The question of how humans process the flood of electronic media was a central part of the work of Stanford University sociology professor Clifford Nass, who died recently. Citing multiple studies, Nass said people often overestimate their ability to multitask.
iStockphoto.com
The question of how humans process the flood of electronic media was a central part of the work of Stanford University sociology professor Clifford Nass, who died recently. Citing multiple studies, Nass said people often overestimate their ability to multitask.
iStockphoto.com
Clifford Nass, the Stanford University sociologist who helped pioneer studies that undermined ideas about multitasking, has died at age 55. The man who dedicated his career to thinking about how humans live in a digital age died after taking part in a hike near Lake Tahoe Saturday.
At Stanford, Nass was "a larger than life character," his colleague professor Byron Reeves tells NPR's All Things Considered. Reeves says Nass "was just incredibly enthusiastic about his work, about students."
As for Nass' legacy, Reeves says his colleague worked to trace how technology has moved "from tools to social actors," in which everything from robots and computer-laden cars can now use interactive software to present visual cues.
"These were essentially social responses," Reeves says. "And humans were built for those kinds of social responses, and to recognize that kind of social interaction and to participate... and they did."
A graduate of Princeton University with degrees in mathematics and sociology, Nass worked as a computer scientist at Intel Corp. before beginning his work at Stanford, according to the Stanford Report. The school paper adds, "He was also a professional magician."
Nass's work on multitasking was just one part of how he examined the way people interact with technology. He also wrote books about voice recognition software, and the ways people think about computers and television.
But it was his research — and his skepticism — about multitasking that drew the most notice. And Nass didn't have to look far for test subjects.
"The top 25 percent of Stanford students are using four or more media at one time whenever they're using media," he told NPR's Science Friday this past May. "So when they're writing a paper, they're also Facebooking, listening to music, texting, Twittering, et cetera. And that's something that just couldn't happen in previous generations even if we wanted it to."
To anyone who claims they're able to multitask, to concentrate on multiple things at once while still thinking creatively and using their memory, Nass had a ready response.
"They're basically terrible at all sorts of cognitive tasks, including multitasking," he told Science Friday's Ira Flatow, citing a raft of scientific research. In Nass's view, people who say they're good at multitasking because they do it all the time are like smokers who say they've always smoked — so it can't be bad form them.
"People who multitask all the time can't filter out irrelevancy. They can't manage a working memory. They're chronically distracted," Nass said. "They initiate much larger parts of their brain that are irrelevant to the task at hand. And even - they're even terrible at multitasking. When we ask them to multitask, they're actually worse at it. So they're pretty much mental wrecks."
Nass also warned that the mental strain of taking in an ever-increasing load of information through electronic media hasn't been fully realized.
"Companies now create policies that force their employees to multitask," he said, according to the Stanford Report. "It's an OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) problem. It's not safe for people's brains."
Another of Nass' experiments revolved around how people see virtual versions of themselves — particularly when given the option of giving themselves feedback. Here's how he explained the results of a study during a 2010 appearance on NPR:
"We've done studies, for example, in which... you take a test on a computer and the feedback is either given not only by your own voice but your own face, saying you did a good job or you did a bad job, or someone else has.
"And people not only thought they did better when they got feedback from their own voice, they thought their own face and voice was more intelligent, more likable, and in fact they remembered more of the positive and fewer of the negative comments."
Showing the fashion world that it has nothing on her, the irresistibly sexy Kate Upton posed for a nude body paint photo shoot for Sports Illustrated Magazine.
Looking perfect, and showing off her signature curves without the burdens of clothing, the 21-year-old said at the beginning of the shoot, "The day here is perfect. The weather is amazing, and I'm happy to take off my clothes just for a little warm weather!"
The sensual supermodel sported an intricately painted bikini, which acted as a throwback to the cover of the swimsuit edition's 2000 model, Daniela Pestova.
"I definitely feel naked," the GQ covergirl said during the shoot. "Because I am. It's just paint! She posed in several different stances, and her artists gave a brief description of how difficult and elaborate her painted swimsuit was to create. Watch below!
Chef Roy Choi was named Food and Wine Magazine's Best New Chef in 2010.
Bobby Fisher/Courtesy of Harper Collins
Chef Roy Choi was named Food and Wine Magazine's Best New Chef in 2010.
Bobby Fisher/Courtesy of Harper Collins
Roy Choi is a chef who's celebrated for food that isn't fancy. He's one of the founders of the food truck movement, where instead of hot dogs or ice cream, more unusual, gourmet dishes are prepared and sold. His Kogi trucks specialize in tacos filled with Korean barbeque.
Choi was born in South Korea in 1970 and moved to Los Angeles with his parents at the age of 2. His parents owned a Korean restaurant near Anaheim for a few years when he was a child. He tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross that his mother had some serious cooking talent.
"She had flavor in her fingertips," he says. "She had this connection and this innate ability to capture flavor in the moment and people felt it. Because our lives were so based around food, when someone is good at food, everyone notices and it's a big deal."
Customers line up at one of Roy Choi's Kogi BBQ food trucks near the campus of UCLA.
Matt Sayles/AP
Customers line up at one of Roy Choi's Kogi BBQ food trucks near the campus of UCLA.
Matt Sayles/AP
Choi's new book, L.A.Son: My Life, My City, My Food, is part memoir, part cookbook.
Interview Highlights
On what Korean tacos represent for him
The Korean taco was a phenomenon. ... It just came out of us, we didn't really think about it. The flavor, in a way, didn't exist before, but it was a mash up of everything we had gone through in our lives.
It became a voice for a certain part of Los Angeles and a certain part of immigration and a certain part of life that wasn't really out there in the universe. We all knew it and we all grew up with it, and it was all around us, but the taco kind of pulled it together. It was like a lint roller; it just put everything onto one thing. And then when you ate it, it all of a sudden made sense.
