Thursday, November 30, 2017

Facebook Disables Ethnicity Advert Targeting System

Two-Year Wait for Mental Health Help in Areas of England

Tougher Gun Laws Help Prevent Domestic Violence Deaths

By Robert Preidt, HealthDay Reporter


(HealthDay)


THURSDAY, Nov. 30, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- More stringent gun laws might spur a decline in domestic violence murders, new research suggests.

Thirteen states and federal law prohibit people convicted of domestic violence from buying guns. But the study found that states that extended this ban to people convicted of any violent crime had 23 percent fewer domestic violence murders.

The researchers also found that larger reductions in these deaths were seen when gun restriction laws included dating partners in addition to spouses or ex-spouses, and a requirement that abusers turn in their guns.

"The evidence from this study and previous research highly suggests that firearm restrictions work to reduce intimate partner homicides, and that laws need to be comprehensive when we think about populations most at risk for committing intimate partner violence," said study author April Zeoli. She is an associate professor of criminal justice at Michigan State University.

In the study, the researchers analyzed 34 years of data (1980 to 2013) from 45 states. The 29 states with laws restricting guns in domestic violence cases when a restraining order had been issued had 9 percent fewer intimate partner murders, a finding similar to those in previous studies.

Restraining orders for dating partners that include gun restrictions were present in 22 states and linked with a 10 percent decrease in romantic partner murders and a 14 percent reduction in partner homicides committed with guns.

Traditional domestic violence restraining order laws cover spouses, ex-spouses, couples who live together or have lived together, and couples who have children together. But nearly half of intimate partner murders are committed by dating partners who often aren't covered by these categories, the study authors explained.

The researchers also found that gun restrictions that cover emergency restraining orders in domestic violence cases were associated with a 12 percent reduction in intimate partner murders, and that laws that require a permit from a law enforcement agency to buy a gun (10 states) were linked to an 11 percent reduction in intimate partner murders.

Laws requiring people with domestic violence restraining orders to turn in their guns were associated with a 22 percent reduction in gun-related intimate partner murders, according to the study.

"Expanding restrictions from those who have been convicted of domestic violence to those who have been convicted of any violent misdemeanor, and including dating partners in domestic violence firearm laws would likely result in even greater reductions," Zeoli said in a university news release.

The findings were published Nov. 29 in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on intimate partner violence.

Copyright © 2017 HealthDay. All rights reserved.





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UN Urges Libya to Take "Urgent Action" Over Human Slavery

European Union Calls for "Equal Rights" in Myanmar

YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar must guarantee "equal rights" for everyone in troubled Rakhine state as talks on repatriation of more than 620,000 Rohingya Muslims who have fled to Bangladesh gather steam, the new EU ambassador to the country said on Thursday.

Kristian Schmidt, who took over the European Union mission in Yangon some two months ago, also called on the administration of Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to "break down barriers" between Buddhist and Muslim communities in Rakhine.

He said the return of refugees should be voluntary and the involvement of the United Nations agencies in the repatriation process would be "extremely useful".

The initial deal struck by Bangladesh and Myanmar mentions the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, but does not specify its role.

Schmidt said Myanmar must address the "root causes" of the Rakhine crisis, such as decades-long discrimination against the Rohingya population that included restrictions on movement and lack of access to proper education.

"The primary priority, which is for the local authorities and the union government to establish rule of law, non-discriminatory civilian administration ... and equal rights for everyone," Schmidt told Reuters in an interview in Yangon.

"There are root causes that must be addressed in Rakhine state so when the refugees return they do not return to the situation ex ante - this is not sustainable," he said.

The exodus of Rohingya was triggered by an army crackdown in response to Rohingya militant attacks on security forces on Aug. 25 - attacks Schmidt referred to as "terrorism" and the EU has condemned.

Schmidt said confining the Rohingya to villages reduced education opportunities and could have radicalized some.

"You should not be surprised later that some of the elements of that population radicalizes. Becomes increasingly desperate," he said.

Amid the army crackdown, scores of Rohingya villages were burnt and refugees have told reporters of killings and rapes.

The United Nations and the United States have both accused Myanmar of "ethnic cleansing", a charge the country denies.

In response to the army operation, Brussels suspended invitations to Myanmar army chief Min Aung Hlaing and senior army officers.

"We are ready to review that decision at any time in light of positive or not-so-positive news. We still of course understand the importance the military of Myanmar plays in Myanmar's economic and democratic transition so dialogue is open," said Schmidt.

He added, however, that there was the need for accountability and reiterated the EU's support for a U.N.-mandated fact-finding mission that Suu Kyi's administration has opposed and blocked from operating in the country.

"There has to be a credible, independent investigation of the events that led 620,000 people to flee to quite horrible conditions on the other side of the border," he said. "We need to know."

The Danish diplomat spoke on the sidelines of a conference promoting the EU's "Erasmus+" program of exchanges between university students. He wants Myanmar students to take part in it to help overhaul institutions as the country emerges from decades of isolation under military dictatorship.

(Reporting by Antoni Slodkowski; Editing by John Chalmers & Simon Cameron-Moore)

Copyright 2017 Thomson Reuters.





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Diversity can generate positive Oscar buzz; offscreen misbehavior doesn't

  1. Diversity can generate positive Oscar buzz; offscreen misbehavior doesn't  Honolulu Star-AdvertiserFull coverage




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My Favorite Running Things: Clothes, Accessories, Music, Books, Movies, Gift Ideas, and more!

I have written in several different places about running gear for different seasons, but I've been asked this question a lot lately--and I realized I don't have it all in one place. What are my favorite running things? I'm questioned frequently about my favorite running clothes, shoes, podcasts, music, etc. This is an all-in-one post about my favorite running gear. The type of clothes to wear during each season, in the rain, etc. Tips for saving money on running gear. Checklists for the...

(Click on blog title to read the full post...)


Weight Loss

Advice on whether to act on workplace crush this Christmas


ADVANCED psychotherapist and clinical hypnotherapist CLAIRE GASKIN sees clients in Essex and in London’s Harley Street. She is now bringing her expertise to the problems of our readers as our agony aunt. If you have a problem you’d like Claire’s advice with, email agonyaunt@nqe. com For more details on Claire’s work, visitbenefittherapy.co.uk/

DEAR CLAIRE, I feel really embarrassed about this but there is someone at work who I really like and I think she likes me but I don’t know how to approach it.

We work in the same department and I think we get on well.

We are both single and of a similar age and I really want to ask her out.

Do you think it’s a good idea ? Since we work together, if I have read the signs wrong then it will be really awkward.

Could I be imagining she is flirting with me ? The office Christmas do is coming up and I am wondering if I should make a move then but it would be awful to wake up the next day and regret anything.

I feel like a silly teenager and am thinking maybe I should just forget it and try other ways of meeting someone.

CLAIRE SAYS: PEOPLE mostly regret the opportunities they let pass them by.

Various hormones are released when we are attracted to someone, which can play havoc with our thoughts and feelings.

Rest assured that if we think someone is flirting with us they usually are.

Body language is processed at subconscious levels and, although we might very occasionally pick up the wrong signals, it’s usually a lack of confidence which leads us to doubt our instincts.

A session or two of hypnotherapy can really help to build confidence, if this sounds familiar.

Did you know the office is statistically one of the best places to meet a romantic partner?

I think the Christmas do is a great time to ask your colleague out.

A trip to the cinema is a perfect first date: You learn to feel comfortable in their close company and avoid awkward silences afterwards because you have a shared experience to talk about.

Decide on a movie before the party and then strike up a conversation with your crush.

Say you’re looking forward to seeing this film and invite her along.

If she turns you down you can still hold your head up the next day.

However, there’s every chance she will say yes. I say, go for it!





