These are my links for June 4th 2009 through June 11th 2009:
- Questioning the Hawthorne effect: Light work | The Economist – The “Hawthorne effect”, the extremely influential idea that the very act of being experimented upon changes subjects’ behaviour, may be bunk.
- The dark side of Dubai – The Independent – Dubai was meant to be a Middle-Eastern Shangri-La, a glittering monument to Arab enterprise and western capitalism. But as hard times arrive in the city state that rose from the desert sands, an uglier story is emerging.
- Hoover Institution – Policy Review – Is Pornography the New Tobacco? – Another curious reversal in moralizing
- The Atlantic Online | June 2006 | The Management Myth | Matthew Stewart – Most of management theory is inane, writes our correspondent, the founder of a consulting firm. If you want to succeed in business, don’t get an M.B.A. Study philosophy instead
- Dept. of Science: Don’t!: Reporting & Essays: The New Yorker – Jonah Lehrer looks into the secret of self-control and how early tendencies related to delayed gratification tell us plenty about how kids are likely to turn out.
- BBC NEWS | Business | Irish Republic: Boom to bust – BBC radio look at the complete collapse of the Irish economy and how the Irish emigrant is back.
- Ancient warfare: Fighting for the greater good – life – 04 June 2009 – New Scientist – War, what is it good for? A lot, it could turn out.
Lethal warfare drove the evolution of altruistic behaviour among ancient humans, claims a new study based on archaeological records and mathematical simulations.
If correct, the new model solves a long-standing puzzle in human evolution: how did our species transition from creatures interested in little more than passing down their own genes to societies of (generally) law-abiding (mostly) monogamists?
- Why Things Become Unpopular – "Why is everybody suddenly wearing those new sandals and listening to that new band? It's so trendy!" A recent study has investigated this sentiment in order to understand why some cultural products and styles die out faster than others. According to the results, the quicker a cultural item rockets to popularity, the quicker it dies. This pattern occurs because people believe that items that are adopted quickly will become fads, leading them to avoid these items, thus causing these items to die out.
- Lard: After decades of trying, its moment is finally here. – By Regina Schrambling – Slate Magazine –
- Can a machine change your mind? | open Democracy News Analysis – The mind is not the brain. Confusing the two, as much neuro-social-science does, leads to a dehumanised world and a controlling politics
