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Clergy can fight HIV on faith-friendly terms

By Guest PostMay 20, 2012Culture, Healthafrican american, african american clergy, aids epidemic, amy nunn, black americans, black clergy, blacks, brown university, hiv, hiv infection, hiv prevention, michelle lally, miriam hospital, philadelphia, sex, sexuality, tim flanigan, united states

In the United States, where blacks bear a disproportionate burden of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, black religious institutions could help turn the tide. In a new study in PLoS ONE based on dozens of interviews and focus groups with 38 of Philadelphia’s most influential black clergy, physicians and public health researchers find that traditional barriers to preaching about HIV prevention could give way to faith-friendly messages about getting tested and staying on treatment.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — The public health community has long struggled with how best to reduce HIV infection rates among black Americans, which is seven times that of whites. In a new paper in the journal PLoS ONE, a team of physicians and public health researchers report that African-American clergy say they are ready to join the fight against the disease by focusing on HIV testing, treatment, and social justice, a strategy that is compatible with religious teaching. (more…)

Voice(s) of Comedy

By Guest PostMay 13, 2012Cultureancel keys, anti-depressant, barnyard, bates college, black friday, catdog, comedy, comedy cabaret, comedy central, comic, commercial character, conan o brien, craig ferguson, duluth, dysfunctional family, generic female comic, jimmy kimmel live, late night, maine, maria bamford, marshall high school, minnesota, myriad talents, nickelodeon, rick moore, sarah silverman program, stevie ray, stuart little, tonight show, university of edinburgh, university of minnesota, voice, voice actress, Wikipedia, world war, YouTube

U alum Maria Bamford gains fame as a comic, voice actress, and quirky commercial character

Sometimes it’s good to draw the long straw on work assignments.

That’s how it feels when you start doing research (read: watch a few Youtube clips) for a story on Maria Bamford, the University of Minnesota alumna who has made her mark as a stand-up comedienne, a versatile voice-over actress, and, in recent years, as the hyper-intense Black Friday shopper in Target television commercials.

Bamford’s credits are lengthy, including multiple appearances on the late-night talk show circuit (“The Tonight Show,” “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson,” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live”), her own web series, and a number of comedy albums. She has guest starred on “The Sarah Silverman Program” on Comedy Central, and is the first female comic to have two half-hour “Comedy Central Presents” specials. (more…)

“Losing Yourself” in A Fictional Character Can Affect Your Real Life

By Guest PostMay 9, 2012Culture, Generalelection day, experiment, fictional character, gay early story, gay late narrative, geoff kaufman, lisa libby, lose yourself, ohio state university, self concept, self identity, sexual orientation, stereotype

COLUMBUS, Ohio – When you “lose yourself” inside the world of a fictional character while reading a story, you may actually end up changing your own behavior and thoughts to match that of the character, a new study suggests.

Researchers at Ohio State University examined what happened to people who, while reading a fictional story, found themselves feeling the emotions, thoughts, beliefs and internal responses of one of the characters as if they were their own – a phenomenon the researchers call “experience-taking.” (more…)

Happiness Model Developed by MU Researcher Could Help People Go From Good to Great

By Guest PostMay 8, 2012Culture, Healthhappiness, happiness model, kennon sheldon, miserable, model, positive life, psychological basis, romantic relationship, sonja lyubomirsky, spice of life

COLUMBIA, Mo. — The sayings “variety is the spice of life” and “happiness isn’t getting what you want, but wanting what you get” seem to have a psychological basis, according to a new study by an MU psychologist who identified two keys to becoming happier and staying that way.