As I was putting it together, it was all of the pieces of my life coming together. It was almost like an avalanche. So it was growing up; it was being around low-riding; it was growing up in Korea, the immigration, being around the American school system; all the snack food and junk food that I've eaten; all of the tacos that I've eaten. It was all of these things. Then I really wanted to make it feel like Los Angeles, so I felt like it had to be just like a street taco in L.A.
On his Hawaiian restaurant, A-Frame, which is housed in an old IHOP
It's my love for the Hawaiian Islands, but it's not a tiki restaurant: It's really taking the feeling of "aloha." So we put people together, it's all communal seating, so strangers get to sit together. ... You eat everything with your hands and it's like a backyard barbeque.
... I wasn't always the most professional looking/acting dude in the world, so I'd go into restaurants, get treated not that well, kind of like crap. So what happened was I thought, "OK, if I ever make a restaurant, as soon as anyone opens that door, no matter where you're from, I want you to feel like we've been waiting for you."
That's a real personal place. ... A lot of Asian-Americans, growing up, we kind of live double lives. We had our refrigerators at home and the way we ate at home, and then we went to school and we couldn't really show that food because it was real stinky and stuff like that.
When you're going through that whole puberty/teenage angst ... you don't want to show that. Chego was my vision to show that food, to open the refrigerator, to show it to the world, and then make these rice bowls that were under $10. So it was also a platform to create great, delicious, healthy fast food that's affordable.
On growing up in Orange County and the cultural differences between his family and his friends
I was doomed because everyone had peroxide in their hair and they were coming from ski trips on Mammoth Mountain and snorkeling trips in the Cayman Islands, listening to Depeche Mode and The Cure, and I had never seen anything like that before. It wasn't really my rhythm.
“ A lot of Asian-Americans, growing up, we kind of live double lives. We had our refrigerators at home and the way we ate at home, and then we went to school and we couldn't really show that food because it was real stinky ...
I did the best I could. I was doomed because there weren't that many Asians and girls weren't really feeling me, but I was also doomed because if we get down to the food, the food was different for me too. I was embarrassed to show the food [we were eating] because everywhere I went, it was so different. Youngsters are mean to each other sometimes so I'd bring friends over and they'd look at my food and they'd be like, "Ew, what is that?"
... When you bring a bunch of rich friends from Orange Country over to your house and your whole house is surrounded by dead salted fish, it was tough.
... I loved it at the time. When I say the word "embarrassed" it's not that I was embarrassed and that I tried to shy away from it or that I tried to put it into the dirt and hope that it never came out again; it's just I didn't have the language to really stick up for it at that time.
On his addictions
Gambling hit me at like 22, 21. And it was three years of the darkest time of my life, but it started out just all fireworks and pom-poms, you know?
It was an amazing ride for the first year, I mean tens of thousands of dollars in shoeboxes ... just ballin' crazy. ... And then I started losing. And when you start losing in gambling, then you start chasing it. ... I lost all my friends; I lost all my family; I stole from my family ... sold everything I had.
... I'm addicted to feeding people right now. It's a good thing. I don't know how long this is gonna last right now, so I'm living it up and really focusing and putting everything I got into it. I'm putting my back into it.
This week's Time magazine features three articles on New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, whose landslide re-election Tuesday "instantly christened him the GOP frontrunner for 2016." The issue includes an accompanying story by MSNBC host Joe Scarborough, who compares Christie to Ronald Reagan and Bruce Springsteen.
"For a pro-life conservative running in a deep blue state, it was a performance every bit as dominant as the Boss ripping through a live version of 'Rosalita,'" Scarborough writes. "And like Springsteen himself, Christie made it all look easy."
But it's the cover that's likely to get the most attention.
It shows a shadowy silhouette of Christie's profile above the coverline "The Elephant in the Room," a reference to both the Republican Party's mascot and the GOP hopeful's weight.
Christie's weight has long been tied to his political ambitions, with some fearing it could be a health concern for voters.
According to "Double Down," a new book by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann about the 2012 presidential campaign, Republican nominee Mitt Romney passed on picking Christie as a vice presidential running mate in part because of his weight.
But the governor has since taken steps to shed pounds.
Christie underwent lap-band surgery in February. On Tuesday, he told the New York Times he is more than halfway to meeting his weight-loss goal, and that he's sleeping better as a result. "I didn’t realize how badly I was sleeping being that much overweight," Christie said. (His appetite is so small these days, he said, he "recently could not even finish a wrap sandwich.")
He's also long poked fun at his outsized frame. In February, he said his weight is "fair game" for comedians. In an appearance on "The Late Show with David Letterman" earlier this year, Christie consumed a doughnut during the interview.
And when asked by the Times if he would have trouble handling the rigors of a presidential campaign, Christie replied, “No more than any other 51-year-old person. I’m slower than I was when I was 40. But that’s the slow march of time."
The Nov. 18 issue with Christie on the cover is due on newsstands Friday.
Of course, it's not the first time Time has courted controversy.
Last year, the magazine sparked a firestorm with a cover featuring a 26-year-old woman breastfeeding her 3-year-old son.
WASHINGTON (AP) — She is the little girl riding her pony Macaroni around the White House lawn, the big sister hiding under the Oval Office desk with her little brother John. And in a heartbreaking childhood photo, she is the white-gloved daughter kneeling with her mother at the coffin of her slain father, the president.
Flash forward 50 years and here is Caroline Kennedy again: author, lawyer and mother of three, tending to the Kennedy flame as her family's sole survivor. And, finally, after decades protecting her privacy, she's stepping into a more public role as U.S. ambassador to Japan.
Kennedy, 55, was five days short of her sixth birthday when John F. Kennedy was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963.
