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For the Thrill of It All
The Wall Street Journal: In the late 1940s, the English adventurer Wilfred Thesiger set out on a series of journeys to explore the vast sand desert known as the Empty Quarter of Arabia. Together with a small band of Arab companions, he suffered multiple hardships, from freezing temperatures at night to intense heat by day—made worse by his decision to travel barefoot—and was haunted by the knowledge that the team was being pursued by bandits. One journey lasted seven months, during which the men were forced to live on vile food and two pints of water a day.
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Negotiating with Nothing Holds Surprise Benefits
Negotiators are thought to bolster their power when they come to the table with viable alternatives, no matter how weak. But research from an international team of psychological scientists suggests that powerlessness can sometimes be an advantage.
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Want To Solve The World’s Most Heated Disagreements? Bring Your Wallet
NPR: Conflict between Palestinians and Israelis or Republicans and Democrats appears intractable in part because of one fundamental bias: We misunderstand the other group's motives. When Republicans attack Democrats, Democrats think they're motivated by hate, but Republicans believe they're motivated by love and "in-group" loyalty. And vice versa, of course. Everybody and everything has a price — including empathy. That's according to a study published online in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences earlier this year. The research explains why negotiation and compromise sometimes is so difficult, but the also shows that simply getting paid can make people more empathetic.
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ISSBD and Jacobs Foundation Announce Fellowships
The International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development (ISSBD) and the Jacobs Foundation are offering 10 doctoral fellowships of 2 years each, with a 1-year extension possible. The fellowships will be located at the applicants’ home institutions and will begin in July 2015; the working language will be English. Admitted students will receive a monthly stipend of up to $1,500, and half of the fellowships are reserved for students from currency-restricted countries.
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‘Me, Myself, and Us,’ by Brian R. Little
The New York Times: There are two types of people in the world, a wit once said: The type who likes to divide people into two types, and the type who doesn’t. Brian R. Little, author of “Me, Myself, and Us,” is a two-typer. But — and this is at the heart of his endeavor — he believes there are many ways in which people can be divided. So his readers learn that there are “person specialists” and “thing specialists”; “high self-monitors” and “low self-monitors”; “internals” and “externals” (that is, people who locate a sense of control within themselves versus those who follow an outside authority).
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When professionalism means betraying a friend
BBC: Q: I have to let several staff members go. I feel awful about it, but it is part of a company-wide redundancy plan. I am not supposed to reveal these layoffs for another few weeks. But I know one person I must let go is about to go under contract for a new home before then. What is my obligation to tell this person, before he risks losing thousands in a contract he might not be able to complete once he loses his job? A: You are caught between your obligations to the firm and your desire to be a compassionate human being. There’s a right answer here — and you’re not going to like it.
