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Music to a gambler's ears

Researchers found that winning sounds on slot machines make gambling more exciting and cause players to overestimate their number of wins. Sounds also contribute to the 'disguise' in losses disguised as wins, causing players to think they have won more often than they actually have.

SourceSpringer·JournalJournal of Gambling Studies·DateJul 2, 2013

How to build a very large star

A team of astronomers at the University of Toronto propose a mechanism for forming very large stars, where baby stars are fed gas from surrounding older stars, allowing them to grow in mass. They observed evidence of this phenomenon in the Westerhout 3 cloud, located 6,500 light years from Earth.

SourceUniversity of Toronto·JournalThe Astrophysical Journal·DateMar 27, 2013

The patient satisfaction chasm

Researchers found that hospital management fails to engage frontline clinicians in improving patient satisfaction, despite most believing it's achievable. Clinicians reported receiving feedback only 34% of the time, highlighting the need for more structured plans and active role from hospital management.

SourceBrigham and Women's Hospital·JournalBMJ Quality & Safety·DateMar 1, 2013

Brief interventions can help college students return to a healthy lifestyle

A new study from the University of Missouri found that brief interventions, as short as 30 minutes, can significantly improve exercise habits in college students. Participants who received personalized feedback and set health goals reported increased physical activity compared to those who did not receive the intervention.

SourceUniversity of Missouri-Columbia·JournalJournal of Physical Activity and Health·DateNov 29, 2012

Want better employees? Get somebody else to rate their personalities, suggests new study

Researchers found that outside observers, including personal acquaintances and co-workers, can provide equally fair evaluations of employees' personalities as those who know them in a work context. This challenge traditional practices of using self-rated personality tests, which may lead to biased perceptions.

SourceUniversity of Toronto, Rotman School of Management·JournalJournal of Personality·DateNov 14, 2012

America Invents Act is a game changer

The USPTO has implemented the America Invents Act, a significant reform of US patent law, allowing for public input and feedback throughout the rulemaking process. The act introduces a new framework for patents, with a focus on balance and collaboration between the agency and various stakeholders.

SourceUniversity of South Florida·JournalJournal of Technology and Innovation·DateJul 23, 2012

Pharmacist-led, information technology-based intervention reduces prescribing errors and is cheap and easy to implement

A pharmacist-led, information technology-based intervention reduced prescribing errors by 42% in primary care, with significant reductions in specific medication errors. The intervention was found to be cheap and easy to implement, costing $75 per error avoided, making it a cost-effective solution for reducing medication errors.

SourceThe Lancet_DELETED·JournalThe Lancet·DateFeb 20, 2012

New insights into how to correct false knowledge

Researchers at Duke University found that correcting false knowledge requires providing students with feedback, which enables them to identify errors and learn correct information. Students who received feedback were more likely to correct their mistakes in the short-term, but also more likely to forget the correct answer if they didn'...

SourceDuke University·JournalPsychonomic Bulletin & Review·DateFeb 7, 2012

Toddlers don't listen to their own voice like adults do

New research reveals that toddlers don't respond to their own voice in the same way as adults, requiring alternative strategies for controlling speech production. Four-year-olds are shown to monitor their speech similarly to adults, while two-year-olds do not, hinting at a possible reliance on caregivers' feedback.

SourceCell Press·JournalCurrent Biology·DateDec 22, 2011

Ambitious goals = satisfaction

A study by University of California, Riverside assistant marketing professor Cecile K. Cho found that people are more satisfied when they set ambitious goals compared to conservative goals. The experiment involved participants setting targets and allocating a budget, with high-goal setters averaging higher satisfaction levels.

SourceUniversity of California - Riverside·JournalJournal of Consumer Research·DateAug 17, 2011

BGU researchers develop webcam tool to improve office worker posture

A multidisciplinary team at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev developed a new training method using desktop webcams to improve ergonomic posture among office workers. The photo-training method provided effective short-term and long-term posture improvement, particularly for older workers and those with musculoskeletal pain.

Trust, clarity and openness in the workplace

A study by D. Keith Denton highlights the importance of creating an atmosphere of trust in the workplace to improve communication and reduce dissatisfaction. Face-to-face communication is found to be more effective than other channels, allowing for true dialogue to occur.

SourceInderscience Publishers·JournalInternational Journal of Productivity and Quality Management·DateMar 2, 2011

Distracted drivers benefit from in-car driving coach

A recent study by Linda Ng Boyle found that an in-car coach using eye tracking technology significantly reduced the time until collision among high-risk young drivers, more than doubling their time. The system provided continual feedback to drivers who needed it most, leading to a significant improvement in their driving behavior.

SourceUniversity of Washington·JournalJournal of Transportation Engineering·DateAug 10, 2010

Motivation by anticipation: Expecting rapid feedback enhances performance

A recent study published in Psychological Science found that students who expected to receive grades quickly performed better than those who anticipated delays. This counterintuitive result may be due to the threat of disappointment being more prominent for early expectants, leading them to perform better as a result. The study has imp...

SourceAssociation for Psychological Science·JournalPsychological Science·DateMar 30, 2010

AGU Journal highlights -- March 8, 2010

Scientists find that Arctic sea ice loss is driven by the formation of arches, which block flow and lead to increased ice loss. In Mars, solar wind pulses contribute to atmospheric escape, with bursts occurring in association with corotating interaction regions.

SourceAmerican Geophysical Union·JournalGeophysical Research Letters·DateMar 8, 2010

Program helps improve management of chronic pain

A collaborative care intervention improved pain-related disability and intensity in patients with chronic noncancer pain compared to usual care. The program, which included patient and clinician education and symptom monitoring, showed significant improvements in depression and functional status.

SourceJAMA Network·JournalJAMA·DateMar 24, 2009