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Fair Is Fair, But Not Everywhere
The Huffington Post: Imagine this scenario: Two commercial fishermen head out to sea at the break of dawn, and spend the next ten hours hauling in the day's catch. When they wearily return to dock and count their take, one has three times as many fish in his hold. How should the two fishermen be compensated for the long day's work? Many people consider this a no-brainer. Three times the fish, three times the pay -- simple. Reward is based on merit -- in this case, successful fishing. In academic jargon, it's called "merit-based distributive justice." The alternative -- one alternative -- is to divide the spoils equally.
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U.S. study finds teacher bias in discipline toward black students
Reuters: Teachers in the United States were more likely to feel troubled when a black student misbehaved for a second time than when a white student did, highlighting a bias that shows why African-American children are more often disciplined than schoolmates, Stanford University researchers said on Wednesday. The federal government has found black students are three times more likely than whites to be suspended or expelled, a disparity experts say contributes to lower academic achievement among African-American students caught in the discipline system. ...
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Study: Video Games Don’t Trigger Aggression in Adults With Autism
US News & World Report: Politicians pushed for a crackdown on violent video games after speculation arose that they spurred Newtown school shooter Adam Lanza – who had autism spectrum disorder – to commit one of the deadliest massacres in U.S. history, killing 26 children and educators before taking his own life. But a new study from the University of Missouri indicates that violent video games do not increase aggression in adults with autism spectrum disorder any more than they do in people without autism.
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Dangers of loneliness
The Boston Globe: By all rights, Betty Lewis should be a lonely woman. Now nearly 90, her daughter, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren — whom she’s never met — all live in California. Her friends have died or moved to faraway nursing homes. Health problems mean she can’t get outside without help, and her vision troubles make reading a challenge. ... A growing body of evidence suggests that there could be health consequences for someone like Lewis if she dwelled on the negatives. Chronic loneliness, it seems, is partly a matter of social isolation and partly a state of mind. Both can potentially drive ill health.
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Ambiguous Situations Make It Easier to Justify Ethical Transgressions
Two experiments show that people are apt to cheat in favor of their self-interest but only when the situation is ambiguous enough to provide moral cover.
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Workplace Support Helps Parents Make More Time for Their Kids
Between juggling responsibilities at home and the office, working parents often report feeling stressed over conflicting demands on their time. Employees who were part of a new study on reducing work-family conflict reported spending significantly more time with their kids without reducing their number of working hours. An interdisciplinary team of behavioral researchers carried out the study as part of a larger initiative undertaken by The National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called the Work, Family and Health Study with the goal of improving the health of workers and their families, while also benefiting employers.
