It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Thursday, November 28, 2024
Brains grew faster as humans evolved, study shows
University of Reading
Modern humans, Neanderthals, and other recent relatives on our human family tree evolved bigger brains much more rapidly than earlier species, a new study of human brain evolution has found.
The study, published today (Tuesday, 26 November) in the journal PNAS, overturns long-standing ideas about human brain evolution. Scientists from the University of Reading, the University of Oxford and Durham University found that brain size increased gradually within each ancient human species rather than through sudden leaps between species.
The team assembled the largest-ever dataset of ancient human fossils spanning 7 million years and used advanced computational and statistical methods to account for gaps in the fossil record. These innovative approaches provided the most comprehensive view yet of how brain size evolved over time.
Professor Chris Venditti, co-author of the study from the University of Reading, said: "This study completely changes our understanding of how human brains evolved. It was previously thought that brain size jumps dramatically between species, like new upgrades between the latest computer models. Our study instead shows a steady, incremental ‘software update’ happening within each species over millions of years.”
The research challenges old ideas that some species, like Neanderthals, were unchanging and unable to adapt and instead highlights gradual and continuous change as the driving force behind brain size evolution.
Dr Thomas Puschel, lead author now at Oxford University, said: “Big evolutionary changes don’t always need dramatic events. They can happen through small, gradual improvements over time, much like how we learn and adapt today.”
Brains, bodies, and evolutionary scale
The researchers also uncovered a striking pattern: while larger-bodied species generally had bigger brains, the variation observed within an individual species did not consistently correlate with body size. Brain size evolution across long evolutionary timescales extending millions of years is therefore shaped by different factors to those observed within individual species – highlighting the complexity of evolutionary pressures on brain size.
Dr Joanna Baker, co-author from the University of Reading, said: “Why and how humans evolved large brains is a central question in human evolution. By studying brain and body size in various species over millions of years, we reveal that our hallmark large brains arose primarily from gradual changes within individual species.”
The study was produced as part of a £1 million Research Leadership Awards grant from the Leverhulme Trust. The project was to better understand the evolution of human ancestors.
Credit: Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) and Michael L. Lipton, M.D., Ph.D.
CHICAGO – Soccer heading may cause more damage to the brain than previously thought, according to a study being presented next week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
Heading is a widely used technique in soccer where the players control the direction of the ball by hitting it with their head. In recent years, research has been done that suggests a link between repeated head impacts and neurodegenerative diseases, such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
“The potential effects of repeated head impacts in sport are much more extensive than previously known and affect locations similar to where we’ve seen CTE pathology,” said study senior author Michael L. Lipton, M.D., Ph.D., professor of radiology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York. “This raises concern for delayed adverse effects of head impacts.”
While prior studies have identified injuries to the brain’s white matter in soccer players, Dr. Lipton and colleagues utilized a new approach to an advanced brain imaging technique called diffusion MRI to analyze microstructure close to the surface of the brain.
To identify how repeated head impacts affect the brain, the researchers compared brain MRIs of 352 male and female amateur soccer players, ranging in age from 18 to 53, to brain MRIs of 77 non-collision sport athletes, such as runners.
Soccer players who headed the ball at high levels showed abnormality of the brain’s white matter adjacent to sulci, which are deep grooves in the brain’s surface. Abnormalities in this region of the brain are known to occur in very severe traumatic brain injuries.
The abnormalities were most prominent in the frontal lobe of the brain, an area most susceptible to damage from trauma and frequently impacted during soccer heading. More repetitive head impacts were also associated with poorer verbal learning.
“Our analysis showed that the white matter abnormalities represent a mechanism by which heading leads to worse cognitive performance,” Dr. Lipton said.
Most of the participants of the study had never sustained a concussion or been diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury. This suggests that repeated head impacts that don’t result in serious injury may still adversely affect the brain.
“The study identifies structural brain abnormalities from repeated head impacts among healthy athletes,” Dr. Lipton said. “The abnormalities occur in the locations most characteristic of CTE, are associated with worse ability to learn a cognitive task and could affect function in the future.”
The results of this study are also relevant to head injuries from other contact sports. The researchers stress the importance of knowing the risks of repeated head impacts and their potential to harm brain health over time.
“Characterizing the potential risks of repetitive head impacts can facilitate safer sport engagement to maximize benefits while minimizing potential harms,” Dr. Lipton said. “The next phase of the study is ongoing and examines the brain mechanisms underlying the MRI effects and potential protective factors.”
