tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5644620062681343332024-03-20T21:14:39.812-07:00DrTanPohTinUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger308125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-564462006268134333.post-1034265481498036052013-08-14T19:05:00.002-07:002013-08-14T19:05:27.005-07:00‘Hybrid’ Organizations a Difficult Bet for Entrepreneurs<br />
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<span class="mu-uc black" style="color: black; font-family: 'Trade Gothic W01 Bold 2', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; text-transform: uppercase;">12 AUG 2013</span> <span class="mu-uc category" style="font-family: 'Trade Gothic W01 Bold 2', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; text-transform: uppercase;"><a class="ash" href="http://hbswk.hbs.edu/features/research.html" style="color: #b3b3b3; text-decoration: none;">RESEARCH & IDEAS</a> Harvard Business school</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trade Gothic W01 Bold 2', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif;">Hybrid organizations combine the social logic of a nonprofit with the commercial logic of a for-profit business, but are very difficult to finance. So why would anyone want to form one? <strong>Julie Battilana</strong> and <strong>Matthew Lee</strong>investigate.</b></div>
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Consider two organizations with the same noble purpose: to solve the problem of poor eyesight in developing countries. The first, the <a class="ext" href="http://www.vdwoxford.org/home/" style="color: #a41034; text-decoration: none;">Centre for Vision in the Developing World</a>, follows a traditional nonprofit model, soliciting donations that fund the creation and distribution of specially designed eyeglasses that can be calibrated by the user to circumvent the need for an optometrist. The second, <a class="ext" href="http://visionspring.org/" style="color: #a41034; text-decoration: none;">VisionSpring</a>, follows a different approach, working to build a network of entrepreneurs who sell eyeglasses in their communities. Rather than raise funds through donations, it sustains itself primarily by the sale of the glasses themselves.</div>
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VisionSpring is what organization scholars call a "hybrid" social venture, since it combines the social welfare logic of a nonprofit and the commercial logic of a for-profit business. When hybrids work, they can be a fantastically creative means of solving real-world problems in totally self-sustaining ways, harnessing the strengths of both for-profit and nonprofit models.</div>
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But they are a difficult bet for entrepreneurs starting out in the field of business. Because hybrid social ventures fall into a gray area between business and charity, they aren't easily funded by venture capitalists on the one hand or philanthropic foundations on the other.</div>
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“IT’S MUCH HARDER TO GET STARTED AND BE SUCCESSFUL IF YOU DON'T FIT INTO A WELL-DEFINED FORM THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND.” —MATTHEW LEE</blockquote>
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So what would make anyone want to create a <a href="http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6795.html" style="color: #a41034; text-decoration: none;">hybrid organization</a>? That is the question Harvard Business School Associate Professor <a href="http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/profile.aspx?facId=382192" style="color: #a41034; text-decoration: none;">Julie Battilana</a>and doctoral candidate Matthew Lee ask in a new working paper, <a class="pdf" href="http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Publication%20Files/14-005_3b5dfa9a-58ec-4279-83fa-9305a93883d8.pdf" style="color: #a41034; position: static; text-decoration: none;">How the Zebra Got Its Stripes: Imprinting of Individuals and Hybrid Social Ventures.</a></div>
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"It's much harder to get started and be successful if you don't fit into a well-defined form that people understand," says Lee. "Creating a new hybrid is difficult to explain as a rational choice taking this limitation into account."</div>
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Lee and Battilana sought other explanations for the existence of such "zebras," including the entrepreneur's family, education, and work background. "Knowing these social ventures are diverging from the more traditional commercial or nonprofit ventures, we wanted to understand what made their founders diverge," says Battilana.</div>
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In order to gain that understanding, the researchers partnered with<a class="ext" href="http://www.echoinggreen.org/" style="color: #a41034; text-decoration: none;">Echoing Green</a>, a nonprofit that funds social entrepreneurs through a highly competitive fellowship program. The organization agreed to facilitate research on the many early-stage social entrepreneurs who applied to the annual program. The researchers followed up with a survey that asked questions about their background and experience, ending up with more than 700 responses in their final sample.</div>
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Some of what they found was to be anticipated. Sure enough, having a family member who worked in a for-profit firm as opposed to a nonprofit organization corresponded closely with an individual's tendency to incorporate a business logic into his or her venture.</div>
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"When you are in a family background and you are socialized into that environment, you adopt certain ways of thinking and behaving and internalize certain values that are dominant in your environment," says Battilana.</div>
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The same went for educational background. "When you are exposed to a certain type of content, you start internalizing it and taking it for granted," she says.</div>
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The final factor, work experience, however, didn't play out as might be expected. Working for a few years in a commercial firm significantly increased the chances that an entrepreneur would create a hybrid social venture rather than a traditional nonprofit. But after that initial spike, the increase diminishes with each successive year. After 22 years working in a corporate environment, additional business experience actually makes an entrepreneur less likely to incorporate that experience into a social venture. (The researchers corrected for age in their analysis.)</div>
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Lee and Battilana explain this finding by pointing out that as people stay in a certain type of organization for a number of years, they may become more rigid in their modes of thinking about organizational possibilities and less able to see connections between different modes. When longtime businesspeople go on to start a social venture, they are consequently less likely to see how the for-profit and social welfare approaches can be combined. In this way, business experience may actually make them more likely to create a traditional charity, rather than a hybrid social venture.</div>
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JUMP SOONER</h3>
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That's good news for those who are considering starting a hybrid social venture, an increasingly popular interest among her students, says Battilana.</div>
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"Young people are getting more and more excited about these new forms of entrepreneurship, but they also realize it's quite complicated, so they think they need to get some for-profit experience to equip themselves," she says.</div>
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According to the researchers' findings, however, they may not need as much corporate experience as they think.</div>
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"Many people are asking themselves when they should jump from their corporate job to start the social venture they've been dreaming about. Our findings suggest that if you're working in business to get the business mindset, there may be a case for jumping sooner," says Lee. <img alt="" src="http://hbswk.hbs.edu/images/site/tack-wk.gif" style="border: 0px;" /></div>
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR</h3>
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Boston-based writer <b style="font-family: 'Trade Gothic W01 Bold 2', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif;">Michael Blanding</b> is the author of <em style="font-family: 'Trade Gothic W01 Obl', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal;">The Coke Machine: The Dirty Truth Behind the World's Favorite Soft Drink</em>.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-564462006268134333.post-67126017861909834492013-05-16T22:54:00.000-07:002013-05-16T22:54:50.222-07:00Why Isn’t ‘Servant Leadership’ More Prevalent?<br />
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01 MAY 2013 WHAT DO YOU THINK?<br />
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With servant leadership, a leader's primary role is to serve employees. Everyone from Lao-Tzu to Max De Pree thinks this a wonderful model. Why then, asks Professor Jim Heskett, is this style so rare among CEOs?<br />
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by Jim Heskett<br />
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Servant leadership is an age-old concept, a term loosely used to suggest that a leader's primary role is to serve others, especially employees. I witnessed a practical example of it at a ServiceMaster board meeting in the 1990s when CEO William Pollard spilled a cup of coffee prior to the board meeting.<br />
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Instead of summoning someone to clean it up, he asked a colleague to get him cleaning compound and a cloth, things easily found in a company that provided cleaning services. Whereupon he proceeded to get down on his hands and knees to clean up the spill himself. The remarkable thing was that board members and employees alike hardly noticed as he did it. It was as if it was expected in a company with self-proclaimed servant leadership.<br />
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Lao-Tzu wrote about servant leadership in the fifth-century BC: "The highest type of ruler is one of whose existence the people are barely aware…. The Sage is self-effacing and scanty of words. When his task is accomplished and things have been completed, all the people say, 'We ourselves have achieved it!'"<br />
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It is natural, rightly or wrongly, to relate servant leadership to the concept of an inverted pyramid organization in which top management "reports" upward to lower levels of management. At other times it has been associated with organizations that have near-theological values (for example, Max De Pree's leadership at Herman Miller, as expressed in his book, Leadership is an Art, that emphasizes the importance of love, elegance, caring, and inclusivity as central elements of management). In that regard, it is also akin to the pope's annual washing and kissing of the feet as part of the Holy Thursday rite.<br />
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The modern era of servant leadership began with a paper, The Servant as Leader, written by Robert Greenleaf in 1970. In it, he said: "The servant leader is servant first … It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead … (vs. one who is leader first…) … The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons … (and become) more likely themselves to become servants?"<br />
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Now it appears that a group of organizational psychologists, led by Adam Grant, are attempting to measure the impact of servant leadership on leaders, not just those being led. Grant describes research in his recent book, Give and Take, that suggests that servant leaders are not only more highly regarded than others by their employees and not only feel better about themselves at the end of the day but are more productive as well. His thesis is that servant leaders are the beneficiaries of important contacts, information, and insights that make them more effective and productive in what they do even though they spend a great deal of their time sharing what they learn and helping others through such things as career counseling, suggesting contacts, and recommending new ways of doing things.<br />
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Further, servant leaders don't waste much time deciding to whom to give and in what order. They give to everyone in their organizations. Grant concludes that giving can be exhausting but also self-replenishing. So in his seemingly tireless efforts to give, described in the book, Grant makes it a practice to give to everyone until he detects a habitual "taker" that can be eliminated from his "gift list."<br />
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Servant leadership is only one approach to leading, and it isn't for everyone. But if servant leadership is as effective as portrayed in recent research, why isn't it more prevalent? What do you think?<br />
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TO READ MORE:<br />
Max De Pree, Leadership is an Art (East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Press, 1987)<br />
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Adam Grant, Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success (New York: Viking Press, 2013)<br />
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Robert K. Greenleaf, The Servant as Leader (Westfield, IN: The Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership, 2008)<br />
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C. William Pollard, The Soul of the Firm (New York: HarperBusiness and Grand Rapids, MI: ZondermanPublishingHouse, 1996)<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-564462006268134333.post-24482319923184164762013-05-16T22:49:00.001-07:002013-05-16T22:49:59.376-07:00how to spot a liar<br />
13 MAY 2013 <br />
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Key linguistic cues can help reveal dishonesty during business negotiations, whether it's a flat-out lie or a deliberate omission of key information, according to research by Lyn M. Van Swol, Michael T. Braun, and Deepak Malhotra.<br />
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Want to know if someone's lying to you? Telltale signs may include running of the mouth, an excessive use of third-person pronouns, and an increase in profanity.<br />
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These are among the findings of a recent experimental study that delves into the language of deception, detailed in the paper Evidence for the Pinocchio Effect: Linguistic Differences Between Lies, Deception by Omissions, and Truths, which was published in the journal Discourse Processes. Asked why the topic of deception is important to business research, negotiation expert Deepak Malhotra responds wryly: "As it turns out, some people will lie and cheat in business!"<br />
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Malhotra, the Eli Goldston Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, coauthored the paper with Associate Professor Lyn M. Van Swol and doctoral candidate Michael T. Braun, both from the University of Wisconsin—Madison. "Most people admit to having lied in negotiations, and everyone believes they've been lied to in these contexts," Malhotra says. "We may be able to improve the situation if we can equip people to detect and deter the unethical behavior of others."<br />
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“JUST LIKE PINOCCHIO’S NOSE, THE NUMBER OF WORDS GREW ALONG WITH THE LIE”<br />
"Evidence for the Pinocchio Effect" fills a key gap in the field of deception research, says Van Swol, the study's lead author. Previous studies have examined the linguistic differences between lies and truthful statements. But this one goes a step further to consider the differences between flat-out lying and so-called deception by omission—that is, the willful avoidance of divulging important information, either by changing the subject or by saying as little as possible.<br />
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THE ULTIMATUM GAME<br />
To garner a sample of truth tellers, liars, and deceivers by omission, the researchers recruited 104 participants to play the ultimatum game, a popular tool among experimental economists. In the traditional version of the game, one player (the allocator) receives a sum of money and proposes how to divvy it up with a partner (the receiver). The receiver has the option of either accepting the proposed split or refusing the allocator's proposal—in which case neither player gets any of the money. Because receivers will often reject offers they perceive as unfair, leaving both parties with nothing, it behooves the allocator to offer an amount that will be deemed fair by the receiver. In many instances, allocators choose to share half, Malhotra says.<br />
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For the purposes of the deception experiment, the rules of the ultimatum game differed from the traditional version in three ways. First, in this version, the allocator received an endowment of either $30 or $5 to share with the receiver. The receiver had no way of verifying how much money the allocator had been given, information which the allocator was not required to divulge. Hence, an allocator could conceivably give the receiver $2 and keep $28, and the receiver would be none the wiser, perhaps assuming only $5 was in play. The second change was that if the receiver rejected the allocator's offer he or she would receive a default amount of $7.50 (or $1.25)—whereas the allocator would get no money at all.<br />
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Finally, each game included two minutes of videotaped conversation in which the receiver could grill the allocator with questions, prior to deciding whether to accept or reject the offer. This provided ample opportunity for the allocator to tell the truth about the money, lie, or try to avoid the subject altogether. "We wanted to create a situation where people could choose to lie or not lie, and it would happen naturally," Van Swol says.<br />
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Ultimately, the receiver had to decide whether the proposed allocation was fair and honest, based only on a conversation with the allocator. Thus, it behooved the allocator to be either a fair person or a good liar.<br />
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As it turned out, 70 percent of the allocators were honest, telling the receivers the true amount of the endowment and/or offering them at least half of the pot. The remaining 30 percent of allocators were classified either as liars (meaning they flat-out lied about the amount of the endowment) or as deceivers by omission (meaning they evaded questions about the amount of the endowment, but ultimately offered the receiver less than half).<br />
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After a graduate student transcribed all the allocator/receiver conversations, the researchers carefully analyzed the linguistic content, comparing the truth tellers against the liars and deceivers in order to suss out cues for deception. They looked for both strategic and nonstrategic language cues.<br />
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"A strategic cue is a conscious strategy to reduce the likelihood of the deception being detected," Van Swol explains, "whereas a nonstrategic cue is an emotional response, and people aren't usually aware that they're doing it."<br />
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KEY FINDINGS: WORD COUNT, PROFANITY, AND PRONOUNS<br />
In terms of strategic cues, the researchers discovered the following:<br />
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Bald-faced liars tended to use many more words during the ultimatum game than did truth tellers, presumably in an attempt to win over suspicious receivers. Van Swol dubbed this "the Pinocchio effect." "Just like Pinocchio's nose, the number of words grew along with the lie," she says.<br />
Allocators who engaged in deception by omission, on the other hand, used fewer words and shorter sentences than truth tellers.<br />
Among the findings related to nonstrategic cues:<br />
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On average, liars used more swear words than did truth tellers—especially in cases where the recipients voiced suspicion about the true amount of the endowment. "We think this may be due to the fact that it takes a lot of cognitive energy to lie," Van Swol says. "Using so much of your brain to lie may make it hard to monitor yourself in other areas."<br />
Liars used far more third-person pronouns than truth tellers or omitters. "This is a way of distancing themselves from and avoiding ownership of the lie," Van Swol explains.<br />
Liars spoke in more complex sentences than either omitters or truth tellers.<br />
The researchers also examined when and whether the receivers trusted the allocators—noting instances when receivers voiced doubts about the allocators' statements, and correlating the various linguistic cues with the accuracy of the receivers' suspicions. They also noted instances in which receivers showed no suspicion toward deceivers.<br />
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On average, receivers tended to trust the bald-faced liars far more than they trusted the allocators who tried to deceive by omission. In short, relative silence garnered more suspicion than flat-out falsehoods. "It turns out that omission may be a terrible deception strategy," Van Swol says. "In terms of succeeding at the deception, it was more effective to outright lie. It's a more Machiavellian strategy, but it's more successful."<br />
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POSSIBLE APPLICATIONS<br />
In the latest phase of their research, the team is investigating the linguistic differences between lying in person and lying via email. Results regarding the latter may be increasingly useful as a larger portion of business is now being conducted via email, and such communications leave a transcript that can be analyzed carefully—and at leisure—by suspicious counterparts. "People detect lies better over the computer than they do face-to-face," Van Swol says.<br />
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That said, the researchers are quick to emphasize that linguistic cues are most definitely not a foolproof method of detecting lies, even among those who are trained to look out for them.<br />
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"This is early stage research," Malhotra says. "As with any such work, it would be a mistake to take the findings as gospel and apply them too strictly. Rather, the factors we find to be associated with lies and deception are perhaps most useful as warning signs that should simply prompt greater vigilance and further investigation regarding the veracity of the people with whom we are dealing.<br />
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Author : Carmen Nobel is senior editor of Harvard Business School Working Knowledge.<br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-564462006268134333.post-75327756548479876242013-04-18T22:53:00.001-07:002013-04-18T22:53:32.597-07:00First Minutes are Critical in New-Employee Orientation <br />
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<span class="mu-uc black" style="color: black; font: normal normal normal 13px/16px 'Trade Gothic W01 Bold 2', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; text-transform: uppercase;">01 APR 2013</span> <span class="mu-uc category" style="font: normal normal normal 13px/16px 'Trade Gothic W01 Bold 2', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; text-transform: uppercase;"><a class="ash" href="http://hbswk.hbs.edu/features/research.html" style="color: #b3b3b3; text-decoration: none;">RESEARCH & IDEAS</a></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trade Gothic W01 Bold 2', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Employee orientation programs ought to be less about the company and </b><b style="font-family: 'Trade Gothic W01 Bold 2', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">more about the employee, according to new research by Daniel M. Cable, Francesca Gino, and Bradley R. Staats.</b><b style="font-family: 'Trade Gothic W01 Bold 2', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">by Carmen Nobel</b></div>
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The first few minutes of new employee orientation, if done right, can lead to happier and more productive workers and, ultimately, increased customer satisfaction. Unfortunately, a lot of companies do it wrong.</div>
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In many firms, employee orientation focuses solely on corporate culture and identity of the new workplace. There's a lecture about the firm's history and another about standard operating procedures. There's a packet of information from human resources, emblazoned with the firm's logo, and maybe a coffee mug to match.</div>
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The underlying message: Welcome. You should be proud to work here. Please fit in accordingly.</div>
