Social Science posts
- May 30, 2017
- 08:29 PM
- 766 views
International students and language: opportunity or threat?
by Agnes Bodis in Language on the Move
With recent news on the number of international students in Australia reaching a new high and the 19.4 billion-dollar revenue...... Read more »
Paltridge, T., Mayson, S., & Schapper, J. (2013) Welcome and exclusion: an analysis of The Australian newspaper’s coverage of international students. Higher Education, 68(1), 103-116. DOI: 10.1007/s10734-013-9689-6
- May 28, 2017
- 10:36 AM
- 822 views
Unattractive People Are Seen As Better Scientists
by Neuroskeptic in Neuroskeptic_Discover
Good looking, sociable people don't make good scientists, according to popular stereotypes.
This is one of the findings of an interesting new study of how scientists are perceived, from British researchers Ana I. Gheorghiu and colleagues.
Gheorghiu et al. took 616 pictures of scientists, which they downloaded from the faculty pages at various universities. They gave the portraits to two sets of raters. The first group were asked to rate the attractiveness of the portraits and to say whet... Read more »
Gheorghiu AI, Callan MJ, & Skylark WJ. (2017) Facial appearance affects science communication. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. PMID: 28533389
- May 26, 2017
- 12:34 PM
- 830 views
The Ugliness Penalty: Does It Literally Pay to Be Pretty?
by Melissa Chernick in Science Storiented
There are economic studies that show that attractive people earn more money and, conversely, unattractive earn less money. I’m pretty sure that I’ve heard something along those lines before, but I had no idea they were called the “beauty premium” and the “ugliness penalty.” How wonderful and sad at the same time. But while these seem like pretty commonplace ideas, there is no real evidence as to why they exist. A new paper published in the Journal of Business and Psychology tested th........ Read more »
Kanazawa, S., & Still, M. (2017) Is There Really a Beauty Premium or an Ugliness Penalty on Earnings?. Journal of Business and Psychology. DOI: 10.1007/s10869-017-9489-6
- May 23, 2017
- 01:38 PM
- 340 views
Dismantle the Poverty Trap by Nurturing Community Trust
by Jalees Rehman in The Next Regeneration
Understanding the precise reasons for why people living in poverty often make decisions that seem short-sighted, such as foregoing more education or taking on high-interest short-term loans, is the first step to help them escape poverty. The obvious common-sense fix is to ensure that the basic needs of all citizens – food, shelter, clothing, health and personal safety – are met, so that they no longer have to use all new funds for survival. This is obviously easier in the developed w........ Read more »
Jachimowicz, J., Chafik, S., Munrat, S., Prabhu, J., & Weber, E. (2017) Community trust reduces myopic decisions of low-income individuals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 201617395. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1617395114
- May 21, 2017
- 11:50 AM
- 280 views
Predictive Processing: the role of confidence and precision
by Sergio Graziosi in Writing my own user manual - Sergio Graziosi's Blog
This is the second post in a series inspired by Andy Clark’s book “Surfing Uncertainty“. In the previous post I’ve mentioned that an important concept in the Predictive Processing (PP) framework is the role of confidence. Confidence (in a prediction)…Read more ›... Read more »
Clark, A. (2016) Surfing Uncertainty: Prediction, Action, and the Embodied Mind. Oxford Scholarship . DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190217013.003.0011
Kanai R, Komura Y, Shipp S, & Friston K. (2015) Cerebral hierarchies: predictive processing, precision and the pulvinar. Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 370(1668). PMID: 25823866
- May 21, 2017
- 08:55 AM
- 286 views
A Survey of Our Secret Lives
by Neuroskeptic in Neuroskeptic_Discover
What kinds of secrets does the average person keep? In a new paper, Columbia University researchers Michael L. Slepian and colleagues carried out a survey of secrets.
Slepian et al. developed a 'Common Secrets Questionnaire' (CSQ) and gave it to 600 participants recruited anonymously online. Participants were asked whether they'd ever had various secrets, at any point in their lives. The results are a monument to all our sins:
It turns out that extra-relational thoughts - meaning "thou... Read more »
Slepian, M., Chun, J., & Mason, M. (2017) The Experience of Secrecy. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. DOI: 10.1037/pspa0000085
- May 11, 2017
- 10:42 PM
- 377 views
The banal nationalism of intercultural communication advice
by Ingrid Piller in Language on the Move
Intercultural communication advice is a strange genre. Filling shelves and shelves in bookshops and libraries and now with a well-established...... Read more »
Piller, I. (2017) Intercultural Communication: A Critical Introduction (2nd ed.). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. info:/
- May 6, 2017
- 02:04 PM
- 355 views
Partisan Review: “Surfing Uncertainty”, by Andy Clark.
