Category Archives: Culture

Workers more Satisfied, Productive with Flexible Hours

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Employers can expect higher worker satisfaction and production if the company offers flexible hours that allow employees to handle crises and short-term family commitments, a new University of Michigan study indicates.

When the demands of personal and family life come up against rigid company policies, workers often feel compelled to maneuver around these formal rules.

Lawrence Root, a professor at the School of Social Work, and the Alford Young, Jr. chair of the Department of Sociology in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, examined how Midwest factory workers created opportunities for short-term flexibility at their jobs. (more…)

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Women See Naked Men Differently Too

COLLEGE PARK, Md – For both men and women, wearing revealing attire causes them to be seen as more sensitive but less competent, says a new study by University of Maryland psychologist Kurt Gray and colleagues from Yale and Northeastern University. (more…)

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From the Man Who Played God, a Vampire and a Statesman: Don’t quit

Woolsey Hall was packed with his fans on Nov. 8 when Academy Award-winning actor Morgan Freeman took the stage for an “Actor’s Studio”-styled interview with Ron Gregg, a senior lecturer and programming director in Yale’s Film Studies Program.

Among those who came out to see the 74-year-old-actor — visiting the campus as a Chubb Fellow —was a 95-year old woman who listened as Freeman described his acting career and his history on television, in theater and in film. When given the opportunity to ask a question, she simply gushed, “Morgan Freeman, I love you. I’ve seen every movie you’ve been in.” She then told him, “I don’t want to show you any disrespect” for being so bold. (more…)

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Black and White American Voters Live in One Country, But Two Different Worlds

The political outlook of blacks in America has undergone dramatic swings in the last ten years — from the depths of powerlessness during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, to the zenith with the election of the first black president, Barack Obama.

Now, with another presidential election looming, blacks are again confronting new issues as they judge and sometimes question the impact of Obama’s election, contends UChicago political scientist Michael Dawson, whose work finds sharp contrasts between how African Americans and whites feel about their country. (more…)

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Fighting Violent Gang Crime with Math

UCLA mathematicians working with the Los Angeles Police Department to analyze crime patterns have designed a mathematical algorithm to identify street gangs involved in unsolved violent crimes. Their research is based on patterns of known criminal activity between gangs, and represents the first scholarly study of gang violence of its kind.

The research appears today on the website of the peer-reviewed mathematical journal Inverse Problems and will be published in a future print edition. (more…)

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Joint Palestinian-American Dig Near Jericho Yields Clues About Early Islamic Culture

As the Byzantine Empire was in decline, Islam began to dominate the Middle East, with a remarkable culture that showed a command of technology and an appreciation of art and decoration, research by archaeologists shows.

In order to study Islamic civilization in its earliest days, Donald Whitcomb, who directs the Islamic Archaeology project at the Oriental Institute, is undertaking a project with Palestinian colleagues to further excavate an early Islamic site north of Jericho that contains a palace, a bathhouse and what was probably a settlement to the north. (more…)

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