Avolusis Journal

How To Change People's Mind - Lie

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 12:51:24 -0600

#Lie #Lying

1% of people are honest and will never steal. Another 1% are completely dishonest and will always steal. The remaining 98% us are somewhere in between. That’s why you need a lock on your door — to protect your things from the 98%.

That quote is from a locksmith. And recent research from shows that it’s pretty much true.

While we like to think that the impact of crime and dishonesty comes largely from big liars like Bernie Madoff, the fact is the real impact comes from the sum of all of us lying, just a little.

In an experiment, people were asked to take a test and then report how many problems they correctly solved. Afterwards, one group was told to shred their tests — that way no one could see the results. In the latter group, people on average reported doing 50% better!

Researchers found that it really didn’t matter whether money was involved, people still lied. Except there was a decrease in lying when the monetary award got really high — and researchers speculate that’s because people felt guilty if there was too much to gain.

What reduced lying? If they recited the 10 Commandments before the exam began, people were far less likely to cheat. In another sample involving students, cheating was less likely if they were asked to recall the school’s ethics policy before taking a test.

Finally, in a study in involving insurance — applicants were more likely to be truthful if they signed an affidavit saying “I promise that the information I am providing is true” at the top of the form before answering questions as opposed to at the bottom, after answering.

Source: “Why We Lie” wsj.com

How To Change People's Minds - Think Death

Thu, 31 May 2012 09:59:36 -0600

#Terror #Management #Theory #Solomon

Ernst Becker posited that our actions are ultimately driven by our fear of death. And now experiments conducted by Sheldon Solomon at Skidmore College reveal that just merely thinking about death can change our behavior — and often for the worst.

In an experiment with 22 municipal court judges in Tucson, Arizona, half the judges were asked to write down some thoughts about their own death. The judges were then asked to review a legal brief and to assess an appropriate fine. Judges who thought about their own death assessed a fine of $450 on average — that compares to just $50 for the other judges, which happens to be the typical amount that judges actually assessed for this type of crime. The results were stunning — particularly because the magnitude of the difference was so large.

These types of patterns have repeated throughout various experiments on different topics including political choices and views towards immigrants. When people are asked to think about their death — their attitudes change remarkably.

Source: Scientific American

How Many Calories Do You Burn? It's worth $12 Million

Tue, 29 May 2012 13:56:12 -0600

#venture capital #body media

Body Media, maker of an FDA approved arm band that measures how many calories you burn, recently closed a $12 million round of funding led by Comcast. Body Media’s armbands cost from $99 to $299 with an additional monthly subscription fee of $6.95 per month. The armbands are up to 90% accurate — better than anything else out there, according to Body Media.

Jeopardy Answer: Gaming, Art, Avatar #jeopardy #art #avatar...

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 10:03:02 -0600

Jeopardy Answer: Gaming, Art, Avatar

#jeopardy #art #avatar #kinect #xbox

What three things does a medical avatar combine.? ANSWER: Gaming, art and avatars. A medical avatar helps people view their medical history, present, and future in a way that is both intuitive and fun. In this demonstration, an xbox kinect device shows people what they look like on the inside. What’s more, it can map their medical history into this representation

Source:http://medicalavatar.com/

Android Fast And Slowed

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 16:01:37 -0600

#instagram #android #iPhone

Instagram may have sold for $1 Billion, but that was without having to be on Android.

Android is tough for developers because there are over 11 versions. And while 63% use some version of 2.3, only 2.4% are using the latest version. 86.3% of Android users are using an outdated version and are significantly behind the times.

What that means is developers choose to develop for Apple’s iOS first, and Android later. And where’s the proof, Instagram was already in negotiations with Facebook even before they had released on Android.

Source: Business Insider

Tablets Truly Are Lean Back #iPad #video Tablet users are more...

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 15:02:59 -0600

Tablets Truly Are Lean Back

#iPad #video

Tablet users are more engaged by video and more likely to view a video to the end when compared to computers. In fact the time spent watching videos is only second to TV. But in that regard Google TV is making in roads too.

