AMERIKAN APARTHEID

Mothers with incarcerated children shoulder emotional and financial burdens

Rice study finds Black women feel more severe monetary impact than white mothers

Rice University

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The financial and emotional toll borne by mothers whose adult children have experienced incarceration is often overlooked but can exacerbate financial burdens, especially for Black mothers, according to new research from Rice University sociologist Brielle Bryan.

The study, “Maternal Wealth Implications of Child Incarceration: Examining the Upstream Consequences of Children’s Incarceration for Women’s Assets, Homeownership and Home Equity,” appears in a recent edition of Demography and explores the wealth disparities and racial inequities that intensify these burdens.

The research focuses on the critical role mothers play in supporting their formerly incarcerated children during their reentry into society. From covering security deposits and legal fees to providing child care and meals, the contributions of these women extend far beyond financial aid. However, their sacrifices often lead to significant long-term financial strain, particularly for mothers nearing retirement age.

The study analyzed wealth data from a nationally representative sample of American women, linking it to self-reported incarceration histories of their adult children. The findings reveal that while white mothers, on average, experience greater monetary losses due to their higher starting wealth, the proportional impact of these losses is far more severe for Black mothers. Already disadvantaged by the racial wealth gap, Black mothers lose a larger percentage of their overall wealth when supporting a formerly incarcerated child, exacerbating their financial instability.

“This research sheds light on the invisible work and sacrifices that mothers make for their children, even well into adulthood,” Bryan said. “The costs — both financial and emotional — are profound and often go unnoticed in public and academic conversations about incarceration.”

Bryan said the findings emphasize the urgent need for policy reforms that address the broader social and economic impacts of incarceration, including support systems for the families of the incarcerated.

“This isn’t just an individual or family issue — it’s a societal one,” Bryan said. “Acknowledging the ripple effects of incarceration on families, particularly mothers, is essential to creating a more equitable criminal justice system and social safety net.”

For more information or to schedule an interview with Bryan, contact Amy McCaig, senior national media relations specialist at Rice, at 713-348-6777 or amym@rice.edu. 

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Journal

Demography

Method of Research

Survey

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Maternal Wealth Implications of Child Incarceration: Examining the Upstream Consequences of Children’s Incarceration for Women’s Assets, Homeownership and Home Equity

 

New research finds that certain packaging materials can show 70% lower emissions than alternatives

Michigan State University

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EAST LANSING, Mich. – A comprehensive assessment by researchers, including Rafael Auras from Michigan State University, sought to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of replacing polyethylene, or PE, packaging like bags, films and containers with alternative materials, including paper, glass, aluminum and steel.

The findings reveal that PE packaging can have an average life cycle global warming potential, or GWP, savings of approximately 70% compared to a mix of commonly used packaging materials in the U.S. When comparing plastic packaging and alternative materials based on mineral resource use, fossil energy consumption and water scarcity, plastic packaging was generally found to have lower impacts than the alternatives. 

The paper, “Polyethylene packaging and alternative materials in the United States: A life cycle assessment,” was published in the journal Science of the Total Environment. Authored in collaboration with Trayak, Inc. and ExxonMobil, it provides fresh insights into the potential for product elimination or material switching to yield unintended consequences for the environment. Findings were critically reviewed by a panel of independent experts and determined to be in conformance with standards set by the International Organization for Standardization — ISO 14040 and ISO 14044, the international standards for principles, requirements and guidelines for life cycle assessments.   

“Life cycle assessments are valuable to understanding the environmental trade-offs associated with product elimination or material switching,” said Trayak’s Elizabeth Avery, the lead author of the paper.  

Rafael Auras, co-author and a professor at the Michigan State University School of Packaging, said, “Our results show that in many applications, plastics offer lower assessed potential environmental impacts in terms of global warming potential, mineral resource use, fossil energy consumption and water scarcity. As new and better data emerge, stakeholders and policymakers can make decisions that help deliver more sustainable outcomes across different stages of a product’s life cycle, including disposal and recycling.” 

