General – Page 13 – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

‘The Philosophical Child’: A book for when your child asks, ‘Why are we here?’

By Guest PostJanuary 10, 2013Generalambassador, blog, cascadia community college, children, co inquirer, david shapiro, jana mohr lone, meaning of childhood, michael rosenthal, natural philosopher, Nature, new book, philosophical discussion, philosophical self, question, sara goering, the philosophical child, university of washington

Children are natural philosophers, says Jana Mohr Lone of the University of Washington Department of Philosophy.

Lone, an affiliate faculty member and director of the Northwest Center for Philosophy for Children, says she wrote her new book, “The Philosophical Child,” to help parents, teachers and other adults conduct conversations with children about life’s mysteries.

The center was founded in 1996 and became affiliated with the UW in 1999. In 2008, Lone started writing a blog titled “Wondering Aloud: Philosophy with Young People,” that she still maintains, often analyzing children’s books for their philosophical content. (more…)

Pronunciation of ‘s’ sounds impacts perception of gender, CU-Boulder researcher finds

By Guest PostJanuary 7, 2013General, Sciencebay area, biological difference, colorado boulder, female, high frequency s, kira hall, lal zimman, larynx, linguist, lower frequency, male, perception of gender, pitch, s sounds, san francisco, socio biological complexity, style of speech, throat, transgender people, university, voice, wenner-gren foundation

A person’s style of speech — not just the pitch of his or her voice — may help determine whether the listener perceives the speaker to be male or female, according to a University of Colorado Boulder researcher who studied transgender people transitioning from female to male.

The way people pronounce their “s” sounds and the amount of resonance they use when speaking contributes to the perception of gender, according to Lal Zimman, whose findings are based on research he completed while earning his doctoral degree from CU-Boulder’s linguistics department. (more…)

Father’s Death Affects Early Adolescents’ Futures in Developing World, Says MU Anthropologist

By Guest PostDecember 31, 2012Economy, Generaladolescence, bangalore, brooke scelza, child, child outcomes, childhood, data, degree of risk, developing world, educational achievement, effect, evaluation, fathers death, harmful, India, loss of father, mary shenk, measurement tool, needy families, negative effect, offspring success, paternal investment, success in life, united states, university of missouri

Knowledge of effects could lead to better assistance for youths

COLUMBIA, Mo. – A father’s death can have long-term effects on a child’s later success in life and can be particularly harmful if the father passes away during a child’s late childhood or early adolescence, according to new research by a University of Missouri anthropologist. Recognizing the impact that a father’s death can have on adolescents could lead to improved counseling and assistance programs, especially for needy families in the developing world.

“Certain negative effects of a father’s death can’t be compensated for by the mother or other relatives,” said Mary Shenk, assistant professor of anthropology in MU’s College of Arts and Science. “The loss of a father can result in lower adult living standards for the bereaved children. Not only is a child emotionally affected, but the lack of a father’s earning power can cause children to get married younger or drop out of school in order to work.” (more…)

Monkey See, Monkey Do: Visual Feedback Is Necessary for Imitating Facial Expressions

By Guest PostDecember 31, 2012Generalalan johnston, cecilia heyes, chameleon effect, city university london, facial expressions, facial features, facial gestures, imitate, richard cook, target expression, Technology, university college london, university of oxford, visual feedback

Research using new technology shows that our ability to imitate facial expressions depends on learning that occurs through visual feedback.

Studies of the chameleon effect confirm what salespeople, tricksters, and Lotharios have long known: Imitating another person’s postures and expressions is an important social lubricant.

But how do we learn to imitate with any accuracy when we can’t see our own facial expressions and we can’t feel the facial expressions of others? (more…)

Women Drivers Outnumber Men, but Still Drive Less

By Guest PostDecember 28, 2012Generalamerica, average female, declining rate, distance, drivers license, fatality rate, federal highway administration, fuel efficient vehicles, gender demographics, majority, male motorists, michael sivak, outnumber, roads, university of michigan, us drivers, women drivers

ANN ARBOR — Although women drivers now outnumber male motorists, men still account for the majority of the driving on America’s roads—albeit at a declining rate, says a University of Michigan researcher.

Using data from the Federal Highway Administration, Michael Sivak, a research professor at the U-M Transportation Research Institute, examined changes in the gender demographics of U.S. drivers from 1963 to 2010. (more…)

Rise in Teen Marijuana Use Stalls, Use of Synthetic Marijuana and ‘Bath Salts’ is Very Low

By Guest PostDecember 22, 2012Culture, Generaladderall, amphetamines, barbiturates, bath salts, cannabinoids, cannabis, cocaine, colorado, crack, daily use, dea, designer drugs, ecstasy, hallucinations, hallucinogens, heart rate, herbs, heroin, illicit drug, index, indicator of use, k 2, lloyd johnston, lsd, marijuana use, narcotics, oxycontin, paranoia, psychotherapeutic drugs, rise, salvia, salvia divinorum, sedatives, side effect, spice, statistical significance, suicidal thoughts, synthetic cathinones, synthetic marijuana, teen marijuana, tobacco, tranquilizers, vicodin, violent behavior, Washington

ANN ARBOR — National samples of 45,000 to 50,000 students in three grades (8, 10, and 12) have been surveyed every year since 1991 as part of the nationwide Monitoring the Future study. Among the most important findings from this year’s survey of U.S. secondary school students are the following:

Marijuana. After four straight years of increasing use among teens, annual marijuana use showed no further increase in any of the three grades surveyed in 2012. The 2012 annual prevalence rates (i.e., percent using in the prior 12 months) were 11%, 28%, and 36% for 8th, 10th, and 12th graders, respectively. (Among the 8th graders there was a modest decline across the past two years—from 13.7% in 2010 to 11.4% in 2012—that reached statistical significance.) (more…)

More than Half a Million California Adults Think Seriously about Committing Suicide

By Guest PostDecember 20, 2012Generaladult, alaska natives, american indians, bisexual, california, californians, chis, committing suicide, david grant, ethnic groups, gay, half a million, health interview survey, lesbian, los angeles, mental health services, prevention, risk, sacramento area, sierra counties, smokers, statistics data, suicidal behavior, suicidal thoughts, suicide ideation, suicide rate, ucla

More than half a million adults in California seriously thought about committing suicide during the previous year, according to a new study from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

The study, which uses data from the 2009 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), is the first by the center to focus on suicide ideation.

In California, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death, the researchers noted. An average of nine deaths by suicide occur each day in the state. (more…)

Violent Video Games: More Playing Time Equals More Aggression

By Guest PostDecember 20, 2012General, Healthaggression, aggressive behavior, brad bushman, brightness, call of duty, competitive reaction, computer screen, condemned 2, dirt2, experimental evidence, france, french university students, Germany, grenoble, laurent begue, measure aggression, michael scharkow, negative effects, nonviolent video game, over time, playing, pure, s3k superbike, the club, time task, university of hohenheim, violent video games, visual perception, youssef hasan

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A new study provides the first experimental evidence that the negative effects of playing violent video games can accumulate over time.

Researchers found that people who played a violent video game for three consecutive days showed increases in aggressive behavior and hostile expectations each day they played. Meanwhile, those who played nonviolent games showed no meaningful changes in aggression or hostile expectations over that period. (more…)

Category Archives: General