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Black Friday Boasts $648 Million in U.S. Online Holiday Spending, Up 9 Percent vs. Year Ago

By Guest PostNovember 29, 2010Culture, TechnologyAmazon, black friday, Comscore, digital world, e-commerce spending, gian fulgoni, groupon, november 26, online shopping season, shoplocal, thanksgiving day

*Thanksgiving Day Surges 28 Percent to $407 Million as Consumers Increasingly Use Day for Online Shopping*

RESTON, VA, November 28, 2010 – comScore, a leader in measuring the digital world, today reported U.S. retail e-commerce spending for the first 26 days of the November – December 2010 holiday season. For the holiday season-to-date, $11.64 billion has been spent online, marking a 13-percent increase versus the corresponding days last year. Black Friday (November 26) saw $648 million in online sales, making it the heaviest online spending day to date in 2010 and representing a 9-percent increase versus Black Friday 2009. Thanksgiving Day (November 26), traditionally a lighter day for online holiday spending, achieved a strong 28-percent increase to $407 million. (more…)

Why Do People Behave Badly? Maybe It’s Just Too Easy

By Guest PostNovember 26, 2010Culture, Generalbadly, behave, job application, michael inzlicht, people, psychology, rimma teper, scarborough

Many people say they wouldn’t cheat on a test, lie on a job application or refuse to help a person in need.

But what if the test answers fell into your lap and cheating didn’t require any work on your part? If you didn’t have to face the person who needed your help and refuse them? Would that change your behaviour? (more…)

UNESCO World Heritage Sites Threatened by Tourism

By Guest PostNovember 25, 2010Culturemount danxia, old quebec, principles of conservation, reddish sandstone, world heritage program, world heritage sites

Machu Picchu Temple of the Sun (also named “the watch tower”). The stones of its dry-stone walls built by the Incas can move slightly and resettle without the walls collapsing. Image credit: Fabricio Guzmán. Source: Wikipedia

The UNESCO World Heritage program aims to protect cultural and natural sites considered important to the common heritage of humanity. However, many of these sites are now threatened by excessive tourism, according to Christina Cameron, professor at the Université de Montréal School of Architecture and holder of the Canada Research Chair on Built Heritage.

A case in point is Machu Picchu in Peru. “This site should receive no more than 2,000 visitors per day, but it currently welcomes twice as many,” says Cameron, who sounded the alarm while speaking as a panelist at a celebration commemorating 25 years of Old Québec being such a site.

“The UNESCO World Heritage convention was established in a spirit of solidarity and international cooperation in order to share best practices for conservation,” says Cameron. “It was the post-war era and people were seeking for a way to bring together members of the international community. Tourism was never an objective of the convention. In fact, these sites were meant to be protected from it.” (more…)

Low Education, Income Levels Linked to Depression Among Urban Black Fathers

By Guest PostNovember 25, 2010Cultureanxiety, black fathers, black men, depression, economic conditions, fragile families, marilyn sinkewicz, mental health, rufina lee, substance

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— A new University of Michigan study finds that black fathers are 50 percent more likely to be depressed than men in the general population. One quarter of black fathers were depressed at some time over the five-year course of the study.

Additionally, black fathers with lower levels of education and income have elevated rates of depression. Depression is twice as prevalent among those without a high school education. (more…)

Tightwads and Spendthrifts: A Black Friday Tradition

By Guest PostNovember 22, 2010Culture, Economyblack friday, characteristics, holiday shopping season, obama chia pet, pain, professor, psychological pain, scott rick, spending decisions, spendthrift, spendthrift-tightwad scale, thanksgiving, tightwad

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Every year about this time, on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving that traditionally begins the holiday shopping season, early-morning consumers stand in long lines eager to purchase some sought after prize. From the outside, it looks as if these holiday shoppers can’t wait to plunk down their cash, but Ross School marketing professor Scott Rick says consumers often behave differently than they would ideally like to behave.

“Some consumers chronically spend more than they would like, and some consumers chronically spend less than they would like,” he said. “Where an individual falls within the range of desiring to spend more or less largely determines whether he or she is a tightwad or a spendthrift, characteristics that determine quite a bit about a person’s spending habits.” (more…)

Video: Bob Woodward Discusses Investigative Journalism in the New Century

By Guest PostNovember 21, 2010Culture, Mediaart gallery, author, bob woodward, journalist, paul needham, pulitzer prize, steven brill, yale university

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Bob Woodward ’65 discussed “Secrets: Uncovering Mysteries in the 21st Century” during a conversation with Steven Brill ’72, LAW ’75, founder of the Yale Journalism Initiative, and Paul Needham ’11, journalism scholar and former editor-in-chief of the Yale Daily News. (more…)

‘Al Jazeera Helps Shape Political Identity of Arabs’

By Guest PostNovember 18, 2010Culture, Politicsal arabiya, al jazeera, arab identity, education, erik nisbet, muslims, news networks, shibley telhami, teresa myers, united states

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Residents of the Middle East who are heavy viewers of Arab television news networks like Al Jazeera are more likely to view their primary identity as that of Muslims, rather than as citizens of their own country, a new study suggests.

Because networks like Al Jazeera are transnational – focusing on events of interest across the region rather than those in any one country – they may encourage viewers to see themselves in broader terms than simply residents of a particular nation, the researchers said.

“The goal of these relatively new networks is not to represent specific national interests, but to appeal to audiences across the region,” said Erik Nisbet, lead author of the study and assistant professor of communication at Ohio State University. (more…)

Social Costs of School Success are Highest for Blacks, U-M Study Shows

By Guest PostNovember 17, 2010Cultureacademic achievement, african american, family structure, hispanic youth, native american, nerd penalty, racial dynamics

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— African American and Native American teens who do well in school suffer from a higher “nerd penalty” than white, Asian, and Hispanic youth, according to a new analysis. (more…)

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