The assessment focused on five major packaging applications: collation shrink films, stretch films for pallet wraps, heavy-duty sacks, nonfood bottles and flexible food pouches. These include examples of packaging used for dog food, shampoo, water bottles, cosmetics and other everyday products. The results have broad implications, as polyethylene packaging accounts for a larger share of the packaging market than any other material.  

Among the report’s key findings, researchers explained that PE-based packaging used less fossil resources than alternatives in 14 of 19 product comparisons. In 16 of the 19 packaged product comparisons, PE yielded a lower GWP, water scarcity and mineral resource use.  

“Notably, those instances where PE did not have the lowest impact were typically found when comparing with lightweight paper alternatives that incorporated additional materials such as a plastic liner,” Auras said. “These alternatives required the use of multiple materials to meet functional performance requirements, which could involve keeping a product stable or protecting against moisture.”  

Life cycle assessment is a powerful tool to compare different materials, especially when considering different packaging applications, Avery said. “Our study examines a wide range of PE packaging applications and provides insights where there has not been a PE-specific study done before. This is valuable because even within a broad material category, individual materials will have their own implications for material, manufacturing and end-of-life phases.” 

Researchers anticipate that the findings will inform ongoing policy discussions, including United Nations negotiations on a global treaty aimed at addressing challenges associated with managing plastic waste. Solutions under review range from banning single-use plastics to establishing extended producer responsibility, or EPR, programs to enhance collection, sorting and recycling. Similar EPR schemes, which typically require producers to contribute to collection, sorting and recycling initiatives based on the life cycle impact of their products, are also being implemented in multiple U.S. states, including California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota and Oregon.

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Michigan State University has been advancing the common good with uncommon will for 170 years. One of the world’s leading public research universities, MSU pushes the boundaries of discovery to make a better, safer, healthier world for all while providing life-changing opportunities to a diverse and inclusive academic community through more than 400 programs of study in 17 degree-granting colleges.

For MSU news on the web, go to MSUToday or x.com/MSUnews.

 

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Journal

Science of The Total Environment

DOI

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.178359 

 

Nighthawks: Wild medaka actively court female fish in wee hours

Field observations in natural river environment hold clues to easing model organisms’ life in labs

Osaka Metropolitan University

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Medaka have been found to be active late at night, with high levels of courtship behavior between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m.

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Credit: Osaka Metropolitan University

Observing animal behavior in a laboratory offers a controlled environment, but these model organisms can behave differently in the wild. An Osaka Metropolitan University-led research team that uses medaka in the lab has now clarified certain aspects of how these fish live in their natural environment.

Led by Dr. Yuki Kondo and Professor Satoshi Awata of the Graduate School of Science, the team recorded video of wild medaka in their river habitat to observe what goes on overnight, from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Using this footage taken over a three-day period, they estimated the time of day when medaka spawn, finding that they start to spawn around midnight. Laboratory experiments had previously indicated that medaka spawned around one hour before or after sunrise.

The team also conducted a detailed analysis of medaka activity patterns, observing a low level of activity from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. when many fish seemed to be resting. After midnight, there was a rise in activity, especially between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. Medaka males appeared to have two types of courtship behavior: chasing females and a courtship display of making quick circles in front of the opposite sex. These behaviors were particularly high between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m.

“Observing animals in the wild is a valuable source of information for understanding their natural way of life, information that not only deepens our understanding of living things, but also helps us to create more comfortable environments for our model organisms in the laboratory,” Dr. Kondo explained. “If animals can spend their lives in the lab in a natural environment with little stress, we may be able to better understand their true nature, and more accurate laboratory research results might be obtained.”

Professor Awata added, “This research is a good example of the importance of combining laboratory research with field observations. We hope that it will also provide insights into the importance of elucidating the ecology of other model organisms in their natural habitats.”

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Medaka, small fish used as model organisms in the lab, are naturally found in freshwater streams.