The family's nanny gently informed Caroline that her father had been shot "and they couldn't make him better."
With that, Caroline's world was shaken, not for the first time or the last.
Three months earlier, a little brother, Patrick, had died shortly after birth. Then Robert F. Kennedy, the uncle who stepped in to serve as a sort of surrogate father after JFK's assassination, was himself shot and killed five years later. After losing her mother to cancer in 1994, Caroline lost her brother John in a 1999 plane crash at age 38.
Through it all, level-headed Caroline soldiered on, lending her support to the causes and ideals her parents and brother had championed. She's served as president of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation and chaired the senior advisory committee of the Institute of Politics at Harvard, set up as a memorial to Kennedy,
Trey Grayson, director of the institute, describes Kennedy as quiet and down to earth, willing to be blunt when needed, and gracious at managing the daily challenges that come with nurturing her father's legacy.
"Every day, people walk up to her and say, 'I'm such a big fan of your father, he inspired me to do this,' and she's handled that so well," Grayson said.
Asked in 2012 if she ever felt overwhelmed by the legacy of the Kennedy years and the carefully cultivated image of a modern day Camelot, Kennedy said simply, "I can't imagine having better parents and a more wonderful brother. So I feel really fortunate that those are my family, and I wish they were here.
"But my own family, my children, my husband, are really my real family and so ... we're just us."
Raised in privilege on New York's Upper East Side, Kennedy earned a Columbia law degree but rather than practice law, she chose to write and edit books about the right to privacy, poetry and other subjects. While her brother made a public splash and earned the label "sexiest man alive" from People magazine, Caroline limited her public appearances and tried to be just another parent shepherding her kids to adulthood, working as an unpaid fundraiser for the city's school system once they got older. She is married to exhibit designer Edwin Schlossberg.
For all the days that felt just ordinary, though, there were moments when recollections of the trials of her life would come crashing through.
"You don't think about it all the time," Kennedy once said, in a comment cited in Christopher Andersen's biography "Sweet Caroline." ''Sometimes you're just walking down the street and it just hits you ...."
Over the years, she has gradually edged back into the spotlight, and stepped more deeply into politics.
Early in 2008, she endorsed Barack Obama in the presidential campaign, a pivotal moment in his primary race against Hillary Rodham Clinton; Kennedy later served on the team that helped Obama select his running mate.
But she abruptly withdrew after flirting with the idea of seeking appointment to the Senate seat vacated when Clinton became secretary of state, citing personal reasons. Kennedy had been harshly criticized for giving halting interviews and limiting her interactions with reporters, and some critics questioned whether her background had prepared her for the Senate.
Kennedy seemed far more comfortable with the job description when Obama last summer nominated her to serve as U.S. ambassador to Japan. She was unanimously confirmed by the Senate in October.
She is expected to take up her position in Japan by the end of the month.
___
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FDA awards $2.25M grant to study immunosuppresive drug in high-risk patients
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
7-Nov-2013
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Contact: Katy Cosse kathryn.cosse@uc.edu 513-558-0207 University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center
Retrospective and prospective studies will examine conversion to generic tacrolimus in transplant patients
CINCINNATITransplant researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) have received a grant from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to study the safety and efficacy of a generic immunosuppressive drug in high-risk transplant patients.
Rita Alloway, PharmD, UC research professor of medicine and director of transplant clinical research within the UC Department of Internal Medicine, received a $2.25 million FDA grant to run two clinical trials studying the effects of immunosuppressant tacrolimus (Prograf and generics) in high-risk transplant patients.
Tacrolimus is a "cornerstone drug" in post-transplant immunosuppression, used after transplant to reduce the activity of the patient's immune system and lower the risk of rejection. Generic versions were introduced in 2009. Currently Alloway estimates more than 70 percent of transplant patients are dispensed generic tacrolimus.
"The largest concern for clinicians is the switchability between various generics," says Alloway. "When patients receive their prescription, they could be getting medication from different manufacturers each month. Most immunosuppressant drugs require individualized dosing and careful management to ensure the proper blood concentrations are maintainedtoo high exposure to these drugs increases the risk of toxicity, over-immunosuppression and cancer in patents. Too low exposure may lead to rejection of the organ by the patient's immune system."
The three-year grant will support retrospective and prospective studies in high-risk transplant recipients who have converted from branded tacrolimus to a generic version.
In the retrospective study, transplant recipients will be assessed one year prior and one year post conversion to the generic, with researchers assessing their tacrolimus dose changes, incidence of rejection, hospital admission, changes in renal function and changes in transplanted organ function.
The prospective study will compare the bioavailability and steady-state pharmacokinetics of six tacrolimus formulations in a six-way cross-over study. This study will compare patients who express the CYP3A5 enzyme and those who do not, as CYP3A5 expressors have been shown to require larger doses of tacrolimus to attain therapeutic blood concentrations.
Preliminary data from Alloway's tacrolimus research has suggested a link between CYP3A5 expression and peak tacrolimus levels after dosing in generic tacrolimus formulations.
"This study will analyze an enriched patient population based upon genetic factors which predispose the patient to be high risk and most likely to experience problems with generic switching if problems exist," states Alloway.
In 2012, Alloway received a $2.7 million grant from the FDA to study whether the two most disparate generic versions of tacrolimus are bioequivalent to the branded, or innovator, version of the drug in stable transplant patients.
"The results of these studies should address public concerns regarding the use of generic tacrolimus formulations in transplant recipients and provide the transplant clinician and recipients with objective data to address their concerns," she says.
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FDA awards $2.25M grant to study immunosuppresive drug in high-risk patients
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
7-Nov-2013
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Contact: Katy Cosse kathryn.cosse@uc.edu 513-558-0207 University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center
Retrospective and prospective studies will examine conversion to generic tacrolimus in transplant patients
CINCINNATITransplant researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) have received a grant from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to study the safety and efficacy of a generic immunosuppressive drug in high-risk transplant patients.