by Sergio Graziosi in Writing my own user manual - Sergio Graziosi's Blog
Sometimes it happens that reading a book ignites a seemingly unstoppable whirlpool of ideas. The book in question is “Surfing Uncertainty: Prediction, Action, and the Embodied Mind” by Andy Clark. Why is this a partisan review? Because Clark himself had…Read more ›... Read more »
Clark, A. (2016) Surfing Uncertainty: Prediction, Action, and the Embodied Mind. Oxford Scholarship . DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190217013.003.0011
Hohwy, J. (2013) The Predictive Mind . Oxford University Press. DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199682737.001.0001
Krakauer, J., Ghazanfar, A., Gomez-Marin, A., MacIver, M., & Poeppel, D. (2017) Neuroscience Needs Behavior: Correcting a Reductionist Bias. Neuron, 93(3), 480-490. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2016.12.041
- May 1, 2017
- 07:30 PM
- 404 views
Sharing the Future with Artificial Intelligence
by Aurametrix team in Aurametrix Blog
Artificial intelligence has reached a buzzword utopia as it seems everyone is talking about self-driving cars, delivery drones and virtual assistants with human-like "intelligence." Some believe this new era of AI will make the American Dream universally accessible, enabling early retirement in bucolic settings. Others are concerned about a greater inequality created by a jobless future.... Read more »
Painter, A. (2016) A universal basic income: the answer to poverty, insecurity, and health inequality?. BMJ. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.i6473
Brougham, D., & Haar, J. (2017) Smart Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and Algorithms (STARA): Employees’ perceptions of our future workplace. Journal of Management , 1-19. DOI: 10.1017/jmo.2016.55
Pfeiffer S. (2017) The Vision of "Industrie 4.0" in the Making-a Case of Future Told, Tamed, and Traded. Nanoethics, 11(1), 107-121. PMID: 28435474
- April 29, 2017
- 08:55 AM
- 317 views
New Human Rights for the Age of Neuroscience?
by Neuroskeptic in Neuroskeptic_Discover
Do we have a human right to the privacy of our brain activity? Is "cognitive liberty" the foundation of all freedom?
An interesting new paper by Swiss researchers Marcello Ienca and Roberto Andorno explores such questions: Towards new human rights in the age of neuroscience and neurotechnology
Ienca and Andorno begin by noting that it has long been held that the mind is "a kind of last refuge of personal freedom and self-determination". In other words, no matter what restrictions might... Read more »
Ienca M, & Andorno R. (2017) Towards new human rights in the age of neuroscience and neurotechnology. Life Sciences, Society and Policy, 13(1), 5. PMID: 28444626
- April 25, 2017
- 03:16 AM
- 457 views
Will technology make language rights obsolete?
by Dave Sayers in Language on the Move
Something has been nagging at me recently. I read a lot of tech news, and it seems automated translation is...... Read more »
Chaudhary U, Xia B, Silvoni S, Cohen LG, & Birbaumer N. (2017) Brain-Computer Interface-Based Communication in the Completely Locked-In State. PLoS biology, 15(1). PMID: 28141803
- April 23, 2017
- 12:30 AM
- 454 views
Intrinsic Motivation Is Caused by Achievement
by Joshua Fisher in Text Savvy
Education interventions (specifically those dealing with mathematics education) designed to increase achievement may be better uses of time than those designed to increase intrinsic motivation.... Read more »
Garon-Carrier, G., Boivin, M., Guay, F., Kovas, Y., Dionne, G., Lemelin, J., Séguin, J., Vitaro, F., & Tremblay, R. (2016) Intrinsic Motivation and Achievement in Mathematics in Elementary School: A Longitudinal Investigation of Their Association. Child Development, 87(1), 165-175. DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12458
- April 17, 2017
- 02:00 PM
- 234 views
The emergence of the alternative metric that can make the measurement of world academic production more fair and egalitarian
by SciELO in SciELO in Perspective | Press Releases
The growing use of social networks for various purposes, including the dissemination of scientific communication, has required the creation of a new method of measuring and analyzing the flow of information in these environments. Altmetria emerged as a subarea of Metrics Information Studies to meet this need, and can complement traditional methods of evaluation, thus making it more fair and egalitarian. … Read More →... Read more »
VANTI, N., & SANZ-CASADO, E. (2016) Altmetria: a métrica social a serviço de uma ciência mais democrática. Transinformação, 28(3), 349-358. DOI: 10.1590/2318-08892016000300009
- April 15, 2017
- 05:12 PM
- 499 views
Perspectives…
by Sergio Graziosi in Writing my own user manual - Sergio Graziosi's Blog
