Cellphone use linked to selfish behavior

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Though cellphones are usually considered devices that connect people, they may make users less socially minded, finds a recent study from the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business.

Marketing professors Anastasiya Pocheptsova and Rosellina Ferraro, with graduate student, Ajay T. Abraham, conducted a series of experiments on test groups of cellphone users. The findings appear in their working paper, "The Effect of Mobile Phone Use on Prosocial Behavior."

Prosocial behavior, as defined in the study, is action intended to benefit another person or society as a whole.

The researchers found that after a short period of cellphone use the subjects were less inclined to volunteer for a community service activity when asked, compared to the control-group counterparts. The cell phone users were also less persistent in solving word problems - even though they knew their answers would translate to a monetary donation to charity.

The decreased focus on others held true even when participants were merely asked to draw a picture of their cellphones and think about how they used them.

The study involved separate sets of college student subjects - both men and women and generally in their early 20s. "We would expect a similar pattern of effects with people from other age groups," said Ferraro. "Given the increasing pervasiveness of cellphones, it does have the potential to have broad social implications."

The authors cited previous research in explaining a root cause of their findings: "The cellphone directly evokes feelings of connectivity to others, thereby fulfilling the basic human need to belong." This results in reducing one's desire to connect with others or to engage in empathic and prosocial behavior.

The study also distinguished its subjects from users of other social media -- Facebook users -- in one of the tests. The authors found that participants felt more connected to others because of their cellphones than because of their Facebook accounts, suggesting that this difference in connectedness was the underlying driver of the observed phenomenon.

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University of Maryland: http://www.newsdesk.umd.edu/

Thanks to University of Maryland for this article.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/117584/Cellphone_use_linked_to_selfish_behavior

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Free Market Health Insurance Provides the Best Vehicle for ...

In recent weeks, Obamacare?s contraception mandate and its conflict with religious liberty has been the center of debate. In late January, Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius released a statement indicating that rather than expanding religious exemption from the mandate, she was instead going to provide religious institutions more time to comply with the mandate.

Rush Limbaugh referenced a post at Ricochet yesterday on his show as part of his discussion on DHHS?s contraception mandate and how the Catholic Church has reacted. The author, Paul A. Rahe, notes how the Catholic Church embraced Franklin D. Roosevelt administration?s introduction of Social Security. Rahe suggests that the indirect consequences of FDR?s Social Security had a domino effect that impacted Catholics? (and all Americans? in general) view of family roles in caring for elderly parents and subsequently their view of sex and contraception. Additionally, he suggests that acceptance of FDR?s policies also generated a sentiment by some in the faith community that ?public provision is akin to charity?.

Beyond the indirect effects that FDR?s policies had on the faith community, his policies had direct impact on health insurance mandates as it relates to employers. Sally Pipes at the Pacific Research Institute notes:

During World War II, wage controls prevented employers from rewarding workers with salary hikes and enticing new workers with cash. So companies started offering health care benefits as a way around the law.

Roosevelt?s wage controls caused employers to seek new ways for business to attract qualified employees, and now, this has become the norm.

Pipes goes on to note that this norm has subsequently has made it harder for people to leave their jobs for fear of losing their insurance, made wages lower, and stifled business creation. Health insurance has become tied to employment rather than to the free market. President Obama?s health care reform approach and its numerous, burdensome regulations?be it on contraception or health insurance premium requirements?have only provided a means to incrementally lead the nation towards total government run healthcare. What the Obama administration has done to insurers and employers is akin to tying a runner?s shoelaces together and telling her to run a marathon.

The free market provides an alternative to both the far reaching effects of the Roosevelt administration and the recent effects of the Obama administration. A free market approach to health care?as opposed to government or employer related approach? means that individuals can purchase the health care that is most appropriate for themselves and their families. The Heritage Foundation recommends that instead of employer related tax exclusions for health care, the federal government should provide tax credits for individuals and families according to their income and the number of children they have. They also suggest that health insurance be able to be purchased across state lines, providing even greater room for competition between insurers and subsequently lower costs. This would then allow each individual or family to purchase the health care plan that is most suited for their needs and budget.

