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How to Cope When Your Values Clash with Your Co-Workers’
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How to Cope When Your Values Clash with Your Co-Workers’

In our increasingly polarized society, more people may find themselves in a workplace where they are one of the few conservatives or few liberals around. A new study found that those whose values – political or otherwise – don’t match the majority in their organization felt they received less respect and as a result were...

A Ugandan Business Turns Banana Fiber into Sustainable Handicrafts
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A Ugandan Business Turns Banana Fiber into Sustainable Handicrafts

A decapitated banana plant is almost useless, an inconvenience to the farmer who must then uproot it and lay its dismembered parts as mulch. But can such stems somehow be returned to life? Yes, according to a Ugandan company that’s buying banana stems in a business that turns fiber into attractive handicrafts. The idea is...

Your Zoom Background Might Influence the First Impression You Make
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Your Zoom Background Might Influence the First Impression You Make

In a new study, participants tended to judge faces appearing against backgrounds featuring houseplants or bookcases as more trustworthy and competent than faces with a living space or a novelty image behind them. Gender and facial expression also appeared to influence judgments. Research led by Paddy Ross, Abi Cook  and Meg Thompson at Durham University,...

The Alexander McQueen Fashion House and Sarah Burton Announce the End of Their Collaboration
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The Alexander McQueen Fashion House and Sarah Burton Announce the End of Their Collaboration

The Alexander McQueen fashion House and Creative Director Sarah Burton today announce the end of their collaboration after two decades together. The Spring-Summer ’24 fashion show in Paris in September will mark the conclusion of a highly successful partnership that began when Sarah Burton became Creative Director of the fashion House in May 2010, having...

Employee Surveys May Miss Out on Uncovering Toxic Leadership Practices
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Employee Surveys May Miss Out on Uncovering Toxic Leadership Practices

Standardized and overly simplistic questionnaires are only scratching the surface of what employees think of their leaders, according to new research from Binghamton University’s School of Management (SOM), and negative behavior may be slipping through the cracks. As a result, the research finds, organizations may be missing out on critical information that could be keeping toxic...

New Study Uncovers the Causes of the Qing Dynasty’s Collapse
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New Study Uncovers the Causes of the Qing Dynasty’s Collapse

The Qing Dynasty in China, after over 250 years, crumbled in 1912. Led by the Complexity Science Hub (CSH), an international research team has pinpointed key reasons behind the collapse, revealing parallels to modern instability and offering vital lessons for the future. China is considered today to be the world’s largest economy (in terms of...

Prisoners ‘Trading Rare Jaguar Parts for Fashion Items’
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Prisoners ‘Trading Rare Jaguar Parts for Fashion Items’

Prisoners in Bolivia are trading in jaguar skins and other wild animal body parts to produce wallets, hats, and belts for sale in local markets. The fangs and bones of jaguars are being illegally exported for use as traditional Asian medicine. The trade, which further threatens the future of this species, has been uncovered by...

Inside the Grogue Wars of Cabo Verde
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Inside the Grogue Wars of Cabo Verde

At what point does a craft spirit no longer qualify as craft? For centuries on the archipelago nation Cabo Verde off Africa’s west coast, farmers have produced a sugar cane-based craft spirit known as “grogue.” The liquor – an effervescent spirit with light grassy notes – has a rich cultural legacy and has historically been...

Flexible, Supportive Company Culture Makes for Better Remote Work
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Flexible, Supportive Company Culture Makes for Better Remote Work

The pandemic made remote work the norm for many, but that doesn’t mean it was always a positive experience. Remote work can have many advantages: increased flexibility, inclusivity for parents and people with disabilities, and work-life balance. But it can also cause issues with collaboration, communication, and the overall work environment. New research from the...