In the past few months I’ve spent some time looking for trouble on Twitter. I’ve found some (mild and polite), which translated into plenty food for thought, and eventually allowed me to put some order in my thoughts. The matter…Read more ›... Read more »
Kahneman, D. (2011) Thinking, Fast and Slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. info:other/978-0374275631
Clark, A. (2016) Surfing Uncertainty: Prediction, Action, and the Embodied Mind. Oxford Scholarship . DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190217013.003.0011
- April 9, 2017
- 11:51 PM
- 478 views
Fighting for ‘pure’ Mongolian
by Gegentuul Baioud in Language on the Move
On New Year’s Eve, when many people around the world were excited about firework shows, a group of Mongols in...... Read more »
Sachirengui. (2013) Mongol nüüdel hüühediin niigemchileltiin tuhai sudalal [A Study on the Socialization Process of Mongol Migrant Children in Hohhot]. Masters thesis, University of Inner Mongolia, Hohhot. . info:/
- April 7, 2017
- 04:02 PM
- 227 views
Outsourcing and precariousness of work in the social assistance policy
by SciELO in SciELO in Perspective | Press Releases
This paper presents the work conditions of psychologists hired by private organizations to work at the Sistema Único de Assistência Social (Unified System for Social Assistance). Among other things, it concludes that this “outsourcing” process has been allowing temporary contracts, high turnover rates, late payment of salaries, dismissal of large groups of employees and lack of continuing education, which impacts the health of the workers and the quality of the services offered. … Re........ Read more »
CORDEIRO, M., & SATO, L. (2017) Psicologia na política de assistência social: trabalho em um "setor terceirizado". Estudos de Psicologia (Campinas), 34(1), 41-52. DOI: 10.1590/1982-02752017000100005
- April 4, 2017
- 12:00 PM
- 480 views
Researchers Finally Ask: Does Your Cat Even Like To Be Around You?
by Miss Behavior in The Scorpion and the Frog
This cat has had enough and is running away from home. Photo by Danielle Menuey.While dogs happily and obliviously boast the reputation of being “man’s best friend”, cats have a reputation of being antisocial, independent, and downright grumpy. But do cats really deserve that? Scientists finally decided to find out.Kristin Vitale Shreve and Monique Udell from Oregon State University and Lindsay Mehrkam from Monmouth University asked 25 pet cats and 25 shelter cats their preferences. H........ Read more »
Vitale Shreve, K., Mehrkam, L., & Udell, M. (2017) Social interaction, food, scent or toys? A formal assessment of domestic pet and shelter cat ( Felis silvestris catus ) preferences. Behavioural Processes. DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2017.03.016
- April 3, 2017
- 02:00 PM
- 230 views
Medical practice precariousness at the Unified Health System — SUS
by SciELO in SciELO in Perspective | Press Releases
The medical practice in the Unified Health System is a study topic published in the journal Estudos de Psicologia (Campinas), which reveals the working conditions of these professionals and the impacts on personal health, analyzed through interviews and self-confidence. … Read More →... Read more »
CHIAVEGATO FILHO, L. (2017) A prática médica no Sistema Único de Saúde: quando uma atividade de trabalho pede socorro. Estudos de Psicologia (Campinas), 34(1), 63-73. DOI: 10.1590/1982-02752017000100007
- April 2, 2017
- 07:17 AM
- 435 views
The perfect multilingual
by Madalena Cruz-Ferreira in Being Multilingual
P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In case you’re wondering, let me reassure you straight away that yes, the title of this post is meant to be sarcastic. Perfect multilinguals do exist, of course, though only in the minds of those of us who mistake ideals of perfection for reality. Multilingual perfection awardees must satisfy a number of criteria. If you are, or were, a language learner as an adult, forget it: not having acquired all of your languages as a young child automatically makes you a n........ Read more »
Woolston, C. (2015) Scientists offer advice on how best to respond to reviewers. Nature, 522(7554), 9-9. DOI: 10.1038/522009f
- April 1, 2017
- 03:30 PM
- 470 views
Educational Achievement and Religiosity
by Joshua Fisher in Text Savvy
Religiosity may be correlated with lower educational achievement because people have a finite amount of time and attention, and spending time learning about religion or engaging in religious activities necessarily takes time away from learning math and science.... Read more »
Stoet, G., & Geary, D. (2017) Students in countries with higher levels of religiosity perform lower in science and mathematics. Intelligence. DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2017.03.001
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