Beyond the economic benefits, a free market based health care system provides the best vehicle for religious liberty. When health insurance is detached from employment, it means that employers?be they religious institutions or religious business owners? have no requirement to violate their conscience by providing insurance that covers contraception and abortion causing drugs.

The same is true for individual health care consumers and insurance companies themselves. Individual health care consumers would have the option to purchase plans from insurers that either do or do not cover contraceptives. While individuals opposed to contraception would not desire contraception for themselves anyway, choosing a plan that does not cover contraception means the money they used to purchase health insurance does not have the potential to ?cross subsidize? contraception or abortion causing drugs.

?Cross subsidization? occurs when insurance premiums are pooled by the insurer and then dispersed to pay medical bills for those they insure, meaning that the money one pays in insurance premiums beyond what care they need may ultimately cover another individual?s care . Market based healthcare also provides health insurers with the freedom to abide by their conscience in what they will cover. Insurers who oppose contraceptives would not be obligated to provide coverage, and those who approve contraceptives would be free to do so. There is a market for both, and it would provide employers, individuals, and insurers the freedom to exercise their religious liberty.

The Roosevelt and Obama administrations have been all about control and government expansion. This is why Barack Obama once referred to the Constitution as a ?charter of negative liberties??because it constrained the ?liberty? of the government. However, the positive liberties extended by our Bill of Rights includes first the freedom of religion. The free market allows consumers the choice to exercise that freedom. The Constitution?s ?pro choice? provision is one that even we pro-lifers can get behind.

Source: http://biggovernment.com/wpitcher/2012/02/14/free-market-health-insurance-provides-the-best-vehicle-for-religious-freedom/

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What is Shared Web Hosting?

Published by carol | February 13, 2012 | | 77

Online business is becoming more populated than the other businesses. If you want to have a business in internet first you have to know about internet then you have to know about the business system. There are many companies those can offer you to have share of the companies. If you interested with online business while you are at home, there is a best system, if you shared a website hosting. When you are going to shared website hosting, it can not afford to have first connection to the internet for their web site. They can provide a way for the customers to have an out source within internet requirements that can cause an affordable way. Shared web hosting is lodging and serving files for a web site.

To get internet connection for searching files in the web hosting service, the companies and the individuals are always allowed to share the cost.

It is the basic way where fee-based hosting is available for the customer. The customer who is include with web hosting, he or she is allowed to host his/her web site on a commanding server at a minimum affordable monthly cost. It can give a site with connectivity and certain uptime. It can easily say that it is a designed to host a web page. It is first used by the web masters for the reason that they will have a dependable web occurrence without any technical knowledge. It is good for the small-scale customer for the reason that they are assured of translucent services, domain name for web site and set of email addresses.

Payable for its low cost, the web hosting is becoming more pretty to the customer. A minimum monthly fee of a shared web hosting service is favorable than a dial-up service. Most of the small business and individuals prefer shared web hosting for its low fee and it offers basic services.

Generally, shared web hosting services are packaged. It offers multi-platform web solutions with a little monthly fee. Package services are more than even your business include; restricted amount of disk storage for web page, limited data transfer, email front warding services with email boxes, limitless file relocate protocol services. Shared web hosting is also providing access to web statistics for you, where the visitors can visit your web site.

If you want to have a huge number of your visitors in your site, you should such a service that can offer you to have more space. You can upgrade your hosting plan, it is the best option. Over if you are a new starter of online; truly the shared web hosting is a great way to avail of first internet connection for your web site at a very minimum monthly cost. So if you do not have a share web site hosting; now it is time to have shared web site hosting.

Source: http://www.1directory.net/internet-and-businesses-online/web-hosting/what-is-shared-web-hosting-3746.html

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Tactics to adopt when your child misbehaves in front of others

A child that misbehaves could either not have been taught or knows what has been taught but still behaves so for the sake of some attention. All children love the attention that they get. Whether its by parading around the house showing everybody their bandaged finger or by throwing a tantrum for no rhyme or reason. Psychology tells us that express themselves or know what to do. It seems natural for a child to misbehave because it is a child?s way of giving vent to the confusion inside. Misbehavior can take a number of dimensions but it is the role of a parent to sieve the husk from the chaff and determine the reason why the children have resorted to misbehaving. Some of the causes behind their misbehavior could be:

1-A clash between what is taught in school and what is taught? at home.