Rita Alloway, PharmD, UC research professor of medicine and director of transplant clinical research within the UC Department of Internal Medicine, received a $2.25 million FDA grant to run two clinical trials studying the effects of immunosuppressant tacrolimus (Prograf and generics) in high-risk transplant patients.
Tacrolimus is a "cornerstone drug" in post-transplant immunosuppression, used after transplant to reduce the activity of the patient's immune system and lower the risk of rejection. Generic versions were introduced in 2009. Currently Alloway estimates more than 70 percent of transplant patients are dispensed generic tacrolimus.
"The largest concern for clinicians is the switchability between various generics," says Alloway. "When patients receive their prescription, they could be getting medication from different manufacturers each month. Most immunosuppressant drugs require individualized dosing and careful management to ensure the proper blood concentrations are maintainedtoo high exposure to these drugs increases the risk of toxicity, over-immunosuppression and cancer in patents. Too low exposure may lead to rejection of the organ by the patient's immune system."
The three-year grant will support retrospective and prospective studies in high-risk transplant recipients who have converted from branded tacrolimus to a generic version.
In the retrospective study, transplant recipients will be assessed one year prior and one year post conversion to the generic, with researchers assessing their tacrolimus dose changes, incidence of rejection, hospital admission, changes in renal function and changes in transplanted organ function.
The prospective study will compare the bioavailability and steady-state pharmacokinetics of six tacrolimus formulations in a six-way cross-over study. This study will compare patients who express the CYP3A5 enzyme and those who do not, as CYP3A5 expressors have been shown to require larger doses of tacrolimus to attain therapeutic blood concentrations.
Preliminary data from Alloway's tacrolimus research has suggested a link between CYP3A5 expression and peak tacrolimus levels after dosing in generic tacrolimus formulations.
"This study will analyze an enriched patient population based upon genetic factors which predispose the patient to be high risk and most likely to experience problems with generic switching if problems exist," states Alloway.
In 2012, Alloway received a $2.7 million grant from the FDA to study whether the two most disparate generic versions of tacrolimus are bioequivalent to the branded, or innovator, version of the drug in stable transplant patients.
"The results of these studies should address public concerns regarding the use of generic tacrolimus formulations in transplant recipients and provide the transplant clinician and recipients with objective data to address their concerns," she says.
###
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, chairman of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, talks to reporters after the Senate cleared a major hurdle and agreed to proceed to debate a bill that would prohibit workplace discrimination against gay, bisexual and transgender Americans, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Nov. 4, 2013. The bipartisan vote increases the chances that the Senate will pass the bill by week's end, but its prospects in the Republican-led House are dimmer. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, chairman of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, talks to reporters after the Senate cleared a major hurdle and agreed to proceed to debate a bill that would prohibit workplace discrimination against gay, bisexual and transgender Americans, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Nov. 4, 2013. The bipartisan vote increases the chances that the Senate will pass the bill by week's end, but its prospects in the Republican-led House are dimmer. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate approved legislation outlawing workplace discrimination against gay, bisexual and transgender Americans, demonstrating the nation's quickly evolving attitude toward gay rights nearly two decades after Congress rejected same-sex marriage.
Fifty-four members of the Democratic majority and 10 Republicans voted Thursday for the first major gay rights bill since Congress repealed the ban on gays in the military three years ago. The vote in favor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act was 64-32.
Two opponents of a similar measure 17 years ago, Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, the presidential nominee in 2008, and Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, backed the measure this time.
"We are about to make history in this chamber," Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine and a chief sponsor of the bill, said shortly before the vote.
The enthusiasm of the bill's supporters was tempered by the reality that the Republican-led House, where conservatives have a firm grip on the agenda, is unlikely to even vote on the legislation. Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, maintains his longstanding opposition to the measure, arguing that it is unnecessary and certain to create costly, frivolous lawsuits for businesses.
Outside conservative groups have cast the bill as anti-family.
President Barack Obama welcomed the vote and urged the House to act.
"One party in one house of Congress should not stand in the way of millions of Americans who want to go to work each day and simply be judged by the job they do," Obama said in a statement. "Now is the time to end this kind of discrimination in the workplace, not enable it."
Gay rights advocates hailed Senate passage as a major victory in a momentous year for the issue. The Supreme Court in June granted federal benefits to legally married same-sex couples, though it avoided a sweeping ruling that would have paved the way for same-sex unions nationwide. Illinois is on the verge of becoming the 15th state to legalize gay marriage along with the District of Columbia.
Supporters called the bill the final step in a long congressional tradition of trying to stop discrimination, coming nearly 50 years after enactment of the Civil Rights Act and 23 years after the Americans with Disabilities Act.
"Now we've finished the trilogy," Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, a chief sponsor of the disabilities law, said at a Capitol Hill news conference.
The first openly gay senator, Democrat Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, called the vote a "tremendous milestone" that she will always remember throughout her time in the Senate.
Democrats echoed Obama in pushing for the House to act, with Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois reminding the GOP leader of the history of his party.
"The Republican Party in the United States of America came into being in the 1980s over the issue of slavery, and the man who embodied the ideals of that Republican Party was none other than Abraham Lincoln, who gave his life for his country to end discrimination," Durbin said. "Keep that proud Republican tradition alive."
In the Senate, opponents of the legislation remained mute through three days of debate, with no lawmaker speaking out. That changed on Thursday, as Republican Sen. Dan Coats of Indiana said the legislation would force employers to violate their religious beliefs, a direct counter to rights embodied in the Constitution.
