Superficial contacts on Facebook, apparently unnecessary comments, and banal status updates may be more worthwhile than we think. This is shown in a new report from the National IT User Center. The report also predicts the new social media will ultimately lead to more individual entrepreneurs.
Many people are critical of those who collect hundreds of so-called friends on Facebook. Often the majority of these “friends” are old classmates, acquaintances of acquaintances, and the like, relationships that are fundamentally weak. The comments and updates of relatively banal nature that appear on Facebook have also generated a great number of snide remarks, not least in the media, in recent times. But a report compiled by Håkan Selg, a doctoral candidate at the Department of Information Technology, Uppsala University, reveals that these contacts in fact constitute highly useful networks, networks that make use of the ostensibly meaningless comments and updates. [continue reading…]
A new study shows that vitamin B12 may protect against Alzheimer’s disease, adding more evidence to the scientific debate about whether the vitamin is effective in reducing the risk of memory loss. The research will be published in the October 19, 2010, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. [continue reading…]
What a delightful way to start the week. For all you dog lovers out there. Filmakers Paul and Sandra Fierlinger are receiving glowing reviews for their beautifully animated film about the bond between an elderly bachelor and his german shepherd.
Literary editor of a weekly BBC program called “The Listener”, J.R. Ackerley hardly thought of himself as a dog lover when, in middle age, he came to adopt an Alsatian bitch, Tulip. To his surprise, she turned out to be the love of his life, the ideal companion he had been searching for in vain for years.
MY DOG TULIP is a bittersweet retrospective account of their fourteen-year relationship. In vivid and sometimes startling detail, the film shows Tulips often erratic behavior, canine tastes, and Ackerleys determined efforts to ensure an existence of perfect happiness for Tulip. Here’s a peek at the trailer.
Although most people assume that tests are a way to evaluate learning, a wealth of research has shown that testing can actually improve learning, according to two researchers from Kent State University. Dr. Katherine Rawson, associate professor in Kent State’s Department of Psychology, and former Kent State graduate student Mary Pyc publish their research findings in the Oct. 15, 2010, issue of the journal Science.
“Taking practice tests – particularly ones that involve attempting to recall something from memory – can drastically increase the likelihood that you’ll be able to remember that information again later,” Rawson said. “Given that hundreds of experiments have been conducted to establish the effects of testing on learning, it’s surprising that we know very little about why testing improves memory.” [continue reading…]