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Dec. 1, 1958: Phil the gorilla dies after a hunger strike

  1. Dec. 1, 1958: Phil the gorilla dies after a hunger strike  STLtoday.comFull coverage




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What Does Conduct Disorder Look Like?

A conduct disorder involves both behavioral and emotional problems found in children who do not adhere to what is socially acceptable. Kids who understand, but choose not to follow rules, can often fall into the category of conduct disorder. Teachers frequently reprimand these children more often than others from an early grade.

There is no known cause of conduct disorder. While it was originally thought to have been a product of poor parenting, the general consensus has changed. There are multiple factors that may play a role in this particular development. The most common areas of concern are: genetics, environment, and psychological problems.

Environmental factors include the family and school. Alcoholic parents who fight or neglect their children may fall into this category. Being bullied in school or having issues with specific teachers can be an environmental cause. Inconsistent discipline, whether at school or at home, has a huge impact on the behavior of a child.

Psychological problems including cognitive processing can cause a shift in normal behavior. Problems feeling remorse or guilt can arise from this segment of the disorder.

Genetics can also play an important role. Families with a history of mental illness may be more susceptible to behavioral disorders in children. Mood disorders and anxiety disorders can occur under a parent’s or teacher’s radar. If the intensity of emotion is experienced differently than others their age, children may not know how to handle their surroundings in a socially acceptable way.

General behavior conduct disorder includes:

  • Criminal behavior, such as stealing.
  • A lack of respect for rules, such as skipping class.
  • Lack of empathy. Children who hurt animals on purpose usually fall into this category.
  • Bullying. Acting out with the intention of purposely hurting other children is a common sign of conduct disorder.
  • Lack of respect for boundaries, such as vandalism. Destroying other people’s property, whether it’s someone’s home or another child’s toy, is a good representation of both breaking boundaries and bullying.
  • Persistent lying. When a child knows the truth and lies anyway, especially for no apparent reason, this can be seen as a red flag.

This disorder may impact your child if you notice:

  • Burn marks
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • False sense of grandiosity or egotism
  • Low esteem
  • Inability to plan

Many children diagnosed with conduct disorder have co-existing conditions. Some of these include: ADHD, personality disorders, anxiety, and learning difficulties.

If a conduct disorder is left untreated, the outcome can be dangerous not only for the child diagnosed, but for those around him/her.  

Problems from lack of treatment can include:

  • Risky sexual behavior
  • Substance abuse
  • Abuse of others
  • Antisocial personality disorder diagnosis
  • Incarceration

Conduct disorder is much more prevalent in boys than girls. The rate of conduct disorder in boys is between 6% and 16% while girls ranged from 2% to 9%.

Children who display signs of conduct disorder in early development are at greater risk for long-term difficulties. They are more likely to struggle with relationships and less likely to finish school.

Treatment Options Include:

Involving both family and school. Discipline for certain behavior should be consistent, whether the child is at home or in school. When teachers and parents work together, they have a clearer sense of what needs to be accomplished and how.

In addition to focusing on how to overcome the negative aspects of conduct disorder, focus on the positive. Engaging your child in healthy social structures will benefit him/her in the future. Using praise for healthy behavior is also suggested.

Studies show that behavioral parent training leads to the reduction of antisocial behavior. 





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“The Ghost” is a page-turning biography of an eccentric spy hunter

  1. “The Ghost” is a page-turning biography of an eccentric spy hunter  theday.comFull coverage




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At Our Libraries

  1. At Our Libraries  Seacoastonline.comFull coverage




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Explaining Cognitive Distortions in 60 Seconds

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Are questions about what research in neuroscience has been done welcome to the Cognitive Sciences SE?


A community for those who are interested in the mind, brain, language and artificial intelligence.


Want to know more? Take a look at our reading list here. If you have any suggestions for further inclusions, post them here.






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Lifting Heavy


My running group wanted to drive to Fort Worth and run the Pumpkin Spice race - we are super basic so of course this seemed like a great idea. The day before Poppy and I decided we would run the 15k, even though I'm running {actual mileage} like twice a month right now. The day of the race the wind picked up so we decided to just do the 10k. 

The shirts were just SO UGLY, then we got there and it was like a ugly sweater party, but for runners. It was pretty hilarious. We start the race and people were falling left and right around us, you think cross fit is dangerous try eating pavement during a race! 

Granted I haven't run a race in a while, but dang it if I didn't run the thing like it was a hour long WOD at Crossfit.  I ran about an 9:20 the whole time, which isn't even my fastest time, but for someone who hasn't been running it killed my legs and groin. Not my best idea - I had to take the rest of the day to recover on the couch with a nap and Pure Wave Massager. I swear I felt like I had run a full marathon, Oliver was like 'I thought you only ran 6 miles' 

You don't know my life Oliver. 

It's the same at Crossfit, I'm like blah, I don't even feel like doing this workout - then the buzzer goes off and I black out trying to get done first. I'm a first born Aries - I'm just competitive.  


Pretty much everyday when I walk into the gym I tell myself - gonna go light and take it easy today. I think this has REALLY happened once, it's like a biological response in my body when that damn counter is counting down - 3, 2, 1 - buzzzzzzzz!


Actual footage of me on the bike trying to beat Oliver, when he talks shit that he's beating me he better believe I'm gonna turn it on! That's what makes it fun in there, dying and laughing all at the same time. 


scanned 30 times to be sure no boobs are showing!

Lifting heavy weights is great for your body, but it's not something you're going to notice overnight. I've been doing CF for about 18 months now and I'm LOVING what I'm seeing. You do go through some periods where you're hitting PR's and killing it, then you go through a period where you are just putting in the work and not seeing a big difference. The last few months I've been seeing my hard work come out, lifts are getting stronger {except that one I dropped on my head LOL} and the changes in my body make me happy. 

Tomorrow is the last day of the 50 burpees a day challenge - I will have done a total of 1500 EXTRA burpees for the month of November! My fastest time was 2:18 - to which I almost died. The old people at the Y came over to check on me while I was panting on the ground  hahahaha. Burpees don't seem so daunting now, I'm so glad I finished this challenge, pretty proud of myself because there were lots of days I REALLY REALLY didn't want to do them. 

If you didn't get to it last month December 1st is almost here, grab you a few friends to keep yourself accountable and push yourself to do something great. Thinking goblet squats daily for December - y'all in??


Weight Loss

NJ Hypnotist Believes You Can Change in the New Year

  1. NJ Hypnotist Believes You Can Change in the New Year  Digital JournalFull coverage




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The 9 Best DJ Mixes of November 2017

  1. The 9 Best DJ Mixes of November 2017  PitchforkFull coverage




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Monthly e-newsletter: Do you actually like that song or do you merely think you do?

Time for SharpBrains’ November e-newsletter, exploring the frontiers in applied brain science and starting this time with a fascinating study and initiative.

New thinking

Emerging toolkit for brain health & enhancement:

News about the 2017 SharpBrains Virtual Summit (December 5-7th):

— Judging Panel for the Brainnovations Pitch Contest

 

Have a great month of December…and see many of you at the virtual summit next week! With 210 participants registered so far–and many already introducing each other via our private LinkedIn group–we know it’s going to be fun and worthwhile 🙂

The SharpBrains Team





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Cardiac rehabilitation team backs plans to raise £500000 for heart centre at West Suffolk Hospital

Cardiac rehabilitation team backs plans to raise £500,000 for heart centre at West Suffolk Hospital

PUBLISHED: 17:08 30 November 2017 | UPDATED: 17:08 30 November 2017

Pictured, left to right, are four members of the cardiac rehabilitation team, Zoe Noble, senior cardiac rehabilitation physiotherapist; Kate Turner, cardiac rehabilitation nurse specialist; Melanie Amps, lead cardiac rehabilitation nurse specialist and cognitive behavioural therapist; and Jane Bridges, cardiac rehabilitation nurse specialist.