Source: Ooyala

Younger People Are More Socially Responsible

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 10:01:37 -0600

#CSR #millenial

When it come to shopping, younger people are more socially responsible. 63% of socially-responsible consumers are under 40.

What’s more, 51% of people aged 15-39 are willing to pay MORE for products and services from socially responsible companies. And when you consider they generally make less money than people over 40, that’s impressive. Especially since only 37% of the older crowd would pay more.

At the same time, consumers are weary of “green-washing” — trying to make a company look green when they really aren’t. So they are careful to pay attention to where information comes from and need to trust the advertising vehicle. So they trust ads found on social networks and use social media when making a purchase decision.

Source: Nielsen

Big Data Has A Bigger Problem

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:01:04 -0600

#BigData #Analytics

According to Columbia Business School 29% of marketing departments don’t have enough data about customers. So while an elite few struggle with how to manage too much data (i.e. Big Data), the majority of companies don’t have data, period.

Only 19% collect mobile device data and only 35% collect social media data. Most of them still only collect traditional data on demographics (74%) and usage (60%).

At the end of the day, many marketers don’t measure ROI because they don’t collect the data necessary. In fact 57% don’t base their budgets on any ROI analysis.

Is lack of adoption the culprit? Apparently not, since 51% of marketing departments use mobile ads and 85% use social networks. But 60% do find it a “major challenge” to compare the relative effectiveness of different digital media.

The Sweet Spot For Health Focused Start-Ups #health care...

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:02:38 -0600

The Sweet Spot For Health Focused Start-Ups

#health care #start-up

Companies have traditionally targeted the health care space by focusing on the chronically ill or the very fit. But there’s evidence that a better target is people in-between those extremes — because they are seeking information that isn’t easily available today. And as consumers bear more of the burden of health care choices, their desire for better information to inform decisions will increase.

But perhaps the best reason, is because the information needed to make these services come to life, is now more accessible.

Source: http://ibmsmartcamp.com/

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way to the IPO #venture capital...

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 09:47:09 -0600

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way to the IPO

#venture capital #entrepreneur

The Universe of Venture Heroes and Villains - a who’s who of the movie the Social Network.

Source:http://www.udemy.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/startup-ecosystem-infographic.png

The First Movie Shot and Distributed by iPhone

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 12:04:29 -0600

#iPhone #goldilocks

Goldilocks produced by Majek Pictures is the first film produced and distributed entirely on the iOS (iPhone, iPad) platform. The film was shot with a budget of $2,500 for 10 episodes.

New episodes are pushed to users using an iPhone app. The film using an iPhone4. According to filmmaker Anna Elizabeth James, using an iPhone lets you be less conspicuous as a filmmaker.

Source: http://www.goldilocksmobileseries.com/

http://ttbook.org/book/anna-elizabeth-james-and-michael-koerbel-filming-goldilocks-iphone

Empty Nest? Check Again!

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 04:35:38 -0600

#student #debt #millenials #real estate

Don’t sell the house yet! In a real life take of Matthew McConaughey’s Failure to Launch, the Pew Research Foundation discovered 40% of 18 to 24-year-olds currently live with their parents, not because of economic pressures, but because the most of them never moved out in the first place.

Looking at a broader age grouping, those from 18 to 34, 24% moved back in with their parents in recent years after living on their own because of economic conditions.

Demographers are calling it the boomerang generation because they left home, but came back. And this generation is liking the boomerang. Overall 34% of them feel it’s been good for their relationship with their parents. For those who never moved out in the first place, 48% say it’s been good.

Source: http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2012/03/15/the-boomerang-generation/2/#who-are-the-boomerang-kids?src=prc-number

so many ways to see… #art #justice

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 10:40:36 -0600

so many ways to see…

#art #justice

Why Should You Be Careful With Email?

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 09:29:05 -0600

#encryption #security #hacking

“Tell-all” magazines have been using hacking as a way to get the scoop on stars, from nude pictures to financial data and personal information. How do they do it? hacking email.

