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Why People Care More About Pets Than Other Humans
Wired: WE LOVE OUR pets. Two thirds of Americans live with an animal, and according to a 2011 Harris poll, 90 percent of pet owners think of their dogs and cats as members of the family. These relationships have benefits. For example, in a survey by the American Animal Hospital Association, 40 percent of married female dog owners reported they received more emotional support from their pet than from their husband or their kids. The pet products industry calls this “the humanization of pets.” One of my colleagues recently spent $12,000 on cancer treatments for her best friend Asha, a Labrador retriever.
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Women best men in STEM faculty hiring study
Science: A woman applying for a tenure-track faculty position in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) at a U.S. university is twice as likely to be hired as an equally qualified man, if both candidates are highly qualified, according to a new study. The results run counter to widely held perceptions and suggest that this is a good time for women to be pursuing academic careers. Some observers, however, say that the study—which involved actual faculty members rating hypothetical candidates—may not be relevant to real-world hiring. And they worry the results may leave the incorrect impression that universities have achieved gender parity in STEM fields.
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This CEO raised all his employees’ salaries to at least $70,000 by cutting his own
The Washington Post: Dan Price, like a growing number of CEOs in recent months, is raising the minimum wage for his employees. But while the chief executives of companies ranging from Aetna to Gap, Inc. to Wal-Mart are upping their wage floors by a few dollars an hour to help them compete for better talent, this CEO — who founded credit-card processing firm Gravity Payments — has another goal. On Monday, the New York Times reported that to protect employees' emotional well-being, Price is cutting his own salary and raising his employees' wages to at least $70,000 a year. ...
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Painkillers Might Also Dull Your Emotions
Smithsonian Magazine: Headaches, cramps and other painful twinges in your body can be relieved by popping an over-the-counter painkiller, but the aches of the soul are harder to treat. Yet studies show that the acetaminophen (sold as Tylenol) can actually dull emotional pain. However, don’t reach for the glass of water and the pills when you feel down—the painkiller can also dampen your feelings of happiness, reports Isha Aran for Fusion. A study just published in Psychological Science had 82 people look at pictures meant to elicit an emotional response. Half took acetaminophen, and half took a placebo pill.
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This is your brain on fencing: How certain sports may aid the aging brain
The Washington Post: The two fencers pull on their mesh-front masks and face each other behind two “en garde” lines. At their coach’s signal, they raise their sabres and the practice bout begins in a flurry. Michael DeManche, 69, is fencing his son Devin, 20, who not only has youth on his side but at 6-foot-5 also has a much longer reach. Father and son move rapidly, advancing, retreating and attacking with precision. The skirmish continues until the score is tied at four points. Then in a flash, Devin prevails with a swift hit on his dad’s mask. ...
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Mental Health for the Masses
The Huffington Post: Ricardo Muñoz thinks that MOOCs get a bad rap. MOOC stands for Massive Open Online Courses, Internet-based higher education available to anyone in the world, regardless of age or qualifications, and usually for free. MOOCs have become very popular in recent years, and now attract millions of students who want to learn art history or calculus or abnormal psychology with some of the world's best professors. Critics focus on MOOCs' dismal attrition rates. While millions of eager students may sign up, they say, most of these drop out. They point to examples, including one MIT MOOC, in which 155,000 enrolled but only 7,157 passed the course.