Archant

They are an essential part of the cardiac department at the West Suffolk Hospital, in Bury St Edmunds.

WSH Every Heart Matters campaign logo WSH Every Heart Matters campaign logo

And now the cardiac rehabilitation service is backing plans to raise £500,000 to build a brand new cardiac centre at the hospital, which is being spearheaded by the My WiSH Charity’s Every Heart Matters appeal.

The department, which helps patients to get back to as full life as possible after a cardiac event, also aims to help promote health and keep people well after they leave hospital. The team is made up of seven staff and three volunteers.

They are Melanie Amps, lead cardiac rehabilitation nurse specialist; Kate Turner, Jane Bridges, cardiac rehabilitation nurse specialists, Tracy Wallace and Anne Graham, cardiac rehabilitation nurses; Zoe Noble, senior cardiac rehabilitation physiotherapist: Karen Wheeler, administrator; and volunteers Michelle Lavender, Helen Benckendorff and Charlie McDowell.

Melanie who is also an accredited cognitive behavioural therapist currently undertaking a post graduate diploma in clinical hypnotherapy said: “Patients that have had a cardiac event are referred to our service and are offered a programme of exercise and education that is tailored to suit their individual needs. We also offer lifestyle advice and generally help people recover to improve overall wellbeing after they have had a cardiac event.

“Cardiac patients can access a course of psychological therapy as part of their rehabilitation and I can also offer clinical hypnotherapy which can help with a wide range of problems, including needle phobias, insomnia and anxiety disorders”

They provide Cardiac Education Exhibitions at the education centre at the hospital every eight weeks, and outreach services are provided at the Newmarket Hospital, St Christopher School in Red Lodge and Sudbury Community Health Centre by the community team.

“And for patients to be able to have their investigations and treatment carried out in the one place rather than being disjointed, as we are currently, is really important and would streamline the whole service. It is essential we are all together,” added Melanie.

The West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust is investing £5.2m in developing a state of the art cardiac suite that will provide quicker access to more treatments, but the £500,000 My WiSH Charity is hoping to raise will lead to the whole unit, which is currently fragmented on different floors, being brought together in one purpose-built centre.

If you want to support the Every Heart Matters appeal go to the website http://ift.tt/2i3N23A

If you would like to donate to the appeal you can do so by going to Justgiving.com/ehma or text EHMA17 £10 to 70070.





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Do You Know the Signs of Stress?

surviving holiday stress“Stress is an alarm clock that lets you know you’re attached to something that’s not true for you.” – Byron Katie

As a run up to the holidays, doesn’t it seem like everyone’s rushing around trying to cram too much into too little time? Crazed to find a parking space in an overcrowded lot, racing to get into the elevator before the door closes or hitting the door-close button so no one else can get in, exhibiting uncharitable, rude and potentially unhealthy behavior when trying to snatch the last sale item and so much more are all signs of stressed-out individuals.

Is it any wonder the commercials for antacids and headache pills proliferate this time of year? But what about really acknowledging you’re stressed and doing something about it? Here are telltale signs to pay attention to:

Physical Symptoms

The body is incredibly sensitive to stress and will display the effects of this potentially-toxic emotion. Some of the more readily-identifiable physical stress signs include:

  • Chest pain
  • Headache
  • Pain or tension in the muscles
  • Sleeping difficulties
  • Increased or decreased sex drive
  • Gastrointestinal problems
  • Tiredness

Behavioral Signs

Stress takes its toll on everyday behavior as well as exacting physical effects. When you are stressed, you’re more likely to exhibit one or more of the following behavioral changes:

  • Increasing use of alcohol or drugs
  • Smoking more often
  • Eating too much or too little
  • Avoiding social situations
  • Expressing anger
  • Slacking off on exercise

Emotional Effects

Perhaps the most tough-to-recognize effects of stress on a person are the ones affecting emotions. While they could be caused by an underlying physical condition, stress may also be at least a contributing factor in the following emotional effects of stress.

  • A feeling of being overwhelmed
  • Becoming easily irritated or angry
  • Feeling anxious
  • An uncharacteristic restlessness
  • Being unable to focus or lacking motivation
  • Sudden sadness or depression

Ways to Manage Stress

Once you learn to recognize the signs of stress, for your own well-being and that of your loved ones, family members, co-workers and friends, it’s imperative that you find ways to manage stress before it spirals out of control and causes serious health problems. While each of these stress-reduction tips can help decrease stress, using them in combination can ratchet up your ability to maintain balance and personal well-being. You don’t have to be an expert to reap the benefits. Just dive in and act.

  • Make time for yourself. Granted, it sounds a little selfish, but good self-care when you’re stressed is vitally important to overcoming stress. If you have a hobby, set aside time to devote to it. This can be any activity that you enjoy, including gardening, cooking, decorating, reading, listening to music, watching movies or your favorite programs on DVR or video on demand. It isn’t the what you do but the fact that you carve time out to enjoy yourself. Even a brief time doing what you enjoy can dramatically reduce stress.
  • Activate your sense of humor. It’s hard to resist the sound of laughter. That’s almost universal. When you laugh, you breathe in oxygen that’s good for your heart and all your organs and this stimulates the production of endorphins in your brain that work to counteract stress. The increase in blood pressure from laughter has a corresponding effect of relaxation. Chuckles and smiles can also increase circulation to ease some physical symptoms of stress, including muscle tension.
  • Engage in regular physical activity. Being sedentary is linked to an increased disease risk as well as packing on the pounds. Regular physical activity, in the form of physical exercise, however, offers numerous benefits. Among them is the way exercise helps cut down on stress.
  • Eat a well-balanced diet. Overindulgence, eating high-fat, high-sugar, high-carbohydrate meals will make stress worse, not better. To counter the effects of stress or to maintain a more balanced lifestyle, make sure you eat a nutritious diet. Instead of skipping meals when time is tight, have nutritious snacks on hand that will prevent crashing and give you a healthy energy boost.
  • Get sufficient sleep. Stress robs your body and mind of the energy it needs. By ensuring you get at least 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep nightly, you can minimize the caustic effects of stress. Remember that the body heals during restful sleep and this is especially important when you are stressed and sleep-deprived.
  • Cut back on caffeine and alcohol. When you feel stressed and want an instant fix, instead of opting for that caffeine-rich drink or pouring a stiff drink, experts say it’s best to drink water. Caffeine and alcohol are known to cause an uptick in anxiety and may even trigger panic attacks in some stressed-out individuals. Research found that using alcohol to reduce stress may instead make the stress worse and prolong recovery from what caused the stress to begin with.
  • Just breathe. A quick and effortless way to reduce stress is to take a few deep breaths. Slowly breathe in and out whenever you feel stressed to experience almost immediate relief. Research has found that deep breathing, yoga, tai chi and other relaxation techniques can reduce stress and enhance well-being.

If you’re continuing to have difficulty reducing stress and its debilitating effects, consider getting help from a mental health professional, such as a psychiatrist, therapist, psychologist or social worker.





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The Simplest Way To Appear Much More Attractive

How to appear up to 40% more likeable and approachable.

Nodding the head increases attractiveness to others by up to 40% research finds.

Head nodders were rated as both more likeable and more approachable.

It was primarily people’s personality that appeared more attractive when they nodded.

Essentially, nodding makes people more likely to approach you in social interactions.

Dr Jun-ichiro Kawahara, study co-author, said:

 “Our study also demonstrated that nodding primarily increased likability attributable to personality traits, rather than to physical appearance.”

The research, carried out in Japan, compared nodding with keeping the head still and with shaking it, as in indicating ‘no’.

Shaking the head had no effect in comparison to keeping it still.