If you’re not encrypting your email, then all a hacker has to do is hack your password, and he can see everything you send. And if you’re a lawyer, financial services professional, accountant, or someone who manages public figures, that could compromise client data and expose your business to unplanned liability.

Email can be encrypted through a simple application that resides on your phone, tablet or computer, says James Lane, Linux guru and part of the founding team of Microsoft, but we just assume we don’t have to.

Want more proof: Bashar al-Assad’s wife was banned from the EU when hacked e-mails revealed lavish shopping habits. What could a hacker reveal about your life that you don’t want your obnoxious, nosey, [fill-in-the-blank-here] to know?

Source: Hollywood Reporter

Are You Leaving Customers In the Cold?

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 09:21:02 -0600

#loyalty #customer #service

Did you know customer retention can return 17 times what you put into it? According to Bain Consulting, reducing customer attrition by a mere 5% can improve a business’s bottom line profits by 25-85%, that’s a ratio of up to 17 to 1.

To put it another way, increasing customer loyalty by 1% is equivalent to reducing costs by 10%. That’s because 12-15% of a business’s most loyal customers contribute 55-70% of the company’s total sales, according to The Center for Retail Management at Northwestern University.

Most businesses understand this, that’s why 84.5% of them incorporate customer retention strategies as part of their marketing. But less than half (48.8%), believe those strategies work. Most of them use rewards programs (65.2%), social media (65.2%), and 1:1 marketing strategies (64.1%). But they are not seeing increases in customer-lifetime value and/or RFM (recency, frequency, and monetary value).

It’s a tough sell to fickle consumers. Only one in four consumers feels ‘very loyal’ to their regular brands, while just as many profess no loyalty at all, according to The Accenture 2011 Global Consumer Research Study. Perhaps that’s why 84.4% devote less than half of their overall marketing budget to customer retention. And a significant number (39.5%) commit less than 10% of their marketing dollars to customer retention.

Source: http://loyalty360.org/resources/research/making-every-interaction-count-how-customer-intelligence-drives-customer-lo

The Coolest App for Making iPhone Apps! #iPhone #app #startup If...

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 09:55:10 -0600

The Coolest App for Making iPhone Apps!

#iPhone #app #startup

If you can draw you can make an app — well not quite. But you can sketch out the user experience and test it using this new app from startup Field Test.

What Do They Know About Me? #privacy #security This graph is a...

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 08:33:40 -0600

What Do They Know About Me? #privacy #security

This graph is a good illustration of why well regarded developers have concerns about how companies on the edge can amass great amounts of information that you may not want them to know. Put more simply, if the people who know are all “good guys” you may not care — but in real life you don’t always know who are the “bad guys”. And you don’t know who is good today, but may become bad tomorrow.

Examples of holders of consumer information in personally identifiable or aggregated form:

Financial services, such as for banking or investment accounts
Credit granting, such as for credit or debit cards; mortgage, automobile or specialty loans; automobile rentals; or telephone services
Insurance granting, such as for health, automobile or life
Retail coupons and special offers
Catalog and magazine solicitations
Web and mobile services, including content, e-mail, search, and social networking
Product and service delivery, such as streaming video, package delivery, or a cable signal
Attorneys, such as for case investigations
Journalism, such as for fact checking
Marketing, whether electronically, through direct mail, or by telephone
Data brokers for aggregation and resale to companies and/or consumers
Background investigations by employers or landlords
Locating missing or lost persons,
beneficiaries, or witnesses
Law enforcement
Research (e.g., health, financial, and
online search data) by academic
institutions, government agencies, and
commercial companies
Fraud detection and prevention
Government benefits and services,
such as licensing

Source: http://www.ftc.gov/os/2012/03/120326privacyreport.pdf

Can Happiness Replace Money?

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 11:02:01 -0600

#happiness #money #satisfaction

Happiness is often measured in terms of subjective well being (SWB). And research has shown that SWB can be used to explain why people pay more for certain things than others.

Prior to the development of accurate ways to measure SWB, researchers were confounded when there was no way to put a price tag on the choices people make. But with SWB, they have found a way to get around this problem.