“Although the Declaration of Independence upholds the right to pursue happiness, that search can be a never-ending quest,” said Kennon Sheldon, professor of psychological sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences. “Previous research shows that an individual’s happiness can increase after major life changes, such as starting a new romantic relationship, but over time happiness tends to return to a previous level. Through our research, we developed a model to help people maintain higher levels of happiness derived from beneficial changes. The model consists of two major components: the need to keep having new and positive life-changing experiences and the need to keep appreciating what you already have and not want more too soon.” (more…)

Daniel Block and The ‘Feel of Not to Feel It’

By Guest PostMay 6, 2012Culturebaby boomers, british romantic era, british romantic writers, daniel block, emotion, emotional energy, evocative history, feel, french revolution, generation x, historical feeling, history channel, keats, melancholia, millennial generation, napoleonic wars, past, political life, pragmatic, romantic poets, romanticism, wordsworth

The History Channel and other outlets insist that knowing about the past is not enough: It must come alive and we must feel it. But are our emotions and sentiments a reliable guide to historical understanding? Daniel Block finds that Wordsworth, Keats, and other British Romantic writers may have something new to offer about the use and value of our affective experience.

It is certainly familiar turf for Baby Boomers, this persistent effort to figure out the ’60s or ’70s. Can history be parsed — actual occurrences considered apart from emotion-laden memories? And can a reliable picture of the whole be teased out, something that might be enriching, informative, or useful?

Daniel Block has been studying writers of the British Romantic era — the poets Keats and Wordsworth, the historical novelist Walter Scott and others. It’s a great, rich body of writing that speaks to the formation of historical feeling. (more…)

The Bright Side of Death: Awareness of Mortality Can Result in Positive Behaviors, Say MU Researchers

By Guest PostApril 30, 2012Culture, Sciencealtruism, catastrophe, climate change, control topic, death, disaster, discrimination, divorce rate, global threat, jamie arndt, ken vail, monty python, morose despondency, mortality, muslim, negative behavior, negative effect, news media, oklahoma city bombing, peaceful, terrorism, terrorist attack, university of missouri

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Contemplating death doesn’t necessarily lead to morose despondency, fear, aggression or other negative behaviors, as previous research has suggested. Following a review of dozens of studies, University of Missouri researchers found that thoughts of mortality can lead to decreased militaristic attitudes, better health decisions, increased altruism and helpfulness, and reduced divorce rates.

“According to terror management theory, people deal with their awareness of mortality by upholding cultural beliefs and seeking to become part of something larger and more enduring than themselves, such as nations or religions,” said Jamie Arndt, study co-author and professor of psychological sciences. “Depending on how that manifests itself, positive outcomes can be the result.” (more…)

Substance Abuse Struggle

By Guest PostApril 29, 2012Culture, Health, Sportsalcohol, all american game, basketball, boston celtics, boston college, boston globe, celtic, chris herren, cocaine, cocaine addiction, dallas mavericks, denver nuggets, dream, drug test, evan krape, greek life, jennifer kessman, logan airport, marijuana, mcdonald, nba player, new england, oxycontin habit, salt lake city, struggle, substance abuse, turkey, university of delaware

Former NBA player Herren recounts struggle with substance abuse

Former college basketball and NBA player Chris Herren spoke on the University of Delaware campus Thursday, April 19, about the struggle with substance abuse that eventually ended his career.

As a high school athlete, Herren played in the 1994 McDonald’s All-American game, was named player of the year from 1992-1994 by the Boston Globe and was the Gatorade New England Player of the Year from 1993-1994, before enrolling in Boston College to continue playing basketball. (more…)

Thinking in a Foreign Language Helps Economic Decision-Making

By Guest PostApril 28, 2012Cultureboaz keysar, businesspeople, economic theory, english speaker, foreign language, global economy, global society, intuitive system, myopically, non native tongue, risk evaluation, sayuri hayakawa, spanish, sun gyu an, university of chicago, william harms

In a study with implications for businesspeople in a global economy, researchers at the University of Chicago have found that people make more rational decisions when they think through a problem in a non-native tongue.

People are more likely to take favorable risks if they think in a foreign language, the new study showed. “We know from previous research that because people are naturally loss-averse, they often forgo attractive opportunities,” said UChicago psychologist Boaz Keysar, a leading expert on communication. “Our new findings demonstrate that such aversion to losses is much reduced when people make decisions in their non-native language.” (more…)

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