"There's two types of discrimination here we're dealing with, and one of those goes to the very fundamental right granted to every American through our Constitution, a cherished value of freedom of expression and religion," Coats said.
The Senate rejected an amendment sponsored by Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania that would have expanded the number of groups that are covered under the religious exemption. Opponents argued that it would undermine the core bill.
If the House fails to act on the bill, gay rights advocates are likely to press Obama to act unilaterally and issue an executive order barring anti-gay workplace discrimination by federal contractors.
Backers of the bill repeatedly described it as an issue of fairness.
"It is well past time that we, as elected representatives, ensure that our laws protect against discrimination in the workplace for all individuals, that we ensure ... some protections for those within the LGBT community," said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who described the diversity in her state.
Murkowski's support underscored the generational shift. Seventeen years ago, when a bill dealing with discrimination based on sexual orientation failed by one vote in the Senate, the senator's father, Frank, voted against it. That was the same year that Congress passed and President Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act.
Current federal law prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, race and national origin. But it doesn't stop an employer from firing or refusing to hire workers because they are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.
The bill would bar employers with 15 or more workers from using a person's sexual orientation or gender identity as the basis for making employment decisions, including hiring, firing, compensation or promotion. It would exempt religious institutions and the military.
By voice vote Wednesday, the Senate approved an amendment from Republican Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire that would prevent federal, state and local governments from retaliating against religious groups that are exempt from the law.
Likely Senate approval of the overall bill reflects the nation's growing tolerance of gays and the GOP's political calculation as it looks for support beyond its core base of older voters. A Pew Research survey in June found that more Americans said homosexuality should be accepted rather than discouraged by society by a margin of 60 percent to 31 percent. Opinions were more evenly divided 10 years ago.
Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia have approved laws banning workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, and 17 of those also prohibit employers from discriminating based on gender identity.
About 88 percent of Fortune 500 companies have adopted nondiscrimination policies that include sexual orientation, according to the Human Rights Campaign. About 57 percent of those companies include gender identity.
Sens. Bob Casey, D-Pa., Tom Coburn, R-Okla., and Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., did not vote.
The question of how humans process the flood of electronic media was a central part of the work of Stanford University sociology professor Clifford Nass, who died recently. Citing multiple studies, Nass said people often overestimate their ability to multitask.
iStockphoto.com
The question of how humans process the flood of electronic media was a central part of the work of Stanford University sociology professor Clifford Nass, who died recently. Citing multiple studies, Nass said people often overestimate their ability to multitask.
iStockphoto.com
Clifford Nass, the Stanford University sociologist who helped pioneer studies that undermined ideas about multitasking, has died at age 55. The man who dedicated his career to thinking about how humans live in a digital age died after taking part in a hike near Lake Tahoe Saturday.
At Stanford, Nass was "a larger than life character," his colleague professor Byron Reeves tells NPR's All Things Considered. Reeves says Nass "was just incredibly enthusiastic about his work, about students."
As for Nass' legacy, Reeves says his colleague worked to trace how technology has moved "from tools to social actors," in which everything from robots and computer-laden cars can now use interactive software to present visual cues.
"These were essentially social responses," Reeves says. "And humans were built for those kinds of social responses, and to recognize that kind of social interaction and to participate... and they did."
A graduate of Princeton University with degrees in mathematics and sociology, Nass worked as a computer scientist at Intel Corp. before beginning his work at Stanford, according to the Stanford Report. The school paper adds, "He was also a professional magician."
Nass's work on multitasking was just one part of how he examined the way people interact with technology. He also wrote books about voice recognition software, and the ways people think about computers and television.
But it was his research — and his skepticism — about multitasking that drew the most notice. And Nass didn't have to look far for test subjects.
"The top 25 percent of Stanford students are using four or more media at one time whenever they're using media," he told NPR's Science Friday this past May. "So when they're writing a paper, they're also Facebooking, listening to music, texting, Twittering, et cetera. And that's something that just couldn't happen in previous generations even if we wanted it to."
To anyone who claims they're able to multitask, to concentrate on multiple things at once while still thinking creatively and using their memory, Nass had a ready response.
"They're basically terrible at all sorts of cognitive tasks, including multitasking," he told Science Friday's Ira Flatow, citing a raft of scientific research. In Nass's view, people who say they're good at multitasking because they do it all the time are like smokers who say they've always smoked — so it can't be bad form them.
"People who multitask all the time can't filter out irrelevancy. They can't manage a working memory. They're chronically distracted," Nass said. "They initiate much larger parts of their brain that are irrelevant to the task at hand. And even - they're even terrible at multitasking. When we ask them to multitask, they're actually worse at it. So they're pretty much mental wrecks."
Nass also warned that the mental strain of taking in an ever-increasing load of information through electronic media hasn't been fully realized.
"Companies now create policies that force their employees to multitask," he said, according to the Stanford Report. "It's an OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) problem. It's not safe for people's brains."
Another of Nass' experiments revolved around how people see virtual versions of themselves — particularly when given the option of giving themselves feedback. Here's how he explained the results of a study during a 2010 appearance on NPR:
"We've done studies, for example, in which... you take a test on a computer and the feedback is either given not only by your own voice but your own face, saying you did a good job or you did a bad job, or someone else has.
"And people not only thought they did better when they got feedback from their own voice, they thought their own face and voice was more intelligent, more likable, and in fact they remembered more of the positive and fewer of the negative comments."
For this white paper, IDC performed an in-depth analysis of the business value of VMware View, defined as the expected ROI associated with the use of the solution as a platform for the targeted deployment of a virtual desktop infrastructure. more
With Nexus 5s already in the hands of Google Play Store buyers, we're starting to see the first indications of when it'll arrive at subsidized prices on U.S. carriers. Sprint's is due to arrive from Nov. 8, and if the latest leaked documents are to be believed then T-Mobile shouldn't be far behind.