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But research suggests that employee orientation ought to be less about the company and more about the employee. In their paper "Breaking Them In or Eliciting Their Best? Reframing Socialization around Newcomers' Self-expression," published in the March 2013 <em style="font-family: 'Trade Gothic W01 Obl', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">Administrative Science Quarterly</em>, a research team finds that shifting the focus to an employee's personal identity leads to an increase in both employee retention and customer satisfaction.</div>
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"Organizations will talk about recruiting from outside the company because they need new ideas and new blood, but then there is this tendency to shut off the new and basically transfer the corporate culture over to the new employee," says Francesca Gino, an associate professor at Harvard Business School who cowrote the paper with Daniel M. Cable of London Business School and Bradley R. Staats (HBS MBA '02, DBA '09) of the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School. "It was interesting for us to think about how part of your identity seems to go away as you go through that process."</div>
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“IT WAS INTERESTING FOR US TO THINK ABOUT HOW PART OF YOUR IDENTITY SEEMS TO GO AWAY AS YOU GO THROUGH [THE ORIENTATION] PROCESS.”</blockquote>
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Previous studies have shown that employees are especially productive and happy when employers encourage them to use their individual signature strengths on the job, but historically those studies did not consider the employee onboarding process, Gino says. The researchers hypothesized that companies would see positive performance results by emphasizing employee individuality from day one, testing their hypothesis through a series of field and lab experiments.</div>
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For starters, they conducted a field study at Wipro, a major business process outsourcing company based in Bangalore, India, that provides telephone and chat support for its global customers. Traditionally, Wipro's orientation for call center employees consisted of an informational session about the company, followed by several weeks of training in which new call agents) must demonstrate proficiency in English, as well as an aptitude for following standard procedures during customer calls.</div>
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Individuality was not just discounted; in some ways it was expressly discouraged. "As a service role, the job can be stressful, not only because employees must help frustrated customers with their problems, but because Indian call center employees are often expected to 'de-Indianize' many elements of their behavior—for example, by adopting a Western accent and attitude," the paper explains.</div>
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Wipro was dealing with a big dropout dilemma; more than half of its call center employees quit only a few months after training. "Wipro presented us with the problem of figuring out whether there was anything we could do to reduce turnover," Gino says. "We thought it was the perfect environment to test whether we could make a difference just by changing something minor in the onboarding process."</div>
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IDENTITY EXPERIMENTS</h3>
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In the field experiment, the researchers divided batches of new call agents into an individual identity group, an organizational identity group, and a control group. The control group went through the traditional process, focused on firm awareness and skills training. The two identity groups received the same training as the control group, but also an additional hour-long presentation, which varied according to the group.</div>
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For the individual identity condition, a senior leader at Wipro spent 15 minutes discussing ways in which working at the company would enable the newcomers to express their individuality. Next, the new call agents completed an exercise ranking the individual strengths they would exhibit if stranded on a life raft at sea; they also spent time considering how their responses might differ from their colleagues'. Then, the agents answered a series of questions about their individual strengths such as, "What is unique about you that leads to your happiest times and best performance at work?" Finally, the agents shared their strengths with their future officemates.</div>
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At the end of the session, employees in the individual identity group received fleece sweatshirts embroidered with their individual names, along with a name badge. They were asked to wear them for the duration of employee training.</div>
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For the organizational condition, new employees spent 15 minutes listening to a senior Wipro leader and a "star performer" at the company talk about why Wipro was a singular place to work. Next, the newcomers spent 15 minutes writing answers to questions such as, "What did you hear about Wipro today that you would be proud to tell your family about?" Finally, the group members discussed their answers with each other.</div>
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At the end of the session, employees in the organizational identity group received fleece sweatshirts embroidered with the <em style="font-family: 'Trade Gothic W01 Obl', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">company</em> name, along with a badge. They were asked to wear them for the duration of employee training.</div>
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Seven months later, the researchers looked into whether the orientation changes affected how long the newcomers/agents chose to stay with the company. "Considering we just changed one hour on the first day of orientation, the results were amazing," Gino says.</div>
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The turnover rate in the control group was 47.2 percent higher than that of the individual identity group, and 16.2 percent higher than that of the organizational identity group. And turnover was 26.7 percent higher in the organizational identity condition than in the individual identity condition. Additionally, employees in the individual identity group had garnered higher customer satisfaction scores during the seven months than those in the control group.</div>
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To further study the reasons behind the findings, the researchers conducted a similar experiment in the controlled environment of a university lab. They recruited 175 college students for a three-hour study, conducted over two consecutive days. The students were told at the start that they would be working on a series of tasks, including data entry. All participants completed day one of the study (receiving $35 for their trouble). They were given the choice of whether to return on the second day (in which case they'd receive an additional $15).</div>
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As with the field experiment, some participants were placed in a control group, others engaged in activities that stressed individuality (creating personalized nametags, for example), and some focused on the identity of the organization (such as creating a logo for the research lab).</div>
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After the experiments, participants filled out a short questionnaire about their experience in the lab, indicating their level of agreement with statements such as, "Within this research team, I felt like a distinctive person." These were meant to measure what the researchers call "authentic self-expression."</div>
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Lab participants in the individuality group reported higher levels of authentic self-expression than those in the organizational group. Individuality group participants also performed better and faster on data-entry tasks than those in the other groups. Furthermore, those in the individuality group were much more likely to return to the lab on the second day, indicating that the opportunity for self-expression is indeed directly related to employee retention.</div>
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LESSONS FOR BUSINESSES</h3>
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For employers, the implications of the findings are pretty clear: "Given that the standard, organization-focused approach of employee socialization is so common, it would benefit managers to think about an alternative approach where there's more room for newcomers' self-expression, Gino says. "This is a pivotal stage of the employee/employer relationship, and there are ways to emphasize people's individuality so they can bring it out into their jobs. To Wipro's credit, after seeing the results of the study, the company redesigned its employee orientation process such that personal identity socialization is a part of it."</div>
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<em style="font-family: 'Trade Gothic W01 Obl', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">NOTE TO READERS: In the next step of this research, Professor Gino and her colleagues are looking to discover which aspects of self-reflection during employee orientation are most likely to lead to a happy, effective workforce. For example, will the results differ if employees reflect on their weaknesses as well as their strengths? If you think your company would be interested in participating in a field study on this topic—and possibly improve employee retention and productivity—please write to Francesca Gino directly at <a href="mailto:fgino@hbs.edu" style="color: #a41034; text-decoration: none;">fgino@hbs.edu</a>.</em> <img alt="" src="http://hbswk.hbs.edu/images/site/tack-wk.gif" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" /></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trade Gothic W01 Bold 2', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; text-transform: uppercase;">ABOUT THE AUTHOR</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trade Gothic W01 Bold 2', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Carmen Nobel</b> is senior editor of <em style="font-family: 'Trade Gothic W01 Obl', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">Harvard Business School Working Knowledge</em>.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-564462006268134333.post-64703037861447633692013-04-11T04:18:00.000-07:002013-04-11T04:18:06.278-07:00How to Demotivate Your Best Employees <br />
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<span class="mu-uc black" style="color: black; font-size: 17px; font: normal normal normal 13px/16px 'Trade Gothic W01 Bold 2', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; text-transform: uppercase;">08 APR 2013</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 17px;"> </span><span class="mu-uc category" style="font-size: 17px; font: normal normal normal 13px/16px 'Trade Gothic W01 Bold 2', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; text-transform: uppercase;"><a class="ash" href="http://hbswk.hbs.edu/features/research.html" style="color: #b3b3b3; text-decoration: none;">RESEARCH & IDEAS</a> </span></div>
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<span class="mu-uc category" style="font-size: 17px; font: normal normal normal 13px/16px 'Trade Gothic W01 Bold 2', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; text-transform: uppercase;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trade Gothic W01 Roman', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 24px; text-transform: none;"><b style="font-family: 'Trade Gothic W01 Bold 2', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">by Dina Gerdeman</b></span></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trade Gothic W01 Bold 2', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Many companies hand out awards such as "employee of the month," but do they work to motivate performance? Not really, says professor <strong style="font-family: 'Trade Gothic W01 Bold 2', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Ian Larkin</strong>. In fact, they may turn off your best employees altogether</b></div>
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It would <em style="font-family: 'Trade Gothic W01 Obl', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">seem</em> to make sense that when companies recognize their workers with awards, they are likely to see a boost in morale and perhaps even inspire them to work harder.</div>
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It turns out that sometimes rewarding employees for good behavior can actually backfire, leading to a drop in motivation and productivity.</div>
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More than 80 percent of companies dole out work-related awards like "employee of the month" or "top salesperson." Managers often view these awards as inexpensive ways to improve worker performance; many believe that when employees bask in the glow of corporate praise, they may even feel motivated to work harder over the long term.</div>
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But new research suggests that some awards may actually have the opposite effect, according to a recent paper called <a href="http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/7215.html" style="color: #a41034; text-decoration: none;">The Dirty Laundry of Employee Award Programs: Evidence from the Field</a>, written by Harvard Business School Assistant Professor Ian Larkin, along with professor Lamar Pierce and doctoral student Timothy Gubler from the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis.</div>
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The researchers studied an attendance award program initiated by managers at one of the five commercial-industrial laundries owned by the same midwestern company. Perfect attendance was defined as not having any unexcused absences or tardy shift arrivals during the month.</div>
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The plant managers had all the right intentions when they implemented the award program. Absenteeism and tardiness costs US companies as much as $3 billion a year. And in the case of the laundry plant, one worker's tardiness or absence can affect another's productivity. If one team of workers falls behind on the job, for example, other workers down the line are left to sit idle.</div>
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STELLAR EMPLOYEES WHO PREVIOUSLY HAD EXCELLENT ATTENDANCE AND WERE HIGHLY PRODUCTIVE ENDED UP SUFFERING A 6 TO 8 PERCENT PRODUCTIVITY DECREASE</blockquote>
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The plant's attendance award program began in March 2011 and continued for nine months. Employees with perfect attendance for a month, including no unexcused absences or tardy shift arrivals, were entered into a drawing to win a $75 gift card to a local restaurant or store; the winner's name was drawn at a meeting attended by all the employees. At the end of the sixth month, the plant manager held another drawing for a $100 gift card for all employees with perfect attendance records over the previous six months.</div>
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The program did produce one benefit the plant managers were looking for: it reduced the average level of tardiness and led to more punctual arrivals for the workers who participated.</div>
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AIRING DIRTY LAUNDRY</h3>
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Yet when Larkin and his colleagues took a closer look at employee time sheets and records showing the amount of laundry that actually got done both before and after the program was introduced, they found that the plant—unlike the other four that didn't have an award program—experienced some problems:</div>
<ul style="list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 24px !important; margin-left: 0px !important; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<li style="list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: disc; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">First, employees ended up "gaming" the program, showing up on time only when they were eligible for the award and, in some cases, calling in sick rather than reporting late. Most interestingly, workers were 50 percent more likely to have an unplanned "single absence" after the award was implemented, suggesting that employees who would otherwise have arrived to work tardy on a certain day might instead either call in sick to avoid disqualification or else simply stay home because they would be disqualified from the award regardless.<br /><br />Also, while punctuality improved during the first few months of the program, old patterns of tardiness started to emerge in later months. And once employees became disqualified and the carrot of the award was out of their reach, their punctual behavior slipped back downhill. Larkin says this runs counter to what some people believe—that such an award program might instill a long-term pattern of on-time performance in workers.<br /><br />The hope is that with the award "you get them to do what you want them to do in a habitual way," Larkin says. "But we can say it's the exact opposite. There was only a change in behavior while people were eligible for the award."</li>
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<li style="list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: disc; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Second, and perhaps more significantly, stellar employees who previously had excellent attendance and were highly productive ended up suffering a 6 to 8 percent productivity decrease after the program was introduced. This suggests that these employees were actually turned off—and their motivation dropped—when the managers introduced awards for good behavior they were already exhibiting.<br /><br />These workers may have believed that the award program was unfair; after all, they had been showing up to work on time before the attendance program, so they wondered why an award was necessary and why some employees who used to show up late were winning the award.<br /><br />"The award demotivated these employees," says Larkin, who interviewed workers at the plant to gain additional insight. "People believed it was unfair to recognize people who only changed their behavior because of this award. They felt that 'I'm a hard worker, and now they're giving awards for something like attendance. What about me?' "</li>
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<li style="list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: outside; list-style-type: disc; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">All in all, the award program actually led to a decrease in plant productivity by 1.4 percent, which added up to a cost of almost $1,500 a month for the plant.<br /><br />"Having your top performers demotivated for all eight hours on the job ended up creating a much bigger productivity hit than having the extra five minutes of work from someone who came habitually late," Larkin says.</li>
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Ultimately, the researchers concluded that rewarding one behavior sometimes can "crowd out" intrinsic motivation in another.</div>
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REWARDS THAT WORK</h3>
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Despite the fact that this particular award brought more harm than good, many other types of award incentives have proven beneficial for companies. But Larkin says corporate managers should manage them closely to make sure that employees aren't gaming the system and that the programs aren't fostering unintended negative effects.</div>
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"Many award programs have created value and are cost-effective for companies," he says. "Our paper shouldn't be taken as a blanket criticism of awards. You can't say awards are good or bad. It depends on how they're implemented."</div>
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This particular attendance award may have been especially flawed because rather than rewarding workers for exceptional performance, it rewarded them for fulfilling a basic job expectation.</div>
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"A lot of awards are focused on identifying people at the top of the class or people who went the extra mile," Larkin says. "This award did not recognize people who went above and beyond. It was an award for a behavior that employees should do."</div>
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Also, Larkin believes that awards are more effective when they recognize good behavior in the past, rather than behavior going forward. Plus awards for past performance aren't likely to see as much gaming, he says.</div>
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"It's motivational to hear that you've done a good job and are being recognized for doing the right thing," he says. "And it provides a good example for other people. People aren't being rewarded because they changed their behavior to match what the manager wanted or by gaming."</div>
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Larkin says that in the laundry study, the reward itself—gift cards—may have led to a higher likelihood of gaming. Sometimes it's better to keep money out of the deal.</div>
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"People respond very strongly to monetary incentives with this gaming mentality," he says. "When I talk to companies about award programs, I find myself telling them, 'Don't put in that $500 or the trip to the Bahamas.' It sounds like a nice thing to put in, but it also changes the psychological mindset people have."</div>
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Instead, Larkin says that companies may fare better just by giving people a nice plaque, sending an email to staff, or calling a meeting to recognize certain workers publicly in front of the whole crew.</div>
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"You can't put a price on that. The recognition of hearing you did a good job and that others are hearing about it is worth more than money." <img alt="" src="http://hbswk.hbs.edu/images/site/tack-wk.gif" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" /></div>
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR</h3>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trade Gothic W01 Bold 2', Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Dina Gerdeman</b> is a writer based in Mansfield, Massachusetts.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-564462006268134333.post-38751342833425066722012-11-01T22:24:00.001-07:002012-11-01T22:24:07.835-07:00Master a new language and grow hippocampus and cerebral cortex <br />
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<span class="date" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #777777; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">OCT 11, 2012</span></div>
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<h2 style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 2em; line-height: 1.2em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 16px;">By: <a href="http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog/author/sharpbrains/" rel="author" style="color: black; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Posts by SharpBrains">SharpBrains</a></span></h2>
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<div style="line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<a href="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/251361.php" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #3c6c92; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img alt="" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-11862" height="208" src="http://www.sharpbrains.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/foreignlanguage_brain-288x300.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; clear: none; float: left; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 0; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 7px; margin-top: 3px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-left: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-top: 2px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px;" title="foreignlanguage_brain" width="200" />Learning New Languages Helps The Brain Grow</a> (Medical News):</div>
<div style="line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span class="dquo" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: -0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">“</span>The learning of languages allows the brain to stay “in shape”, by causing certain parts of the brain to grow, including the hippocampus and three areas of the cerebral cortex…This finding came from scientists at Lund University, after examining young recruits with a talent for acquiring languages who were able to speak in Arabic, Russian, or Dari fluently after just 13 months of learning, before which they had no knowledge of the languages<span id="more-11861" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></span>…Johan Mårtensson explained: “We were surprised that different parts of the brain developed to different degrees depending on how well the students performed and how much effort they had had to put in to keep up with the course.”</div>
