Tag Archives: capitol hill

How the brain creates the ‘buzz’ that helps ideas spread

How do ideas spread? What messages will go viral on social media, and can this be predicted?

UCLA psychologists have taken a significant step toward answering these questions, identifying for the first time the brain regions associated with the successful spread of ideas, often called “buzz.”

The research has a broad range of implications, the study authors say, and could lead to more effective public health campaigns, more persuasive advertisements and better ways for teachers to communicate with students. (more…)

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Did Obama’s Election Kill the Antiwar Movement?

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Since 2003, the antiwar movement in the United States has had much to protest with Americans fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan and now Libya, but the movement—which has dropped off sharply the past two years—may be more anti-Republican than antiwar, says a University of Michigan researcher.

A new study by U-M’s Michael Heaney and colleague Fabio Rojas of Indiana University shows that the antiwar movement in the United States demobilized as Democrats, who had been motivated to participate by anti-Republican sentiments, withdrew from antiwar protests when the Democratic Party achieved electoral success, first with Congress in 2006 and then with the presidency in 2008. (more…)

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Windows 7 to Turn Up the Decibel(s) at Music Festival

REDMOND, Wash. – Aug. 23, 2010 – Microsoft is tuning in and turning up the volume on this year’s 7th Annual Decibel International Festival of Electronic Music, Visual Art, and New Media. 

Windows 7 will be the presenting partner for the portion of the Decibel (dB) Conference that features free educational panels, workshops, and screenings.

(more…)

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