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Statistical Numbing: Why Millions Can Die, and We Don’t Care
Huffington Post: Four year-old Khafran was near death three days ago when he was brought to the refugee camp hospital. He was emaciated, his ribs showing through his taut dry skin. He panted for breath. His desperate eyes bulged. His mother, Alyan, could only sit at his side and watch, helpless, sad beyond comprehension, but herself too malnourished to cry. Doctors are still not sure Khafran can be saved. The famine in the Horn of Africa has left more than 12 million people malnourished, including half of Somalia's population. The UN says 640,000 Somali children are starving, and more than 29,000 children in southern Somalia have starved to death in the last 90 days.
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Why Cleaned Wastewater Stays Dirty In Our Minds
NPR: Brent Haddad studies water in a place where water is often in short supply: California. Haddad is a professor of environmental studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz. About 14 years ago, he became very interested in the issue of water reuse. At the time, a number of California's local water agencies were proposing a different approach to the state's perennial water problems. They wanted to build plants that would clean local waste water — a.k.a. sewage water — and after that cleaning, make it available as drinking water. But, says Haddad, these proposals were consistently shot down by an unwilling public. Read the whole story: NPR
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Brand-conscious consumers see brand failure as a threat to their self-image
The Economic Times: WASHINGTON: A new study by a University of Illinois marketing expert has indicated that consumers with close ties to a brand respond to negative information about the beloved brand as they do to personal failure - they experience it as a threat to their self-image. Tiffany Barnett White, a professor of business administration, said consumers with a high self-brand connection maintained favourable brand evaluations even when presented with negative brand information, suggesting that the reluctance of brand-conscious consumers to lower their opinion of a brand might be driven more by a motivation to protect the self.
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Story ‘Spoilers’ May Boost Enjoyment
U.S. News & World Report: Although many people think that flipping to the back of the book or knowing a story's ending before it even starts will "spoil" it, a new study revealed knowing what happens in the end may actually help people enjoy a story even more. Researchers from the University of California, San Diego added that this holds true for tales with ironic-twists, mysteries and suspenseful thrillers. The investigators conducted three experiments involving 12 short stories written by various authors, including John Updike, Roald Dahl, Anton Chekhov, Agatha Christie and Raymond Carver. The stories fell into three categories: ironic-twist, mystery and literary.
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Hey, You! Mean People Earn More, Study Finds
The Wall Street Journal: It may not pay to be nice in the workplace. A new study finds that agreeable workers earn significantly lower incomes than less agreeable ones. The gap is especially wide for men. The researchers examined "agreeableness" using self-reported survey data and found that men who measured below average on agreeableness earned about 18% more—or $9,772 more annually in their sample—than nicer guys. Ruder women, meanwhile, earned about 5% or $1,828 more than their agreeable counterparts. "Nice guys are getting the shaft," says study co-author Beth A.
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Lessons From Cloud Nine
The Wall Street Journal: In recent years, economists and psychologists have joined forces to unravel the secrets of human happiness. "The Happiness Equation" is one researcher's attempt to share his field's discoveries with a broad audience. Nick Powdthavee, an economist at the University of York, deftly explains the main determinants of happiness: the small effect of money, the great effect of marriage and friends, the massive effect of personality. Even extremely good news (such as winning the lottery) and extremely bad news (such as losing a spouse) rarely changes an individual's happiness for more than a couple of years. Mr.