Nodding, though, increased perceived approachability and attractiveness by 40% in comparison to keeping the head still or shaking it.

The Japanese researchers have previously found that bowing increases perceived attractiveness.

However, this finding may have less universal relevance in cultures that do not customarily bow.

The study used computer-generated female faces, as below.

Dr Kawahara said:

“Generalizing these results requires a degree of caution because computer-generated female faces were used to manipulate head motions in our experiments.

Further study involving male figures, real faces and observers from different cultural backgrounds, is needed to apply these findings to real-world situations.”

But, watch out, there are dangers to nodding too much.

Researchers have found that nodding makes you unconsciously more inclined to agree, as the study’s authors explain:

“Participants in [one study] were asked to move their heads vertically (nodding head movement) or horizontally (shaking head movement) while they listened to music or an editorial.

The result indicated that participants who had nodded agreed more with the persuasive message than did participants who had shaken their heads, suggesting that overt head movement produced a persuasive impact on individuals.”

→ Try one of PsyBlog’s ebooks, all written by Dr Jeremy Dean:

The study was published in the journal Perception (Osugi & Kawahara, 2017).





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Nancy McKean of A Beautiful Change Hypnosis to be Featured on CUTV News Radio

  1. Nancy McKean of A Beautiful Change Hypnosis to be Featured on CUTV News Radio  EIN News (press release)Full coverage




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Crystal Light Therapy Healed My Post-Marathon Body—Sort Of

crystal-light-therapy_0.jpg

I do a lot of things after running a marathon: I eat a whole pizza, I drink a lot of beer, I sleep for at least 12 hours, and then I try anything and everything I can do for recovery. Ice baths and hot baths, NormaTec leg sleeves, massages, gentle yoga—really, anything but running. But this year, I tried something new. Three days after the New York City Marathon, I went to "realign my energy field" with crystal light therapy. 

Disclaimer: I am not the kind of person who keeps crystals around, meditates regularly (or at all), or believes anything Gwyneth Paltrow says. I know crystal light therapy has been around for years—it was introduced by a healing community in Brazil nearly 40 years ago—but I've never even contemplated it before. But some people swear by its benefits. Julie Von, a holistic doctor and acupuncturist who practices crystal light therapy at the New Clinic in New York City, says people claim crystal light therapy makes them "feel more energized, focused, relaxed, and at peace with themselves," helps them to "feel less stressed and increases their overall well-being and health," and "gives them insight into any personal diseases or health issues." Considering the wrecked state of my stiff, sore, and tired post-marathon body, I figured why not let the allegedly restorative power of crystals put me back in balance? 

At Modrn Sanctuary, one of the latest boutique wellness spaces to pop up in NYC, you can choose from a myriad of holistic services, including hypnotherapy, acupuncture, salt therapy, and Ayurveda treatments. Just walking in will chill you out—the walls are painted a deep blue-black, a conscious decision founder Alexandra Janelli made to help calm visitors' minds and make them feel more relaxed.

Janelli walked me to the crystal light therapy (sometimes called crystal bed therapy) room, where the ~crystal bed~ awaited me. The Quantum Resonance Crystal Bed itself wasn't actually made of crystals, but you do lie atop a thermo-electrotherapeutic biomat filled with healing amethyst and black tourmaline. The rest of the power comes from different energy sources, including scalar waves, laser light, LEDs, magnets, and—the pièce de résistance—the "highly polished precise Vogel quartz crystals, cut to a specific frequency."

 

 

Those crystals are matched with colors adjusted to vibrational frequencies in the body's chakras, or energy centers. "As the color is transmitted through the crystal onto the corresponding chakra, the chakra is cleansed, energized, and brought into balance with all of the other chakras," explains Von. "This allows the other aspects of our self, whether it be mental, emotional, or physical, to be brought into balance. For when the chakras are out of balance, all the other aspects of ourselves will also be out of balance. Then, as these subtle energies are brought into balance, the body's own natural healing mechanisms are able to function as they were designed to do." Sounds a little woo-woo, but I could certainly benefit from a better functioning body. (Related: WTF Are Healing Crystals—and Can They Actually Help You Feel Better?

Before you start, you're meant to set an intention by choosing a specific color (and therefore chakra) to focus on—I chose the red frequency, a grounding frequency at 285 hertz, which is supposed to help return tissue to its original form, restructure damaged organs, and rejuvenate and energize your body. "Think about a hose with water running through it," Janelli said. "Stress—physical, environmental, emotional, etc.—is like a kink in the hose; it causes a buildup of pressure in the system and the system cannot function in an ideal state. When provided the ability to smooth out the kink, the hose can return to a state of flow. This is what the crystal bed is doing."

Janelli warned me that once the treatment started, it might feel a little like an out-of-body experience—like my physical self was removed from my thoughts. I didn't really believe her, but once I settled in for what I assumed would be a solid, 25-minute nap, my brain did its typical pre-sleep, 1,000-thoughts-a-minute thing, and it was like those thoughts were just floating away from me. That hasn't happened to me before.

I lay there with an eye-mask on and headphones pumping ambient noise into my ears, and my body got heavier and heavier. At one point, I remember trying to move my fingers, but it was like the command never made it from brain to hand. Between the soothing vibrations of the biomat, the washing machine–like white noise, and the warm temperature of the room, I was out faster than I'd ever fallen asleep. When I was gently woken up at the end of the session, I felt restored—my muscles were still sore, but I felt more alert, clear-headed, more relaxed, and a little blissed out (whether from the nap or the crystals, I don't know, but it felt awesome either way). (P.S. Here are some proven strategies for recovery post-marathon.) 

Twenty-five minutes in the bed will run you $75, which is a lot of money for a treatment that isn't FDA-approved and that, according to Von, doesn't have any actual science-backed benefits. That doesn't mean you won't find it helpful, though, if that's what you're into. "Crystal light therapy isn't a medicine, but it does elicit a state of calm," says Janelli. And even if that's partially the placebo effect working its mental magic, I'll take it.





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Jerry Fodor, prominent Cognitive Scientist and Philosopher of Mind, died yesterday.

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Exploring Current and Developing Migraine Behavioral Treatments: Expert Q&A

  1. Exploring Current and Developing Migraine Behavioral Treatments: Expert Q&A  Neurology AdvisorFull coverage




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Makita lost 75 pounds

Transformation of the Day: Makita lost 75 pounds. She began her journey 2014 and kept the weight off. Commitment, discipline, exercise and clean eating changed her life. Last year, she became pregnant with her 2nd child. Now, she’s 4 month’s postpartum and has shed lots of baby weight. Check what she shared with us about her […]

Weight Loss

Sodium MRI May Show Biomarker for Migraine

Sodium MRI May Show Biomarker for Migraine

Migraine patients show significantly higher concentrations of sodium in their cerebrospinal fluid compared to people without the condition, according to new study findings recently presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

The study is the first to use a technique called sodium MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) to evaluate migraine patients.

Migraine is a neurological condition characterized by debilitating head pain and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting. Some migraines involve vision changes or odd sensations in the body known as auras. Migraine is one of the most common headache disorders, affecting about 18 percent of women and 6 percent of men.

Currently, migraine identification is based on symptoms alone, which can sometimes result in misdiagnosis. For example, a person with a severe tension headache may be misdiagnosed as having a migraine and given the wrong type of treatment.

“It would be helpful to have a diagnostic tool supporting or even diagnosing migraine and differentiating migraine from all other types of headaches,” said study author Melissa Meyer, M.D., radiology resident at the Institute of Clinical Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Mannheim and Heidelberg University in Heidelberg, Germany.

Meyer and colleagues turned to a magnetic resonance technique called cerebral sodium MRI as a possible means to help in the diagnosis and understanding of migraines. Although MRIs usually rely on protons to generate an image, sodium can be visualized as well. Previous research has found that sodium plays an important role in brain chemistry.

