Tag Archives: university

Too Much Information? It Depends …

By Guest PostSeptember 18, 2012Economyadvertising, brown university, cognitive reflection test, colorado, crt, explanation fiends, explanation foes, hypothesis, illusion, julia shube, philip fernbach, psychologist, robert st louis, steven sloman, university

In a new study, psychologists at Brown University and the University of Colorado found that while some people require a detailed explanation of how a product works before they’ll be willing to pay more, others became less willing to pay when confronted with that additional detail. A simple, standard test predicted the desire for detail — who wants more, who wants less.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — A study published online in the Journal of Consumer Research finds that people can differ widely on the level of detail makes them feel they understand something. In experiments, the very same explanations that some subjects required before they would pay top dollar seemed to drive down what others were willing to pay. The natural trick for a marketer would be to figure out which customers are which. The study does that, too.

“The fact is that people differ,” said Steven Sloman, professor of cognitive, linguistic, and psychological sciences at Brown University and an author on the paper. “Your advertising, your marketing, and your understanding of people has to be guided by an appreciation of who you are talking to.” (more…)

Out of This World

By Guest PostSeptember 18, 2012Sciencebuilding block, colloids, computer chip, crystalline structure, delaware, eric m furst, functional material, gravity, international space station, iss, james swan, lattice, magnetic field, microscopic particle, Nanotechnology, NASA, novel nanomaterial, paramagnetic colloid, paula vasquez, phase separation, pnas, reality, scalable, self assemble, university

UD professor reports smart fluids research in scientific journal

Imagine a computer chip that can assemble itself.

According to Eric M. Furst, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of Delaware, engineers and scientists are closer to making this and other scalable forms of nanotechnology a reality as a result of new milestones in using nanoparticles as building blocks in functional materials.

Furst and his postdoctoral researchers, James Swan and Paula Vasquez, along with colleagues at NASA, the European Space Agency, Zin Technologies and Lehigh University, reported the finding Sept. 17 in an article in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science (PNAS) online edition. (more…)

Late-Night Comedy Television Increases Political Discussion

By Guest PostSeptember 17, 2012Politicsbehavioral intention, comedy, daily show, david letterman, democrat, disney resort, Economy, effective, emotion, gender breakdown, image, jay leno, jon stewart, late show, michigan, nbc, nightly news, orlando, political candidate, political news, republican, television host, tonight show, university, video clip

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— The jokes by late-night comedy television hosts can be just as effective as regular political news in spurring discussion among viewers, a new University of Michigan study shows.

In addition, political candidates could help their campaigns with mentions by shows like “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” “Late Show with David Letterman” or “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” (more…)

Long Menopause Allows Killer Whales to Care for Adult Sons

By Guest PostSeptember 17, 2012Natureadult son, canada, center, coast, dan franks, darren croft, david ellifrit, emma foster, exeter, female, grandmother hypothesis, great mystery, killer whale, longest menopause, mother, Nature, non human, north pacific, ocean, orcinus orca, post reproductive, son, species, survival rate, university, usa, whale research

Scientists have found the answer to why female killer whales have the longest menopause of any non-human species – to care for their adult sons.

Led by the Universities of Exeter and York and published in the journal Science the research shows that, for a male over 30, the death of his mother means an almost 14-fold-increase in the likelihood of his death within the following year.

The reason for the menopause remains one of nature’s great mysteries and very few species have a prolonged period of their lifespan when they no longer reproduce, as in humans. However, female killer whales stop reproducing in their 30s-40s, but can survive into their 90s. While different theories have been put forward for the evolution of menopause in humans, including the well-established ‘grandmother’ hypothesis, there has been no definitive answer to why females of a small number of other species, including killer whales, also stop reproducing part-way through their lives. (more…)

Technology in the Classroom

By Guest PostSeptember 16, 2012Education, Technologybamboo dock, classroom presentation, commodification, delaware, galton board simulation, google apps, google docs, google forms, mcdonaldization, multimodal communication, powerpoint presentation, predictable model, sociology course, spss, statistical formula, statistics, Technology, university, victor perez, wacom bamboo tablet

UD faculty member teaches sociology and statistics with technology

Victor Perez, an assistant professor in the University of Delaware’s Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, has found multiple ways to reach students using diverse technological approaches. Perez makes his classroom presentations highly interactive by combining a tablet with an engaging PowerPoint presentation.

