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Topics: Human Rights

Researchers used eye movement measurements, filming children’s eyes and using an algorithm to calculate where the child was looking.

Babies follow social cues despite trauma

Babies living as refugees have some of the same social skills as children with more secure home conditions. This is shown by a new study that researchers from Uppsala University have conducted in cooperation with colleagues in Uganda, Zimbabwe and Bhutan. Over 800 children participated in the study, making it one of the largest infant studies ever conducted using eye movement measurements.

“It’s important to be aware and to ask yourself: what emotions are these opinion pieces trying to evoke?", says Carin Leibring Svedjedal, PhD in Scandinavian languages. Photo: Getty Images

How the media write about transgender people

Transgender people are the subject of polarised debate in Sweden and there is a tendency to use alarmist examples to stir up emotions. This is shown in a new thesis that examines the language used in opinion pieces on trans-related issues.

Painting of Ivan the Terrible, by Viktor Vasnetsov (1848-1926). Tretyakov Gallery. Rights: Public Domain

Should we stop saying ‘Russia’?

Should the world stop using the name ‘Russia’ and go back to the old name ‘Muscovy’? The question has been raised by critics of Russia in recent years and in his new book “Russia reverts to Muscovy”, Stefan Hedlund, Professor Emeritus of East European Studies, highlights several arguments in favour of a change of name.

Metal worker during the 1950s. Stock photography: ALVIN.

Consensus is far from the whole story

20th century Swedish labour market policy was not solely shaped by inter-class cooperation, but also by tough conflicts. Industrial rationalisation and investments in new technology were met with protests from workers. A new doctoral thesis reveals parallels between technological changes during 1920-1950 and the transition we face today with, for example, artificial intelligence and automation.

UCDP: record number of armed conflicts in the world

UCDP: record number of armed conflicts in the world

Never before have there been so many armed conflicts across the globe. This has been shown by new statistics from the Uppsala Conflict Data Program, UCDP, at Uppsala University. In 2023, the number of conflicts involving states totalled 59, the highest number ever since the data collection’s starting point in 1946. Previous peaks were seen in 2020 and 2022, each with 56 conflicts.

Professor Karen Brounéus, Department of Peace and Conflict Research. Photo: Chris Chau

Women vulnerable in peace processes

New research: Post-war peace processes are a dangerous period for women, who are forced to live close to men who committed serious abuse during the war, which can be stigmatising. Women safety is not a political priority after war. There is great potential for improvement, if the UN were to start making more space for women’s perspectives, writes peace- and conflict researchers in PLOS One.

Christiana Figueres and Agnès Callamard will speak in Uppsala University’s Aula Magna.

Press invitation: Dag Hammarskjöld Lecture with Christiana Figueres and Agnès Callamard

On 17 September 2021, the annual Dag Hammarskjöld Lecture will take place at Uppsala University’s Aula Magna. This year’s event features both the 2021 Lecture by Dr. Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, and the 2019 Lecture by Christiana Figueres, chief architect of the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change, which was previously postposed. Journalists and representatives o

Married in Sweden – but single in another EU Member State?

A same-sex marriage entered into in one EU Member State may not be recognised in another. The argument is often that such a marriage is too different from the country’s own laws and policies. In a new dissertation on private international law, Laima Vaige analyses how this application of the law compares with the European Convention on Human Rights and EU law.

New Centre for Nuclear Disarmament for Uppsala University

Today, the Swedish Government decided to assign to Uppsala University the task of setting up a new national knowledge centre for research on nuclear disarmament. With an interdisciplinary approach and researchers in fields including peace and conflict research and nuclear physics, the incipient Alva Myrdal Centre will conduct research with the goal of contributing to a safer world for humankind.

Credit: Anna Ileby/The Skytte Foundation

Amartya Sen awarded the 2017 Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science

Amartya Sen awarded the 2017 Johan Skytte Prize in Political ScienceThe Johan Skytte Prize annually recognises the most valuable contribution to the field of Political Science. This year’s prize is awarded to Amartya Sen, Thomas W. Lamont Professor at Harvard University.

Local community group activities may help reduce neonatal mortality in Vietnam

Community groups in rural Vietnam comprised of local health workers, politicians and laywomen (Maternal and Newborn Health Groups) set up to tackle challenges to maternal and neonatal health may reduce the neonatal death rate after three years and increase antenatal care attendance, according to a study by researchers from Sweden and Vietnam published in this week’s PLOS Medicine.

Uppsala University - quality, knowledge, and creativity since 1477

Founded in 1477, Uppsala University is the oldest university in Sweden. With more than 50,000 students and 7,500 employees in Uppsala and Visby, we are a broad university with research in social sciences, humanities, technology, natural sciences, medicine and pharmacology. Our mission is to conduct education and research of the highest quality and relevance to society on a long-term basis. Uppsala University is regularly ranked among the world’s top universities.

Uppsala University

Dag Hammarskjölds väg 7
BOX 256, 751 05 Uppsala
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