<div style="line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Study</strong>: <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811912006581" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #3c6c92; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Growth of language-related brain areas after foreign language learning</a> (Neuroimage)</div>
<ul style="color: #555555; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 14px; margin-right: 14px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<li style="list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: circle; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 18px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Abstract: The influence of adult foreign-language acquisition on human brain organization is poorly understood. We studied cortical thickness and hippocampal volumes of conscript interpreters before and after three months of intense language studies. Results revealed increases in hippocampus volume and in cortical thickness of the left middle frontal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, and superior temporal gyrus for interpreters relative to controls. The right hippocampus and the left superior temporal gyrus were structurally more malleable in interpreters acquiring higher proficiency in the foreign language. Interpreters struggling relatively more to master the language displayed larger gray matter increases in the middle frontal gyrus. These findings confirm structural changes in brain regions known to serve language functions during foreign-language acquisition.</li>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-564462006268134333.post-53919084216745929182012-08-23T22:18:00.001-07:002012-08-23T22:18:27.434-07:00Steve Carell on How to Act Brilliant<br />
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<a href="http://www.wired.com/entertainment/hollywood/multimedia/2008/04/gs_carell_ss" style="color: #dddddd; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">View Slideshow <img alt="View Slideshow" height="13" src="http://www.wired.com/images/icon_slideshow.gif" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; height: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; top: 3px; width: 16px;" width="16" /></a></div>
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<div class="title" style="color: #666666; font: normal normal normal 0.8em/normal 'arial black', helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-transform: uppercase;">
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<span class="subtitle" style="color: black; font: normal normal bold 0.9em/normal arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-transform: uppercase;">GET SMARTER: </span><a href="http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/magazine/16-05/gs_intro" style="color: #007ca5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">12 Hacks That Will Amp Up Your Brainpower</a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span class="subtitle" style="color: black; font: normal normal bold 0.9em/normal arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-transform: uppercase;">1: </span><a href="http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/magazine/16-05/gs_01distract" style="color: #007ca5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Distract Yourself</a></div>
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<span class="subtitle" style="color: black; font: normal normal bold 0.9em/normal arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-transform: uppercase;">2: </span><a href="http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/magazine/16-05/gs_02caffeinate" style="color: #007ca5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Caffeinate With Care</a></div>
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<span class="subtitle" style="color: black; font: normal normal bold 0.9em/normal arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-transform: uppercase;">3: </span><a href="http://www.wired.com/special_multimedia/2008/gs_03feedyourmind" style="color: #007ca5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Choose Impressive Information</a></div>
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<span class="subtitle" style="color: black; font: normal normal bold 0.9em/normal arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-transform: uppercase;">4: </span><a href="http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/magazine/16-05/gs_04thinkpositive" style="color: #007ca5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Think Positive</a></div>
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<span class="subtitle" style="color: black; font: normal normal bold 0.9em/normal arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-transform: uppercase;">5: </span><a href="http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/magazine/16-05/gs_05drugs" style="color: #007ca5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Do the Right Drugs</a></div>
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<span class="subtitle" style="color: black; font: normal normal bold 0.9em/normal arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-transform: uppercase;">6: </span><a href="http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/magazine/16-05/gs_06iqtest" style="color: #007ca5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Juice Your IQ Score</a></div>
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<span class="subtitle" style="color: black; font: normal normal bold 0.9em/normal arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-transform: uppercase;">7: </span><a href="http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/magazine/16-05/gs_07yourbrain" style="color: #007ca5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Know Your Brain</a></div>
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<span class="subtitle" style="color: black; font: normal normal bold 0.9em/normal arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-transform: uppercase;">8: </span><a href="http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/magazine/16-05/gs_08dontpanic" style="color: #007ca5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Don't Panic</a></div>
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<span class="subtitle" style="color: black; font: normal normal bold 0.9em/normal arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-transform: uppercase;">9: </span><a href="http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/magazine/16-05/gs_09embracechaos" style="color: #007ca5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Embrace Chaos</a></div>
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<span class="subtitle" style="color: black; font: normal normal bold 0.9em/normal arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-transform: uppercase;">10: </span><a href="http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/magazine/16-05/gs_10getvisual" style="color: #007ca5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Get Visual</a></div>
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<span class="subtitle" style="color: black; font: normal normal bold 0.9em/normal arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-transform: uppercase;">11: </span><a href="http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/magazine/16-05/gs_11excercise" style="color: #007ca5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Exercise Wisely</a></div>
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<span class="subtitle" style="color: black; font: normal normal bold 0.9em/normal arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-transform: uppercase;">12: </span><a href="http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/magazine/16-05/gs_12slowdown" style="color: #007ca5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Slow Down</a></div>
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<span class="subtitle" style="color: black; font: normal normal bold 0.9em/normal arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-transform: uppercase;">PLUS: </span><a href="http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/magazine/16-05/gs_myths" style="color: #007ca5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">6 Intelligence Myths Exposed</a></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span class="subtitle" style="color: black; font: normal normal bold 0.9em/normal arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-transform: uppercase;">A BEAUTIFUL MIND: </span><a href="http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/magazine/16-05/gs_carell" style="color: #007ca5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Steve Carell on How to Act Brilliant</a></div>
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<span class="subtitle" style="color: black; font: normal normal bold 0.9em/normal arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-transform: uppercase;">THE MEMORY MASTER: </span><a href="http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/magazine/16-05/ff_wozniak" style="color: #007ca5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Want to Remember Everything You’ll Ever Learn? Surrender to This Algorithm.</a></div>
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Steve Carell is no dummy. In fact, the man who plays hapless half-wit Michael Scott on NBC's <cite style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">The Office</cite> and equally hapless gumshoe Maxwell Smart in this summer's big-screen redo of <cite style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Get Smart</cite> is nothing short of a genius — a genius wrapped in a doofus, hidden by an idiot. Here's his advice on how to attain Carell-level smarts.</div>
<div style="line-height: 1.24em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 18px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Engage in Reading-Type Behavior</strong> <br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />If we were meant to read for enjoyment, would God have created television? Read as it was intended — for exercise. The more you read, the more you expand your — what's the word I'm looking for? — your stockpile of words. You must have a stockpile of words that you can pass along to your children for their stockpile.</div>
<div style="line-height: 1.24em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 18px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Appear to Listen</strong> <br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />I've learned to appear scintillatingly intellectual by asking people questions ("Do you like pizza?"). Then I just look at them, nodding and saying "Hmmm" and "Um hmmm" every few seconds. Try and keep one or two things in your head to regurgitate later. After all, what is knowledge, really, but high-resolution regurgitation?</div>
<div style="line-height: 1.24em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 18px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Just Say Yes</strong> <br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />I've been injecting human growth hormone into my brain for several years now, with no ill effects. I feel smarter, and I often feel compelled to show people — <em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">really</em> show them — just how smart I am. HGH has also colored the way I perceive the world, which is now a sort of bloodred.</div>
<div style="line-height: 1.24em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 18px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Get the Abs of Einstein</strong> <br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />A healthy body means a healthy mind. You get your heart rate up, and you get the blood flowing through your body to your brain. Look at Albert Einstein. He rode a bicycle. He was also an early student of Jazzercise. You never saw Einstein lift his shirt, but he had a six-pack under there.</div>
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<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Don't Chew Your Food</strong> <br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />I recommend tuna melts. Fish is very healthy, as is cheese, and toast. I also recommend eating peeled baby carrots. Carrots are very good for the eyes, but they absolutely must be baby carrots so you don't chew too much. I don't think I have to explain crunchwaves to people who read wired. They already know that when you chew something too hard, the vibrations fire up those crunchwaves, which shake the neurons in your brain. Do that too much and those brain cells shake loose and die. I usually gulp my food, and you should, too.</div>
<div style="line-height: 1.24em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 18px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Practice Thinking by Yourself</strong> <br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />Your brain, like your tongue, is a muscle. Practicing thinking by yourself really helps develop your brain, which you need throughout your day. I like to practice my thinking in a darkened room, alone. I focus on one thing, such as Tree. I think about Tree. Then, after that, I think about Cloud. Then later, as I walk outside, I see Tree and since I have practiced thinking, I avoid hitting it. I try and have six or seven thoughts a day.</div>
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<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Match Your Shoes to Your Belt </strong><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />If you don't look good, you don't think good.</div>
<div style="line-height: 1.24em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 18px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Know Things </strong><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />It's important to be well-rounded — not purely scientific and analytical. Explore the arts: poetry, music, decoupage (a visual art form I've been developing since the first grade). And remember, it's always better to have a cursory knowledge of a lot of things than to actually know a lot about any one thing. This is called a liberal arts education.</div>
<div style="line-height: 1.24em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 18px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Act "Human"</strong> <br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />When I go to parties, people often look stunned at how smart I am. But nobody wants to talk about astrophysics at a dinner party. Hey, when I want to talk like that, I head to the lab! Instead, I talk about "human" things they enjoy and understand: midrange wines, movie trivia, and mundane subjects like family and emotional fulfillment. I like to end my conversations with a quote, usually something in French, like "c'est la vie," which means "down the hatch!" But don't overdo it: Nobody likes a show-off.</div>
<div style="line-height: 1.24em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 18px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Retain Your Childlike Sense of Wonder</strong> <br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />Children are very smart, in their own stupid way. A child's brain is like a sponge, and you know how smart sponges are. My children are like little processors. They pick up all kinds of things, then process that into information. And what is knowledge, really, but processed information? We must always strive to be overly processed, like our children.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-564462006268134333.post-17568062053962164762012-03-01T20:09:00.004-08:002012-03-01T20:09:58.441-08:00Selenium increase Diabetic risk?<br />
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From <a href="http://www.webmd.com/news" style="color: #004276; text-decoration: none;">WebMD Health News</a></h2>
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Selenium Supplements May Increase Risk for Type 2 Diabetes</h1>
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Brenda Goodman, MA</div>
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February 28, 2012 — Taking selenium? You may not need to. There's new evidence to suggest that selenium supplements aren't necessary for most Americans. They may even cause harm.</div>
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And if you pop a daily multivitamin, as more than one-third of Americans do, check the label. Many multivitamin and mineral formulas contain selenium.</div>
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"It isn't always that more is better. More often, 'more' isn’t better. Really, in terms of selenium, that was one of the points I wanted to bring out," says researcher Margaret P. Rayman, DPhil, a biochemist at the University of Surrey in the U.K.</div>
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In a research review published in <em>The Lancet</em>, Rayman concludes that most Americans get enough selenium in their diets.</div>
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And a few studies included in the review suggest that taking more selenium in supplements may increase the risk for type 2 diabetes, though evidence is conflicting on that point.</div>
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Experts who were not involved in the study agree that most Americans shouldn’t be taking extra selenium.</div>
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"There is no evidence that selenium supplementation of the U.S. population would be helpful," says Raymond F. Burk, MD, a professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. </div>
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"In fact, there have been suggestions from recent work that it might be harmful, although this has not been conclusively proven. Thus, based on present knowledge I would not recommend selenium supplementation," says Burk, who studies the health effects of selenium.</div>
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<b>How Much Selenium Do You Need?</b></div>
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Selenium is a naturally occurring trace mineral that is vital to good health. Low selenium has been linked to an increased risk of death and poor brain and immune function.</div>
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The government's recommended daily allowance for selenium is 55 micrograms for adults aged 19 and over. It is 60 micrograms daily for women who are pregnant and 70 micrograms for women who are breastfeeding.</div>
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Those levels aren't hard to reach. Thanks to selenium-rich soil throughout much of the country, most Americans get plenty of this essential mineral through meats and grains like corn and wheat.</div>
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"Your wheat that’s used to make bread has quite a lot more selenium in it than ours would in Europe," Rayman says.</div>
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In fact, studies show the average selenium intake for men in the U.S. is about 134 micrograms per day. And that’s a level that seems to be right on target for good overall health.</div>
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The U.S. Institute of Medicine has set a tolerable upper limit for selenium at 400 micrograms a day. Too much selenium can cause a condition called selenosis, which includes symptoms such as gastrointestinal upset, hair loss, white blotchy nails, garlic breath odor, fatigue, irritability, and mild nerve damage.</div>
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<b>Selenium Supplements: Too Much of a Good Thing?</b></div>
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Hoping that more selenium might add up to even better health, researchers have tested supplements to see if they might boost immune function, brain health, and fertility, and ward off cancer and heart disease and stroke risk.</div>
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The review found that for people who have low selenium levels, taking supplements sometimes helps.</div>
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One study of adults in the U.K. who had low selenium levels, which are more common in Europe, found that people who took supplements were able to fight off a virus more quickly than those who took a placebo.</div>
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And supplements boosted sperm quality in men with fertility problems who also had low selenium intakes, allowing 11% to father a child. The men who took a placebo fathered no children. Selenium supplements have also shown promise for thyroid problems, though researchers say those results are early and need to be confirmed.</div>
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Studies in the U.S. that have tested supplements for cancer and heart disease protection have found no evidence of benefit, and indeed, in people who had the highest selenium levels going into the studies, taking supplements was tied to increased risks of harm.</div>
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<b>Selenium and Diabetes</b></div>
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One study of more than 1,200 Americans, for example, found that those who took 200 micrograms of selenium daily for an average of nearly eight years had a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to those taking a placebo.</div>
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And those who started the study with the highest selenium levels — 122 micrograms or higher — saw a nearly three-fold jump in diabetes risk compared to those taking a placebo.</div>
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One limitation of that study, however, was that doctors didn't set out to study type 2 diabetes as an outcome. People were recruited to see if selenium could cut their risk for non-melanoma skin cancer.</div>
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Researchers concede that looking at outcomes that weren't part of the design of the study can muddy the results.</div>
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Still, other studies have also suggested an association between selenium and diabetes.</div>
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Having a higher selenium level was linked to an increased prevalence of diabetes in adults tracked by the CDC's National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys.</div>
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In the same vein, a French study found that higher selenium levels were associated with having higher blood sugar levels.</div>
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Researchers note that selenium might have an effect on type 2 diabetes because at high levels, it can interfere with the body’s ability to effectively use insulin.</div>
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When it comes to taking selenium, "It's horses for courses," says Rayman, using a British expression that means what's suitable for one person or situation might not be suitable for another.</div>
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"There wouldn't be a risk for us, in our population, if we took an extra 200 micrograms of selenium, but if you did that in North America, or in the U.S., then yes, you might well be putting yourself at risk," she says.</div>
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"I think it's a balancing act. I think if people have a very strong, varied diet that's within the 2,000 calorie limit, there may be a case where you don't need the extra nutrients," says Duffy MacKay, ND, vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs for the Washington, D.C.-based Council for Responsible Nutrition.</div>
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"But in my clinical practice, you see a lot of people with a not-so-varied diet, or for one reason or another they're very limited in what they eat, and then the multivitamin does a nice job of filling those nutrient gaps," he says.</div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-564462006268134333.post-58653826428169042022012-03-01T19:49:00.003-08:002012-03-01T19:49:45.232-08:00Stress accelerates Aging<br />
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From <a href="http://www.medscape.com/news" style="color: #004276; text-decoration: none;">Medscape Medical News</a> > <a href="http://www.medscape.com/index/section_10173_0" style="color: #004276; text-decoration: none;">Psychiatry</a></h2>
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Stress, Depression Linked to Accelerated Aging</h1>
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Fran Lowr</div>
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March 1, 2012 — Shortened telomere length, which is known to be associated with aging, is also associated with depression and hypocortisolism, new research shows.</div>
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These findings confirm earlier research showing shorter telomere length in depressed patients in comparison with nondepressed individuals from the general population, according to lead author Mikael Wikgren, PhD, from Umeå University in Sweden.</div>
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Dr. Mikael Wikgren</div>
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"It also goes on to suggest that this difference is related to a dysregulated stress response, which is a stress response pattern which has been tied to chronic stress," he told <i>Medscape Medical News</i>. "This, in turn, underlines the important role stress regulation plays in depressive illness, and, in view of telomere length being considered a marker of biological aging, suggests that stress accelerates aging."</div>