2-Their reaction to something/ someone they dislike

3-Fed up with the disciplining done by Parents

4-They copy the actions of their parents

5-Some new things in a child?s life

6-Negligence by a parent

7-They feel ill, bored, hungry or sleepy.

8-They want to assert themselves and their independence

9-They have been previously ?rewarded? for their misbehavior with adult attention

To begin with, it is important for the child who is incharge of the house and who plays the rules of the house.

It is important for your children to know that you are the parent, the one incharge and as long as your child stays in your house, that there are certain rules to be followed within the house that have to be obeyed. Many parents are scared that incase they?re too strict they might lose their children?s love On the contrary, the first thing that you must know when it comes to dealing with a child that misbehaves in front of others is to make them understand. It is this fear of losing their children that drives parents to become soft unnecessarily. In such cases the children grow up having no set rules to follow because they do not have a healthy concept of right or wrong. As a result they do not know what their parent?s expect from them.

Children with a healthy sense of judgment can adjust to any given situation because their parents have been strict in their response towards their behavior at the right time and this has earned them respect from their children all the more. Threatening or shouting a child just doesn?t work at times. Spelling out the rules you expect your child to follow helps when it comes to disciplining the child. Ensure you remain consistent in your sternness with your child each time the child forgets. Children like it when they are spoken to on a one to one basis and punishment for disobeying the rules. Appreciate your child when they follow a behavior pattern instilled at home. It will make you proud. So, start demonstrating good behavior and watch your children imitate you.
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Source: http://education.ezinemark.com/tactics-to-adopt-when-your-child-misbehaves-in-front-of-others-7d336f945bf1.html

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Ocean County Democrats ? Christie proposed N.J. income tax cut ...

Posted by Ocean Dems on February 4, 2012

Gov. Chris Christie?s proposal to cut income taxes by 10 percent would provide only modest financial relief to middle-class families who are struggling more under the weight of their property taxes, according to analysis by the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services.

The governor?s plan would largely benefit the state?s wealthier residents, who pay a significantly higher rate under the state?s current progressive tax system, and so they would see greater savings, the analysis shows.

Senate Democrats said the analysis provided evidence that Christie?s proposed tax cuts across the board would favor the rich and shortchange the middle class, and they indicated they had a counterproposal that would offer relief from income and property taxes.

?We all want to cut taxes, but we want to cut the right taxes in ways that help those most in need and that provides the most benefit to the economy,? said Senator Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen), chairman of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, which conducted the first of many expected hearings Monday on the tax cut proposal.

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Excerpt. ?Original Published: Tuesday, January 31, 2012, 8:15 AM ? www.NJ.com

Posted by Ocean Dems on February 4, 2012

http://www.oceancountydems.org/2012/02/christie-proposed-n-j-income-tax-cut-t...

Source: http://www.oceancountydems.org/2012/02/christie-proposed-n-j-income-tax-cut-that-would-largely-benefit-the-wealthy/

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Auto Repair Manual | j-leto.com

When it comes to backyard mechanic really is not wrong, because there are a lot of maintenance, you can do your own car?s location.

While you do need to make sure you have the knowledge, will be necessary, do you mind the maintenance. If you do not know it in the end what you are doing then you really would do well to invest in the automotive repair manuals.

Many times, things seem simple repair, and then what is it in the end. To get halfway through the work, and then happened to run into trouble, which means you can more trouble. Now your car is to serve, you do not know how to fix.

Fortunately, you can go online; there are many online services manual. In most cases, these will give you the basics and guide you through the process step by step; you may need for your service. In addition, other characteristics of the vehicle maintenance manual is that it will give you tips on how to solve, even after repairs if the car is not running.
Repair manual for your car is a major characteristic is that it will give you a list as you want when you need to do your basic maintenance tools. You can also find your maintenance you need a special socket wrench and a half, you do not. Now you have a problem.

So now, you believe, you really need a car repair manual, the next step is one where you, this is the best. Ideally, depending on your level of experience of car mechanics will determine if you need a beginner?s guide, or if you are looking for some more advanced qualifications.

