Why luck matters more than you might think Experiments by David DeSteno, a psychologist at Northeastern University, offer additional evidence that gratitude might lead to greater willingness to support the common good. In one widely cited study, he and his co-authors devised a clever manipulation to make a group of laboratory subjects feel grateful, and then gave them an opportunity to take actions […]
WGBH The Boston Globe’s Trump parody: brilliant satire, self-indulgent clickbait—or both? So what are we to make of the Boston Globe’s parody of a possible Donald Trump presidency? Is it inspired or sophomoric? A responsible exercise of a newspaper’s role in shaping public opinion or self-indulgent clickbait? And does the form that it takes—the entire front of the Sunday Ideas section, designed to look like page […]
The Christian Science Monitor Good jobs without a degree? Boston’s $3 million test. This focus on apprenticeships and associate degrees makes sense for Boston, says Alicia Modestino, a labor economist at Northeastern University. “We don’t do a very good job of producing individuals at a middle-skill level of education,” she says. These are the workers that employers increasingly covet, particularly when it comes to supporting the highly educated […]
NECN Prosecutorial misconduct – When prosecutors break the rules “I would think that that’s probably the tip of the iceberg,” said Daniel Medwed. He is a professor at Northeastern University’s School of Law and says misconduct ranges from prosecutors withholding evidence that could help the defense to badgering or threatening witnesses to improper remarks in closing arguments. “If prosecutors aren’t playing fairly, they can […]
Slate For shame Why do state court judges uphold convictions that are riddled with misconduct? Why do state prosecutors insist on defending them? The answer, according to Northeastern University law professor Daniel Medwed, who has written extensively on the topic, is likely a combination of law, politics, and basic human psychology. Our criminal justice famously presumes that every […]
Boston Herald Robot could ready Red Planet for humans A team of UMass Lowell and Northeastern University researchers will spend the next two years writing software and algorithms to improve Val’s walking, hand coordination and communication. The distance from Earth to Mars means any communication with the robot would be significantly delayed, so manually operating Val is impractical. “Every 20 minutes you can say, […]
‘Boyish ideas of what it takes to be a man’ STEREOTYPED AS WEAK and effeminate, Asian-American men often struggle in a society that has “boyish ideas of what it takes to be a man,” according to Alex Tizon, a former national correspondent for the Los Angeles Times and the author of “Big Little Man.” Those boyish ideas, based largely on obsessions with physical strength, height, […]
Mars-bound NASA robot will get some help from Mass. universities At UMass Lowell and Northeastern, professors and students alike are already feeling giddy with the possibilities. “This is an effort to advance research and development in humanoid robotics,” said Taskin Padir, an associate professor at Northeastern University’s Electrical and Computer Engineering department and a co-principal investigator on the project. “Some will say humanoid robots are […]
Are Boston rents slowing? A new housing report from real estate firm REIS says monthly rents in Boston increased by just .1 percent in the first quarter of this year. After five years of increases, the slowdown appears to be good news. Yet, the average apartment in Greater Boston still rents for over $2,000 a month. It turns out, if you […]
Six habits of the best conversationalists Good conversationalists listen with their eyes, looking for body language or changes in mood that provide information about the other person’s interest level in the conversation. This can help them redirect or improve the conversation in the moment, says Parker Ellen, professor of management and organizational development at Northeastern University. “It also would equip individuals […]
Many violations found at grocery stores in Boston The lesson for shoppers, according to food safety advocate Darin Detwiler, who teaches food regulatory policy at Northeastern University, is this: “Just because it’s got a big name like Whole Foods or Market Basket or Stop & Shop does not mean that it doesn’t have a record of problems,” requiring consumers to always be on […]
Boston.com Boston.com: Another freakishly human-like robot is coming to Massachusetts A robot that may one day pave the way for astronauts to explore the final frontier has arrived in Massachusetts. Valkyrie, or “Val,” landed at the New England Robotics Validation Experimentation Center at UMass Lowell Wednesday morning, where it will stay for two years as part of a research collaboration between UMass Lowell and Northeastern University, which were […]