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- A one-off training session increased how much time fathers spent with their children and on chores by about two hours a week, reports a new study from the University of Tokyo. A team in Japan provided male employees and their managers with either information on positive office attitudes toward paternity leave or a work-life balance training session. The former corrected common misconceptions, but fathers who attended the training reported real behavioral change. This unexpectedly freed up 3.6 hours of time that mothers used for their own work. The study shows how small workplace interventions can have wider positive impacts for […]
- Instagram use could influence not only how we see our bodies, but also how our brain perceives the bodies we inhabit as "ours." In short, it could erode our sense of self to the point of no longer recognizing ourselves in our own bodies, or feeling "at home" within them.
- Whether someone prefers Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo—arguably two of the world's greatest footballers today—may be associated with their political outlook, according to the results of an international survey led by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore).
- DNA testing kits are often gifted for Father's Day, Christmas and special occasions. The idea of learning more about yourself and unearthing some long-forgotten family history is certainly appealing to many, but a psychologist has warned that these presents can come with profound psychological implications.
- Should you marry that person? Quit a steady career to retrain? Move across the country, away from aging parents? Sit with any of these and watch your mind spin. You weigh what you'd gain against what you'd lose. You run the numbers. And still no answer arrives.
- Breaking up with a loved one is often a painful life experience, one that is difficult to recover from. Researchers from SWPS University, however, suggest that a simple step can help. Writing down the story of a past relationship increases the effectiveness of thinking about the past and future in close relationships. It is also associated with a better understanding of the causes of relationship breakdown, they write in the journal PLOS One.
- Can technology really replace human relationships? As philosophy scholars who focus on human happiness and on artificial intelligence (AI), we tackle this question in a recent paper.
- Public debates about transgender issues are often framed as disagreements over evidence or safety. In my new article published in the International Journal of Transgender Health, I argue current policy shifts are better understood as part of a recognizable escalation pattern.
- Why do individuals and organizations sometimes rationalize decisions that conflict with their stated values? According to Leah P. Hollis, professor of education policy studies in the Penn State College of Education, the answer may lie in "moral disengagement"—a psychological process through which people justify actions that might otherwise conflict with ethical or institutional standards.
- What makes a speaker engaging? Both what is said and how it is said matter, but in different, complementary ways, a new study conducted at the McGill School of Communication Sciences and Disorders has found.
- Food has always had a unique way of bringing people together. It becomes especially evident during family mealtimes, when children and adults gather around the table to share more than just a meal. They share stories, catch up on their day and discuss issues they are dealing with. The scene at the dinner table has, however, changed. People still sit together, but attention often shifts away from the conversation to the devices in their hands.
- It has often been suggested that we now live in a "post-truth" world. People increasingly rely on their own feelings as a yardstick for what is true. Psychologists at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) have now developed the "Youniversalism" scale to allow them to measure people's belief in subjective and experiential truths. The research is published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences.
- At an international heritage symposium in Japan, I heard a word that stayed with me: "contaminated." The discussion concerned whether Indigenous peoples needed to be named explicitly in a new World Heritage framework. One argument was that Indigenous cultures had changed through contact, survival and adaptation, and therefore no longer required distinct recognition. I found that deeply troubling.
- Children are innately curious, and throughout any given day they come up with all manner of questions: Why don't fish have hair? Why do flowers wilt so quickly? Their need to understand the world—and develop their language skills and ideas—makes them tireless conversationalists.
- Career interest tests can be very helpful for teenagers and young adults deciding which career to pursue. New research from Michigan State University challenges the assumption that vocational interests are only relevant for early career decision-making; rather, they remain relevant into adulthood.
- A Concordia-led team of researchers has developed a new artificial intelligence-based method of detecting toxic online content that is faster and more accurate than existing tools. The system is designed to ensure social media platforms can reliably prevent user-generated content they deem harmful from appearing online.
- A paper on new research into the cause of death of Simonetta Vespucci, model for the world-renowned Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli, has been published by researchers at Queen Mary University of London, Universita Campus Bio-Medico di Roma and the University of California in the journal Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism.
- Individuals subject to extreme risk protection orders (ERPOs), or "red flag" laws, were significantly less likely to be arrested—including for violent and firearm-related offenses—while the orders were in effect than in the six months before. Strikingly, the drop in arrests did not end when the orders expired and continued for months afterward, according to a new study published in PNAS Nexus.
- Every year, more people in England and Wales are involved in disputes before the civil courts than in the criminal courts. More than 1 million claims a year—for personal injury, debt, housing disrepair, faulty consumer goods or breach of contract, for example—are dealt with in the county court.
- The Life House Impact Project, led by Dr. Georgia Bowers, Professor Andrew King and Dr. Richard Green, worked with older LGBTQ+ people to document their real concerns about housing and social care—and then brought those experiences into training for the people responsible for that care. The report shows that the proportion of staff who said they regularly or always met their LGBTQ+ service users' needs rose from 55% to 85% in the weeks following the training.
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