The leaked retail planning guide obtained by TmoNews shows the T-Mobile Nexus 5 arriving alongside the Nexus 7 on Nov. 20, ahead of T-Mo's Black Friday promotions. It's unclear how much T-Mobile might charge for the N5, but given the device's low cost and the carrier's recent tendency to offer $0 down deals for major devices, we wouldn't be surprised to see some competitive pricing.
In the meantime, there's of course nothing stopping you picking one up from the Play Store and loading it up with any T-Mobile SIM.
Between The Avengers, X-Men and the 900th Spider-man reboot, Marvel's feeling the movie love. The company's also doing all right on the TV front, thanks to the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. The next step? Netflix, obviously. You can already find a number of the publisher's superheroes over on the streaming ...
A*STAR scientist wins European Molecular Biology Organization Young Investigator award
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
7-Nov-2013
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Contact: Tan Yun Yun tan_yun_yun@a-star.edu.sg 65-682-66273 Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore
Dr. Florent Ginhoux from the Singapore Immunology Network is the only scientist from Asia to win the prestigious award this year
1. Dr Florent Ginhoux, Principal Investigator at the Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN), has been awarded the prestigious EMBO Young Investigator 2013 award. The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) Young Investigator Programme (YIP) recognises young, promising researchers who are less than forty years of age and who have established their first laboratories in Europe and EMBO cooperation partner countries in the past four years.
2. Dr Ginhoux is one of only three scientists outside of Europe to receive the EMBO YIP award since its launch in year 2000. Of these three awardees, two are from Singapore and Dr Ginhoux is the second scientist in Singapore to be awarded . His excellence in the research won him the Best Paper Award at the 10th International Symposium on Dendritic Cells held in 2008. He also published several already well-cited papers in the prestigious Science and Immunity journals since he started his laboratory at SIgN in 2009. He was awarded the EMBO YIP as EMBO saw his accomplishments and potential to become a future life sciences leader.
3. Dr Ginhoux's current research focuses on understanding the origin and functions of dendritic cells (DCs), a specialised group of white blood cells which are responsible for triggering immune responses. His research forms the basis of a conceptual framework that can be translated into useful clinical applications since all immune responses against infectious agents are activated and regulated by DCs. Dr Ginhoux's study on DCs is highly significant in the design of clinical therapies, such as vaccines and immunotherapies for infections or auto-immune diseases.
4. Dr Ginhoux said, "This achievement would not have been possible without my dedicated team and the excellent scientific environment found in SIgN, as well as the research facilities in A*STAR. I'm truly honoured to be selected for the EMBO Young Investigator Programme and I would like to thank both A*STAR and my team for their support."
5. Prof Sir David Lane, A*STAR Chief Scientist and EMBO member said, "Only twelve per cent of the applicants were selected for the programme this year and we are pleased that Florent is one of them. Florent is a promising young scientist with great potential to be a scientific leader of the next generation. His passion in immunology has brought about important discoveries with potential clinical applications. We hope that this recognition will spur him on to make greater discoveries in his research."
6. Mr Lim Chuan Poh, A*STAR Chairman, said, "Florent is a fine example of the world class international talent that we are attracting to pursue their research careers in Singapore. A*STAR is very happy and proud that Florent's excellent work has been recognised by EMBO. A*STAR believes that his success will not only serve to inspire the younger scientists around him to similarly strive for excellence, but will also draw other promising international scientists to pursue their research careers in Singapore and with A*STAR. This is part of A*STAR's talent strategy of nurturing a strong Singaporean core to be complemented by a rich diversity of international scientists."
7. Dr Ginhoux will receive a financial award of 15,000 euros per year for his three years of membership. He will also receive extensive support from EMBO for networking opportunities. More details on the other 2013 EMBO YIP awardees, EMBO YIP and EMBO can be found in Annex A.
###
Background on Dr Florent Ginhoux
8. A French national, Dr Ginhoux obtained his PhD in 2004 from the University Pierre and Marie Curie in Paris. He then joined the Laboratory of Miriam Merad in the Mount Sinai School of Medicine (MSSM), New York, where he began studying dendritic cells extensively. Dr Ginhoux joined SIgN as a Principal Investigator in 2009. He is concurrently an Adjunct Assistant Prof at National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU), and an Adjunct Assistant Prof at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School.
EMBO YIP Winners in A*STAR
9. Dr Ginhoux is the second scientist in A*STAR to win the EMBO YIP. The first A*STAR awardee is Dr Bruno Reversade, Principal Investigator of the Institute of Medical Biology (IMB), who is also the first scientist outside of the European Union to receive the award. He was awarded the EMBO YIP in 2012. More details on Dr Bruno Reversade's EMBO YIP award can be found at http://www.a-star.edu.sg/Media/News/Press-Releases/ID/1740.aspx.
AGENCY FOR SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND RESEARCH (A*STAR)
Enclosed:
Annex A Details on the 2013 EMBO Young Investigators, the EMBO Young Investigator Programme and EMBO
For media queries and clarifications, please contact:
Tan Yun Yun (Ms)
Senior Officer, Corporate Communications
Agency for Science, Technology and Research
Tel: (+65) 6826 6273
Email: tan_yun_yun@a-star.edu.sg
About the Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN)
The Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN), officially inaugurated on 15 January 2008, is a research consortium under the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)'s Biomedical Research Council. The mandate of SIgN is to advance human immunology research and participate in international efforts to combat major health problems. Since its launch, SIgN has grown rapidly and currently includes 250 scientists from 26 different countries around the world working under 28 renowned principal investigators. At SIgN, researchers investigate immunity during infection and various inflammatory conditions including cancer and are supported by cutting edge technological research platforms and core services.