Source: http://j-leto.com/auto-repair-manual.html

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Inside Facebook's IPO: How the Social Web Will Reshape the Economy (Time.com)

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

Facebook?s initial public offering later this spring will create a billion-dollar windfall for its founders and early investors, so it?s easy to be cynical and view the IPO as another example of insiders cashing in on the latest web phenomenon. But the significance ? and symbolism? ? of Facebook?s IPO goes much deeper. Facebook?s astonishing rise is an apt metaphor for the emergence over the last two decades of the Internet itself as a tool for individual self-expression and collective organization. It?s also a dramatic example of a generational shift taking place among the entrepreneurial class, one that elevates social change as a priority along with commercial success. Perhaps most importantly, Facebook?s success is a powerful argument to the transformational impact that a free, open Internet can have on society and commerce.

Facebook?s IPO ? the largest in Internet history ? is a once-in-a-generation milestone in the evolution of the web. It represents a coming-of-age moment for the second major phase in the development of the Internet as a widespread platform: the rise of the social web. In the initial phase, large portals such as America Online and Yahoo established the web as a repository for vast amounts of information. It wasn?t until Google indexed the web with its search engine that this phase reached maturity, allowing users to quickly find information across the Internet, beyond the borders of these centralized communities. But even as Google democratized the web by enabling ordinary people to exercise their voices and become accessible to the broader online world, the Internet remained a largely individualized experience.

(MORE: Read Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg?s IPO Letter)

The emergence of social networks like Friendster, MySpace and Facebook gave rise to the second major phase of the web by establishing it as a platform for social interaction. For the first time, these social networks allowed users to establish personal identities on highly-scaled platforms in order to connect and share with others. These services delighted and empowered users by making them feel ownership of their own pieces of digital real-estate, which they could use as personal calling cards to project themselves into cyberspace. Thanks to savvy marketing and engaging design, Facebook caught on like wildfire, first among college students, and later among the public at large. As it grew, Facebook leveraged the network effect of millions of people connected to each other to create an unstoppable momentum that vanquished its social networking foes.

Facebook?s success demonstrates the power of the Internet as a force for social connection and, over the last few years, for social and political change. This new power has three main features: it?s democratic, because everyone in the free world has access to the same internet; it?s meritocratic, because success on this platform is a function of the power of one?s ideas, not traditional categories of wealth or class; and it?s viral, because the web enables good ideas to spread at light-speed and reach millions. The democratic, meritocratic, and viral nature of the web has shaken existing power structures worldwide, so it?s not surprising that repressive regimes have responded by trying to crack down on web activity in order to clamp down on dissent. This push-and-pull between old-world, legacy power structures and upstart digital communities will continue for some time, but if you believe the digital idealists ? and Zuckerberg clearly is one ? history is on their side.

(MORE: Mark Zuckerberg: TIME Person of the Year 2010)

It?s no coincidence that Facebook?s recent rise as a cultural phenomenon has mirrored the Internet?s emergence as a powerful social and political tool. Reformers in Tunisia and Egypt used Facebook to organize unprecedented protests against dictators who had held power for decades. Activists in the United States used social networks to launch the Occupy Wall Street movement, which has focused national attention on income inequality and made it a central issue in the 2012 presidential election. Most recently, a viral, web-based campaign against anti-piracy legislation in the U.S. Congress helped convince dozens of lawmakers to withdraw their support. The Internet is emerging as a potent socio-political force in its own right ? and social networks like Facebook and Twitter are the glue that holds this force together.

Facebook?s commercial success, meanwhile, demonstrates the potency of the Internet as a platform for building wildly successful businesses from the ground up, as well as a vehicle for established businesses to engage with existing customers and reach new ones. Facebook?s IPO prospectus contains several stunning figures that illustrate the immense reach of the service, and the potential for businesses to engage with users. The company now has 845 million monthly active users ? or nearly half of the estimated 2 billion Internet users worldwide ? and 483 million of them log in every day. The remarkable thing is that Facebook is just scratching the surface of its commercial possibilities. But Zuckerberg has made it clear that the singular pursuit of profit is not what?s driving him. ?We don?t build services to make money,? he writes in Facebook?s IPO letter, ?we make money to build better services.? Facebook?s service, in turn, is designed to further what he describes as a ?social mission? ? ?to make the world more open and connected.?