The study involved 12 women (mean age 34) who had been clinically evaluated for migraine and 12 healthy women of similar age to serve as a control group. The migraine group filled out a questionnaire regarding the length, intensity and frequency of their migraine attacks and accompanying auras.

Both groups of women underwent cerebral sodium MRI. Sodium concentrations of migraine patients and healthy controls were compared and statistically analyzed.

The researchers found no statistical differences between the two groups for sodium concentrations in the gray and white matter, brainstem and cerebellum.

However, significant differences emerged when they looked at sodium concentrations in the cerebrospinal fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord. This fluid provides a cushion for the brain while also helping to ensure chemical stability for proper brain function.

Overall, migraine patients showed significantly higher sodium concentrations in the cerebrospinal fluid compared to the healthy control group.

“These findings might facilitate the challenging diagnosis of a migraine,” said Meyer. “As this was an exploratory study, we plan to examine more patients, preferably during or shortly after a migraine attack, for further validation.”

Source: Radiological Society of North America





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When Personality Fits Job Demands, Higher Income May Result

When Personality Fits Job Demands, Higher Income May Result

If you want to make more money, you should check to see if your personality matches the traits that are ideal for the job.

Researchers discovered that when a person’s personality is aligned with their job demands, then they are likely to earn more than an employee whose traits are less congruent.

“Our findings show that looking at the combination of personality traits and job demands is key to predict important outcomes, like income,” said lead researcher Jaap J. A. Denissen, Ph.D., of Tilburg University.

“This updates the notion that you only have to look at the personality traits of an individual to predict his or her life outcomes. Our results indicate that it’s more complex: You also have to take that person’s environment into account.”

The study appears in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

Findings from previous research have indicated that some personality traits are generally beneficial when it comes to a work environment. As expected, being highly conscientious is associated with being hard-working, well-organized, and rule-abiding; qualities that are typically prized in employees.

But Denissen and coauthors questioned the notion that there is an “ideal” personality type. They hypothesized that the match, or mismatch, between an individual’s traits and job demands might be critical when it comes to important outcomes like income.

The researchers developed a novel strategy to compare the fit between a given employee and a given job. They did this by using the well-established Big Five personality traits to quantify the traits that a job requires.

Analyzing data from the nationally representative German Socio-Economic panel, the researchers examined personality profiles, annual income, and jobs of 8,458 individuals living in Germany.

Due to the fact that men were more likely than women to be employed full-time in Germany at the time of the data collection, the sample was 68 percent male and 32 percent female, with a mean age of 43.7 years old.

Each individual in the sample completed a brief version of the Big Five inventory in German, rating the degree to which they thought 15 personality-related statements applied to them (e.g., “I see myself as someone who has an active imagination” for openness to experience.

Participants’ jobs were classified using the International Labor Organization’s International Standard Classification of Occupations.

Two psychologists with extensive expertise in occupational issues (but who were unaware of the researchers’ hypotheses) then assessed each job for its ideal levels of Big Five traits. They determined, for example, that a bookkeeper required the lowest level of extraversion, whereas an actor or director required the highest level.

The researchers used a statistical technique called response surface analysis to create a 3D model that identified how each employee’s personality traits and the ideal personality traits for each job contributed to employee income.

The results showed that fit really does matter, at least when it comes to extraversion, agreeableness, and openness to experience. For these three traits, greater congruence between an employee’s own personality and a job’s demands was linked with higher income – what the researchers call a “fit bonus.”

Importantly, the data also revealed that it’s possible to have too much of a good thing: Employees who were more agreeable, more conscientious, or more open to experiences than their jobs required actually earned less than people who had congruent levels of those traits.

The model showed that, in some cases, having too little of a given trait was actually less costly than having too much. “Personality characteristics that have long been thought of as universally adaptive were not very beneficial or even detrimental, given particular job characteristics,” says Denissen.

“For example, highly conscientious individuals whose jobs did not demand such levels actually had lower earnings than individuals who were low in conscientiousness and had jobs that demanded high levels.”

The researchers note that additional studies will be required to understand how individual job experiences, job satisfaction, and job performance might sway the association between individual-job personality fit and income.

The results of the current study do suggest that achieving the right fit requires a more nuanced approach to assessing both individual traits and job-related traits than previously thought. Paying attention to these nuances could have important implications for both employees and employers.

“From a practical perspective, companies should be interested in these results because they imply that it’s really important to invest in solid personality assessment,” Denissen explains.

“And individuals should care because our findings suggest that if they manage to find jobs that fit their personalities, they can earn more money.”

Source: Association for Psychological Science





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Mix of Personality Traits May Reduce Risk of Mood Disorders

Mix of Personality Traits May Reduce Risk of Mood Disorders

A new study discovers a combination of personality traits may annul the effects of other traits, especially as related to the risk of depression and anxiety.

Specifically, investigators discovered that while high levels of neuroticism put people at risk for depression and anxiety, if those same individuals are also highly extraverted and conscientious, they could have a measure of protection against those disorders.

University at Buffalo psychologists believe the findings, published in the Journal of Research in Personality, point to the importance of stepping away from focusing on single personality traits in clinical settings.

Instead, they recommend looking at how combinations of traits might work together to help either prevent or predict specific symptoms.

“We know individually how these traits relate to symptoms, but now we are beginning to understand how the traits might impact one another,” said Dr, Kristin Naragon-Gainey, an assistant professor and the paper’s lead author with Dr, Leonard Simms, associate professor of psychology.

“We have to consider the whole person in order to understand the likelihood of developing negative symptoms down the road.”

Neuroticism is the tendency to experience different negative emotions and to react strongly to stress. Along with extraversion and conscientiousness, it is among the “Big Five” personality traits — a group that also includes agreeableness and openness to experience.

Everyone has these characteristics but individuals express each of the traits somewhere on a continuum. Someone high in extraversion would be very social, while another person low in extraversion would be much less outgoing. Conscientiousness, meantime, is the tendency to be organized, goal-oriented and non-impulsive.

The researchers interviewed 463 adult participants who reported receiving psychiatric treatment within the past two years. Each participant also completed numerous questionnaires. The study examined the traits of neuroticism, extraversion and conscientiousness because those three have the strongest associations with mood and anxiety disorders.

Naragon-Gainey says all things being equal, there are risks for disorders associated with certain traits, but a better image of what’s at stake emerges when there’s an understanding of how a group of behavioral tendencies might work together.

The results could provide an improved understanding of the mechanisms through which people develop mood disorders and explain the factors that might put someone at risk for symptoms like depression and anxiety.

Additionally, the findings might assist clinicians in how to capitalize on people’s strengths with treatments that utilize what the study’s results suggest are protective traits.

“I think there’s a tendency in treatment and clinical psychology to concentrate on the problems and the negatives,” said Naragon-Gainey. “If you utilize the preexisting strengths that clients bring with them, it can positively affect treatment and the level of symptoms going forward, as well as reinforcing what the person is already doing well.”

Conceptually, the strengths linked to high levels of extraversion and conscientiousness relate to the fact that social interactions and effective engagement in meaningful activities are rewarding for people, according to Naragon-Gainey.

“If someone has high levels of extraversion they might be very good at gathering social support or increasing their positive affectivity through social means,” said Naragon-Gainey.

“Similarly, conscientiousness has a lot to do with striving toward goals and putting plans in action, which can combat the withdrawal and avoidance that can go along with neuroticism.”

Source: University of Buffalo





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Brain Scans Reveal Why Rewards and Punishments Don't Seem to Work on Teenagers

The following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research.The Conversation

Parents and teachers are painfully aware that it’s nearly impossible to get a teenager to focus on what you think is important. Even offering them a bribe or issuing a stern warning will typically fail. There may be many reasons for that, including the teenager’s developing sense of independence and social pressure from friends.