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The <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006322311009127" style="color: #004276; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">study</a> is published in the February 15 issue of <i>Biological Psychiatry.</i></div>
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<b>Established Link</b></div>
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Dr. Wikgren's earlier work established that telomere length was associated with depression. In the current study, he and his group sought to investigate how telomere length related to biological and psychological measures of stress and whether these were related to the shorter telomere length seen in depressed patients.</div>
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The researchers measured telomere length in the leukocytes of 91 study participants who had recurrent major depressive disorder and 451 control participants. The mean age of the study participants was 59 years. Most of the depressed patients had suffered from depression for an average of 28 years.</div>
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The participants also underwent a dexamethasone suppression test to assess the reactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which is a very important regulator of the stress response, most known for regulating cortisol.</div>
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Participants also filled out psychometric self-report questionnaires.</div>
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<b>High Stress, Low Cortisol</b></div>
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As expected, telomere length was significantly shorter among depressed patients compared with control participants (<i>P</i> = .001).</div>
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Telomere length was also shorter in both depressed and control participants who showed low cortisol levels on the dexamethasone suppression test. However, it was shortest in the depressed patients.</div>
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This hypocortisolemic state was associated with a family history of affective disorders among the depressed patients and with high C-reactive protein levels among the control participants.</div>
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The researchers also found that telomere length was inversely associated with higher levels of stress as measured with the perceived stress questionnaire.</div>
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"Hypocortisolism has been found in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder, burnout, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, disorders which share symptoms of fatigue, pain, and increased stress sensitivity," Dr. Wikgren said.</div>
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Traditionally, too much cortisol has been thought to be harmful, but more and more research is showing that the opposite is true, he added. "When you experience chronic stress, cortisol levels go down. A hyporesponsive HPA axis evolves over time when under stress, so an initially hyperreactive HPA axis gradually evolves into a hyporesponsive HPA axis."</div>
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<b>Beyond Emotional Distress</b></div>
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Commenting on this research for <i>Medscape Medical News</i>, John H. Krystal, MD, the Robert L. McNeil Jr Professor of Translational Research and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, said the current findings provide further evidence that stress and psychiatric disorders may have profound effects on health that go beyond emotional distress and functional impairment.</div>
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Dr. John Krystal</div>
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"We are learning a great deal about the functions of telomeres in processes like cellular aging and cancer," Dr. Krystal, who is also the editor of <i>Biological Psychiatry</i>, said.</div>
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"From this perspective, the importance of helping people to identify these life problems and to get effective treatment for them may be an important part of preserving their overall medical health. In other words, the average doctor routinely measures blood pressure, EKG, and glucose levels, but if we want to protect against some health problems, we may also need to measure depression and to assure that depressed people obtain the treatment they need."</div>
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<i>This research was funded by the Swedish Research Council, Umeå University, and the County Councils of Västerbotten and Norrbotten, Sweden. Dr. Wikgren and Dr. Krystal have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.</i></div>
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<i>Biol Psychiatry. </i>2012;71:294-300. <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006322311009127" style="color: #004276; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Abstract</a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a href="" name="question"></a></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-564462006268134333.post-11524153333715263162012-02-29T19:13:00.000-08:002012-02-29T19:13:10.242-08:00Brain Exercise n Brain Health<br />
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<a href="http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog/2007/04/03/brain-exercise-faqs/" style="color: black; display: block; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Brain Exercise and Brain Health FAQs</a></h2>
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By: <a href="http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog/author/alvaro/" rel="author" style="color: black; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Posts by Alvaro Fernandez">Alvaro Fernandez</a></div>
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Below you have a quick “email interview” we had yesterday with a journalist, it may help you navigate through this emerging field. (if you want some brain exercise right now, you can check our Top <a href="http://www.sharpbrains.com/teasers/" rel="bookmark" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #3c6c92; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Permanent Link to Teasers"><span style="color: #ff6c00; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">50 Brain Teasers</span></a>).</div>
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1. Why is it so important to exercise our brains?</h2>
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Our brains are composed of different areas and functions, and we can strengthen them through mental exercise– or they get atrophied for lack of practice. The <strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">benefits are both short-term</strong> (improved concentration and memory, sustained mental clarity under stressful situations…), <strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">and long-term</strong> (creation of a “brain reserve” that help protect us against potential problems such as Alzheimer’s).</div>
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2. What are 1 or 2 things that are guaranteed “brain drains”?</h2>
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- high-levels of <strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">anxiety and stress</strong>, that are guaranteed to distract us from our main goals and waste our limited mental energies.</div>
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- a very <strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">repetitive and routine-driven life</strong>, lacking in novelty and stimulation. We have brains to be able to learn and to adapt to new environments</div>
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The trick therefore, is to take on new challenges that are not way too difficult/ impossible, and learn how to manage stress to prevent anxiety from kicking-in.</div>
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3. What are three easy and quick mental exercises that everyone should be doing daily?</h2>
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- For <strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">stress management</strong>: a 5-minute visualization, combining deep and regular breathings with seeing in our mind’s eye beautiful landscapes and/ or remembering times in our past when we have been successful at a tough task</div>
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- For <strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">short-term memory</strong>: try a series subtracting 7 from 200 (200 193 186 179…), or a series involving multiplication (2,3 4,6 6,9 8,12…) or exponential series (2 4 8 16 32 64…) the goal is not to be a math genius, simply to train and improve our short-term memory. Another way is to try and remember our friends telephone numbers.</div>
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- In general: try something different every day, no matter how little. Take a different route to work. Talk to a different colleague. Ask an unexpected question. Approach <strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">every day as a living experiment, a learning opportunity</strong>.</div>
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4. Are crossword puzzles and sudoku really as great for exercising our brain as they are reported to be? Why? And what about activities like knitting?</h2>
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<span class="dquo" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: -0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">“</span>Use it or lose it” may be misleading if <span id="more-658" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></span>we think that “It” is just one thing. The brain is composed of many different areas that focus on different things. Doing a crossword puzzle only activates a small part of the brain. The 3 key principles for good brain exercises are: <strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">novelty, variety and constant challenge.</strong> Not that different from cross-training our bodies.</div>
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The first time we do a crossword, or sudoku or knitting, that is great, because it forces us to learn. But when doing it is completely routine, the marginal benefit is very limited. Nowadays neuropsychologists do not recommend paper-based activities but computer-based brain exercise software programs, since they can provide a variety of new activities all the time, always tailored with a proper increasing level of challenge.</div>
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5. Any foods that increase our brain fitness?</h2>
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The main principle is that foods that are good for our body are also good for our brain. omega-3 fatty acids, found in cold-water fish such as mackerel, herring, salmon, and tuna, also have shown some benefits. There is contradictory data on Ginkgo biloba. The best “brain food” is, literally, mental stimulation.</div>
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6. Does physical exercise also exercise our brains?</h2>
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In summary, physical exercise is important because it influences the rate of creation of new neurons in our brains. Mental exercise is important because it helps determine how those new neurons are used-and how long they survive. Stress can reduce both the creation of new neurons and their lifetime, so stress management is important too.</div>
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7. Maria writes in her comment below “I read with great interest this post on brain-stimulating activities. I was surprised that software with a changing challenge level was considered the best stimulation, since it’s a sedentary activity.<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Isn’t active learning, that combines physical and mental exercise, the best way to stimulate the brain?</strong> Thanks, and love your site!”</div>
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Answer: Great comment. We are talking about 2 different things here:</div>
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- Habits for long-term good brain health: we usually mention the 4 pillars of nutrition, physical exercise, stress management and mental stimulation. Yes, constant active learning provides great mental stimulation.<br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />– Short-term Training and improvement of one specific area (memory,…): you need something more direct and well-targeted training experience such as that provided by a computer-based program, that assesses where you are today and “stretches” that specific capacity.</div>
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Both aspects are very important, in the same way that both walking often and going to the gym to do targeted workouts are complementary for physical fitness.</div>
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Hope that helps-let us know any other question!</div>
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-564462006268134333.post-60634136351267685912012-02-29T18:55:00.001-08:002012-02-29T18:55:58.468-08:00Brain Reserve N Exercise<br />
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<span class="date" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #777777; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">FEB 14, 2012</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog/2012/02/14/qa-with-yaakov-stern-on-brai-reserve-exercise-cognitive-training-games-angry-birds-ymca-and-more/" style="color: black; display: block; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Q<span class="amp" style="font-family: Baskerville, 'Goudy Old Style', Palatino, 'Book Antiqua', 'Warnock Pro', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">&</span>A with Yaakov Stern on Brain Reserve, Exercise, Cognitive Training, Angry Birds, YMCA and more</a></h2>
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By: <a href="http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog/author/alvaro/" rel="author" style="color: black; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Posts by Alvaro Fernandez">Alvaro Fernandez</a></div>
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<img alt="" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-10229" height="150" src="http://www.sharpbrains.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/stern_s-150x150.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; float: left; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 7px; margin-top: 3px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-left: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-top: 2px;" title="Yaakov Stern" width="150" />I just had the chance to discuss latest neuroscientific research and thinking with <strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Dr. Yaakov Stern</strong>, one of the leading scientists studying how to build a neuroprotective cognitive reserve across the lifespan. Dr. Stern leads the <strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Cognitive Neuroscience Division at the <a href="http://www.cogneurosci.org/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #3c6c92; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Columbia University Sergievsky Center</a></strong>. What follows is a Q<span class="amp" style="font-family: Baskerville, 'Goudy Old Style', Palatino, 'Book Antiqua', 'Warnock Pro', serif; font-size: 1.1em; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">&</span>A session conducted via email over the last week.</div>
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<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Alvaro Fernandez: What do you make of the recent study “<a href="http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog/2012/01/24/lifelong-cognitive-exercise-may-ward-off-alzheimers-protein-beta-amyloid/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #3c6c92; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Association of Lifetime Cognitive Engagement and Low β-Amyloid Deposition</a>”? </strong></div>
<div style="line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Yaakov Stern</strong>: I find these results very intriguing. The concept of cognitive reserve posits that <span id="more-10227" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></span>various lifetime exposures such as education, occupation and leisure activities may be related to differential susceptibility to Alzheimer’s pathology once it occurs. This paper continues a new, ongoing theme that certain lifetime closures may actually impact on the brain changes or pathologic findings themselves. While more work needs to be done to understand how lifetime exposures may impact the development of Alzheimer’s disease pathology, it is clear that both cognitive stimulation and exercise help shape the brain throughout the lifespan. For example, animal studies indicate that both a stimulating environment and a aerobic exercise are associated with neurogenesis, the growth and utilization of new neurons in the hippocampus. Thus, life events may contribute to what I have called “brain reserve,” but now brain reserve is a much more fluid concept than I originally imagined.</div>
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<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">AF: How do these findings link to your work?</strong></div>
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<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">YS</strong>: These types of observations have contributed to the design of two intervention studies that I am currently running. One of them compares people who engage in a aerobic exercise versus stretching and toning for six months. We are comparing these two forms of physical exercise to see which is more beneficial. F. Before and after this exercise period, the participants receive extensive cognitive evaluation and neuroimaging. The neuroimaging studies will help us understand what brain changes are associated with any cognitive improvement that we see. One unique aspect of this study is that it is enrolling younger people that have been included in previous studies. We are recruiting individuals who are 30 – 45 and 50 – 65.</div>
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<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">AF: What is the current understanding on what adults may need, and benefit from? are priorities and likely interventions the same when we talk about younger vs. older adults?</strong></div>
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<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">YS</strong>: That is exactly what I’d like to find out. The animal studies and some studies of younger adults suggest that exercise may impact both the cognition and the brain across all ages. The goal of my study is to see whether it has similar efficacy in younger and older individuals, whether the same cognitive processes are enhanced, and whether the neural basis for improvement is the same across these age groups. In the second ongoing study, we are looking at the relative benefits of physical and cognitive exercise.</div>
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<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">AF: What is the current understanding on the relative merits and shortcomings of physical and cognitive exercise? do you see them as somehow mutually exclusive or as synergistic?</strong></div>
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<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">YS</strong>: My view is that they are synergistic. It makes sense to me that any improvements in “brain reserve” would heighten the ability to develop a more “cognitive reserve.” To explain, we know that both exercise and cognitive stimulation affects the brain itself. For example, they both up regulate a chemical that is responsible for increased synaptic plasticity. The advantage I see to cognitive training is that it can enhance specific cognitive functions. It may be that people will be benefit more from this cognitive training when they exercise, since exercise may help the brain be more receptive to this training. To test this idea, we are running another study where participants engage in both videogames designed to enhance cognitive function (specifically, attentional allocation), and also exercise. This study is open to people aged 60 and over. I must say that this study is more demanding because it requires both for visits to the gym a week and three visits to our lab to play the video game. One unique feature of both of our studies is that we have partnered with all of the YMCAs in Manhattan, so that participants can conduct their exercise sessions in any location that is convenient to them.</div>
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<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">AF: Why did you select that particular videogame and not, say, Tetris or Angry Birds?</strong></div>
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<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">YS</strong>: We are using the Space Fortress game because I believe that it may enhance attentional allocation and executive control. I feel that these are very important cognitive functions and enhancing them may directly impact on and improve the performance of many day-to-day activities. We are comparing the Space Fortress game with more standard computer games, since it is quite possible that they may be beneficial as well.</div>
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<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">AF: So, your studies will measure the impact of moving from a sedentary lifestyle to exercising at least 4 times a week. Would you expect the resulting benefit to be more or less pronounced than if someone already exercising at four times per week increase to eight times per week?</strong></div>
<div style="line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">YS</strong>: I am not sure what the answer to this is. Most exercise studies begin with people who are not regular exercisers because we believe that it will increase the chance that we can see an effect. My guess is that any increase in exercise may also be beneficial, but it would be harder to detect.</div>
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<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">AF: The YMCA partnership is fascinating, a very innovative way to do community-based research. How does it work? Who greets/ supervises/ supports people? Was it difficult to engage them? And, where do the computerized cognitive workouts take place?</strong></div>
<div style="line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">YS</strong>: I agree that the partnership with the YMCA is very exciting. People participating in our studies get free access to the gym at any YMCA in Manhattan. Our personnel initially meets participants at the gym and orient them to what they need to do. The gyms all have resident trainers who know about the studies and can give advice as needed. Right now the computerized cognitive workouts are done at our medical center. We are currently working on the technology to allow people to play the games from their home in a way that we can directly monitor their performance. This should make it a little easier for people to participate.</div>
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<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">AF: Who is eligible for your studies and how can they sign up?</strong></div>
<div style="line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">YS</strong>: As I mentioned above, one study is recruiting people ages 30 to 45 and 50 to 65. The second, more intensive study is recruiting people age 60 and older. Both of these studies are looking for individuals who are not regular exercisers, because this should enhance our ability to find an effect of exercise on cognition. Our coordinator can help answer questions about whether you are eligible or not. <strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Anyone interested potentially participating in one of these two studies can contact Caitlin Slight: cbs2139 at columbia.edu</strong>.</div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-564462006268134333.post-59993847611041890742012-02-29T18:50:00.000-08:002012-02-29T18:50:59.914-08:00Women in Leadership<br />
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<h1 class="title" style="color: #9b1633; font-family: Arial, sans; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1em;">
Leadership Program for Women Targets Subtle Promotion Biases</h1>
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<tr><td class="fieldname" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 1px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 1px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">Published:</td><td class="date" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 1px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 1px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">February 21, 2012</td></tr>
