America’s obsession with grades is failing students and jeopardizing the future of education, a University of Mississippi professor argues in his new book. Josh Eyler, director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, recently released “Failing Our Future: How Grades Harm Students, and What We Can Do About It” (Johns Hopkins University Press), in which he argues...
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Experienced and Powerful Boards Are Needed to Harness the Power of Overconfident CEOs for Breakthrough Innovations
C-suites are filled with strong personalities that can help drive new and exciting offerings. But when it comes to breakthrough technological innovations, a new study published in Strategic Management Journal found it’s essential that CEO overconfidence is balanced by a board of directors with expertise and power. Prior studies have shown that overconfident CEOs are more likely to pursue...
Are Auditory Magic Tricks Possible for a Blind Audience?
Magic tricks make the impossible seem possible. Magicians have long captivated audiences with visual tricks, such as pulling a bunny from a hat or sawing someone in half, but tricks that rely on sound are scarce. A new article published in the Cell Press journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences on October 4 explores why creating a magical...
When Dogs and Humans Find a Common Language
Humans and dogs have been birds of a feather for millennia. But how can such distant species understand each other? A recent study published in PLOS Biology by researchers from the University of Geneva and the Hearing Institute, an Institut Pasteur Center, reveals that the pair meets halfway between their differences to communicate together. From their findings,...
Reconstruction of Costumes Based on Wall Paintings from Faras
In the 1960s, the Egyptian government decided to build the Aswan High Dam. To study and salvage areas threatened by flooding by the Nile, scholars from twenty-six countries participated in a UNESCO-led initiative to save cultural heritage. A Polish team, led by Prof. Kazimierz Michałowski from the University of Warsaw, chose as their research site...
Building Deconstruction, Reuse Would Benefit NYS Jobs, Climate
Shifting from wasteful demolition practices to a circular construction economy in New York state could create thousands of green jobs and advance ambitious climate goals – while reducing pressure on landfills, Cornell University experts report in a new white paper that aims to inform proposed state legislation. Published today, “Constructing a Circular Economy in New...
Our Brains Divide the Day into Chapters. New Psychology Research Offers Details on How
Mindset and expectations, not just the external environment, shape the “table of contents” into which our brains organize the day. The moment a person steps off the street and into a restaurant—to take just one example—the brain mentally starts a new “chapter” of the day, a change that causes a big shift in brain activity....
Outdoor Businesses and Venues Could Benefit from Boosting Biodiversity
University of East Anglia researchers hid speakers in vineyards along tour routes which played additional birdsong and created ‘enhanced soundscapes’ that were louder and more diverse Visitors to vineyards were more satisfied with their tours and experience when they were exposed to this enhanced soundscape of varied bird species Researchers say the findings suggest that...
Is Your Car a Threat to National Security? It Can Be – Regardless of Where It’s Made
In April, US lawmakers urged President Joe Biden to ban Chinese-built electric vehicles (EVs), labelling them an “existential threat to the American auto industry”. The proposed ban arose from concerns that Chinese car makers have an unfair advantage due to government financial support. Following a months-long investigation into digital connections that could enable Chinese spying...
Accept Our King, Our God − or Else: the Senseless ‘Requirement’ Spanish Colonizers Used to Justify Their Bloodshed in the Americas
Diego Javier Luis, Johns Hopkins University Across the United States, the second Monday of October is increasingly becoming known as Indigenous Peoples Day. In the push to rename Columbus Day, Christopher Columbus himself has become a metaphor for the evils of early colonial empires, and rightly so. The Italian explorer who set out across the...