As part of our ongoing collaboration with Nieman Journalism Lab, we’ve rounded up the latest in digital- and media-oriented scholarship — picking highlights from disciplines such as computer science, political science, journalism research and communications. (Note: this article was first published at Nieman Lab, and is now archived here in full.)

A persistent vegetative state (PVS) occurs when patients, often the victims of brain trauma, remain in a profound state of unconsciousness. While PVS remains extremely rare, continuing improvements in medical technology have allowed doctors to keep patients alive who may never recover consciousness.

Happiness is universally acknowledged to be a good thing, but how individuals and societies attain it is subject to no small number of variables. In particular, assessments by sociologists and psychologists show little correlation between self-reported levels of happiness and income.