<tr><td class="fieldname" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 1px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 1px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">Author:</td><td class="byline" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 1px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 1px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">Maggie Starvish</td></tr>
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Executive Summary:</h3>
Despite more women in the corporate work force, they still are underrepresented in executive officer positions. Professor <strong>Robin Ely</strong> and colleagues propose a new way to think about developing women for leadership. Key concepts include:<br />
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<li style="line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Despite more women in the corporate work force, they fill less than 15 percent of executive officer positions at <em>Fortune</em> 500 companies and make up just 3.6 percent of CEOs.</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">"Second generation" forms of subtle gender bias favor men for top leadership positions and create structural career blocks for women.</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">A new approach to women's leadership development helps participants internalize a leader identity and create an elevated sense of purpose.</li>
<li style="line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Organizations must also take responsibility for giving equal opportunities to their employees.</li>
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About Faculty in this Article:</h3>
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<img alt="HBS Faculty Member Robin J. Ely" src="http://sands.hbs.edu/photos/facstaff/Ent7287.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(85, 85, 85); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-color: rgb(85, 85, 85); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(85, 85, 85); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(85, 85, 85); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px;" /></div>
Robin Ely is the Warren Alpert Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School.<br />
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<li class="more-from-wk" style="display: block; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a href="http://hbswk.hbs.edu/faculty/rely.html" id="faculty-rely" style="color: #990033; text-decoration: none;">More Working Knowledge from Robin J. Ely</a></li>
<li style="line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 1em;"><a class="external offsite" href="http://drfd.hbs.edu/fit/public/facultyInfo.do?facInfo=res&facId=7287" style="color: #990033; text-decoration: none;">Robin J. Ely - Faculty<br />Research</a> <img alt="" height="11" src="http://hbswk.hbs.edu/images/site/ico-external.gif" width="14" /></li>
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<big style="font-size: 2em; font-style: normal; line-height: 30px;">For</big> the last quarter century, many fought hard to overcome gender discrimination in the workplace by raising awareness, strengthening antidiscrimination policies, and encouraging more women to enter the corporate world.</div>
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At first blush, that work appeared to pay off. After all, as of 2010, women made up 46.7 percent of the US labor force, and filled more than half of management, professional, and related occupations. If the strategy was to get more women in the workplace and let them naturally ascend to positions of upper management, it seemed the pump was well primed.</div>
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But even with increasing representation, women still fill less than 15 percent of executive officer positions at <em>Fortune</em> 500 companies and make up just 3.6 percent of CEOs.</div>
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The glass ceiling, it seems, moved higher up the organization, but was far from broken.</div>
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"Women's progress has really leveled off, and has been stuck for at least 10 years," says Robin J. Ely, the Warren Alpert Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and senior associate dean for Culture and Community.</div>
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"Women's progress has really leveled off, and has been stuck for at least 10 years."<br /><span style="color: #339999; float: right; font-style: italic;">—Robin Ely</span></blockquote>
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What went wrong? In their article<a href="http://www.insead.edu/facultyresearch/research/doc.cfm?did=48085" style="color: #990033; text-decoration: underline;">Taking Gender into Account: Theory and Design for Women's Leadership Development Programs</a>, which appeared in the September 2011 issue of the<em>Academy of Management Learning & Education</em>, Ely and coauthors Herminia Ibarra (INSEAD) and Deborah Kolb (Simmons School of Management) describe how previously identified "second-generation" forms of subtle gender bias have impeded women's progress. These practices and patterns, although unintentional, favor men and create structural career blocks for women.</div>
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The paper is believed to be the first to incorporate an understanding of second-generation bias into a new approach to women's leadership development, moving beyond traditional programs developed for men.</div>
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"Most leadership development for women is 'add women and stir'—basically, delivering to women what is delivered to men—or 'fix the women,' a strategy of training-up to be 'as good as' men," says Ely. "They don't take the systemic gender biases in organizations into account when educating women about how to move into and exercise leadership."</div>
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How people become leaders</h3>
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The paper frames leadership development as "identity work" requiring the person to undertake two tasks: internalizing a leader identity (coming to see oneself and being seen by others as a leader) and developing an elevated sense of purpose.</div>
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Identity work is a process shaped by loops of action and feedback. For example, a person asserts leadership in an area, feedback affirms or disaffirms those actions, which builds or reduces confidence, in turn encouraging or discouraging further actions. "Through this back-and-forth, the would-be leader accumulates experiences that inform his or her sense of self as a leader, as well as feedback about his or her fit for taking up the leader role," according to the paper.</div>
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Furthermore, a leader's identity is tied to her or his sense of purpose. Leaders are most effective—both with themselves and with those they lead—when their personal values align with the work they are doing and connect to something that is larger than themselves.</div>
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But women doing the sort of identity work it takes to reach top-level positions in companies are often stopped in their tracks by subtle forms of gender bias, which are deeply ingrained in workplace culture and society at large. These biases can interfere with the dual requirements of internalizing a leader identity and developing an elevated sense of purpose.</div>
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First-generation biases, such as policies or actions that deliberately discriminate against women in hiring and promotion, have been largely wiped off the books. Second-generation biases, while unintentional, can have the same effect, blocking women from upper management.</div>
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Second-generation bias</h3>
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For example, women are ascribed to be friendly, emotional, and unselfish, attributes that seem inconsistent with larger societal beliefs about what a leader must be, such as assertive, self-confident, and entrepreneurial (which are traditionally seen as masculine traits.) Furthermore, women who do display those behaviors can be seen as abrasive instead of assertive, arrogant instead of self-confident, and self-promoting instead of entrepreneurial. These perceptions can hold women back.</div>
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"We cannot just tell women that if they want to take their place at the top of their organizations, they need to follow the patterns of their male colleagues," says coauthor Kolb.</div>
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And without women in high places, younger women lack the role models and mentors to help them succeed. It seems the organization is signaling that being female is a liability, discouraging talented women from working toward top positions.</div>
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Second-generation gender bias also manifests itself in organizational practices that fail to take women's lives into account, hinder their ability to develop powerful networks, and create excessive performance pressure on women.</div>
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A fresh approach</h3>
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The solution offered by traditional leadership development programs for women has been to teach them the established rules so they could be effective players in a masculine culture.</div>
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By contrast, Ely, Ibarra, and Kolb propose a new set of principles to drive women's leadership programs (WLPs):</div>
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<li style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><em>Situate topics and tools in an analysis of second-generation gender bias.</em> Participants receive a nuanced understanding of second-generation bias and how it may impact their own career development and the career development of other women in their firms.</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><em>Create a holding environment to support women's identity work.</em> The programs create a safe environment and peer networks that support participants in understanding and shaping who they are and who they can become.</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><em>Anchor participants on their leadership purpose.</em> WLPs redirect the participants away from a single-minded focus on career advancement and managing other people's perceptions of them as leaders, and toward identifying larger leadership purposes and the actions they need to undertake to accomplish them.</li>
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These programs help participants build skills around networking, negotiation, leading change, and managing career transitions. "We raise women's consciousness about how subtle forms of gender bias can get in their way and in other women's way, while giving them tools for addressing these problems and thus imparting in them a sense of agency," Ely says.</div>
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Negotiation and networking</h3>
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One important technique women must master to create change in their organizations is negotiation, but research shows that women who negotiate hard for themselves experience backlash, says Ely. "They're evaluated negatively. Oftentimes, it's not that they don't know how to negotiate or don't want to negotiate. It's that they're trying to avoid the negative evaluation that comes along with being a hard negotiator as a woman."</div>
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The authors recommend that WLPs use a "shadow negotiation" framework that focuses on strategic "moves and turns" to give women tools to negotiate over potentially controversial issues and decisions.</div>
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"We cannot just tell women that if they want to take their place at the top of their organizations, they need to follow the patterns of their male colleagues"<br /><span style="color: #339999; float: right; font-style: italic;">—Deborah Kolb</span></blockquote>
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In this process, the negotiator must come to see her own value and find ways to make it visible, gain from the experience of others in similar circumstances, explore various alternatives to agreement, learn to quickly regain one's footing when challenged, and develop an appreciation for why her request might be resisted.</div>
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These negotiations entail skill not only at assessing which options might lead to mutually acceptable agreements but also at enlisting support—women's negotiations often require raising awareness of and pushing back on gendered structures and work practices.</div>
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Another way women can gain access to leadership opportunities is through more effective networking. And since there are myriad differences between the way men and women network, and the networks themselves, WLPs must do more than teach traditional networking skills. They should, for example, address the issue of authenticity: women tend to see the sort of networking men do as inauthentic; they feel as if they're using people.</div>
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Vital networks can begin to form as soon as WLP participants walk in the door. "You bring senior women together from around the company, and it's the first time they've been in a room with that many women at their level, because they're in all different divisions, different parts of the world…It's powerful…it's something they've really been missing," says Ely. "And a lot of them don't even realize they've been missing it because they've never had it."</div>
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In the authors' experience, the networks formed within WLPs carry on well beyond the programs themselves and expand to create mentor relationships that help other women move up the corporate ladder.</div>
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When WLP attendees return, they are prepared to "catalyze change" in their companies that will help them and other women advance."</div>
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Organizational accountability</h3>
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Organizations must also take responsibility for giving equal opportunities to their employees.</div>
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"What would help is for organizations to examine some of the assumptions they make about who is an 'ideal worker,' how they judge commitment, and what they look for in leaders," says Kolb. "If work cultures enabled both men and women to have full work and personal lives, it might help to level the playing field." <img alt="" src="http://hbswk.hbs.edu/images/site/tack-wk.gif" /></div>
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-564462006268134333.post-64282808217014792142012-02-28T21:51:00.001-08:002012-02-28T21:51:15.108-08:00Enthusiasm Good for Brain<br />
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<span class="date" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #777777; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">JAN 31, 2012</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog/2012/01/31/to-harness-neuroplasticity-start-with-enthusiasm/" style="color: black; display: block; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">To Harness Neuroplasticity, Start with Enthusiasm</a></h2>
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By: <a href="http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog/author/hpopovic/" rel="author" style="color: black; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Posts by Dr. Helena Popovic">Dr. Helena Popovic</a></div>
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<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.sharpbrains.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/NeuronsActive.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #3c6c92; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-8663" height="150" src="http://www.sharpbrains.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/NeuronsActive-300x225.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; float: left; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 7px; margin-top: 3px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-left: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-top: 2px;" title="NeuronsActive" width="200" /></a>We are the architects and builders of our own brains.</strong></div>
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For millennia, however, we were oblivious to our enormous creative capabilities. We had no idea that our brains were changing in response to our actions and attitudes, every day of our lives. So we unconsciously and randomly shaped our brains and our latter years because we believed we had an immutable brain that was at the mercy of our genes.</div>
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Nothing could be further from the truth.<span id="more-10146" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></span></div>
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The human brain is continually altering its structure, cell number, circuitry and chemistry as a direct result of everything we do, experience, think and believe. This is called “neuroplasticity”. Neuroplasticity comes from two words: neuron or nerve cell and plastic, meaning malleable or able to be molded.</div>
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The implications of neuroplasticity are enormous: we have the ability to keep our brains sharp, effective and capable of learning new skills well into our 90s, if we protect our brains from damaging habits and give them ongoing stimulation and appropriate fuel. One way to illustrate this is to think of the brain and mind as a large boat, complete with captain and crew, sailing the ocean blue.</div>
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The captain makes the decisions and gives the orders, which the loyal crew follow. Without a captain, the boat would be directionless. Without a crew, the day-to-day running of the boat would be impossible. The crew know their role and don’t need the captain to tell them how to do their job or to remind them of their job on a daily basis. They’re very well trained. The captain only notifies the crew if he or she wants something to change and takes charge whenever leadership is required. As for the boat, it needs to be kept in good nick and fuelled on a regular basis.</div>
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The captain, the crew and the boat form a single, interdependent unit, each party influencing the other two. If the captain and crew don’t do their job properly, the boat can get damaged and end up in disrepair. If the boat is damaged, the journey is more arduous; in particular, rough seas are more difficult to handle. If the captain is apathetic, incompetent or drunk, there is an absence of leadership. And if the captain and crew are in constant disagreement, they won’t get very far.</div>
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How does this relate to the brain and mind? The captain represents the conscious mind; the crew represent the subconscious mind; the boat is the brain; and the ocean is life.</div>
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The conscious mind is the thinking part of ourselves. It sets goals, makes decisions and interprets experiences. The subconscious mind is the part of ourselves beneath our conscious awareness that keeps us alive and running. It’s what keeps our hearts pumping, our lungs expanding and our hair growing. We don’t consciously say to ourselves, “Pump, breathe, grow!”—these things are handled subconsciously, through the autonomic nervous system. The number one priority of the subconscious mind is our survival: physical, emotional and psychological. This is why our subconscious plays a powerful role in dictating behaviour. It prioritises our emotional wellbeing over our conscious wants. It’s why sometimes we consciously think we want one thing, but still end up doing another. One reason that diets don’t work is they don’t address subconscious issues that may be at play. We always sabotage our efforts if the subconscious pay-offs for not changing override the conscious desire to lose weight. Finally, the brain is the vessel through which our conscious and subconscious minds operate.</div>
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Based on the analogy of boat, captain and crew, the following is an overview of how we can boost our brains.</div>
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<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">1. Don’t damage the boat.</strong><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />On day one in medical school, I was taught Primum non nocere—“First do no harm”. No boat owner would knowingly damage their boat, so it follows that no human would knowingly damage his brain. Apart from the obvious injury caused by falling off ladders and falling into illegal drugs, things which harm the brain and reduce our cognitive abilities include smoking, stress, sleep deprivation, soft drinks, sedentary lifestyles, excessive alcohol, junk food, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, obesity, loneliness, pessimism and negative self-talk. Goal number one is to avoid these damaging entities.</div>
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<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">2. Dock the boat in stimulating surroundings.</strong><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />Our brain function improves in every measurable way when we find ourselves in environments that are mentally, physically and socially stimulating. Adventure prevents dementia!</div>
<div style="line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">3. Fuel it the finest.</strong><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />Our dietary choices affect not only the health of our bodies but also the health of our brains. In fact our brains consume one fifth of all the nutrients and kilojoules we ingest. What we eat has a significant impact on our neurotransmitters (chemicals that carry messages between neurons across synapses), our alertness, our mood and our cognitive functioning.</div>
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<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">4. Keep the cargo light.</strong><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />Obesity is a major risk factor for dementia.</div>
<div style="line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">5. Run the motor.</strong><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />Without physical exercise our brains waste away as much as our muscles waste away. Exercise actually induces the growth of new brain cells.</div>
<div style="line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">6. Learn the ropes and keep on learning.</strong><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />Having a good education and engaging in lifelong, active learning help to protect us from dementia and contribute to our developing “cognitive reserve”. This reserve acts as a buffer against mental decline as we age.</div>
<div style="line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">7. Sail to new shores.</strong><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />Boredom and monotony are poisonous to our brains. We need to get out there, get exploring and get out of our comfort zones. We need to sail to new shores to find riches outside our usual boundaries. We need to change our routines, do things differently and give ourselves ongoing challenges.</div>
<div style="line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">8. Use it or lose it.</strong><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />This applies to every function of the brain and body, from studying to socialising to sex. In order to maintain our capacity for learning new skills, we need to engage in learning new skills on a regular basis. In order to become creative, inventive and re-sourceful, we need to give ourselves tasks that require creativity, inventiveness and resourcefulness. In order to have a good memory, we need to make a conscious effort to pay attention. In order to remain socially adept, we need to remain socially active.</div>
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<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">9. Train it and regain it.</strong><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />If we lose a specific brain function, all is not lost. Progressive, persistent, goal-focused practice can help us regain the lost function.</div>
<div style="line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">10. Charge the battery.</strong><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />Stilling the mind is as important as stimulating the mind. Getting adequate sleep and pressing the pause button on our mind chatter are essential for peak performance on a day-to-day basis, as well as preservation of brain function as we age.</div>
<div style="line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">11. Connect with fellow travellers.</strong><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />Lifelong social interaction and meaningful connection with others is vital for a healthy brain.</div>
