One in twenty workers are in ‘useless’ jobs – far fewer than previously thought
The so-called ‘bullshit jobs theory’ – which argues that a large and rapidly increasing number of workers are undertaking jobs that they themselves recognise as being useless and of no social value […]
Intensive agriculture could drive loss of bees and other tropical pollinators
Across the globe, lower levels of land use intensity are good for pollinators, finds the new Nature Communications paper which shows the importance of sustainable land management in cities and agricultural regions. As insect […]
Psychological safety
Every day, occupational safety professionals deal with the perception of risk – or lack thereof – and its consequences for human behavior and safety outcomes. But they might not consider some of […]
Kelp, maggots and mycoprotein among future foods that must be mass-farmed to combat malnutrition
Researchers at the University of Cambridge say our future global food supply cannot be safeguarded by traditional approaches to improving food production. They suggest state-of-the-art, controlled-environment systems, producing novel foods, should be […]
Smartphones have led to the ‘death of proximity’
The most in depth study ever to look at how adults use smartphones reveals how we are ‘homeless’ when we lose them because they are where we increasingly express our personalities, interests […]
Remote working: why some people are less productive at home than others
Has working at home during lockdown made people more productive or not? This has been the subject of some lively debate recently. Many companies do not routinely measure productivity. A large number will have traditionally assumed […]
Eye-tracking research sheds light on how background music influences our perception of visual scenes
According to a new study, the mood of background music in a movie scene affects a person’s empathy toward the main character and their interpretation of the plot, environment, and character’s personality […]
Is Social Media Changing Your Life?
When you pull out your phone to take a photo, are you planning to share it on social media? Why is it so important that people – most of whom you’ve never […]
Commuting Hurts Productivity and Your Best Talent Suffers Most
Many of us have been there: mired in rush-hour traffic, listening to music or news to take our minds off the grind, wishing we didn’t feel so stressed before we’ve even reached […]
Editing the DNA of human embryos could protect us from future pandemics
Hollywood blockbusters such as X-men, Gattaca and Jurassic World have explored the intriguing concept of “germline genome editing” – a biomolecular technique that can alter the DNA of sperm, eggs or embryos. If you remove a gene […]
Why partnering with your closest rival can work so well
Google and Facebook have become huge rivals in the digital ad space with the tech giants hoovering up 70 per cent of online advertising in the US between them, according to Marketwatch. While […]
When Algorithmic Fairness Fixes Fail: The Case for Keeping Humans in the Loop
As healthcare systems increasingly rely on predictive algorithms to make decisions about patient care, they are bumping up against issues of fairness. For example, a hospital might use its electronic healthcare records to […]
When are you going to have children?
As a moral philosopher, Simon Beard has thought deeply about the ethics of having children. He’s troubled by the simplistic way that many people talk about such an important decision – or don’t talk […]
Infectious diseases and social distancing in nature
Forager ants do it, vampire bats do it, guppies do it, and mandrills do it. Long before humans learned about and started “social distancing due to COVID-19,” animals in nature intuitively practiced […]
Did prehistoric women hunt? New research suggests so
For a long time, it was assumed that hunting in prehistoric societies was primarily carried out by men. Now a new study adds to a body of evidence challenging this idea. The research reports the […]
‘Citizen scientists’ help researchers gather new insights into polar bear behaviour
Oxford University is working with Canadian researchers on a first-of-its-kind project that will engage citizen volunteers to help advance knowledge about polar bear behaviour in a changing environment by analysing a decade’s […]
How long will a healthy older person live? A substance in blood may provide a clue
Levels of a substance in nonagenerians’ and centenarians’ blood accurately predict how much longer they’re going to live. The substance comes from the brain. The findings, in a study published in Nature Aging, could prove […]
New psychology research indicates that ambivalent people make less biased judgments
People who tend to experience mixed feelings are less likely to fall prey to two common cognitive biases, according to new research published in the British Journal of Social Psychology. The findings indicate […]
Vampire finches: how little birds in the Galápagos evolved to drink blood
For most people, the word “vampire” brings to mind Dracula or perhaps slayers such as Blade or Buffy; or maybe even the vampire bats of South America. Few will think of a […]
Neuroimaging study sheds light on how to clear thoughts from your brain’s working memory system
New research published in Nature Communications provides unique insights into the process of consciously purging information from the brain’s working memory system. The study suggests that there are distinct mechanisms by which people can […]
Can Artificial Intelligence Map Our Moods?