Credit

Osaka Metropolitan University

About OMU 

Established in Osaka as one of the largest public universities in Japan, Osaka Metropolitan University is committed to shaping the future of society through “Convergence of Knowledge” and the promotion of world-class research. For more research news, visit https://www.omu.ac.jp/en/ and follow us on social media: X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn.

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Journal

PLOS One

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0318358 

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Medaka (Oryzias latipes) initiate courtship and spawning late at night: Insights from field observations

Article Publication Date

12-Feb-2025

 

Hate speech on X found to have increased under Elon Musk’s leadership

New findings contrast with X’s claims of reduced exposure to hate speech and bot activity

PLOS

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Increases in hate speech for different dimensions of hate. Black lines represent standard errors.  

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Credit: Hickey et al., 2025, PLOS One, CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

A new analysis suggests that the rate of hate speech on X was about 50 percent higher for several months after Elon Musk purchased the social media platform than in prior months, and the amount of bot and bot-like accounts did not decline. Daniel Hickey of the University of California, Berkeley, U.S., and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS One on February 12, 2025.

Prior research has linked online hate speech to offline hate crimes, and bots and bot-like accounts can promote misinformation and spam that could cause harm, such as by contributing to scams, interfering with real-world elections, or hindering public health campaigns. Earlier studies have shown that, immediately after Musk purchased X, then known as Twitter, and became its CEO on October 27, 2022, hate speech increased on the platform, and the amount of bot or other inauthentic accounts did not decrease—despite Musk’s pledge to reduce bot activity.

However, it has been unclear whether such trends endured throughout the rest of Musk’s tenure as CEO, until June 2023. To address this gap, Hickey and colleagues employed previously developed methods to measure English-language hate speech and inauthentic activity on X during that period.

The analysis showed that a spike in hate speech that occurred just before Musk purchased X continued through May 2023. The weekly rate of hate speech was about 50 percent higher than in months prior to the purchase, including increased use of specific homophobic, transphobic, and racist slurs. The average number of “likes” on hate posts increased by 70%, suggesting that more people were exposed to hate speech on X. Meanwhile, the presence of bot accounts and other inauthentic accounts did not decrease and may in fact have increased.

These findings do not support public claims from X that exposure to hate speech decreased after Musk’s purchase.

The researchers note that, because information on specific internal changes at X is limited, they cannot draw firm conclusions about a cause-effect relationship between Musk’s purchase of X and their findings. Nonetheless, they express concern about the safety of online platforms and call for increased moderation on X as well as further research to illuminate activity across social media platforms.

The authors add: “The policies to reduce exposure to harmful content appear not to be sufficiently effective.”

 

 

In your coverage, please use this URL to provide access to the freely available article in PLOS One: https://plos.io/40V3E41

Citation: Hickey D, Fessler DMT, Lerman K, Burghardt K (2025) X under Musk’s leadership: Substantial hate and no reduction in inauthentic activity. PLoS ONE 20(2): e0313293. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0313293

Author countries: U.S.

Funding: The full name of each funder DH is funded through the National Science Foundation (award #2051101; https://www.nsf.gov/), who did not play any role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. KL and KB are funded through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (awards #HR0011260595 and #HR001121C0169; https://www.darpa.mil/), who did not play any role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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Journal

PLOS One

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0313293 

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

X under Musk’s leadership: Substantial hate and no reduction in inauthentic activity

Article Publication Date

12-Feb-2025

COI Statement

This work was done prior to author Keith Burghardt joining Amazon and IMDb.

 

Pandemic puppy owners reported a greater burden of dog ownership

Owners of young adult dogs with problem behaviors, or whose puppy purchases were motivated by the COVID-19 pandemic, reported a higher burden of dog ownership, with more time, emotional and ongoing financial costs.

PLOS

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Pandemic puppy owners reported a greater burden of dog ownership.

