sciences
In the United States, families that cross racial lines often attract admiration and curiosity. Such families are increasingly common, and they are seen by many as living proof that love conquers prejudice, and that the country is moving beyond its painful racial past. When a white mother cradles her brown-skinned baby, or a Black father teaches his lighter-skinned daughter to ride a bike, the image seems to embody progress and racial harmony. But as Professor Chandra Waring of the University of Massachusetts Lowell shows in her 2025 study, the story is far more complicated. Her article, titled “My Dad Is Racist as Hell: Navigating Racism, Monoracism, and White Privilege by Proxy in Multiracial Families,” reveals what really happens inside many multiracial households. Through interviews with 30 multiracial Americans, Waring reveals that love does not necessarily cancel racism. In fact, racism, and its quieter cousin, monoracism, often lives right inside these families.
by Iliyah Maddox | Oct 27, 2025 | arts and humanities, social and behavioural sciences
Research from Professor Dr Susanne Maria Maurer, former chair of social pedagogy at the Philipps-Universität Marburg, reveals how social work institutions and practices serve as repositories of knowledge about historical struggles over class, gender, and race. She conceptualizes social work as both a “memory of conflicts” and an “open archive” that holds different answers to social problems from across history. Her work shows that to truly understand social work today we need to look at the ideas that were pushed aside and the ongoing debates that still shape how social workers do their jobs.
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