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<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">12. Choose the destination.</strong><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />The brain is a teleological device—it is fed by having goals to strive for and aspirations to work towards. The clearer we are about where we want to go and what we want to achieve, the more effective the brain is in accomplishing the required tasks. This is analogous to the captain giving the crew clear instructions about where they’re going and what is expected of them.</div>
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<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">13. Command the crew.</strong><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />Having decided on what we want, we need to direct our self-talk to support our goals. Our internal dialogue is a constant stream of instructions to the subconscious mind. Uplifting, solution-focused self-talk switches on brain cell activity; negative, discouraging self-talk dampens it.</div>
<div style="line-height: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">14. Communicate gratitude.</strong><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />When we think about what we’re thankful for, we wire our brains to continue finding things to be thankful for. Our brains are designed so that we see whatever we’re looking for. We are never objective, even when we make a concerted effort to be so. Subjectivity always enters our perceptions. We don’t see things as they are; we see things as we are. Therefore, by regularly reflecting on things that we’re grateful for, we construct a filter through which we see the world and we create more experiences for which to feel grateful.</div>
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<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">15. Practise perfectly.</strong><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />When we practise a skill in our imaginations, the same neurons are firing as if we were performing the skill in real life! If we see ourselves executing a task perfectly in the mind’s eye, we become better at it in the real world because every mental rehearsal increases the efficiency of electrical transmissions between the involved nerve cells. Mental practice turbocharges our progress.</div>
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<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">16. Bon voyage!</strong><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" />Enjoy the journey! Get excited about where you’re going. Passion, enthusiasm and excitement are the most powerful brain fuels of all. The word enthusiasm comes from the Greek entheos, meaning “to be divinely inspired or possessed by a god”.</div>
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Ralph Waldo Emerson observed, “<em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Nothing great has ever been achieved</em><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" /><em style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">without enthusiasm</em>.”</div>
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<a href="http://www.sharpbrains.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Helena-Popovic.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #3c6c92; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" class="alignleft wp-image-10148" height="89" src="http://www.sharpbrains.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Helena-Popovic.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; float: left; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px; margin-top: 5px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-left: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-top: 2px;" title="Helena-Popovic" width="89" /></a>– <strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Dr Helena Popovic MBBS</strong> is an Australia-based medical doctor, researcher, fitness trainer, international speaker and author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Search-My-Father-Helena-Popovic/dp/1742840043/?_encoding=UTF8&tag=sharpbrains-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #3c6c92; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">In Search of My Father: Dementia is no match </a></div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-564462006268134333.post-33630970355031961962012-02-15T19:29:00.000-08:002012-02-15T19:29:12.982-08:00Lying to Patients<br />
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From <a href="http://www.medscape.com/internalmedicine" style="color: #004276; text-decoration: none;">Medscape Internal Medicine</a> > <a href="http://www.medscape.com/index/list_6620_0" style="color: #004276; text-decoration: none;">Ethics: Today's Hot Topics</a></h2>
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Lying to Patients: No Huge Ethical Failure, Says Bioethicist</h1>
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Arthur L. Caplan, PhD</div>
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I am Art Caplan, and I am at the University of Pennsylvania in the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy. Today I would like to talk to you about a pretty thorny subject and one that is fascinating because it is so ethically rich: Should doctors ever lie to their patients?</div>
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The trigger for this discussion is a study that just came out that found that doctors do lie. In fact, the study found that 20% of more than 2000 doctors surveyed admitted that they had not told patients the truth when an error had taken place. They found out that more than 10% hadn't discussed financial conflicts of interest, and 15% said they gave a rosier picture about prognosis and risk and benefit with respect to a disease.</div>
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There has been a good deal of interest in this survey, and the public and some media reports are saying that this is shocking. We expect our physicians to always be truthful; this survey apparently shows that there is a considerable amount of lying going on, withholding of the truth, and not being forthright. What's wrong? Is there a huge ethical failure going on out there among doctors and medical practitioners?</div>
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The answer is no. It is inexcusable and not advisable to lie about an error. You may dodge a bullet on that one by having the patient not find out, but if it really affects their care, if they wind up harmed, if they wind up having to pay more and it comes out later that you didn't tell the truth or that there was an omission of the fact that an error occurred, you are going to get clobbered. I have seen it again and again in courtrooms. It may seem the easiest way out, to avoid telling the truth when an error takes place, but getting it out there and getting it over with early is the best protection in terms of malpractice associated with error. It isn't lying.</div>
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With respect to financial conflict of interest, patients have a right to know about it, and it should be brought up. But a lot of patients don't care, so you can get around that very quickly. You don't have to lie or withhold information. You can simply offer the patient the opportunity to know that you see a lot of drug representatives or that you went out to dinner and learned about this drug, and they probably will say, "Doctor, I don't care. What do you think is the right thing for me to do?" Making the offer is a better way to deal with something that a lot of patients don't think is all that important.</div>
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What about that circumstance in which a better prognosis is offered than is really the case for the patient? That circumstance, and a couple of other topics, are real ethical gray zones. It is not as clear that lying is always bad. Think about the use of a placebo. If you think that you can save a patient money and save them a lot of risk and side effects by giving them a placebo to see if it will calm their anxiety or help restore their sexual function, I am not sure that it is always wrong to prescribe a placebo. It is controversial, but I am not sure one is always wrong in trying to deal with a difficult or noncompliant patient, or one who has a bad, unhealthy lifestyle.</div>
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Is it wrong to "up the ante" a little bit and scare the patient more than you might otherwise about the consequences that might follow from their bad behavior? I am not sure that that is wrong either. The goal is good, and by being a little bit on the far end of the truth about what could happen to them, I am not sure that it isn't worth it. With respect to the "rosy prognosis," if someone has cancer or Parkinson disease or Alzheimer disease, I'm not sure that they want to hear in the first visit exactly what is going to happen to them or the grim nature of the statistics.</div>
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You might say that telling the truth is a noble thing to do, an important thing to do, and it is the way that we are going to keep patients trusting the doctor. At the same time, however, truth is not an event; it is a process. The survey may have failed to capture that insight. Telling the truth is important, but letting it come across in a humane way, letting it come across sometimes in "dribs and drabs" so that the patient can absorb it and not be psychologically devastated or emotionally harmed, is the right thing to do.</div>
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So, don't lie about mistakes, don't lie about conflict of interest, and be forthright when things go wrong. When there is a reason not to be trusted, let the patient decide how they want to manage that. Truth is a better policy. In some other areas, the truth, although it ought to come out eventually, is probably something that is more of a tool to be worked with in trying to help patients than it is an absolute necessity all of the time.</div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-564462006268134333.post-59933369045545173512012-01-27T20:51:00.000-08:002012-01-27T20:51:06.903-08:00Education for Mental Fitness: “A Sharper Mind, Middle Age and Beyond”<br />
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<span class="date" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #777777; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">JAN 19, 2012</span></div>
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By: <a href="http://www.sharpbrains.com/blog/author/alvaro/" rel="author" style="color: black; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="Posts by Alvaro Fernandez">Alvaro Fernandez</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.sharpbrains.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/mind.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #3c6c92; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-4936" height="150" src="http://www.sharpbrains.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/mind.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(187, 187, 187); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; float: left; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 7px; margin-top: 3px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-left: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-top: 2px;" title="mind" width="150" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow;">Kudos to Patricia Cohen for one of the best articles I have read in The New York Times in a long time: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/education/edlife/a-sharper-mind-middle-age-and-beyond.html?_r=1&hp" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A Sharper Mind, Middle Age and Beyond</a>, by Patricia Cohen. These are a few quotes — please do read the article in full, it is worth it.</span></div>
<ul style="color: #555555; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 14px; margin-right: 14px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<li style="list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: circle; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 18px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="dquo" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: -0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">“</span>Some people are much better than their peers at delaying age-related declines in memory and calculating speed. What researchers want to know is why. Why does your 70-year-old neighbor score half her age on a memory test, while you, at 40, have the memory of a senior citizen? <span id="more-10089" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></span>If investigators could better detect what protects one person’s mental strengths or chips away at another’s, then perhaps they could devise a program to halt or reverse decline and even shore up improvements.”</li>
<li style="list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: circle; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 18px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="dquo" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: -0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">“</span>As it turns out, one essential element of mental fitness has already been identified. “Education seems to be an elixir that can bring us a healthy body and mind throughout adulthood and even a longer life,” says Margie E. Lachman, a psychologist at Brandeis University who specializes in aging. For those in midlife and beyond, a college degree appears to slow the brain’s aging process by up to a decade, adding a new twist to the cost-benefit analysis of higher education — for young students as well as those thinking about returning to school.”</li>
<li style="list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: circle; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 18px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="dquo" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: -0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">“</span>Many researchers believe that human intelligence or brainpower consists of dozens of assorted cognitive skills, which they commonly divide into two categories<strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">.</strong> One bunch falls under the heading “fluid intelligence,” the abilities that produce solutions not based on experience, like pattern recognition, working memory and abstract thinking, the kind of intelligence tested on I.Q. examinations. These abilities tend to peak in one’s 20s.”</li>
<li style="list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: circle; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 18px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="dquo" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: -0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">“</span>Crystallized intelligence,” by contrast, generally refers to skills that are acquired through experience and education, like verbal ability, inductive reasoning and judgment. While fluid intelligence is often considered largely a product of genetics, crystallized intelligence is much more dependent on a bouquet of influences, including personality, motivation, opportunity and culture.</li>
<li style="list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: circle; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-left: 18px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="dquo" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: -0.4em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">“</span>At a time when the prospect of a longer life is shadowed by the fear of mental decline, the possibility that the aging can have some control over their mental fitness is an idea even William Osler would support.”</li>
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Full article: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/22/education/edlife/a-sharper-mind-middle-age-and-beyond.html?_r=1&hp" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #3c6c92; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A Sharper Mind, Middle Age and Beyond</a>, by Patricia Cohen.</div>
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-564462006268134333.post-80344687261072510382012-01-27T18:28:00.000-08:002012-01-27T18:28:17.022-08:00Build Your Cognitive Reserve sharpbrains
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JUL 23, 2007<br />
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Build Your Cognitive Reserve-Yaakov Stern<br />
By: Alvaro Fernandez<br />
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Dr. Yaakov Stern is the Division Leader of the Cognitive Neuroscience Division of the Sergievsky Center, and Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology, at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, New York.<br />
He is one of the leading proponents of the Cognitive reserve theory, which aims to explain why some individuals with full Alzheimer’s pathology (accumulation of plaques and tangles in their brains) can keep normal lives until they die, while others –with the same amount of plaques and tangles– display the severe symptoms we associate with Alzheimer’s Disease.<br />
He has published dozens of peer-reviewed scientific papers on the subject.<br />
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The concept of a Cognitive Reserve has been around since 1989, when a post mortem analysis of 137 people with Alzheimer’s Disease showed that some patients exhibited fewer clinical symptoms than their actual pathology sugtested.<br />
These patients also showed higher brain weights and greater number of neurons when compared to age-matched controlls.<br />
The investigators hypothesized that the patients had a larger “reserve” of neurons and abilities that enable them to offset the losses caused by Alzheimer’s.<br />
Since then, the concept of Cognitive Reserve has been defined as the ability of an individual to tolerate progressive brain pathology without demonstrating clinical cognitive symptoms.<br />
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Key take-aways
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Lifetime experiences, like education, engaging occupation, and leisure activities, have been shown to have a major influence on how we age, specifically on whether we will develop Alzheimer’s symptoms or not. <br />
This is so because stimulating activities, ideally combining physical exercise, learning and social interaction, help us build a Cognitive Reserve to protect us.<br />
The earlier we start building our Reserve, the better; but it is never too late to start.<br />
And, the more activities, the better: the effect is cumulative.<br />
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The Cognitive Reserve<br />
Alvaro Fernandez (AF): Dear Dr. Stern, it is a pleasure to have you here. Let me first ask you this: the implications of your research are pretty astounding, presenting major implications across sectors and age groups. What has been the most unexpected reaction so far?<br />
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YS: well…I was pretty surprised when, years ago, a reporter from Seventeen magazine requested an interview. I was really curious to learn why she felt that her readers would be interested in studies about dementia. What she told me showed a deep understanding and insight: she wanted to motivate children to stay in school. She understood that early social interventions could be very powerful for building reserve and preventing dementia.<br />
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AF: That’s great…so let’s now fast forward, say, 60 years from our high-school years, and suppose that persons A and B both technically have Alzheimer’s (plaques and tangles appear in the brain), but only A is showing the disease symptoms. What may explain this discrepancy?<br />
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YS: Individuals who lead mentally stimulating lives, through education, occupation and leisure activities, have reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s. Studies suggest that they have 35–40% less risk of manifesting the disease. The pathology will still occur, but they are able to cope with it better. Some won’t ever be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s because they don’t present any symptoms. In studies that follow healthy elders over time and then get autopsies, up to 20% of people who did not present any significant problem in the daily lives have full blown Alzheimer’s pathology in their brains.<br />
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AF: What exactly may be going on in the brain that provides that level of protection?<br />
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YS: There are two ideas that are complementary. One idea (called Brain Reserve by researchers) postulates that some individuals have a greater number of neurons and synapses, and that somehow those extra structures provide a level of protection. In a sense, we have more “hardware”, providing a passive protection against the attacks of Alzheimer’s.<br />
The other theory (called Cognitive Reserve) emphasizes the building of new capabilities, how people can perform tasks better through practice, and how these skills become so well learned that they are not too easy to unlearn. Like developing new and refined “software”.<br />
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AF: But, both seem to go hand in hand, correct? Neuroplasticity means that what you call “hardware” and “software” are two sides of the same coin and they influence each other, right?<br />
<br />
YS: Correct. So these days we don’t make a sharp distinction, and are conducting more neuroimaging studies to better understand the relationship between both.<br />
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Building Your Cognitive Reserve<br />
<br />
AF: OK, so our goal is to build that Reserve of neurons, synapses, and skills. How can we do that? What defines “mentally stimulating activities” or good “brain exercise”?<br />
<br />
YS: In summary, we could say that “stimulation” consists of engaging in activities. In our research almost all activities are seen to contribute to reserve. Some have challenging levels of cognitive complexity, and some have interpersonal or physical demands.<br />
In animal studies, exposure to an enriched environment or increased physical activity result in increased neurogenesis (the creation of new neurons).<br />
You can get that stimulation through education and/ or your occupation. There is clear research showing how those two elements reduce the risk.<br />
Now, what is very exciting is that, no matter one’s age, education and occupation, our level of participation in leisure activities has a significant and cumulative effect.<br />
A key message here is that different activities have independent, synergistic, contributions, which means the more things you do and the earlier you start, the better.<br />
But you are never stuck: better late than never.<br />
<br />
AF: Can you give us some examples of those leisure activities that seem to have the most positive effects?<br />
YS: For our 2001 study we evaluated the effect of 13 activities, combining intellectual, physical, and social elemenus.<br />
Some of the activities with the most effect were reading, visiting friends or relatives, going to movies or restaurants, and walking for pleasure or going on an excursion.<br />
As you can see, a variety. We saw that the group with high level of leisure activities presented 38% less risk (controlling for other factors) of developing Alzheimer’s symptoms.<br />
And that, for each additional type of activity, the risk got reduced by 8%.<br />
There is an additional element that we are starting to see more clearly.<br />
Physical exercise, by itself, also has a very beneficial impact on cognition. Only a few months ago researchers were able to show for the first time how physical activity promotes neurogenesis in the human brain. So, we need both mental and physical exercise.<br />
The not-so-good news is that, as of today, there no clear recipe for success. More research is needed before we prepare a systematic set of interventions that can help maximize our protection.<br />
<br />
AF: We typically emphasize the importance of a good nutrition, physical exercise, stress management and mental exercise that presents novelty, variety and challenge. What do you think of the relatively recent appearance of so many computer-based cognitive training programs, some more science-based than others?<br />
<br />
YS: Those elements you mention make sense. The problem is that, at least from the point of view of Alzheimer’s, we cannot be much more specific. We don’t know if learning a new language is more beneficial than learning a new musical instrument or using a computer-based program. A few of the cognitive training computer programs we have seen, like the one you discussed with Prof. Daniel Gopher to train the mental abilities of pilots, seem to have clear effects on cognition, generalizing beyond the training itself. But, for the most part, it is too early to tell the long-term effects. We need better designed clinical trials with clear controls. Right now, the most we can say is that those who lead mentally stimulating lives, through education, occupation and leisure activities seem to have the least risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease.<br />
<br />
Research interests<br />
AF: Tell us know a bit more about your current research<br />
YS: We are studying a number of related areas, applying neuroimaging techniques to understand how exactly all these Cognitive Reserve concepts are implemented in the brain.