Co-authors are Bluyé Demessie, A.B., M.S., Walter F. Stewart, Ph.D., Richard B. Lipton, M.D., Molly E. Zimmerman, Ph.D., Mimi Kim, Sc.D., Kenny Ye, Ph.D., Thomas Kaminski and Roman Fleysher, Ph.D.
This study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and The Dana Foundation.
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Note: Copies of RSNA 2024 news releases and electronic images will be available online at RSNA.org/press24.
RSNA is an association of radiologists, radiation oncologists, medical physicists and related scientists promoting excellence in patient care and health care delivery through education, research and technologic innovation. The Society is based in Oak Brook, Illinois. (RSNA.org)
For patient-friendly information on brain MRI, visit RadiologyInfo.org
Concussions slow brain activity of high school football players
Radiological Society of North America
image:
Magnetoencephalography (MEG) equipment. Pre- and post-season resting-state MEG data was collected from 91 high school football players, of whom 10 were diagnosed with a concussion. MEG is a neuroimaging technique that measures the magnetic fields that the brain’s electrical currents produce.
Credit: Radiological Society of North America (RSNA)
CHICAGO – A new study of high school football players found that concussions affect an often-overlooked but important brain signal. The findings are being presented next week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
Reports have emerged in recent years warning about the potential harms of youth contact sports on developing brains. Contact sports, including high school football, carry a risk of concussion. Symptoms of concussion commonly include cognitive disturbances, such as difficulty with balancing, memory or concentration.
Many concussion studies focus on periodic brain signals. These signals appear in rhythmic patterns and contribute to brain functions such as attention, movement or sensory processing. Not much is known about how concussions affect other aspects of brain function, specifically, brain signals that are not rhythmic.
“Most previous neuroscience research has focused on rhythmic brain signaling, which is also called periodic neurophysiology,” said study lead author Kevin C. Yu, B.S., a neuroscience student at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. “On the other hand, aperiodic neurophysiology refers to brain signals that are not rhythmic.”
Aperiodic activity is typically treated as ‘background noise’ on brain scans, but recent studies have shown that this background noise may play a key role in how the brain functions.
“While it’s often overlooked, aperiodic activity is important because it reflects brain cortical excitability,” said study senior author Christopher T. Whitlow, M.D., Ph.D., M.H.A., Meschan Distinguished Professor and Enterprise Chair of Radiology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
Cortical excitability is a vital part of brain function. It reflects how nerve cells, or neurons, in the brain’s cortex respond to stimulation and plays a key role in cognitive functions like learning and memory, information processing, decision making, motor control, wakefulness and sleep.
To gain a better understanding of brain rhythms and trauma, the researchers sought to identify the impacts of concussions on aperiodic activity.
Pre- and post-season resting-state magnetoencephalography (MEG) data was collected from 91 high school football players, of whom 10 were diagnosed with a concussion. MEG is a neuroimaging technique that measures the magnetic fields that the brain’s electrical currents produce.
A clinical evaluation tool for concussions called the Post-Concussive Symptom Inventory was correlated with pre- and post-season physical, cognitive and behavioral symptoms.
High school football players who sustained concussions displayed slowed aperiodic activity. Aperiodic slowing was strongly associated with worse post-concussion cognitive symptoms and test scores.
Slowed aperiodic activity was present in areas of the brain that contain chemicals linked with concussion symptoms like impaired concentration and memory.
“This study is important because it provides insight into both the mechanisms and the clinical implications of concussion in the maturing adolescent brain,” said co-lead author Alex I. Wiesman, Ph.D., assistant professor at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. “Reduced excitability is conceptually a very different brain activity change than altered rhythms and means that a clear next step for this work is to see whether these changes are related to effects of concussion on the brain’s chemistry.”
The results highlight the importance of protective measures in contact sports. The researchers cautioned that young players should always take the necessary time to fully recover from a concussion before returning to any sport.
The findings from the study may also influence tracking of post-concussion symptoms and aid in finding new treatments to improve recovery.
“Our study opens the door to new ways of understanding and diagnosing concussions, using this novel type of brain activity that is associated with concussion symptoms,” Dr. Whitlow said. “It highlights the importance of monitoring kids carefully after any head injury and taking concussions seriously.”
Other co-authors are Elizabeth M. Davenport, Ph.D., Laura A. Flashman, Ph.D., Jillian Urban, Ph.D., Srikantam S. Nagarajan, Ph.D., Kiran Solingapuram Sai, Ph.D., Joel Stitzel, Ph.D., and Joseph A. Maldjian, M.D.
