People are more comfortable committing sins of omission than commission—letting bad things happen rather than actively causing something bad. A new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, suggests that this is because they know other people will think worse of them if they do something bad than if they let something bad happen.
Culture
A hurricane-like superstorm expected to hit California once every 200 years would cause devastation to the state's businesses unheard of even in the Great Recession, a USC economist warns. He estimates the total property damage and business interruption costs of a massive rainstorm would be nearly $1 trillion.
Why worry about preparing for a superstorm that hasn't happened in 200 years when the state has over $100 billion in unfunded public sector pension liabilties and 13% unemployment? That's economics.
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- In a new study published in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, University at Buffalo researcher Michael A. Stefanone, PhD, and colleagues found that females who base their self worth on their appearance tend to share more photos online and maintain larger networks on online social networking sites.
He says the results suggest that females identify more strongly with their image and appearance, and use Facebook as a platform to compete for attention.
INDIANAPOLIS – A review of 35 years of scientific medical studies confirms that the social and emotional context of the doctor–patient relationship have yet to be incorporated into the equation when it comes to health care.
In spite of its strong endorsement over a decade ago by the influential Institute of Medicine report, "Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century," which highlighted the benefits of care that is respectful of and responsive to patients' needs, values and concerns, patient-centered medicine has not become part of the mainstream.
New research from North Carolina State University shows how attempts to define the South by Republicans and Democrats may have set the stage for President Obama's victories in Southern states – and shaped the way Americans view themselves.
BEER-SHEVA, ISRAEL, March 7, 2011 – Elderly drivers are half as likely to see pedestrians on the sidewalk due to a limited field of view, and compensate in part by driving more slowly, according to a study by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers.
In the online edition of Accident Analysis and Prevention, the study compared reaction times and perception of pedestrians as hazards between experienced elderly and non-elderly drivers.
His design has earnt a spot on the first-round shortlist of one of the world's most prestigious design competitions - the Australian Design Award/James Dyson Award.
Twenty-four-year-old Ching-Hao (Howard) Hsu, who graduated with a Bachelor of Design (Industrial Design) at the end of 2010, designed the 'arthritis handle' after observing several sufferers of rheumatoid arthritis performing cooking tasks in their own kitchens.
WASHINGTON, DC, March 7, 2011 – The 2011 Sleep in America® poll released today by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) finds pervasive use of communications technology in the hour before bed. It also finds that a significant number of Americans aren't getting the sleep they say they need and are searching for ways to cope.
Many Americans report dissatisfaction with their sleep during the week.
Clinical research has greater societal impact over a 15-20 year timescale, while basic research has greater academic impact, according to a new study from RAND Europe and the Health Economics Research Group (HERG) at Brunel University.
Scientists from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute have identified the key immune cell population responsible for regulating the body's immune response.
The finding could have wide-ranging repercussions for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, organ transplantation and cancer, and change how the efficacy of newly developed drugs is measured.
The discovery was made by Dr Erika Cretney, Dr Axel Kallies and Dr Stephen Nutt from the institute's Molecular Immunology division. It centred on a population of immune cells called regulatory T cells.
Home energy retrofits tackle climate change and when done right they should make homes healthier, while aiding families struggling with utility bills.
Without adequate training and precaution, however, renovators, energy retrofitters and do-it-yourselfers who disturb lead-based paint, asbestos insulation and other toxic materials in older buildings put the health of all -- especially children -- living there at risk of serious health impacts.
A Cardiff University study - and they are not joking - has established a link between pub violence and happy hour drinking promotions.
The findings also claim to show that pub staff need to do more to stop heavily intoxicated customers from continuing to drink. Yep, that is worse less than minimum wage plus tips, for sure.
Analysis of the early data from Understanding Society based on 14,000 UK households found that overall the best sleep was reported by people with higher levels of education and by married people. The type of work a person does also impacts on sleep, with those in routine occupations reporting worse sleep than those in professional occupations.
Evidence for a diversified sea-based economy among North American inhabitants dating from 12,200 to 11,400 years ago is emerging from three sites on California's Channel Islands.
Reporting in the March 4 issue of Science, a 15-member team led by University of Oregon and Smithsonian Institution scholars describes the discovery of scores of stemmed projectile points and crescents dating to that time period. The artifacts are associated with the remains of shellfish, seals, geese, cormorants and fish.
Scientists working in the remotest part of Antarctica have discovered that liquid water locked deep under the continent's coat of ice regularly thaws and refreezes to the bottom, creating as much as half the thickness of the ice in places, and actively modifying its structure. The finding, which turns common perceptions of glacial formation upside down, could reshape scientists' understanding of how the ice sheet expands and moves, and how it might react to warming climate, they say.