In 2005, Van Praag and Baarsma used SWB to statistically explain why people place a higher value on real estate that is not subjected to high noise levels from being close to an airport.

In 2006, Welsch showed that differences in SWB, both between countries and within countries, can be explained by environmental quality. And they were able put a dollar amount on what it’s worth to be free of environmental contaminants — $750 per year for nitrogen dioxide and $1400 per year for lead.

And finally, in 2007, Frey looked at the impact of terrorism in the Republic of Ireland on SWB and determined that people would be willing to forego up to 41% of their income to be free of terrorism.

So what does it mean? It means that statisticians can measure how much happier people are when they are farther from an airport, live in a better environment, and are free of terror. And intuitive knowledge of happiness is now objectively measurable.

And since happiness is measurable, we can evaluate concretely. To put it another way, happiness is not subjective.

Source: A Short Introduction To Subjective Well-Being: Its Measurement, Correlates And Policy Uses

What Makes People Happier?

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 08:00:22 -0600

#happy #depression

When psychologists measure happiness, they refer to subjective well being (SWB). Research has shown that SWB correlates with observable physiological changes (see the previous blog post). And other research has evaluated underlying factors that correlate with SWB.

Underlying factors include (i) personality factors; (ii) contextual and situational factors; (iii) demographic factors; (iv) institutional factors; (v) environmental factors; and (vi) economic factors.

Psychologists have deeply studied the influence of personality on SWB, and found it to be the strongest and most dependable factor underlying differences in SWB between persons. In studies of twins, 40% of the variance in positive emotionality and 55% of the variance in negative emotionality is attributable to genes. Additionally, personality characteristics are also consistently found to be highly significant predictors of SWB. Notably neuroticism and extraversion go along way in accounting for differences in levels of SWB.

Multiple studies consistently demonstrate that better health is associated with higher SWB, and that married people report higher SWB.

Gender and age are also robust determinants of SWB. Generally, women report higher SWB scores than men do, and SWB is U-shaped with age: SWB is higher among young people, declines in middle age cohorts and increases again at older age.

Institutional conditions correlate with SWB. For instance, the results of Frey and Stutzer (2000) suggest that forms of direct democracy (e.g. referenda) increase the level of SWB.

Finally, it is well-established that unemployment affects SWB in a couple ways: it has a direct negative effect on people who lose their job (keeping income constant), and an indirect negative effect on the entire population (higher risk of losing a job).

Source: A Short Introduction To Subjective Well-Being: Its Measurement, Correlates And Policy Uses

How To Measure Happiness

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 22:21:53 -0600

#happiness #depression

Happiness is often measured in terms of subjective well being (SWB). There are two primary ways for measures for SWB.

The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) scales were proposed by Watson et al., in 1988 and the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) was proposed by Diener et al., in 1985. Both of these are based on self-reported results and controls are used to limit the impact of environmental factors.

For psychologists and statisticians to accept any scale as relevant, they analyze it’s validity and reliability.

Not surprisingly, SWB is less reliably reproduced than more concrete measures like micro-economic variables like personal income. But more advanced measures, such as multi-item questionnaires produce more reliable SWB scores. Moreover, SWB has been used to effectively explain situations where concrete measures alone could not.

Validity evaluates how well a measure reflects the underlying thing it is trying to understand. The SWB literature pays a lot of attention to the validity of its measures. And the conclusion in most of the reviews is that measures of SWB do quite well on the various ways to evaluate validity.

Additionally, there has been work to show that SWB correlates with concrete, objectively observable, biological phenomena. Studies have been done using positron emission tomography (PET scans) of cerebral blood flow in the vicinity of the medial prefrontal cortex, thalamus, hypothalamus and midbrain; using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of bilateral activations of the midbrain, the medial prefrontal cortex, the anterior temporal pole and the right ventrolateral prefrontal; as well as other studies on cortisol production, REM sleep, and stress.

Source: A Short Introduction To Subjective Well-Being: Its Measurement, Correlates And Policy Uses