One, we want to understand individual differences in how people approach tasks. We want to measure their efficiency and capacity the brain networks that mediate tasks performance with the idea that those with greater efficiency and capacity might cope better with age-related problems.<br />
For example, we can all understand that a competitive swimmer is going to swim better than I would even if he has some weights in his legs, but we haven’t yet identified what exactly is the equivalent in the brain.
Second, we want to understand how old people compensate for the areas of decline.<br />
For example, do they begin to use new brain areas when the ones that are typically used start to fail.
Third, whether the Cognitive Reserve presents benefits beyond the prevention of Alzheimer’s symptoms. Does having a higher reserve result in better attention, better executive functions, more successful aging overall?<br />
<br />
AF: All very important topics. And I am sure everyone reading this interview will devour any new details on how to build our Cognitive Reserves. Thank you for your time, and please keep us informed.<br />
<br />
YS: My pleasure. Thank you for your great educational initiative.
————————————Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-564462006268134333.post-60895299973760169602012-01-24T22:29:00.001-08:002012-01-27T18:33:47.196-08:00Sexual Activity n Heart casesFrom Heartwire<br />
Lisa Nainggolan<br />
January 19, 2012 (Houston, Texas)<br />
<br />
New advice indicates that sexual activity is safe for the majority of heart disease patients and that doctors--as well as patients and their partners--should endeavor to bring up the subject of sex in discussions.<br />
The guidance comes from the first-ever American Heart Association (AHA) scientific statement to address the issue, which is published online today in Circulation.<br />
Lead author Dr Glenn N Levine (Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX) told heartwire that the recommendations are probably the most comprehensive on the subject to date and have been compiled by experts from various fields, including cardiology, exercise physiology, sexual counseling, and urology. Physicians, patients, and partners are reluctant to talk about sexual activity, but it is something "that is important to quality of life for most people, and we would not want to see patients refraining from sex out of undue concern about precipitating a heart attack or sudden death," he observes.<br />
<br />
We would not want to see patients refraining from sex out of undue concern about precipitating a heart attack or sudden death.<br />
The only patients who should refrain from sex are those with unstable heart disease or severe symptoms; they should be assessed and stabilized with appropriate treatment before engaging in sexual activity, says Levine.
And drugs that can improve cardiovascular symptoms or survival should not be withheld due to concerns that they may have an impact on sexual function, he notes.<br />
<br />
He also stresses that while use of phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5) inhibitor erectile-dysfunction drugs, such as sildenafil (<u>Viagra, Pfizer) a</u>re generally safe for men who have stable cardiovascular disease, these agents are <u>absolutely contraindicated in patients receiving nitrate therap</u>y, either long-acting preparations or sublingual ones.
Fear, Anxiety, and Depression Can Underlie Avoidance of Sex<br />
<br />
The AHA guidance gives general recommendations for sexual activity and CVD but also advice pertaining to patients with specific conditions: coronary artery disease; heart failure; valvular heart disease; those with arrhythmias and/or pacemakers or implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs); congenital heart disease; and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. And it covers cardiovascular drugs and sexual function as well as pharmacotherapy for sexual dysfunction.<br />
<br />
One of the main purposes of the statement "is to make physicians and healthcare providers aware that this is a real issue that is not appropriately addressed with the patient and partner and truly should be," says Levine.
"<br />
<br />
At the same time--because we are getting a lot of lay press attention to this issue--we hope to make patients and their partners aware that sexual activity is something they should feel free to discuss with their healthcare providers during an office visit or before hospital discharge.<br />
We hope to make patients and their partners aware that sexual activity is something they should feel free to discuss with their healthcare providers.<br />
"The important thing to emphasize is that the risk of heart attack with sexual activity is only extremely modestly increased during sexual activity and represents only a miniscule amount of a person's overall risk."<br />
Levine also wants to highlight the fact that anxiety and depression should be important considerations in patients with cardiovascular disease and can contribute to reduced or impaired sexual activity.<br />
"Sexual counseling of CVD patients and their partners is an important component of recovery; unfortunately, it is rarely provided," he and his coauthors observe.<br />
Advice Should Help All Doctors to Advise CVD Patients on Sex
The scientific statement has been published in a cardiology journal, Levine notes, because "the cardiologist is going to be asked to comment on this, and frequently the GP will often refer the patient to the cardiologist to address issues" relating to sexual activity, he notes.<br />
For example, one subject he is frequently consulted about by other doctors is whether patients can use erectile-dysfunction drugs.
Levine hopes, however, that the new recommendations will embolden other specialists to confidently advise patients: "One of the aims is to allow GPs, family doctors, and others to, at least for the majority of patients, give reasonable guidance."
Another important consideration raised in the AHA statement--which is also endorsed by the American Urological Association, Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, Society of Thoracic Surgeons, American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation, International Society of Sexual Medicine, American College of Cardiology Foundation, Heart Rhythm Society, and Heart Failure Society of America--is that cardiac rehabilitation and regular physical activity can reduce the risk of cardiovascular complications in people with heart disease.<br />
Exercise testing can also provide additional information as to the safety of sexual activity in patients with indeterminate or unclear risk, the authors note.<br />
<br />
They conclude that further research is needed on sexual activity in specific cardiovascular conditions, particularly with regard to the effects in females and in older adults.<br />
Levine has reported that he has no conflicts of interest. Disclosures for the coauthors are listed in the paper.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-564462006268134333.post-63627904783282999332012-01-24T22:10:00.000-08:002012-01-24T22:10:56.364-08:00Even Mild Dehydration May Cause Emotional, Physical ProblemsFrom WebMD Health News
Denise Mann
January 20, 2012
Even mild dehydration may affect our moods and ability to concentrate.
In a new study of 25 healthy women, mild dehydration dampened moods, increased fatigue, and led to headaches.
The women in the study were aged 23, on average.
They were neither athletes nor couch potatoes.
Women participated in three experiments separated by 28 days.
In two of these, dehydration was induced via walking on a treadmill with or without a diuretic pill. These pills encourage urination, and can lead to dehydration.
The women were given a battery of tests measuring their concentration, memory, and mood when they were dehydrated and when they were not.
Overall, women’s mental ability was not affected by mild dehydration.
But they did have an increase in perception of task difficulty and lower concentration.
But “women were more fatigued and this was true during mild exercise and when sitting at a computer,” says researcher Lawrence E. Armstrong, PhD. He is a professor of environmental and exercise physiology at the University of Connecticut's Human Performance Laboratory in Storrs, Conn.
The findings appear in The Journal of Nutrition.
Armstrong and colleagues previously looked at the effects of mild dehydration in men. Although men did experience some subtle mental difficulties when dehydrated, the risks were pretty similar between the sexes.
The message is clear, he says: “We should focus on hydration and continue to drink during meals and when we are not at meals.”
Avoid Dehydration: Drink More Water
You are often already dehydrated once you become thirsty, but subtle cues like a headache and/or fatigue can be your body’s way of telling you to drink more water, Armstrong says.
The new study should serve as a reminder for healthy, young women who frequently exercise to drink water, says Robert Glatter, MD. He is an emergency medicine physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.
“Consume moderate quantities of water both during and after exercise in order to avoid mild dehydration, which may lead to headaches, fatigue, and difficulty concentrating,” he says in an email. “Just a small change in state of hydration was enough to affect mood, ability to concentrate, and lead to development of headaches.”
It is unclear if these findings apply to other populations at risk for dehydration, such as the elderly, people with diabetes, and children, Glatter says.
The best way to avoid becoming dehydrated is to drink an adequate amount of water.
Olveen Carrasquillo, MD, agrees. He is the chief of the division of general internal medicine at University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
So, how much water do we need? “For most healthy people, six to eight glasses of 8 ounces of water a day is what we recommend,” he says. The effects of even mild dehydration are likely to be even more pronounced in high-risk groups, such as the elderly and young children.
Knowing the signs of dehydration can also keep you out of the danger zone. Another sign is dark urine. “Your urine should be a light yellow color,” Glatter tells WebMD.
Not everyone needs to drink this much water. “People with congestive heart failure and people with certain kinds of kidney disease may want to limit their fluid intake, and should talk to their doctor about how much water they should drink,” he says.
SOURCES:
Armstrong L.E. Journal of Nutrition, 2102.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-564462006268134333.post-13091402305492401872012-01-24T22:05:00.001-08:002012-01-24T22:05:39.745-08:00Physical Activity Yields Better Academic Performance in ChildrenFrom Medscape Education Clinical Briefs
News Author: Larry Hand
CME Author: Penny Murata, MD
01/10/2012
Clinical Context
The evidence for a relationship between physical activity and academic performance is not conclusive. A review by Trudeau and Shephard in the February 25, 2008, issue of the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity found a positive link between physical activity and academic performance, based on cross-sectional studies. A review by Taras in the August 2005 issue of the Journal of School Health reported possible acute benefits of physical activity on academic performance.
This systematic review by Singh and colleagues assesses the longitudinal relationship between physical activity and academic performance in children.
Study Synopsis and Perspective
Concerned that physical activity times in schools might be cut back to make room for more academic study to improve test scores, researchers in the Netherlands conducted a systematic review of published studies and found that moderate to vigorous physical activity may actually improve academic performance in children and adolescents.
In an article published in the January issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, researchers led by Amika Singh, PhD, from the Vrije Universiteit University Medical Center at EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, write,
"According to the best-evidence synthesis, we found strong evidence of a significant positive relationship between physical activity and academic performance."
After searching 4 databases, the researchers screened 844 potentially related articles and determined that 14 qualified as relevant to their hypothesis. Of those 14 studies, 12 were performed in the United States, 1 was Canadian, and 1 was South African. Sample sizes ranged from 53 to 12,000 individuals aged 6 through 18 years, and follow-up duration ranged from 8 weeks to more than 5 years. The researchers rated only 2 of the 14 studies as having high methodologic quality. One of those studies was observational and the other was interventional.
"[B]oth high-quality studies supported our hypothesis of physical activity being positively related to academic performance in children," they write.
The studies they reviewed measured physical activity based on school athletic participation, self-reported physical activity questionnaires, or in the case of intervention studies, increased physical activity in schools during the study period.
The studies measured academic achievement by self-reported grades, by cognitive test scores, or by both. The academic areas included reading, math, world studies, and history.
The researchers concluded that although few published studies have assessed the link between physical activity and academic performance, enough evidence exists to report that "physical activity is positively related to academic performance in young people." They call for more high-quality studies to explore the mechanisms of such a relationship and to explore more physical activities than just school sports participation.
The authors have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2012;166:49-55. AbstractUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-564462006268134333.post-9314601008310588212012-01-18T19:48:00.000-08:002012-01-18T19:48:00.702-08:001 in 3 US Adults, 1 in 6 US Children ObeseFrom Medscape Medical News
Laura Newman, MA
January 17, 2012 — The US prevalence of obesity continues to be high, with one third of US adults and 1 in 6 US children and adolescents affected, according to 2009 to 2010 data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The data were presented in 2 papers published online January 17 in JAMA. As alarming as these rates are, the data suggest that they may be topping out, according to the researchers.
"[Obesity prevalence] increased significantly over the 12-year period from 1999 through 2010 for men and for non-Hispanic black and Mexican American women, but did not change between 2003-2009 and 2010 for men or women," write Katherine M. Flegal, PhD, distinguished consultant from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hyattsville, Maryland, and colleagues in the first article.
In addition, trends in US children and teenagers followed a similar pattern — unchanged, but at 17% — since the last review of 2007-2008, explain Cynthia L. Ogden, PhD, MRP, NCHS epidemiologist, and colleagues in the second article, on children and teenagers. Noting the linear increase in obesity prevalence in children, and predictions that obesity prevalence among children and teenagers may reach 30% by 2030, the authors write that "the data presented herein suggest that the rapid increases in obesity prevalence seen in the 1980s and 1990s have not continued in this decade and may be leveling off."
Among US adults, the age-adjusted obesity prevalence was 35.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 33.8% - 37.7%). Non-Hispanic black men and women had the highest obesity prevalence rates, at 38.8% (95% CI, 33.9% - 43.9%) for men and 58.5% (95% CI, 52.4% - 64.3%) for women.
When age-adjusted prevalence of overweight and obesity were combined (body mass index [BMI] of at least 25 kg/m2), it was 68.8% overall (95% CI, 65.9% - 71.5%), 73.9% for men (95% CI, 70.0% - 77.8%), and 63.7% among women (95% CI, 60.9% - 66.4%. Grade 2 obesity, defined as a BMI of 35 kg/m2 or more, and grade 3 obesity (BMI, 40 kg/m2 or more) again show the highest rates for non-Hispanic blacks, at 20.0% (95% CI, 16.4% - 24.3%) for non-Hispanic black men and 30.7% (95% CI, 26.4% - 35.2%) for non-Hispanic black women.
In the study of children and teenagers, investigators used high weight for recumbent length (BMI 95th percentile or higher of the BMI-for-age growth charts). Between 2009 and 2010, 16.9% of US children and adolescents were obese (95% CI, 15.4% - 18.4%), with 31.8% either overweight or obese (95% CI, 29.8% - 33.7%). Boys were consistently more likely to be obese than girls, at 18.6% vs 15.0%. =Racial differences were also striking, with black children and adolescents having an obesity of prevalence of 24.3% (95 CI, 20.5% - 28.6%) compared with 21.2% (95 CI, 19.5% - 23.0%) for Hispanics and 14.0% (95% CI, 11.7% - 16.7%) for non-Hispanic whites. Older children had higher prevalence rates than each successive younger age group.
NHANES analyses are based on at-home interviews and physical examinations collected continuously since 1999 in children, and since 1960 in adults, and released in 2-year cycles. NHANES is designed as a cross-sectional survey nationally representative of the US noninstitutionalized population. Data from other industrialized countries also suggest that obesity trends may be leveling off worldwide.