This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants R01NS082453 and R01NS091602, NIH grant F32-NS119375, a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship (BPF-186555), and a CIHR Canada Research Chair (CRC-2023-00300).
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Note: Copies of RSNA 2024 news releases and electronic images will be available online at RSNA.org/press24.
RSNA is an association of radiologists, radiation oncologists, medical physicists and related scientists promoting excellence in patient care and health care delivery through education, research and technologic innovation. The Society is based in Oak Brook, Illinois. (RSNA.org)
For patient-friendly information on brain imaging, visit RadiologyInfo.org.
The melting of Greenland: a climate challenge with major implications for the 21st century
Climatologists and engineers are calling for urgent action to curb global warming and protect vulnerable regions
University of Liège
image:
The map shows the annual mass gain/loss by model at the end of the century, compared with the end of the last century. Values are expressed in “water equivalent millimeters”.
The melting of Greenland is accelerating, with an estimated loss of between 964 and 1735 gigatonnes of ice per year by 2100 in a scenario of high greenhouse gas emissions (SSP585), according to three regional climate models. This melting will lead to a rise in sea levels of up to one metre, threatening millions of people in coastal areas. New research conducted by the University of Liège and supported in particular by its NIC5 supercomputer will contribute to future IPCC assessments.
Greenland's glaciers are melting at an alarming rate. Two recent studies, one coordinated by the University of Liège and published in Geophysical Research Letters, the other published in a scientific press release, reveal the scale of the problem. Three regional climate models (RACMO, MAR and HIRHAM) offer varying predictions for the melting of the ice, but all agree on one conclusion: Greenland will lose a massive amount of ice by 2100, accelerating the rise in sea levels.
According to the projections, the ice sheet could lose between 964 and 1735 gigatonnes of ice per year by the end of the century, depending on the model used," explains Quentin Glaude, an engineer at the Montefiore Insitute at ULiège. These differences, although significant, do not hide the essential fact: the melting of the ice is an irreversible process if greenhouse gas emissions are not drastically reduced". The research team pointed out that these differences stem from the way in which each model treats the flow of meltwater. For example, when snow melts, some of the water infiltrates and refreezes, while the rest flows directly into the ocean. This complex process, influenced by feedbacks linked to albedo (surface reflectivity), is a key factor in the discrepancies between the models.
"Greenland currently contributes 25% to global sea level rise, or 0.6 mm per year. If the current melting continues, this contribution could reach up to 1 metre by 2100," adds Xavier Fettweis, climatologist at ULiège. This would put millions of lives at risk in coastal areas around the world, exposed to increased risks of flooding and submersion". The research results that have just been published were made possible by the Walloon region's high-performance computing infrastructure, in particular the NIC5 supercomputer at the University of Liège. These tools make it possible to explore complex climate scenarios by simulating the interactions between ice, the atmosphere and the oceans.
Towards even more accurate models
Despite their advances, the researchers insist on the need to improve the climate models. A better understanding of the processes involved in retaining water in the snow and the integration of dynamic parameters, such as changes in the altitude of the ice sheet, are essential to reduce uncertainties.
This work, the fruit of collaboration between European institutions, illustrates the importance of cooperation in the face of global climate challenges. The results obtained will be incorporated into future IPCC assessments, helping to refine projections of sea-level rise.
The melting of the Greenland ice sheet is a wake-up call that cannot be ignored. It calls for immediate action to limit global warming, protect vulnerable communities and preserve the world's ecosystems.
Time series, tracking the annual mass balance over the entire ice sheet.
Earning money while making the power grid more stable – energy consumers have a key role in supporting grid flexibility
Hosna Khajeh's doctoral dissertation from the University of Vaasa, Finland, presents innovative methods for efficiently utilising energy users' flexibility in distribution and transmission networks
University of Vaasa
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Doctoral candidate Hosna Khajeh, University of Vaasa
By providing flexibility services to renewable energy systems, consumers can both help in balancing power grids and receive financial benefits. Hosna Khajeh’s doctoral dissertation from the University of Vaasa, Finland, introduces new methods that enable the efficient utilisation of energy users’ flexibility resources in distribution and transmission networks.
As the use of weather-dependent renewable energy sources increases, power systems need to become more flexible to guarantee energy supply at all times. One of the necessary steps for the future is making it possible for consumers to support both national and local power grids with their existing flexibility resources – such as home batteries, air conditioners, and renewable energy setups.
