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Blue of Every Hue

By Guest PostOctober 5, 2011Culturebest loved dye, blue denim, book called indigo, indigo industry, natural dyes, natural indigo, story of indigo

The compelling story of indigo, the world’s oldest, most magical and best-loved dye has been brought to life by an Honorary Research Fellow from the University of Exeter’s Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies. (more…)

Scientists, Philosophers and Theologians Poised To Ask: “Why Is There Anything?”

By Guest PostOctober 5, 2011Culture, Scienceastrophysics, bernard carr, della rocca, denys turner, eros and allegory, james van pelt, julian barbour, metaphysician, michael della rocca, most renowned scholars, poland, pontifical academy of theology in cracow, priyamvada natarajan, sir martin rees, the end of time, universe or multiverse, why is there anything, why is there anything in the universe, world

Some of the world’s most renowned scholars, in fields as diverse as astrophysics, philosophy, and religious studies, will convene on the Yale campus October 6-9 to ponder the most fundamental existential question of all: “Why Is There Anything in the Universe?”

The idea for a conference to discuss a philosophical question that has perplexed great minds throughout the ages grew out of an informal conversation and debate over a cup of coffee between Yale professors Priyamvada Natarajan, a cosmologist in the Astronomy department, and Denys Turner, who teaches in the department of Religious Studies and the Yale Divinity School and is the author of “Eros and Allegory” and “The Darkness of God,” among other titles. Michael Della Rocca, a metaphysician who teaches at the philosophy department, soon joined the effort. James van Pelt, who co-founded Yale’s Initiative in Religion, Science & Technology, was enlisted to coordinate the ambitious, quintessentially trans-disciplinary program, which now includes a stellar roster of physical scientists, theologians and philosophers. (more…)

High Social Status Makes People More Trusting, Study Finds

By Guest PostOctober 3, 2011CultureBOSS, employees, game, jeff grabmeier, nathan petit, new job, positive expectations, ratings of benevolence, robert lount, social status, university, willingness

COLUMBUS, Ohio – When you start a new job, your boss may be more likely to trust you than you are to trust him or her, a new study suggests.

The reason has to with the role that social status plays in relationships. (more…)

Americans Move Dramatically Toward Acceptance of Homosexuality, Survey Finds

By Guest PostSeptember 29, 2011Culturealways wrong, americans, civil liberties and freedom, complexity of american society, downtown chicago, gays and lesbians, general social survey, gss, homosexual behavior, homosexuality, national science foundation, norc at the university of chicago, public attitudes toward gays and lesbians, public attitudes toward homosexuality, same sex relations are, same-sex marriage, tom w smith, university campus, university of chicago, us census, washington d.c.

Although sharply divided, public attitudes toward gays and lesbians are rapidly changing to reflect greater acceptance, with younger generations leading the way, research by NORC at the University of Chicago shows.

In addition to a plurality who now approve of same-sex marriage, Americans overwhelmingly support basic civil liberties and freedom of expression for gays and lesbians, in contrast to sharp division on such issues in the 1970s. Taken together, the results show a clear “trend toward greater tolerance regarding homosexuality,” said Tom W. Smith, director of the General Social Survey at NORC and author of the NORC report, “Public Attitudes Toward Homosexuality.” (more…)

Exhibit: She Was an Archaeologist, Arabist, Diplomat and Spy

By Guest PostSeptember 26, 2011Culturearabic, arabist, archaeologist, baghdad, Britain, diplomat, european arabist, gallery at the whitney, gertrude bell, gertrude bell in mesopotamia, Iraq, iraq museum, lawrence of arabia, middle east, oriental secretary of iraq, oxford, persian, robert myers, spy, syria, t e lawrence, throne of king faisal, whitney humanities center

Gertrude Bell, a colleague of T.E. Lawrence (a.k.a. Lawrence of Arabia) and the diplomat who drew the borders of modern-day Iraq, is the focus of a new exhibition opening Monday, Sept. 26, in the Gallery at the Whitney, located within the Whitney Humanities Center, 53 Wall St.

The exhibit, titled “Gertrude Bell in Mesopotamia: Archaeologist, Arabist, Diplomat, Spy,” will be on view through Dec. 16. (more…)

Study “Changes our Understanding” of Youth Voting Behavior

By Guest PostSeptember 23, 20115 commentsCulture, Politicsballot box, cheng hsien li, government, low income youth, matthew diemer, michigan state university, peaceful protests, political activism, political and social issues, political behavior, Politics, potentially controversial issues, racism in civics class, voting behavior, working class families

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Low-income youth are more apt to vote if they are engaged in political activism and influenced by friends and family, according to a study by Michigan State University education scholars that sheds new light on voting behavior.

Previous research held that poor youth tend to either vote or get involved in political activism such as peaceful protests, but not generally both. The new study, however, found a connection between political activism and the ballot box. (more…)

Names, Not Social Networks, Bind Us to Global Cultural and Ethnic Communities

By Guest PostSeptember 12, 2011Culture, Sciencecultural baggage, electoral registers, ethnic and linguistic communities, ethnic segregation, geographical factors, global networks, linguistic population, migrant integration, name dictionary, pablo mateos, research in population genetics, social science, social stratification, surnames and forenames, telephone directories, ucl, university of auckland

Links between hundreds of millions of names belonging to people all around the world have been analysed by geographers from UCL and the University of Auckland. The results reveal how our forenames and surnames are connected in distinct global networks of cultural, ethnic and linguistic communities.

The researchers’ methods could be of use to social scientists and health researchers investigating migration, identity and integration. (more…)

Trust in Your Neighbors Could Benefit Your Health, MU Study Shows

By Guest PostSeptember 4, 2011Culture, Healtheileen bjornstrom, Health, human beings, local community, los angeles, relative position, stress and negative emotions, trust of neighbors, trust your neighbors, university of missouri

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Here’s an easy way to improve your health: trust your neighbors. A new study from the University of Missouri shows that increasing trust in neighbors is associated with better self-reported health.

“I examined the idea of ‘relative position,’ or where one fits into the income distribution in their local community, as it applies to both trust of neighbors and self-rated health,” said Eileen Bjornstrom, an assistant professor of sociology in the MU College of Arts and Science. “Because human beings engage in interpersonal comparisons in order to gauge individual characteristics, it has been suggested that a low relative position, or feeling that you are below another person financially, leads to stress and negative emotions such as shame, hostility and distrust, and that health suffers as a consequence. While most people aren’t aware of how trust impacts them, results indicated that trust was a factor in a person’s overall health.” (more…)

Category Archives: Culture