Using the Wacom Bamboo tablet and its accompanying app, Perez creates illustrations of statistical formulas and distributions in class. “Bamboo Dock is something that I’ll use pretty frequently in the statistics course, and it looks literally like a journal. What’s great about this is that you can write any statistical formula, and it’s what students will see directly on the screen,” Perez said. (more…)

CU-led Mountain Forest Study Shows Vulnerability to Climate Change

By Guest PostSeptember 16, 2012Environmentalpine, anne kelly, Arctic, atmosphere, boulder, carbon dioxide, change, climate change, colorado, data, dry, energy, ernesto trujillo, flux towers, forest greenness, ground measurement, high resolution, michael golden, mid elevation, moisture change, mountain ecosystem, mountain range, noah molotch, precipitation, radiometer, rising temperature, roger bales, satellite image, sensitivity, sierra nevada, snowmelt, tipping point, united states, university, water vapor, western, wet, year

A new University of Colorado Boulder-led study that ties forest “greenness” in the western United States to fluctuating year-to-year snowpack indicates mid-elevation mountain ecosystems are most sensitive to rising temperatures and changes in precipitation and snowmelt.

Led by CU-Boulder researcher Ernesto Trujillo and Assistant Professor Noah Molotch, the study team used the data — including satellite images and ground measurements — to identify the threshold where mid-level forests sustained primarily by moisture change to higher-elevation forests sustained primarily by sunlight and temperature. Being able to identify this “tipping point” is important because it is in the mid-level forests — at altitudes from roughly 6,500 to 8,000 feet — where many people live and play in the West and which are associated with increasing wildfires, beetle outbreaks and increased tree mortality, said Molotch. (more…)

UMD Study Shows Exercise May Protect Against Future Emotional Stress

By Guest PostSeptember 15, 2012Healthacute exercise, aging, alzheimer's disease, anxiety, anxiety level, brain function, carson smith, emotion research, emotional exposure, fmri, functional, iaps database, imaging, kinesiology researcher, magnetic, maryland, mental health, moderate exercise, physical activity, resonance, stress, symptom, university

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Moderate exercise may help people cope with anxiety and stress for an extended period of time post-workout, according to a study by kinesiology researchers in the University of Maryland School of Public Health published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.

“While it is well-known that exercise improves mood, among other benefits, not as much is known about the potency of exercise’s impact on emotional state and whether these positive effects endure when we’re faced with everyday stressors once we leave the gym,” explains J. Carson Smith, assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology. “We found that exercise helps to buffer the effects of emotional exposure. If you exercise, you’ll not only reduce your anxiety, but you’ll be better able to maintain that reduced anxiety when confronted with emotional events.” (more…)

Hospitals that Make Longer Attempts at Resuscitation Have Higher Survival Rates

By Guest PostSeptember 15, 2012Healthamerican, brahmajee nallamotu, cardiac arrest, code blue drill, couple, cpr, cpr duration, cpr effort, defibrillator, electrical charge, heart, heart association, heartbeat, hospital, mannequin, resuscitation, rhythm, survival rate, the lancet, united states, university, Washington, zachary goldberger

Hospitals that continue CPR longer have better survival rates from cardiac arrests, according to a study published online Sept. 5 in The Lancet. The findings challenge the assumption that, if a pulse is not restored soon, continuing resuscitation efforts is futile.

The results also showed that patients who recovered after an extended CPR effort were no more likely to suffer brain damage than are patients revived after a shorter effort. (more…)