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Trash Talk Hurts, Even When It Comes from a Robot
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Trash Talk Hurts, Even When It Comes from a Robot

Trash talking has a long and colorful history of flustering game opponents, and now researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have demonstrated that discouraging words can be perturbing even when uttered by a robot. The trash talk in the study was decidedly mild, with utterances such as “I have to say you are a terrible player,”...

Fertilization Discovery Could Lead to New Male Contraceptive, Help Infertile Couples
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Fertilization Discovery Could Lead to New Male Contraceptive, Help Infertile Couples

An unexpected discovery about fertilization from the University of Virginia School of Medicine reveals new insights on how sperm and egg fuse and could have major implications for couples battling infertility – and may lead to a future male contraceptive. The finding has the potential both to boost the success rate of in-vitro fertilization and...

Helicopter Parents and ‘Hothouse Children’ — Exploring the High Stakes of Family Dynamics
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Helicopter Parents and ‘Hothouse Children’ — Exploring the High Stakes of Family Dynamics

True helicopter parents talk a good game in making their actions all about their children, but according to one West Virginia University researcher, what they’re doing is reaping–and heaping–the rewards for themselves. Kristin Moilanen, associate professor of child development and family studies, said the phenomena of helicopter parenting most often occurs in middle- to upper-class families where stakes...

How Religion Can Heighten or Help with Financial Stress
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How Religion Can Heighten or Help with Financial Stress

Churchgoers who are strapped for cash may experience a spike in anxiety when the donation plate is passed. However, knowing they have a church family to support them in times of need may help ease their money worries. A new study by University of Arizona researcher Ashley LeBaron illuminates the ways in which religious involvement...

How Traditional Indian Building Techniques Can Make Modern Cities More Climate-Friendly
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How Traditional Indian Building Techniques Can Make Modern Cities More Climate-Friendly

Inaccessible valleys and ravines lead from the North East Indian Meghalaya plateau to the wide plains of Bangladesh. In the monsoon months the mountain streams in the forests swell into torrential rivers. In order to cross these rivers, the indigenous Khasi and Jaintia peoples have long built their bridges out of the living aerial roots...

Majority U.S. Parents Cite Socioeconomic Factors Negatively Impact Their Families’ Health
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Majority U.S. Parents Cite Socioeconomic Factors Negatively Impact Their Families’ Health

Nearly two-thirds of American parents of children under 18 (65%) report at least one economic, environmental, or lifestyle factor that limits their family’s ability to live a healthy life, according to a new nationwide survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of Nemours Children’s Health System. Eighty percent of parents believe that they have...

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Money Spent on Beer Ads Linked to Underage Drinking

Advertising budgets and strategies used by beer companies appear to influence underage drinking, according to new research from Iowa State University. The findings show that the amount of money spent on advertising strongly predicted the percentage of teens who had heard of, preferred and tried different beer brands. For example, 99% of middle school and...

Outcomes Vary for Workers Who ‘Lawyer Up’ in Employment Arbitration Disputes
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Outcomes Vary for Workers Who ‘Lawyer Up’ in Employment Arbitration Disputes

Conventional wisdom dictates that workers who “lawyer up” in workplace disputes would be more likely to improve their chances at securing a better outcome, but in an alternative dispute resolution context such as arbitration, employers can all but cancel out those positive effects, says a new paper by a University of Illinois expert who studies...