For some people, scientific facts help determine what they believe about an issue. But for others, political views trump scientific facts and determine what information they will accept as true. It’s a phenomenon that is particularly prevalent on the issue of climate change.
These are among the research findings presented by 
, professor of sociology, in the article, “Did the Arctic ice recover? Demographics of true and false climate facts.” The article is available online now in the journal Weather, Climate, and Society.
“Science education and outreach efforts commonly aim to communicate basic information that underlies scientific conclusions. An information-to-conclusions ordering follows the natural logic of science, but it fares less well with public opinion on politicized topics...
The angel investor market in the first two quarters of 2012 showed signs of steady recovery since the correction in the second half of 2008 and the first half of 2009, with total investments at $9.2 billion, an increase of 3.1 percent over the same period in 2011, according to the Center for Venture Research at UNH. 
In September, Siobhan Senier, associate professor of English, began a full-term appointment as the James H. Hayes and Claire Short Hayes Professor of the Humanities, commonly known as the Hayes Chair. Through the end of academic year 2016, Senier will continue her work on the literature and culture of Native people in New Hampshire and throughout New England. 
Wick Haxton, professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley, and Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar at UNH, will peer back to the first instants following the Big Bang to discuss “The Origin of the Elements” in a public lecture Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012. The lecture, at 4 p.m. in Parsons N104, is co-sponsored by the physics department and the UNH Beta of New Hampshire chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. 