In her doctoral dissertation in electrical engineering, Hosna Khajeh shows how individual energy users, local energy communities, and industrial hydrogen systems can become flexibility service providers for both transmission and distribution system operators.
– While flexibility services for transmission system operators are well-developed, less attention has been given to those for distribution system operators, points out Khajeh who will defend her dissertation on 3 December at the University of Vaasa.
Khajeh states that consumers providing flexibility services not only benefits the system operators, but also the energy users themselves since they would profit financially from harnessing their own resources.
Practical methods for providing flexibility services
In her dissertation, Khajeh introduces different mathematical methods that enable consumers to improve grid stability.
– The presented methods help flexibility providers in effectively scheduling their resources, controlling their energy use based on the needs of system operators, and boosting their profits.
Distribution system operators, such as Vaasan Sähköverkko in Finland, can also utilise the findings to strengthen their networks, create new services, and make the electrical network more flexible.
Implementation requires global improvements from automation to planning
Khajeh points out that to deploy these new methods for providing flexibility services from household customers, improvements and investments are required both in Finland and globally.
– We need flexibility utilisation enabling advanced automation and telecommunication solutions, common transmission and distribution network planning and operating principles as well as market platforms and tariff solutions.
In her research, Khajeh used price and frequency data from Finnish national electricity transmission grid operator Fingrid’s open data platform, along with modified energy consumption data from Finnish households provided by Vaasan Sähkö, a Finnish electricity company.
Doctoral dissertation
Khajeh, Hosna (2024) Improving the Flexibility of Future Power Systems – Provision of Flexibility Services to the System Operators by Different Energy Resources. Acta Wasaensia 547. Doctoral dissertation. University of Vaasa.
The public examination of M.Sc. Hosna Khajeh’s doctoral dissertation, "Improving the Flexibility of Future Power Systems – Provision of Flexibility Services to the System Operators by Different Energy Resources" will take place on Tuesday, 3 December 2024 at 12 noon in the Kurtén Auditorium at the University of Vaasa.
Hosna Khajeh was born in Iran in 1990. She earned a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, specialising in power system studies, from Semnan University. In 2019, Khajeh moved to Finland to pursue a doctorate at the University of Vaasa. During her doctoral studies, she contributed to several projects, including FLEXIMAR and SMART GRID 2.0, which focused on harnessing energy flexibility from various energy assets to improve future electrical grids. Currently, Khajeh works as a Data Scientist at Elisa Distributed Energy Storage.
Fowl play: Why the hunt for Thanksgiving’s favorite bird could get tougher
UGA study says hunting patterns could influence future turkey harvest
The turkey may be the centerpiece of the Thanksgiving dinner table now, but harvesting the iconic holiday bird could become harder in the holidays to come.
If hunters continue to follow their current strategies and prey continue their same routine, turkeys may become tougher to harvest in the future, according to new research from the University of Georgia.
“Hunters should be willing to adapt because the turkeys are also adapting as well. If we continue to harvest individuals that are close to risky areas associated with hunters, turkeys will adjust their behavior and could become harder to detect and harder to harvest,” said Nickolas Gulotta, lead author of the study and a doctoral student in UGA’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources.
Gulotta studied risk-taking and exploratory behavior from 109 wild male turkeys across Georgia Wildlife management areas and how they acted in response to both hunters and predators. He and other researchers found that a turkey’s choice of movement and the level of risk associated were directly impacted by hunters and natural predators.
Bold birds don’t always benefit
Most of the tracked male turkeys showed frequently daring behavior.
They traveled close to areas where hunters parked their cars, popular trails and roads, as well as wide open areas. That’s great news for hunters — but not so great for the turkeys.
“If turkeys are closer to these open areas, it’s going to be easier for both a hunter and a predator to detect them. Across both study sites in general, turkeys that took more risks were more likely to be harvested,” Gulotta said.
That bodes well for the initial waves of hunters. But when future turkeys see how that turned out for their predecessors, they are unlikely to make those same choices.
That means hunters may have to get more creative to find the birds and be more patient.
“Turkeys are obviously adapting and learning that if you’re closer to risky areas, then there’s potential to be harvested. That’s why some of them are adopting less risky behaviors that essentially make them less detectable,” said Gulotta. “If hunters harvest birds that are riskier and more detectable, it could become more difficult to harvest turkeys because we could be left with a bunch of individuals that are harder to detect.”
Predator vs. poultry presents another challenge for turkeys
The turkeys that avoided those areas beneficial for hunters often remained static or in high cover areas to survive.