Researchers showed long ago that artificial intelligence models could identify a person’s basic psychological traits from their digital footprints in social media. That may be just a start. A new study, co-authored by Stanford’s Johannes Eichstaedt and […]
17 February 2021: FLI Webinar on Japanese business culture & get to know the FLI
Organising committee The Future Leadership Institute Antwerpen will be organizing a webinar on 17 February 2021. This event will be in English. Topic The evening will start with a keynote on Japanese business […]
Desalination Breakthrough Could Lead to Cheaper Water Filtration
Producing clean water at a lower cost could be on the horizon after researchers from The University of Texas at Austin and Penn State solved a complex problem that had baffled scientists […]
Empathy promotes compliance with social distancing and mask wearing regulations during the pandemic
New research found evidence for the role of empathy in motivating public compliance with health recommendations during the COVID-19 crisis. The findings were published in Psychological Science. The coronavirus pandemic represents a unique […]
Learning boosts happiness more than rewards do
How we learn about our world may be more important for how we feel than the rewards we actually receive, according to a new study led by UCL researchers. The study, published […]
New Year’s Resolutions That Will Actually Lead to Happiness
If you are someone who follows a traditional religion, you most likely have a day such as Yom Kippur, Ashura, or Ash Wednesday, dedicated to atoning for your sins and vowing to […]
Christmas markets: their long history and changing future
Wooden huts with twinkling fairy lights, festive hubbub, and the aromas of roasted chestnuts and glühwein – this picture-postcard setting is recreated annually across many towns and cities in December. This year, however, most […]
Upcycling: Turning plastic bags into adhesives
While many cities and eight states have banned single-use plastics, bags and other polyethylene packaging still clog landfills and pollute rivers and oceans. One major problem with recycling polyethylene, which makes up […]
COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in the UK
The pandemic is testing our societal structures like never before. To deal with it successfully, we need to think and act collectively, led by our key institutions. But at a time when […]
No country ‘immune’ to COVID-19 economic shock, but Asian nations will bounce back faster
Global GDP will drop three percent below pre-pandemic estimates by the end of 2021, with many Western nations seeing ‘deeper and longer-lasting’ effects compared to China and other Asian economies, a study suggests. Moreover, […]
You’re Right! You Are Working Longer and Attending More Meetings
Work-from-home employees whose days seem longer, with more meetings and emails than ever before, may find a new Harvard Business School study validating. An analysis of the emails and meetings of 3.1 […]
Deep learning helps robots grasp and move objects with ease
In the past year, lockdowns and other COVID-19 safety measures have made online shopping more popular than ever, but the skyrocketing demand is leaving many retailers struggling to fulfill orders while ensuring […]
Smoking cessation and high-risk drinking increased in lockdown
The percentage of people who reported stopping smoking more than doubled after the Covid-19 lockdown was implemented in March, according to a new study by UCL researchers. The research also found that […]
Is reaching zero COVID-19 possible?
Most scientists agree that stringent control measures, involving efficient contact tracing, testing and isolation, together with social distancing and mask wearing, are required to limit the spread of SARS-CoV-2. South Korea, Taiwan, China and New Zealand have all […]
Man with flu-COVID infection found in the US – but he’s not the first
As many of us get closer to our first COVID-19 winter, we have many things to feel optimistic about: vaccine results are on the horizon, mortality rates for those infected have fallen and established therapeutic […]
Coronavirus vaccine trials won’t tell us if they save lives, prevent serious illness or stop transmission – here’s why
There are currently at least six COVID-19 vaccines in phase 3 clinical trials – the final phase of testing. These trials all aim to compare the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines […]
Neurons in the Brainstem Entice Mice to Keep Snacking
As anyone who’s ever mindlessly munched through an entire bag of chips can attest, it’s easy to keep eating once you start. Just putting something tasty in your mouth makes you want […]
Why Online Reviews are Mainly Positive and Often Do not Reflect “True” Product Quality
With the global pandemic online shopping has taken a more important part in our lives than ever. Online reviews are critical to shaping the virtual marketplace. Consumer feedback on products – both […]
Largest study confirms children significantly less likely to catch Covid-19
In this study, published in JAMA Pediatrics, the researchers have updated their previous systematic review and meta-analysis, published as a preprint in May, to encompass more than 13,900 studies, to understand how likely […]
The Future Leadership Institute team in Antwerp
The staff of The Future Leadership Institute in Antwerp has been decided for the academic year 2020-2021. Despite the difficult time for organizing events and networking, this team of students is looking […]
How to (Actually) Change Someone’s Mind
If you’re a leader, it’s likely that not everyone who works with you will agree with the decisions you make — and that’s okay. Leadership involves making unpopular decisions while navigating complex […]
Genetic Tool Kit Helps Some Animals Regrow Body Parts
A peculiar question has long puzzled biologists: If a salamander can regrow a missing leg, and a fish can replace a damaged fin, why can’t humans regrow so much as a hand […]
Hints of life discovered on Venus
Astronomers have speculated for decades that high clouds on Venus could offer a home for microbes – floating free of the scorching surface, but tolerating very high acidity. The detection of phosphine molecules, […]
Lack of females in drug dose trials leads to overmedicated women
Women are more likely than men to suffer adverse side effects of medications because drug dosages have historically been based on clinical trials conducted on men, suggests new research from UC Berkeley […]
Adding a metre between meals boosts vegetarian appeal
Meat-heavy diets not only risk our health but that of the planet, as livestock farming on a massive scale destroys habitats and generates greenhouse gases. Conservationists at the University of Cambridge are […]
Authors’ ‘Invisible’ Words Reveal Blueprint for Storytelling
The “invisible” words that shaped Dickens classics also lead audiences through Spielberg dramas. And according to new research, these small words can be found in a similar pattern across most storylines, no […]
Is Online Education Necessarily Second-Best?
In 1981, Barbara Mandrell had a No. 1 hit with “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool.” If we replace “country” with “online,” it could be sung today by professor Sam Gosling, […]
Human interactions with wild and farmed animals must change dramatically to reduce risk of another deadly pandemic
Compiled by a team of international wildlife and veterinary experts, a new study has identified seven routes by which pandemics could occur and 161 options for reducing the risk. It concludes that […]
Putting the Customer First is No Longer the Best Marketing Strategy
Businesses that want to thrive in the 21st century need to throw out the old marketing playbook that puts the customer first, according to new research from the McCombs School of Business at The […]