Through this, SIgN aims to build a strong platform in basic human immunology research for better translation of research findings into clinical applications. SIgN also sets out to establish productive links with local and international institutions, and encourage the exchange of ideas and expertise between academic, industrial and clinical partners and thus contribute to a vibrant research environment in Singapore.
For more information about SIgN, please visit http://www.sign.a-star.edu.sg.
About the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)
The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) is Singapore's lead public sector agency that fosters world-class scientific research and talent to drive economic growth and transform Singapore into a vibrant knowledge-based and innovation driven economy.
In line with its mission-oriented mandate, A*STAR spearheads research and development in fields that are essential to growing Singapore's manufacturing sector and catalysing new growth industries. A*STAR supports these economic clusters by providing intellectual, human and industrial capital to its partners in industry.
A*STAR oversees 20 biomedical sciences and physical sciences and engineering research entities, located in Biopolis and Fusionopolis as well as their vicinity. These two R&D hubs, house a bustling and diverse community of local and international research scientists and engineers from A*STAR's research entities as well as a growing number of corporate laboratories.
For more information about A*STAR, please visit http://www.a-star.edu.sg.
Annex A
EMBO Young Investigators 2013
Of all the applications received for the EMBO Young Investigator Programme 2013, 23 young researchers from twelve countries were selected. The success rate for selection to the highly competitive programme was twelve per cent in 2013. Scientists from Singapore can apply to EMBO programmes due to a cooperation agreement between both parties that started in 2011.
For more information on the 2013 awardees, please visit http://www.embo.org/news/press-releases/press-releases-2013/23-researchers-join-network-of-embo-young-investigators.
About the EMBO Young Investigator Programme
The EMBO Young Investigator Programme (YIP) is the first initiative in Europe to address the needs of young independent research group leaders and is unique in its focus on effective networking activities, offering support and promoting exchange between the young scientists. Since its launch in 2000, the EMBO YIP selects independent scientists throughout the EMBC Member States, thereby creating a European network of outstanding life scientists. From the onset, this highly competitive programme has attracted applications from some of the best young group leaders in Europe. 315 scientists have been distinguished as EMBO Young Investigators since the launch of the programme in 2000.
For more information on the programme, please visit http://www.embo.org/programmes/yip/programme.html.
About EMBO
EMBO is an organization of almost 1600 leading researchers that promotes excellence in the life sciences. The major goals of the organization are to support talented researchers at all stages of their careers, stimulate the exchange of scientific information, and help build a European research environment where scientists can achieve their best work.
EMBO helps young scientists to advance their research, promote their international reputations and ensure their mobility. Courses, workshops, conferences and scientific journals disseminate the latest research and offer training in techniques to maintain high standards of excellence in research practice. EMBO helps to shape science and research policy by seeking input and feedback from our community and by following closely the trends in science in Europe.
For more information on EMBO, please visit http://www.embo.org.
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A*STAR scientist wins European Molecular Biology Organization Young Investigator award
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
7-Nov-2013
[
| E-mail
]
Share
Contact: Tan Yun Yun tan_yun_yun@a-star.edu.sg 65-682-66273 Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore
Dr. Florent Ginhoux from the Singapore Immunology Network is the only scientist from Asia to win the prestigious award this year
1. Dr Florent Ginhoux, Principal Investigator at the Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN), has been awarded the prestigious EMBO Young Investigator 2013 award. The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) Young Investigator Programme (YIP) recognises young, promising researchers who are less than forty years of age and who have established their first laboratories in Europe and EMBO cooperation partner countries in the past four years.
2. Dr Ginhoux is one of only three scientists outside of Europe to receive the EMBO YIP award since its launch in year 2000. Of these three awardees, two are from Singapore and Dr Ginhoux is the second scientist in Singapore to be awarded . His excellence in the research won him the Best Paper Award at the 10th International Symposium on Dendritic Cells held in 2008. He also published several already well-cited papers in the prestigious Science and Immunity journals since he started his laboratory at SIgN in 2009. He was awarded the EMBO YIP as EMBO saw his accomplishments and potential to become a future life sciences leader.
3. Dr Ginhoux's current research focuses on understanding the origin and functions of dendritic cells (DCs), a specialised group of white blood cells which are responsible for triggering immune responses. His research forms the basis of a conceptual framework that can be translated into useful clinical applications since all immune responses against infectious agents are activated and regulated by DCs. Dr Ginhoux's study on DCs is highly significant in the design of clinical therapies, such as vaccines and immunotherapies for infections or auto-immune diseases.
4. Dr Ginhoux said, "This achievement would not have been possible without my dedicated team and the excellent scientific environment found in SIgN, as well as the research facilities in A*STAR. I'm truly honoured to be selected for the EMBO Young Investigator Programme and I would like to thank both A*STAR and my team for their support."
5. Prof Sir David Lane, A*STAR Chief Scientist and EMBO member said, "Only twelve per cent of the applicants were selected for the programme this year and we are pleased that Florent is one of them. Florent is a promising young scientist with great potential to be a scientific leader of the next generation. His passion in immunology has brought about important discoveries with potential clinical applications. We hope that this recognition will spur him on to make greater discoveries in his research."
6. Mr Lim Chuan Poh, A*STAR Chairman, said, "Florent is a fine example of the world class international talent that we are attracting to pursue their research careers in Singapore. A*STAR is very happy and proud that Florent's excellent work has been recognised by EMBO. A*STAR believes that his success will not only serve to inspire the younger scientists around him to similarly strive for excellence, but will also draw other promising international scientists to pursue their research careers in Singapore and with A*STAR. This is part of A*STAR's talent strategy of nurturing a strong Singaporean core to be complemented by a rich diversity of international scientists."