A big giveaway for hunters is when turkeys gobble. So, when the birds don’t move around or yap in open spaces, that makes things more challenging for the humans.
Turkeys don’t keep calendars, though, so when the hunters vacate and those relaxed routines remain, predators can move in.
“There are certain traits associated with outlasting the hunting season, like hiding in areas with good cover and reducing the distance traveled within a day. But in turn, if turkeys stay in the same area and don’t travel a lot, then they’re going to be more likely to be detected by a predator,” said Gulotta. “It’s kind of a catch-22 where if they can survive that hunting season, they’re most likely going to be fine. But at the same time, too, if they don’t travel that fast and are predictable, then they have the potential to be killed by a predator.”
Future fowl and humans can learnfrom each other
Individual behaviors of turkeys can of course vary, and overall survival techniques are something that can be inherited.
This study shows a need for tailored hunting strategies based on local conditions. If an area is patterned with the habitual actions of hunters, then turkeys could become harder to harvest over time. Gulotta said that could also have a long-term impact on hunting license sales and overall hunter satisfaction.
“The turkeys closer to areas that hunters use are the ones that are harvested,” Gulotta said. “So if we continue to harvest them like that across the Southeast, then there’s the potential that we could shift the behavioral strategies of wild turkeys making them more difficult to harvest.”
Published by the Royal Society, the study was co-authored by Patrick Wightman and Michael Chamberlain of UGA’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources and Bret Collier of Louisiana State University.
The role of human hunters and natural predators in shaping the selection of behavioural types in male wild turkeys
Article Publication Date
26-Nov-2024
SOCIOBIOLOGY
Vanderbilt scientists discover shared genetic foundations between musical rhythm and human language
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
In a groundbreaking study published Nov. 21 in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, researchers have uncovered significant genetic connections between human language abilities and musical rhythm skills, providing new insights into the biological underpinnings of these fundamental human traits.
The study brought together leading experts in the areas of musicality genetics and language genetics from Vanderbilt University Medical Center in close collaboration with researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in the Netherlands.
The study revealed overlapping genetic underpinnings between rhythm-related skills and language-related traits, including dyslexia. Multiple datasets were used from over 1 million individuals. By applying advanced multivariate methods, the researchers were able to identify common genetic factors and explore their biological and evolutionary significance.
The study revealed that genetic variants associated with higher likelihood of rhythm impairments tended to be also associated with higher likelihood of dyslexia. The reverse was also the case: Genetic variants associated with more accurate musical rhythm skills co-occurred with genes linked to higher performance on language and reading tests, and to language-related educational outcomes (i.e. grades in foreign language classes).
Combining the statistical power achieved by the large dataset and creative integration of brain data, the study team was then able to reach a new understanding of how the genes that influence our rhythm and language skills play a role in the neural circuitry supporting these traits. The results showed 16 regions of the genome overlapped between rhythm and language, and these loci showed up as being likely to harbor genetic variants known to play a role in regulating gene expression in various types of brain cells.
According to Reyna Gordon, PhD, associate professor at VUMC and senior author on the paper, the results suggest a complex genetic and neurobiological architecture shared by human musical rhythm and the capacity to learn and maintain human language.
“We were particularly intrigued by the finding of genetic variants jointly tied to rhythm and language as being enriched for oligodendrocytes in the brain,” Gordon said. “Oligodendrocytes are a type of brain cell that help to maintain specific connections between brain areas by helping the connecting circuitry to stay healthy and strong.”
Analyses conducted by co-author Yasmina Mekki, PhD, postdoctoral fellow at VUMC, resulted in a locus on chromosome 20 that was common to neural connectivity in the language network and rhythm. Taken together, these findings point to connectivity as a key neurobiological factor impacted jointly by the polygenic (many-gene) bases of rhythm and language interindividual variation.
Human brains are special in their strong connectivity between auditory and motor regions. These connections are a hypothesized co-evolved neurobiological underpinning of language and musicality, according to prior work in the field. Additional potential evolutionary signatures highlighted by the results include a joint variant (linked to both rhythm impairment and dyslexia) occurring in the gene DLAT, which has been previously implicated in rare neurodevelopmental disorders.
Collectively, the study uncovered novel genomic factors shared between rhythm and language traits in humans and their role in development and function of the human brain. These results contribute exciting new knowledge to the understanding of the origins of human musicality and communication skills. Potential future clinical applications may include risk detection and personalization of treatments based on an individual’s genetic predispositions to rhythm impairments and childhood reading/language impairments.