(MORE: Is Facebook Really Worth $100 Billion?)

Facebook has been criticized for barging across the boundaries of individual privacy, and there?s no doubt the company?s ubiquity will require vigilance by civil liberty watchdogs and, if necessary, the federal government. But Zuckerberg has been nothing if not consistent: He deeply believes that making the Internet more social will, in turn, make society more democratic. ?People sharing more ? even if just with their close friends or families ? creates a more open culture and leads to a better understanding of the lives and perspectives of others,? Zuckerberg writes. In this respect, Zuckerberg is clearly an idealist of the first order, and he?s not alone. Increasingly, young entrepreneurs, particularly in technology, are looking to create businesses that contribute to the public good as well as make money. And it?s not just entrepreneurs who feel this way, but also consumers. ?These days I think more and more people want to use services from companies that believe in something beyond simply maximizing profits,? he says.

Finally, Facebook?s triumph is an important reminder of the importance of a free, open Internet. When Zuckerberg launched the service as a Harvard sophomore in 2004, it?s unlikely he imagined that eight years later he would be leading a company poised to go public with over 800 million users and a $100 billion valuation. Such an outcome would never have been possible if the web were not the open, fertile environment for innovation that we?ve all come to take for granted. In less than two decades, the Internet has established itself as one of the most transformative economic and social platforms in history. It has created the spawning ground for new, disruptive companies that have created billions of dollars in wealth and economic activity, and changed the way we live forever. And as the web becomes more social, platforms like Facebook and Twitter will have greater impact on politics around the world. Facebook?s IPO is one of the most important business stories of the year, but the company?s success should also serve as a powerful reminder of why it?s crucial to maintain the Internet as a free, open platform. If we, as a society, can do that, there?s no telling where the next Mark Zuckerberg may appear.

MORE: This Is Your Life (According to Your New Facebook Timeline)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/time_rss/rss_time_us/httpbusinesstimecom20120202whyfacebooksipomattersxidrssnationyahoo/44401892/SIG=12loctn98/*http%3A//business.time.com/2012/02/02/why-facebooks-ipo-matters/?xid=rss-nation-yahoo

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Throwback Thursday - Street Fighter II LCD Game Commercial ...

Wow, talk about super duper throwback status. Remember the Tiger games from back in the day? You know the little handheld joints that made one specific game with each release? You may remember the Sonic game, Shinobi game, and of course, the Street Fighter titles that came out in the early 90s. Now, this particular game I remember closely. There were no Street Fighter games for my Sega Game Gear (which I strongly did not like), so I had to settle for this little handheld jump-off. It was cool for a while, but got a tad bit annoying.

I remember you could only pick a certain number of characters, and it was stupid hard to do special moves in the game. It was not responsive, it was not clear cut, but man you?d be happy when you did pull off some good stuff. LOLOL. In fact, I think I may still have this title lying around somewhere. I think I might have been 7 or 8 when I got this joint. I know it was probably a Christmas gift or something. Hmm.

Now to the commercial. Basically, the music is pretty generic. If you watch shows such as ?E! Mysteries and Scandals,? you?ve probably heard it! LOLOL. It?s pretty funny how they did their promos back in the day. Very cheesy and the characters on the cover look HORRIBLE! LMFAO. Guile with that scrunchy face is quite hilarious. It?s really something though to see where handheld devices have come from, but yeah..this needed to be posted. I think it?s a subject people rarely touch on, so yup. At any rate, check out the short commercial for yourself. Peep it!!

Source: http://playstation3gameconsole.com/throwback-thursday-street-fighter-ii-lcd-game-commercial/

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Menuism: A Brief History Of Hamburgers

1836 brought the first appearance of hamburger steak on a menu, at Delmonico's in New York. Many consider the hamburger steak to be the ancestor to the modern-day hamburger. Burger purists may not want to accept that assertion since it's missing a bun, but we can't deny that, much like everything, the hamburger had to evolve from something.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/Menuism/hamburger-history_b_1242798.html

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