Now a new study, published in Nature Communications, shows that this behaviour may actually be down to how the adolescent brain is wired.

Adolescence is defined as the period of life that starts with the biological changes of puberty and ends when the individual attains a stable, independent role in society. (This definition may leave some readers wistfully pondering the second half of that equation). We now know that it is also a time of tremendous brain reorganisation, which we are only just beginning to understand.

At this point, the brain’s grey matter, which has been growing exuberantly since birth, starts to thin. This is probably due to a system of synaptic pruning, ridding the brain of unnecessary nerve cell connections and resulting in boosted neural efficiency. This thinning occurs from the back to the front of the brain, with the prefrontal cortex, responsible for executive functions such as cognitive control and decision-making, being the last to be tidied up.

Associated with this maturing process are “upgrades” of key structural and functional networks—a shift from local connections to more widespread global links between different parts of the brain.

You don’t need to be a neuroscientist to know that adolescence is also a time of greatly increased impulsivity, sensation-seeking and risk-taking. One aspect of risk behaviour in adolescents appears to be an apparent inability to match their behaviour to the likely rewards (or punishments) that might follow.

A mature brain is quite good at predicting the necessary balance between effort and reward. It does this by using links between the cognitive control systems, found in the highly evolved prefrontal cortex, and the reward circuitry, made up of evolutionarily older sub-cortical structures, which controls motivation and “wanting”. These include the striatum and the anterior cingulate cortex.

Psychologists would describe this skill as the ability to adjust one’s cognitive performance to environmental demands, whereas business gurus would refer to it as “cost-benefit analysis”. Colloquially we might decide whether or not “the game is worth the candle”.

So is it possible that the adolescent brain organisation is not yet up to the task of this careful balancing act? This would come from an unsophisticated reward system, which has not yet been dampened by input from a more conservative, forward-planning prediction system based on cognition.

High versus low stakes

The new study shows that this really is the case—looking at the brains of individuals from 13-20 years old. They did this by collecting data from functional magnetic resonance imaging, which measures brain activity indirectly by tracking changes in blood flow, from participants while they played a video game. This was a cognitive test giving players either high or low financial rewards or punishments in return for correctly sorting pictures of planets.

In this kind of task, you would expect to see improved performance when there are higher stakes involved. But the study showed that this was only the case for older participants (19-20 years old). Younger players were less efficient at the task whether the stakes were high or low. The defining characteristic of brain activity in the better performers was increased use of the prefrontal areas and, perhaps crucially, more powerful connections between the prefrontal cortex and the sub-cortical striatal areas.

Effectively, this study demonstrates the emerging efficiency of a “cool” cognitive control system moderating a “hot” motivational assessment system, resulting in the appropriate balance between the rewards offered and the actions required to maximise performance. If your brain is younger, you are simply not very good at matching what you need to do with what you will gain if you get it right or lose if you get it wrong. This is indeed evidence of an adolescent lack of the necessary fine-tuning in the reward system which (thankfully) appears to emerge with age.

Interestingly, this is different from brain activity linked to adult impulsivity and sensation-seeking—which is associated with general under-responsiveness of the reward system rather than a simultaneous lack of connectivity with the control system.

Knowing about this effect could be of value in educational and training fields. Just increasing any reward/bribe you might be tempted to offer to get a teenager to do something may not have the desired effect. Instead, try to give young adolescents as much information as possible about an upcoming decision—this could help redress the imbalance between cognition and motivation.

For example, instead of bribing them to apply to a certain university, taking them on multiple visits to university open days might just be worthwhile. That said, it may not be easy. There’s also the risk that you’ll be faced with another aspect of adolescent behaviour—a refusal to listen to adult words of wisdom.

We also need to acknowledge that this kind of behaviour is not always a bad thing. There is an evolutionary take that a newly emerging adult needs to take risks, with youthful enthusiasm and excitement unfettered by worthy cognitive controls. As author William Faulkner said: “You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore.”

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.





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Ultrasound Could Offer Noninvasive Treatment for Parkinson's and Depression


A macaque monkey sat in front of a computer. A yellow square—the target—appeared in the periphery on the left side of the screen. After a few seconds delay, a second target appeared on the right. The question was: Which target would the monkey look at first? So far so routine as neuroscience experiments go, but the next step was unusual. By non-invasively directing bursts of inaudible acoustic energy at a specific visual area of the brain, a team of scientists steered the animal’s responses. If they focused on the left side of the brain, the monkey looked to the right more often. If they focused on the right side, the monkey looked to the left more often.

The results of the experiment, which were presented last week at the annual Society for Neuroscience meeting, marked the first time that focused ultrasound was safely and effectively used in a nonhuman primate to alter brain activity rather than destroy tissue. A second study, in sheep, had similar results. “The finding paves the way to noninvasive stimulation of specific brain regions in humans,” says Jan Kubanek, a neural engineer at Stanford University School of Medicine and lead author of the macaque study. The technology might ultimately be used to diagnose or treat neurological diseases and disorders like Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, addiction and depression. Other scientists are optimistic. “The idea that, with a very carefully designed dose, you could actually deliver [focused ultrasound] and stimulate the brain in the place you want and modulate a circuit rather than damage it, is a really important proof of principle,” said Helen Mayberg, MD, of Emory University School of Medicine, who was not involved with the study.  

Ultrasound has long been used for imaging. When sound waves above the level that humans can hear (more than 20,000 hertz) are aimed at the body, some of the energy bounces back creating a picture of internal bodily structures. Focused ultrasound, or FUS, raises the energy level to accomplish other ends. Like using a magnifying glass to focus beams of light on a single point and burn a leaf, FUS concentrates as many as 1,000 sound waves on a specific target with precision and accuracy.

First approved by the Federal Drug Administration in 2004 as a treatment for uterine fibroids, focused ultrasound has gained an increasing variety of potential uses, generating excitement among many doctors. “There are 18 ways, or mechanisms of action, by which focused ultrasound affects tissue. That fact creates the opportunity to treat a whole variety of medical disorders,” says Neal Kassell, MD, former co-chair of neurosurgery at the University of Virginia and founder and chairman of the Focused Ultrasound Foundation, which seeks to speed the development and adoption of the technology.

A decade ago, FUS was being investigated as a treatment for three diseases or disorders. Today that number stands at more than 90. Thus far, however, it has only been used in humans to target and destroy tissue with heat. In addition to uterine fibroids, it is approved for four other therapeutic uses in the United States. Prostate cancer was added to the list in 2015, although some urologists have been lukewarm about its use, emphasizing in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2016 that the long-term efficacy is not yet proven. In the brain, the FDA approved its use as an ablation treatment (removing tissue) for essential tremor in 2016. (In Europe, it’s more widely used.)

Howard Eisenberg, professor and chief of neurosurgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, participated in the clinical studies of FUS as an ablative treatment for essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease, targeting different brain areas for each disorder. He has found that patients like the technology because it’s less invasive than deep brain stimulation, which requires surgery to implant an electrode. “It’s not surgery really,” says Eisenberg. In addition, because FUS is so precise, says Eisenberg, “you can sculpt the lesion, you might make three ablations all close to each other.”

Comparatively speaking, neuromodulation, which entails altering electrical and chemical signaling in brain circuits, requires lower doses of energy that are delivered as intermittent pulses, and is relatively far down the list of possible uses for FUS in the brain. “It’s a frontier approach,” says Eisenberg, who is more excited about using FUS to open the blood brain barrier for drug delivery But if the technique can be perfected as a method of brain stimulation it will open a new range of possibilities. It can be aimed more precisely—on the order of millimeters rather than centimeters—than transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). And it can go deeper into the brain. “I think the first opportunity is on the diagnostic side,” said Kubanek. “Disease circuitry might be variable across patients. If we can specifically stimulate regions deep in the brain and measure the reduction of tremor, that would [tell us that region is] involved in that behavior.” The next step would be to apply focused ultrasound as a method of brain stimulation for a variety of mental health and neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s.  