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Credit: dahancoo, Pixabay, CC0 (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)

Dog owners who purchased a puppy because of the 2020 phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, or whose dogs have problem behaviors, experienced a greater burden of dog ownership, but most chose to keep their puppy, Bree Merritt at The Royal Veterinary College, U.K., and colleagues report on February 12, 2025, in the open-access journal PLOS One.

In the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, as people in the U.K. were confined to their homes, demand for puppies increased. This led to concerns for the welfare of these ‘pandemic puppies’, which may have been bought impulsively and brought into homes that would be unsuitable in the long term. Animal welfare advocates feared that this would lead to problem behaviors, weak relationships between dogs and their owners, and ultimately, many pandemic puppies being rehomed.

To investigate, researchers surveyed nearly 800 U.K. dog owners who bought a puppy between March and December 2020. They asked participants about their reasons for buying the dog and their training and care regime. The researchers then conducted a follow-up survey with the owners when their puppy reached 21 months old, to assess their emotional relationship with their dog and the downsides of dog ownership that they experienced.

Despite 40% of survey participants saying that their decision to buy a dog was influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, 98% still owned their dog at 21 months of age. However, owners who were motivated to buy a dog by the pandemic tended to report higher costs of dog ownership, such as having to give up activities they enjoy, tidy up their dog’s mess, or spend a lot of money on their dog. Owners who reported problem behaviors, such as separation anxiety, control problems or aggression, also reported feeling a greater burden of dog ownership. But only aggressive behaviors had a negative impact on owners’ emotional closeness to their dog.

Owners who rehomed their dog may have been less likely to take part in the follow-up survey, so these results are likely to represent a best-case scenario for the outcomes of pandemic puppy purchases. It’s also possible that some owners relinquished their dog after the 21-month survey point. The authors say that evidence-based solutions to improve problem behaviors may be particularly beneficial for this cohort of dog owners, helping them to reduce the burden of dog ownership and improve quality of life for both dog and owner.

Dr. Bree Merritt, lead author of the study, adds: “Relationships with our dogs can be immensely rewarding, but it’s not all fun and games. Looking after them can be hard work, expensive or even change day-to-day activities. Problem behaviors are likely to be a much wider concern beyond just those dogs who were brought home during the pandemic. These results show how important it is to find evidence-based help for problem behavior to improve the emotional health of dogs, their owners and sustain their relationship.”

Dr. Rowena Packer, senior author of the study, adds: “Impulsive acquisition of dogs based on short-term circumstances is an enduring challenge for the canine welfare sector. Here, we demonstrate that puppy purchases that were a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as having increased time for a dog during this atypical period, resulted in owners who felt a greater burden of dog ownership by the time their puppy was a young adult, compared to owners whose purchases were planned based on longer-term circumstances. U.K. campaigns have long encouraged owners to consider their ability to care for a dog for the duration of its lifetime at acquisition. However, if the efficacy of these messages remains limited, greater interventions may be needed to emphasize the responsibilities of dog ownership, ideally prior to purchase.”

 

 

In your coverage, please use this URL to provide access to the freely available article in PLOS One: https://plos.io/4gm8DiJ

Citation: Merritt BL, O’Neill DG, Brand CL, Belshaw Z, Dale FC, Pegram CL, et al. (2025) Lasting lockdown love? Problem behaviour and pandemic and non-pandemic related risk factors influencing the owner-dog relationship in a UK cohort of dogs reaching early adulthood. PLoS ONE 20(2): e0316166. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0316166

Author countries: U.K.

Funding: This research was funded by Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, www.battersea.org.uk, grant number BAT21M/Research/002 awarded to R.M.A.P. as primary investigator and D.G.O. and Z.B. and co-investigators. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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Journal

PLOS One

DOI

10.1371/journal.pone.0316166 

Method of Research

Survey

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Lasting lockdown love? Problem behaviour and pandemic and non-pandemic related risk factors influencing the owner-dog relationship in a UK cohort of dogs reaching early adulthood

Article Publication Date

12-Feb-2025