This work was supported by National Institutes of Health grants R01DC016977 and DP2HD098859 and is the result of a collaboration with co-senior author Simon Fisher, DPhil, and the first author, PhD candidate Gokberk Alagoz (both of the Max Planck Institute) to design and carry out the study, with additional input from colleagues at the Vanderbilt Genetics Institute. Summary genomic data from 23andMe, Inc. on rhythm and dyslexia were used for analyses.
The shared genetic architecture and evolution of human language and musical rhythm
Article Publication Date
27-Nov-2024
New paper provides insight into ‘boycott and buycott’ of Russian goods in China
More than ten per cent of Chinese citizens who took part in a survey say they are willing to boycott Russian goods and most likely disapprove of Russia’s actions in Ukraine, says new research led by Lancaster University. This important finding, say the
Lancaster University
More than ten per cent of Chinese citizens who took part in a survey say they are willing to boycott Russian goods and most likely disapprove of Russia’s actions in Ukraine, says new research led by Lancaster University.
This important finding, say the researchers, indicates that a substantial minority of the Chinese population might not share the official position of the Chinese Communist Party despite widespread propaganda and censorship.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, says the article, the government of the People’s Republic of China has refused to condemn the violence and developed stronger economic and diplomatic ties with its authoritarian neighbour.
Recent surveys show that most Chinese people hold a positive view of Russia, despite its war with Ukraine.
Unlike previous research, the article investigates the motives of those Chinese citizens who are likely to oppose Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
It uses original survey data from 3,029 respondents in China collected as part of the ‘Sinophone Borderlands—Interaction at the Edges’ project to better understand the patterns of political engagement in an authoritarian regime.
The paper suggests there is potential for anti-Russian political action in China and suggests that more organised anti-Russian and pro-Ukrainian campaigns are possible in the future.
That action, says the paper, would have the scope to disrupt the profit margins of Russian companies hoping to escape Western sanctions.
In 2023, Russian consumer goods made up 5.1% of China’s 2023 imports and are likely to become even more common in China as Russia becomes more isolated from the Western world.
“While this share of the Chinese market might seem like a low figure, it is important to note that China is home to more than 1.5 billion consumers and even small decreases in the Sino-Russian trade volume would be a significant loss to Russian companies as the war with Ukraine continues,” says the article.
By focusing on the interaction between political ideology and political consumerism, the article has identified a group of individuals who are most likely to participate in activities that go against the ideological status quo in China.
This is a new avenue of research which goes beyond previous studies that focus on ethnocentric and nationalist causes of Chinese boycott and buycott practices.
To help determine who is willing to boycott Russian goods, the article delineated three broad political leanings in China: liberals, neo-authoritarians, and the New Left.
The results indicated that liberals, who show higher support for free market policies and lower support for social authoritarianism, are more likely than others to express willingness to boycott Russian goods.
The paper argues that liberal individuals are more supportive of the liberal international order and believe that Russia and China should work with, rather than against, multilateral institutions. This means liberals are more likely to interpret NATO’s actions in Eastern Europe as defensive and see Russian actions against Ukraine as unprovoked, aggressive and disproportional.
The article found that individuals with neo-authoritarian and New Left leanings are less likely to support the boycott of Russian goods.
Neo-authoritarians, who desire free market reform but support the existing sociopolitical structures, were against boycotting Russian goods. They believe that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is an extension of the rivalry between authoritarian China and the liberal United States. They believe that supporting Russia, an allied autocracy, is in China’s national interest.
For the New Left, the belief that NATO and the liberal international order is a form of neocolonial domination by the United States has also led to greater levels of support for Russian goods.
While it is not surprising, adds the paper, that individuals with more liberal leanings are likely to oppose Russian actions, this is the first study to date to clearly demonstrate such a link.
Commenting on the paper Dr Yoxon says: “The surprising level of anti-Russian attitudes in China suggests that an organised campaign to boycott Russian products might already be underway in China.
“Our findings are important because they show that alternative forms of political participation can be a safe and convenient way for citizens of authoritarian regimes to express their political preferences.”
Willingness to Boycott Russian Goods in China: How Political Ideology Shapes Consumer Preferences in an Authoritarian Context
Article Publication Date
25-Nov-2024
Higher levels of democracy and lower levels of corruption are associated with more doctors, independent of healthcare spending, per cross-sectional study of 134 countries
PLOS
Higher levels of democracy and lower levels of corruption are associated with more doctors, independent of healthcare spending, per cross-sectional study of 134 countries.