Like Kubanek, Seung-Schik Yoo, professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School and director of the neuromodulation lab at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, demonstrated successful brain stimulation using FUS at the Society for Neuroscience meeting. In sheep, Yoo and his colleagues showed that FUS could both excite and inhibit brain activity without apparent harm. But Yoo’s primary aim was to develop a wearable transcranial FUS system. His team created a small apparatus weighing only a quarter of a pound that could be worn by the sheep, whose cranial structure is similar to humans. The system consisted of a focused ultrasound transducer to generate the signal, an optical tracker and an applicator to hold the transducer over the head via an implanted pedestal. (In humans, they plan to do away with the need for implantation.) The group also developed a computer algorithm capable of predicting the intensity and location of the acoustic focus, which Yoo likened to an area the size of a large piece of orzo pasta.

 “The tools themselves are really changing the face of what’s possible,” Mayberg says. “Wouldn’t it be great if we could tune [brain circuitry] with ultrasound and don’t have to open the brain?” she says. That would avoid surgery and the need for periodically changing batteries. “You could wear a device like the sheep,” she adds. “We can start to dream about some innovations that are based on exquisite neuroscience.”





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Empowering Workers May Backfire for Some Tasks

Empowering Workers May Backfire for Some Tasks

A new study finds that giving employees more authority and asking their opinion may actually be counterproductive for a noncreative job task.

University of Exeter researchers discovered managerial attempts to empower staff by delegating different work to them or asking for their opinions can be detrimental for employee productivity.

Giving employees more authority can have a negative impact on their day to day performance and perhaps give the impression that their boss is just seeking to avoid doing their own work, according to the study.

Managers have increasingly sought to empower workers because they had thought it allowed staff to develop their skills and would result in better job satisfaction.

New research suggests, however, that promoting good relationships between bosses and staff can be a more effective way to make them more efficient. Still, investigators found that empowering some workers can help improve creativity.

The study appears in the Journal of Organizational Behavior.

The style of empowering leadership, developed 20 years ago, has become more popular in the past decade as the organizational structures of companies have become flatter.

The managerial approach involves giving employees authority to get on with their work without regular monitoring, asking for their opinions, and letting them participate in decision making.

Research by the University of Exeter Business School, Alliance Manchester Business School and Curtin Business School shows empowering workers can be effective when used for employees who have to carry out creative tasks.

The managerial style motivates employees to work harder and to help others, and helps them be proactive. But if used for staff who only carry out routine, structured tasks, empowering them may be counterproductive. The danger is that an employee may interpret this style of leadership as just a way of their boss delegating more of their workload to others.

For the study, researchers examined information about 105 companies around the world, and looked at the performance of 8,500 individual people working in mixture of industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, sales, and schools.

Researchers discovered trust is also a key component for choice of managerial style bosses and employees need to trust each other if empowering leadership is to be effective.

Bosses need to show they trust their subordinates, and allow them to be creative. Workers need to show they can be trusted to work without being closely supervised.

Dr. Allan Lee, from the University of Exeter Business School, who led the research, said, “Using an empowered style of leadership can be detrimental and create uncertainly and even chaos if used for workers who have non-creative tasks.

“Workers have got to feel that their boss supports them to take risks when empowering leadership is being used. But bosses are also vulnerable when they manage people in this way. People could take advantage of the trust put in them. Trust is a powerful factor in how effective empowering leadership can be.”

Source: University of Exeter/Wiley





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Podcast: Rachel Star: Stunt Girl, Schizophrenia Advocate

In this episode of the Psych Central Show, hosts Gabe Howard and Vincent M. Wales welcome as their guest, Rachel Star, a stunt girl and YouTube sensation who lives with schizophrenia. Rachel had schizophrenia as a child, but was not diagnosed until her early twenties. She describes what it was like as a child and the moment she realize that the things she saw weren’t seen by others. Later in life, as an early adopter of online media, she began posting videos of herself doing outlandish things. The videos became quite popular, even being studied in classes at universities! And yes, she talks about being set on fire.

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Schizophrenia Advocate & Stunt Girl Show Highlights:

“People with mental health disorders… you can still live an amazing, badass life!” ~ Rachel Star

[3:29]   Rachel realizes that no one else actually sees monsters under the bed.

[4:49]   Finally, the diagnosis.

[6:00]   Telling the parents… on a trampoline.

[7:35]   How her father finally “got it.”

[10:10] Rachel Star: Human Torch

[13:55] How Rachel became a stunt girl.

[14:10] From YouTube star to college study subject.


Proud Sponsor of The Psych Central Show

 

 

About Our Guest

Rachel Star is a professional stunt girl for television shows. She has documented her life with schizophrenia and mental health issues for more than ten years on her YouTube channel.

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About The Psych Central Show Podcast Hosts

 

Gabe Howard is an award-winning writer and speaker who lives with bipolar and anxiety disorders. In addition to hosting The Psych Central Show, Gabe is an associate editor for PsychCentral.com. He also runs an online Facebook community, The Positive Depression/Bipolar Happy Place, and invites you to join.  To work with Gabe, please visit his website, gabehoward.com.

 

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Vincent M. Wales
 is a former suicide prevention counselor who lives with persistent depressive disorder. In addition to co-hosting The Psych Central Show, Vincent is the author of several award-winning novels and the creator of costumed hero Dynamistress. Visit his websites at http://ift.tt/2fH3c3L and www.dynamistress.com.

 

 

 

 





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Ways Physical Exercise Boosts Mental Health

Physical exercise boosts mental health – I mention this often, but have never really gone into detail about it. Today I thought I would do so….. “To enjoy the glow of good health, you must exercise.” ~ Gene Tunney Many of us know the physical benefits of a healthy body such as improved cardiovascular health, […]

The post Ways Physical Exercise Boosts Mental Health appeared first on Adam Eason.





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The Supreme Court Has Failed Hadiya – And Maybe The Rest of Us Too

  1. The Supreme Court Has Failed Hadiya – And Maybe The Rest of Us Too  The QuintFull coverage




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Globetrotter master mentalist Suchard says 'Israel will always be home'

  1. Globetrotter master mentalist Suchard says 'Israel will always be home'  The Jerusalem PostFull coverage




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'Cognitive ability genes' identified

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Ford's CHIKARA King of Trios 2017 Night 2 Review

  1. Ford's CHIKARA King of Trios 2017 Night 2 Review  411mania.comFull coverage




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Group hosts hypnotizing performance

  1. Group hosts hypnotizing performance  Thousand Oaks AcornFull coverage




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Canadian Prime Minister Delivers Historic Apology to LGBT Citizens


Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered a historic apology to LGBT Canadians in the House of Commons today, saying sorry for decades of "state-sponsored, systematic oppression and rejection."

Speaking to a packed and emotional chamber, Trudeau expressed shame, sorrow and deep regret to the civil servants, military members and criminalized Canadians who endured discrimination and injustice based on their sexual orientation.

"You are professionals. You are patriots. And above all, you are innocent. And for all your suffering, you deserve justice, and you deserve peace," he said.

"It is our collective shame that you were so mistreated. And it is our collective shame that this apology took so long – many who suffered are no longer alive to hear these words. And for that, we are truly sorry."

MPs rose together in applause to the apology, which at times brought Trudeau to tears.

Trudeau makes LBGT apology1:06

Recounting how lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and two-spirit Canadians were ruined by irreparable pain and grief, Trudeau said they were discriminated against by laws that "bolstered and emboldened those who wanted to attack non-conforming sexual desire."

