Culture | Page 2333 | Science Codex

Risk perception goes up when 'price' means more than money

When companies combine different pricing structures – such as asking for effort or information in combination with or instead of money – consumers perceive a greater risk in the decision to buy.

That's according to University of Cincinnati research to be presented at the Aug. 15-17 Behavioral Pricing Conference in Detroit, Mich., by doctoral marketing student John Dinsmore. His paper is titled "Mental Accounting, General Evaluability Theory and the Framing Losses Posed by Partitioned Monetary and Nonmonetary Prices."

Ancient seal may add substance to the legend of Samson

Tel Aviv University researchers recently uncovered a seal, measuring 15 millimetres (about a half-inch) in diameter, which depicts a human figure next to a lion at the archaeological site of Beth Shemesh, located between the Biblical cities of Zorah and Eshtaol, where Samson was born, flourished, and finally buried, according to the book of Judges.

Discrimination in Texas: AAAS, AERA, other organizations support subjective race-based admissions

The American Educational Research Association (AERA) has filed an amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Supreme Court case of Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, where a young student was discriminated against because she was not a minority.

Spending more on trauma care doesn't translate to higher survival rates

A large-scale review of national patient records reveals that although survival rates are the same, the cost of treating trauma patients in the western United States is 33 percent higher than the bill for treating similarly injured patients in the Northeast. Overall, treatment costs were lower in the Northeast than anywhere in the United States.

Individualized care best for lymphedema patients

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Millions of American cancer survivors experience chronic discomfort as a result of lymphedema, a common side effect of surgery and radiation therapy in which affected areas swell due to protein-rich fluid buildup. After reviewing published literature on lymphedema treatments, a University of Missouri researcher says emphasizing patients' quality of life rather than focusing solely on reducing swelling is critical to effectively managing the condition.

Stem cells may prevent post-injury arthritis

DURHAM, N.C.-- Duke researchers may have found a promising stem cell therapy for preventing osteoarthritis after a joint injury.

Injuring a joint greatly raises the odds of getting a form of osteoarthritis called post-traumatic arthritis, or PTA. There are no therapies yet that modify or slow the progression of arthritis after injury.

Weekend hospital stays prove more deadly than other times for older people with head trauma

A Johns Hopkins review of more than 38,000 patient records finds that older adults who sustain substantial head trauma over a weekend are significantly more likely to die from their injuries than those similarly hurt and hospitalized Monday through Friday, even if their injuries are less severe and they have fewer other illnesses than their weekday counterparts.

Global water sustainability flows through natural and human challenges

Water's fate in China mirrors problems across the world: fouled, pushed far from its natural origins, squandered and exploited.

In this week's Science magazine, Jianguo "Jack" Liu, director of Michigan State University's Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability, and doctoral student Wu Yang look at lessons learned in China and management strategies that hold solutions for China – and across the world.

Source of conflict: Study finds factors that can shape divorced mothers' co-parenting experiences

SALINA, KAN. -- The type of relationship a woman has with her ex-partner is a factor in how the couple shares custody of children, according to a Kansas State University expert on postdivorce and co-parenting relationships.

He/she, him/her - gender pronouns indict women's place in society

Language use in books mirrors trends in gender equality over the generations in the US, according to a new study by psychologist Jean Twenge from San Diego State University, and colleagues. Their work explores how the language in the full text of more than one million books reflects cultural change in U.S. women's status. The study is published online in Sex Roles.

Retirement expert with great health care declares Medicare woes a myth

The biggest group lobbying against more government involvement in health care are not young people with no insurance, it's old people who already get government health care.

With more people in the system it will go from bad to worse, they believe. But the actual experiences of elderly on Medicare can be debunked or discredited, according to a paper published by a University of Illinois expert on retirement benefits.

Yes, retirement expert seems to be a real job.

Banks stashing cash no shield against bankruptcy, declare physicists

According to theoretical physicists João da Cruz and Pedro Lind from Lisbon University, Portugal, imposing minimum capital levels for banks may not prevent the insolvency of a minority of banks from triggering a widespread banking system collapse. In a study recently published in EPJ B1, the researchers explain why this measure could instead lead to larger crises.

Neolithic man: The first lumberjack?

During the Neolithic Age (approximately 10000 BCE), early man evolved from hunter-gatherer to farmer and agriculturalist, living in larger, permanent settlements with a variety of domesticated animals and plant life. This transition brought about significant changes in terms of the economy, architecture, man's relationship to the environment, and more.

Culture War: 89 million people uninsured from 2004 to 2007, says claim

Advocates are scrambling to defend a health care reform plan everyone knows is flawed but one side staunchly defends - the same people throwing Food Stamp parties to get more people to sign up for those; it creates a dependent class of voters.

Depression linked with increased risk of peripheral artery disease

Depression was linked with an increased risk of peripheral artery disease (PAD) in a study of more than one thousand men and women with heart disease conducted by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco.

PAD is a circulatory problem in which narrowed arteries reduce blood flow to the limbs – usually the legs and feet – resulting in pain, reduced mobility and, in extreme cases, gangrene and amputation.

The study was published electronically on July 26, 2012, in the Journal of the American Heart Association.