The authors have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
JAMA. Published online January 17, 2012. Flegal full text, Ogden full textUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-564462006268134333.post-6414586602151441192011-12-30T04:52:00.000-08:002012-01-27T18:38:55.089-08:00The Rain of God's Favor Wishing all my readers peace to you n your family in the coming year.<br />
May it bring wonderful surprises!<br />
<br />
Taking a break from medical stuff to personal reflections:<br />
<br />
Rain,<br />
its ability to percolate and find,<br />
all the dry places,<br />
and behold,<br />
the dry dead-looking seed,<br />
breaks forth,
new shoot.<br />
Life revealed,<br />
hidden and protected,<br />
for such a time as this.<br />
Your rain O God,<br />
falling alike on sinners and man of ill will,<br />
the same ability to cause dryness to flee.<br />
You are -
power concealed,<br />
power revealed,
in us.<br />
Rising on the winds of the favor
of a great and loving God,<br />
to achieve ,<br />
that which
already is.<br />
Our life,
a canvas,
not blank.<br />
already in existence in the artist's imagination.<br />
Already,
a completed work of art.<br />
Beautiful
and complete.<br />
Shalom<br />
<br />
poh tin 30th Dec 2011Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-564462006268134333.post-53786823884863087812011-12-28T18:27:00.000-08:002011-12-28T18:27:19.508-08:00Current Status of Knowledge on Public-speaking AnxietyFrom Current Opinion in Psychiatry
Charles B. Pull
12/19/2011; Curr Opin Psychiatry. 2012;25(1):32-38. © 2012 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Abstract
Purpose of review: This review examines the current knowledge on public-speaking anxiety, that is, the fear of speaking in front of others. This article summarizes the findings from previous review articles and describes new research findings on basic science aspects, prevalence rates, classification, and treatment that have been published between August 2008 and August 2011.
Recent findings: Recent findings highlight the major aspects of psychological and physiological reactivity to public speaking in individuals who are afraid to speak in front of others, confirm high prevalence rates of the disorder, contribute to identifying the disorder as a possibly distinct subtype of social anxiety disorder (SAD), and give support to the efficacy of treatment programs using virtual reality exposure and Internet-based self-help.
Summary: Public-speaking anxiety is a highly prevalent disorder, leading to excessive psychological and physiological reactivity. It is present in a majority of individuals with SAD and there is substantial evidence that it may be a distinct subtype of SAD. It is amenable to treatment including, in particular, new technologies such as exposure to virtual environments and the use of cognitive–behavioral self-help programs delivered on the Internet.
Introduction
Public-speaking anxiety, also termed fear of speaking in public, fear of public speaking, or fear of speaking in front of others, is a highly prevalent disorder. The fear causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.
This article reports on the recent data concerning the psychological and physiological reactivity to public speaking in individuals who are afraid of speaking in front of others, prevalence rates, the position of the disorder as a possibly distinct subtype of social anxiety disorder (SAD), and the development of new treatment modalities, including, in particular, exposure in virtual reality environments and Internet-based self-help programs.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-564462006268134333.post-6946010960084022882011-11-16T21:38:00.001-08:002011-11-16T21:39:11.122-08:00Who Is Governing Whom? Senior Managers, Governance and the Structure of Generosity in Large U.S. FirmsPublished: July 29, 2011
Paper Released: May 2011
Authors: Christopher Marquis and Matthew Lee
Executive Summary:
Analyzing several Fortune 500 firms over the period of 10 years, Christopher Marquis and Matthew Lee discuss the factors that influence corporate philanthropy, using the subject to theorize about and test how structural features of organizations help senior leaders to shape firm strategy. Key concepts include:
Many practitioners today view corporate philanthropy as a strategic activity that addresses both social and economic goals.
Corporate philanthropy is highest in corporations with new CEOs, and decreases with the length of CEO tenure.
The greater the proportion of female senior managers in a company, the greater the corporate philanthropic contributions will be.
Companies with larger boards tend to have higher philanthropic contributions.
Christopher Marquis is an associate professor in the Organizational Behavior unit at Harvard Business School.
Abstract
We examine how organizational structure influences strategies over which corporate leaders have significant discretion. Corporate philanthropy is our setting to study how a differentiated structural element, the corporate foundation, constrains the influence of individual senior managers and directors on corporate strategy. Our analysis of Fortune 500 firms from 1996 to 2006 shows that leader characteristics at both the senior management and director levels affect corporate philanthropic contributions. We also find that organizational structure constrains the philanthropic influence of board members, but not senior managers, a result that is contrary to what existing theory would predict. We discuss how these findings advance understanding of how organizational structure and corporate leadership interact, and how organizations can more effectively realize the strategic value of corporate social responsibility activities.
Paper InformationUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-564462006268134333.post-53716711445599315292011-11-16T21:20:00.001-08:002011-11-16T21:31:22.599-08:00Creating a Positive Professional ImageQ&A with: Laura Morgan Roberts
Published: June 20, 2005
Author: Mallory Stark http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/4860.html
Executive Summary:
In today’s diverse workplace, your actions and motives are constantly under scrutiny. Time to manage your own professional image before others do it for you. An interview with professor Laura Morgan Roberts.
As HBS (Harvard Business School) professor Laura Morgan Roberts sees it, if you aren't managing your own professional image, others are.
"People are constantly observing your behavior and forming theories about your competence, character, and commitment, which are rapidly disseminated throughout your workplace," she says. "It is only wise to add your voice in framing others' theories about who you are and what you can accomplish."
There are plenty of books telling you how to "dress for success" and control your body language.
But keeping on top of your personal traits is only part of the story of managing your professional image, says Roberts. You also belong to a social identity group—African American male, working mother—that brings its own stereotyping from the people you work with, especially in today's diverse workplaces. You can put on a suit and cut your hair to improve your appearance, but how do you manage something like skin color?
Roberts will present her research, called "Changing Faces: Professional Image Construction in Diverse Organizational Settings," in the October issue of the Academy of Management Review.
She discusses her research in this interview.
Mallory Stark: What is a professional image?
Laura Morgan Roberts: Your professional image is the set of qualities and characteristics that represent perceptions of your competence and character as judged by your key constituents (i.e., clients, superiors, subordinates, colleagues).
Q: What is the difference between "desired professional image" and "perceived professional image?"
A: It is important to distinguish between the image you want others to have of you and the image that you think people currently have of you.
Most people want to be described as technically competent, socially skilled, of strong character and integrity, and committed to your work, your team, and your company. Research shows that the most favorably regarded traits are trustworthiness, caring, humility, and capability.
Ask yourself the question: What do I want my key constituents to say about me when I'm not in the room? This description is your desired professional image.
Likewise, you might ask yourself the question: What am I concerned that my key constituents might say about me when I'm not in the room? The answer to this question represents your <i>undesired professional image</i>.
You can never know exactly what all of your key constituents think about you, or how they would describe you when you aren't in the room. You can, however, draw inferences about your current professional image based on your interactions with key constituents.
People often give you direct feedback about your persona that tells you what they think about your level of competence, character, and commitment.
Other times, you may receive indirect signals about your image, through job assignments or referrals and recommendations. Taken together, these direct and indirect signals shape your perceived professional image, your best guess of how you think your key constituents perceive you.
Q: How do stereotypes affect perceived professional image?
A: In the increasingly diverse, twenty-first century workplace, people face a number of complex challenges to creating a positive professional image. They often experience a significant incongruence between their desired professional image and their perceived professional image. In short, they are not perceived in the manner they desire; instead, their undesired professional image may be more closely aligned with how their key constituents actually perceive them.
What lies at the source of this incongruence?
Three types of identity threats—predicaments, devaluation, and illegitimacy—compromise key constituents' perceptions of technical competence, social competence, character, and commitment.
All professionals will experience a "predicament" or event that reflects poorly on their competence, character, or commitment at some point in time, due to mistakes they have made in the past that have become public knowledge, or competency gaps (e.g., shortcomings or limitations in skill set or style).
Members of negatively stereotyped identity groups may experience an additional form of identity threat known as "devaluation." Identity devaluation occurs when negative attributions about your social identity group(s) undermine key constituents' perceptions of your competence, character, or commitment.
For example, African American men are stereotyped as being less intelligent and more likely to engage in criminal behavior than Caucasian men.
Asian Americans are stereotyped as technically competent, but lacking in the social skills required to lead effectively. Working mothers are stereotyped as being less committed to their profession and less loyal to their employing organizations. All of these stereotypes pose obstacles for creating a positive professional image.
Even positive stereotypes can pose a challenge for creating a positive professional image if someone is perceived as being unable to live up to favorable expectations of their social identity group(s). For example, clients may question the qualifications of a freshly minted MBA who is representing a prominent strategic consulting firm. Similarly, female medical students and residents are often mistaken for nurses or orderlies and challenged by patients who do not believe they are legitimate physicians.
Q: What is impression management and what are its potential benefits?
A: Despite the added complexity of managing stereotypes while also demonstrating competence, character, and commitment, there is promising news for creating your professional image! Impression management strategies enable you to explain predicaments, counter devaluation, and demonstrate legitimacy.
People manage impressions through their non-verbal behavior (appearance, demeanor), verbal cues (vocal pitch, tone, and rate of speech, grammar and diction, disclosures), and demonstrative acts (citizenship, job performance).
My research suggests that, in addition to using these traditional impression management strategies, people also use social identity-based impression management (SIM) to create a positive professional image. SIM refers to the process of strategically presenting yourself in a manner that communicates the meaning and significance you associate with your social identities. There are two overarching SIM strategies: positive distinctiveness and social recategorization.
Positive distinctiveness means using verbal and non-verbal cues to claim aspects of your identity that are personally and/or socially valued, in an attempt to create a new, more positive meaning for that identity.
Positive distinctiveness usually involves attempts to educate others about the positive qualities of your identity group, advocate on behalf of members of your identity group, and incorporate your background and identity-related experiences into your workplace interactions and innovation.
Social recategorization means using verbal and non-verbal cues to suppress other aspects of your identity that are personally and/or socially devalued, in an attempt to distance yourself from negative stereotypes associated with that group. Social recategorization involves minimization and avoidance strategies, such as physically and mentally conforming to the dominant workplace culture while being careful not to draw attention to identity group differences and one's unique cultural background.
Rather than adopting one strategy wholesale, most people use a variety of strategies for managing impressions of their social identities. In some situations, they choose to draw attention to a social identity, if they think it will benefit them personally or professionally.
Even members of devalued social identity groups, such as African American professionals, will draw attention to their race if it creates mutual understanding with colleagues, generates high-quality connections with clients, or enhances their experience of authenticity and fulfillment in their work.
In other situations, these same individuals may choose to minimize their race in order to draw attention to an alternate identity, such as gender, profession, or religion, if they feel their race inhibits their ability to connect with colleagues or clients.
Successful impression management can generate a number of important personal and organizational benefits, including career advancement, client satisfaction, better work relationships (trust, intimacy, avoiding offense), group cohesiveness, a more pleasant organizational climate, and a more fulfilling work experience. However, when unsuccessfully employed, impression management attempts can lead to feelings of deception, delusion, preoccupation, distraction, futility, and manipulation.
Q: How do authenticity and credibility influence the positive outcomes of impression management attempts?
A: In order to create a positive professional image, impression management must effectively accomplish two tasks: build credibility and maintain authenticity.
When you present yourself in a manner that is both true to self and valued and believed by others, impression management can yield a host of favorable outcomes for you, your team, and your organization.
On the other hand, when you present yourself in an inauthentic and non-credible manner, you are likely to undermine your health, relationships, and performance.
Most people use a variety of strategies for managing impressions of their social identities.
Most often, people attempt to build credibility and maintain authenticity simultaneously, but they must negotiate the tension that can arise between the two.
Your "true self," or authentic self-portrayal, will not always be consistent with your key constituents' expectations for professional competence and character.
Building credibility can involve being who others want you to be, gaining social approval and professional benefits, and leveraging your strengths.
If you suppress or contradict your personal values or identity characteristics for the sake of meeting societal expectations for professionalism, you might receive certain professional benefits, but you might compromise other psychological, relational, and organizational outcomes.
Q: What are the steps individuals should take to manage their professional image?
A: First, you must realize that if you aren't managing your own professional image, someone else is.
People are constantly observing your behavior and forming theories about your competence, character, and commitment, which are rapidly disseminated throughout your workplace.
It is only wise to add your voice in framing others' theories about who you are and what you can accomplish.
Be the author of your own identity. Take a strategic, proactive approach to managing your image:
Identify your ideal state.
What are the core competencies and character traits you want people to associate with you?
Which of your social identities do you want to emphasize and incorporate into your workplace interactions, and which would you rather minimize?
Assess your current image, culture, and audience.
What are the expectations for professionalism?
How do others currently perceive you?
Conduct a cost-benefit analysis for image change.
Do you care about others' perceptions of you?
Are you capable of changing your image?
Are the benefits worth the costs? (Cognitive, psychological, emotional, physical effort)
Use strategic self-presentation to manage impressions and change your image.
Employ appropriate traditional and social identity-based impression management strategies.
Pay attention to the balancing act—build credibility while maintaining authenticity.
Manage the effort you invest in the process.
Monitoring others' perceptions of you
Monitoring your own behavior
Strategic self-disclosure
Preoccupation with proving worth and legitimacy
About the author
Mallory Stark is a career information librarian at Baker Library.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-564462006268134333.post-91646291490525048372011-11-16T21:03:00.001-08:002011-11-16T21:07:36.228-08:00The Ultimate Question in ManagementNovember 3, 2011
Author: James Heskett
http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6788.html
Executive Summary:
Forum Open: Is there one key to management success, an ultimate question that needs to be answered?
Jim Heskett has a nominee. What's yours?
James Heskett is a Baker Foundation Professor, Emeritus, at Harvard Business School.
The publication this month of The Ultimate Question 2.0 (revised from an earlier edition) provides us with an opportunity to ask ourselves just what is the ultimate question in management.
In their book, Fred Reichheld and Rob Markey remind us of the simplicity of the Net Promoter Score (NPS). It's the product of answers to one question, "How likely is it you would recommend us to a friend?" The NPS has become so popular that, as a customer, you quite likely have been asked that question in the past couple of months. Those replying with a 9 or 10 (the most positive) on an 11-point scale (0 to 10) are "promoters"; a 7 or 8 labels you as a "passive"; and anything from a 0 to a 6 makes you a "detractor." Subtract the proportion of detractors from the proportion of promoters and you get a "net promoter score" that can range anywhere from +100 to -100.
And that's it. Tracking the net promoter score, according to the authors, can lead to improvements in both management and performance.
As managers and students of management, we have a tendency to want to simplify things. Evidence of this is the plethora of management books with single word titles such as Accountability, Transparency, and Teamwork. We search for the one key to management success.
Based on recent research, I have my own candidate for that "one key thing:" trust. (There's precious little trust in government, Wall Street, and business in general these days.)
I found a strong correlation between trust, loyalty, engagement, and "ownership" among employees in a sample of organizations I examined. Respondents in the study made a convincing case that trust was absolutely essential to the successful implementation of policies and practices necessary to implement any strategy.
For example, several managers testified to the importance of the relationship between trust and the ability to achieve speed in getting things done.
It's a topic that Stephen M. R. Covey wrote persuasively about several years ago in his book, The Speed of Trust. So for me one candidate "ultimate question" would be "Do you trust your manager?" or "Do you trust your organization?"
My study led to an exploration of the underpinnings of trust, as suggested by related survey data. One major determinant is whether a manager or the organization does what it says it will do, whether it lives up to "the deal" on things important to an employee, whether it meets that employee's expectations. So another "ultimate question" might well be "Does your manager do what she says she will do?" or "Does your organization do what it says it will do?"
What is the ultimate question in management? Or do you object to playing this game?--The Net Promoter Score certainly has its detractors. All of these are efforts to provide simple guideposts in a very complex process. Performance measurement can be a confusing process, leading to inaction or, worse yet, inappropriate action.
Can an "ultimate question" have a useful management function? If so, what's yours? What do you think?
To read more:
Stephen M. R. Covey with Rebecca R. Merrill, The Speed of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything (New York: Free Press, 2006).
Fred Reichheld and Rob Markey, The Ultimate Question 2.0 (Revised and Expanded Edition): How Net Promoter Companies Thrive in a Customer- Driven World (Boston: Harvard Business Press, 2011).
Jim Heskett's latest book,The Culture Cycle, was published in September.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0