How do opinions form and change in large groups of people? That’s not just a sociological question, it’s a mathematical one. Ph.D. candidate Federico Capannoli studied opinion dynamics. He defended his thesis on November 19.
Consensus, bias and polarization: How mathematicians study opinions
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The Labor Party’s landslide victory at the polls in 2025 was shaped by several factors, including a clear advantage on policy issues, the relative popularity of Anthony Albanese and strong support from younger voters and [...]
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“Exploitative” online money gaming in India is harming people’s financial and mental health and causing deep social problems, a new study shows.This post was originally published on this site
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Ph.D. candidate Layla van Wieringen examined how extremist beliefs are passed on within households. In her dissertation “Rotten Trees, Bad Apples? Understanding the Intergenerational Transmission of Extremism,” she reveals a reality that media and politics [...]
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When migration is in the news, it is often cast in negative terms, but it has many benefits for host countries, from economic growth to critical support for systems like Social Security that support aging [...]
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A research team from the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) and the Center for Demographic Studies (CED) investigated the impact of the conflict in Gaza on mortality. They estimate that 78,318 people were [...]
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A new study from the University of Eastern Finland gives prisoners in Finland a voice in the current sustainability transformation debate, showing that their perceptions of sustainable development vary greatly, ranging from individual everyday actions [...]
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In recent years, right-wing populist parties have experienced significant political success across nearly all Western democracies. With their increasing political establishment, xenophobic attitudes have become normalized. While previous studies have primarily examined the effects of [...]
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US media and politicians often celebrate beautiful stories of immigrants arriving in America, finding a new home, and thriving in the land of opportunity.This post was originally published on this site
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Globalization, migration, climate change and war—nation states are currently under huge pressure on many fronts. Understanding the forces that initially drove the emergence of states across the world may help explain why.This post was originally [...]
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In recent years, governments worldwide have expressed concern over rising inequality, eroding social cohesion, and declining trust in institutions.This post was originally published on this site