"Our laws made private and consensual sex between same-sex partners a criminal offence, leading to the unjust arrest, conviction, and imprisonment of Canadians," he said. "This criminalization would have lasting impacts for things like employment, volunteering, and travel.

Laws and policies enacted by the government legitimized hatred and violence, and public service, foreign service and members of the military and RCMP were all targeted and persecuted in what Trudeau called "nothing short of a witch-hunt."

"From the 1950s to the early 1990s, the government of Canada exercised its authority in a cruel and unjust manner, undertaking a campaign of oppression against members, and suspected members, of the LGBT communities," he said.

"Those who admitted they were gay were fired, discharged, or intimidated into resignation. They lost dignity, lost careers, and had their dreams and indeed, their lives, shattered."

'Turning point'

Trudeau said he hopes today is a "turning point," but called on Canadians to commit to ending discrimination against LGBT persons, who still face higher rates of aggression, violence, mental health issues and homelessness.

The apology comes with $145 million, which includes $110 million for compensation for LGBT civil servants whose careers were sidelined or ended because of their sexuality, and $15 million for historical reconciliation, education and memorialization efforts. 

The RCMP and National Defence will also have new awareness and support programs, including a "positive space" initiative in the military to promote support and networking.

Helen Kennedy, executive director of the advocacy group Egale Canada, called it a "historic moment" and said the move to address wrongs of the past will be meaningful for young LGBT Canadians.

"It gives them a sense of identity, it gives them a sense of self, and that they can move forward with their lives now knowing that they are not second-class citizens," she said.

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer condemned past state policies that not only failed to protect citizens and public employees, but actually perpetrated injustices with "over-reaching governments."

'Impossible to measure'

He pointed to the targeting of military men and women who were serving their country as particularly egregious.

"This type of insult is difficult to imagine and impossible to measure," he said.

Guy Caron, the NDP's parliamentary leader in the House, praised Svend Robinson, a former NDP MP who was the first openly gay member of Parliament and devoted much of his time to fight for LGBT rights issues. Robinson travelled to Ottawa and sat in the gallery for the historic apology.

Earlier today, the Liberal government tabled a bill that will allow people convicted of historical same-sex offences to have their criminal records expunged.

Proposed legislation aims to correct a "historical injustice" now recognized as the criminalization of same-sex activity by consenting adults, effectively removing from the record convictions that would today be inconsistent with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Conservatives NDP and Green MPs on LGBT apology1:28

The Expungement of Historically Unjust Convictions Act, Bill C-66, also allows for spouses, parents, siblings, children or legal representatives to apply for record expungement on behalf of deceased persons.

It gives the Parole Board of Canada jurisdiction to order or refuse to order the expungement of convictions for past Criminal Code offences that include gross indecency, buggery and anal intercourse.

If the conviction is expunged, the RCMP is to notify municipal, provincial and judicial authorities to order that all records be destroyed.

Scott Bardsley, spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, said there are 9,000 historical records of convictions for gross indecency, buggery and anal intercourse in RCMP databases, but not all of them will be eligible for expungement.

"Since these offences identified both consensual and non-consensual activities, the charge information alone would not make the distinction," he wrote in an email. "Applicants will need to provide evidence that the conviction meets established criteria."

Elizabeth May pays tribute to Manitoban prof who suffered discrimination as trans woman1:03

Goodale vowed the process would be straightforward and cost-free. But Michael Motala, one of the authors of the report ("The Just Society Report: Gross Indecency") that encouraged the Liberal government to make the apology, has concerns.

He said the legislation puts too much onus of those affected by government policies to come forward, prove they faced discrimination through documentation, and file an application with the Parole Board of Canada.

Many people have already passed away and family members might not even be aware they had someone in their family who was subjected to the "queer purge," he added.

"This might just be too much trauma for some people who simply don't want to revisit it," he said in an interview with CBC News. "The thrust here is really about restoring the dignity of people… the government should have more proactively identified those eligible and look through their records, and steer the process."

Similar bill in New Zealand

A similar bill was tabled in New Zealand earlier this year, allowing for the expungement of criminal records for historical offences such as indecency, sodomy and keeping a place of resort for homosexual acts.

The New Zealand bill's first reading in July 2017 was accompanied by a formal apology to those convicted of historical homosexual offences, and was then referred to the justice committee.

Trudeau apologized for actions the government took against thousands of workers in the Canadian military and public service in the 1950s to the 1990s, including thousands who were fired because of their sexuality as part of a "national security" purge.

Trudeau on LGBT apology0:21

Some gay members of the Canadian Armed Forces were also discharged for what was termed "psychopathic personality with abnormal sexuality."

Vigilance required

Ontario Liberal MP Rob Oliphant, who is gay, was overcome with emotion today. He said an apology tells people it's not OK to be homophobic or transphobic, but warned that media, teachers, politicians and others must be vigilant in promoting equality.

"It's very important that we start here, but that we don't stop here," he said.





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Women Leaders Tackle Gender Equality at Iceland Summit

By EGILL BJARNASON, Associated Press

REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) — Over 400 women political leaders from around the world met in Iceland on Wednesday for an annual summit aimed at promoting gender equality inside and outside of the political sphere.

The summit sponsored by the Women Political Leaders Global Forum comes amid the sexual misconduct scandal that has rocked the world of politics, as well as the entertainment and media industries.

In Iceland, often regarded as a champion of gender equality, hundreds of women in politics have signed a pledge against sexual harassment and urged male colleagues to change their behavior.

Former Iceland President Vigdis Finnbogadottir, the world's first elected woman president, said the brave accounts given in recent weeks would improve the work environments for women in politics.

"This will change the attitude of both women and men," she said in a rare interview with The Associated Press on Monday. "Women will be more confident discussing with men, and men more careful."

Finnbogadottir became the world's first elected female president in 1980 after she defeated three male candidates. Women account for 7 percent of world heads of state now.

Globally, the average share of women in national parliaments has risen slightly and stands at 23 percent

Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, who until recently led the United Nations Development Program, said work-related sexual misconduct of the kinds recently made public contributes to a lack of women in leadership positions.

"That kind of behavior, which is now deemed widely unacceptable, has been one of the barriers to women getting ahead," Clark said. "Lots of sectors — parliaments, film industries and others — are having to face their past and say, 'We are going to do it better.'"

Clark said the conference was a rallying cry to show younger women that success is possible if they join the team and help others up that ladder.

The theme of the summit in Iceland's capital — "We can do it!" — refers to the country's success achieving gender equality.

Iceland has for nine years running been ranked by the World Economic Forum as having the smallest gender gap — an index measured by life expectancy, educational opportunities and other factors in addition to pay.

The World Economic Forum's most recent index, issued this month, concluded that men's earnings were rising faster than women's. Under current trends, it will take 217 years for women's incomes to match those of men, according to the forum's report.

Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite, who chairs the Council of Women World Leaders, said the trend was worrying.

"This shows that even with the economy recovering — and better economic development in the world overall — the pay gap is increasing instead of diminishing."

At Wednesday's opening ceremony, Finnbogadottir, 87, received an honorary award and addressed the large gathering of female decision-makers.

The scene was in sharp contrast to her inauguration as Iceland's president 37 years ago, when she stood in front of a crowd dominated by men wearing tuxedos. Of the 150 officials attending the ceremony, only two were women.

"Gender equality has changed tremendously in Iceland since then but we still got some ways to go," she said.

This version has been corrected to show that World Economic Forum estimates it will be 217 years, not 99 years, before women have pay equity with men.

This version has been corrected to show that New Zealand's former prime minister said unacceptable behavior was a barrier to women "getting ahead," not "getting a hit."

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.





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