7. Dr Ginhoux will receive a financial award of 15,000 euros per year for his three years of membership. He will also receive extensive support from EMBO for networking opportunities. More details on the other 2013 EMBO YIP awardees, EMBO YIP and EMBO can be found in Annex A.
###
Background on Dr Florent Ginhoux
8. A French national, Dr Ginhoux obtained his PhD in 2004 from the University Pierre and Marie Curie in Paris. He then joined the Laboratory of Miriam Merad in the Mount Sinai School of Medicine (MSSM), New York, where he began studying dendritic cells extensively. Dr Ginhoux joined SIgN as a Principal Investigator in 2009. He is concurrently an Adjunct Assistant Prof at National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU), and an Adjunct Assistant Prof at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School.
EMBO YIP Winners in A*STAR
9. Dr Ginhoux is the second scientist in A*STAR to win the EMBO YIP. The first A*STAR awardee is Dr Bruno Reversade, Principal Investigator of the Institute of Medical Biology (IMB), who is also the first scientist outside of the European Union to receive the award. He was awarded the EMBO YIP in 2012. More details on Dr Bruno Reversade's EMBO YIP award can be found at http://www.a-star.edu.sg/Media/News/Press-Releases/ID/1740.aspx.
AGENCY FOR SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND RESEARCH (A*STAR)
Enclosed:
Annex A Details on the 2013 EMBO Young Investigators, the EMBO Young Investigator Programme and EMBO
For media queries and clarifications, please contact:
Tan Yun Yun (Ms)
Senior Officer, Corporate Communications
Agency for Science, Technology and Research
Tel: (+65) 6826 6273
Email: tan_yun_yun@a-star.edu.sg
About the Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN)
The Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN), officially inaugurated on 15 January 2008, is a research consortium under the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)'s Biomedical Research Council. The mandate of SIgN is to advance human immunology research and participate in international efforts to combat major health problems. Since its launch, SIgN has grown rapidly and currently includes 250 scientists from 26 different countries around the world working under 28 renowned principal investigators. At SIgN, researchers investigate immunity during infection and various inflammatory conditions including cancer and are supported by cutting edge technological research platforms and core services.
Through this, SIgN aims to build a strong platform in basic human immunology research for better translation of research findings into clinical applications. SIgN also sets out to establish productive links with local and international institutions, and encourage the exchange of ideas and expertise between academic, industrial and clinical partners and thus contribute to a vibrant research environment in Singapore.
For more information about SIgN, please visit http://www.sign.a-star.edu.sg.
About the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)
The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) is Singapore's lead public sector agency that fosters world-class scientific research and talent to drive economic growth and transform Singapore into a vibrant knowledge-based and innovation driven economy.
In line with its mission-oriented mandate, A*STAR spearheads research and development in fields that are essential to growing Singapore's manufacturing sector and catalysing new growth industries. A*STAR supports these economic clusters by providing intellectual, human and industrial capital to its partners in industry.
A*STAR oversees 20 biomedical sciences and physical sciences and engineering research entities, located in Biopolis and Fusionopolis as well as their vicinity. These two R&D hubs, house a bustling and diverse community of local and international research scientists and engineers from A*STAR's research entities as well as a growing number of corporate laboratories.
For more information about A*STAR, please visit http://www.a-star.edu.sg.
Annex A
EMBO Young Investigators 2013
Of all the applications received for the EMBO Young Investigator Programme 2013, 23 young researchers from twelve countries were selected. The success rate for selection to the highly competitive programme was twelve per cent in 2013. Scientists from Singapore can apply to EMBO programmes due to a cooperation agreement between both parties that started in 2011.
For more information on the 2013 awardees, please visit http://www.embo.org/news/press-releases/press-releases-2013/23-researchers-join-network-of-embo-young-investigators.
About the EMBO Young Investigator Programme
The EMBO Young Investigator Programme (YIP) is the first initiative in Europe to address the needs of young independent research group leaders and is unique in its focus on effective networking activities, offering support and promoting exchange between the young scientists. Since its launch in 2000, the EMBO YIP selects independent scientists throughout the EMBC Member States, thereby creating a European network of outstanding life scientists. From the onset, this highly competitive programme has attracted applications from some of the best young group leaders in Europe. 315 scientists have been distinguished as EMBO Young Investigators since the launch of the programme in 2000.
For more information on the programme, please visit http://www.embo.org/programmes/yip/programme.html.
About EMBO
EMBO is an organization of almost 1600 leading researchers that promotes excellence in the life sciences. The major goals of the organization are to support talented researchers at all stages of their careers, stimulate the exchange of scientific information, and help build a European research environment where scientists can achieve their best work.
EMBO helps young scientists to advance their research, promote their international reputations and ensure their mobility. Courses, workshops, conferences and scientific journals disseminate the latest research and offer training in techniques to maintain high standards of excellence in research practice. EMBO helps to shape science and research policy by seeking input and feedback from our community and by following closely the trends in science in Europe.
For more information on EMBO, please visit http://www.embo.org.
[
| E-mail
Share
]
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
After some mystery surrounding an American release date, Dell's Venue 11 Pro is now available in the US. The 10.8-inch Windows 8.1 tablet starts at $500 with a modest, Bay Trail-based 1.5GHz Atom chip as well as 2GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. Those who need more processing grunt can step up to models with Y-series Core i3 and i5 chips that respectively cost $800 and $850; both of them also carry much roomier 128GB flash drives. Only WiFi slates are on sale, although a tipster tells us that there will be LTE-equipped versions. Just be prepared to wait if you want a Venue 11 Pro to call your own -- orders placed on launch day won't ship until December 5th at the earliest.
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Between The Avengers, X-Men and the 900th Spider-man reboot, Marvel's feeling the movie love. The company's also doing all right on the TV front, thanks to the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. The next step? Netflix, obviously. You can already find a number of the publisher's superheroes over on the streaming ...