globalbriefs


News and resources to inspire concerned citizens to work together in building a healthier, stronger society that benefi ts all.


Father Factor Involved Dads Make for Smarter, Happier Kids


It’s well-known that involving fathers from the start in children’s lives has a signifi cant positive impact on their development, including the greater economic security of having more than one parent. Yet, there’s more to the “father effect.” Numerous studies have found that children growing up in a household with a father present show superior outcomes in intelligence tests, particularly in nonverbal, or spatial, reasoning


that’s integral in mathematics, science and engineering. The IQ advantage is attributed to the way that fathers interact with their children, with an emphasis on the manipulation of objects like blocks, roughhousing and outdoor activities, rather than language-based activities. A study of Chinese parents found that it was a father’s warmth toward his child that was the ultimate factor in predicting the child’s future academic success. A recent Canadian study from Concordia University provides new insights into a


father’s impact on a daughter’s emotional development, as well. Lead researcher Erin Peugnot concluded, “Girls whose fathers lived with them when they were in middle childhood (ages 6 to 10) demonstrated less sadness, worry and shyness as preteens (ages 9 to 13) compared with girls whose fathers did not live with them,” he says. Source: HappyChild.com.au


Love Matters Connectedness Ranks Above Power and Fame


It seems that fame and fortune are less important to us than our connections with fellow human beings, after all. A study conducted by Queendom.com and PsychTests.com in 2012 and 2013 applying their proprietary Values Profi le Test with 2,163 people showed they only moderately valued money and power, at best, which took a backseat to social values on a personal level. This revelation comes on the heels of another study on career motivation that similarly showed a drop in participants’ consuming desire for money and power in the workplace. The researchers at Queendom.com assessed 34 separate facets within six categories


of values—social, aesthetic, theoretical, traditional, realistic and political. The six top- scoring facets were empathy, family and friends, appreciation of beauty, hard work/ diligence, altruism and the importance of helping others. Financial security came in 24th place and power was near last at 29th in importance. Ethics/morals placed 10th. For more information, visit Queendom.com.


Loan Leeway Nonprofi t Works to Lower Student Debt


A small nonprofi t named SponsorChange.org, recipient of the nationally recognized Dewey Winburne Community Service Award for “do-gooders”, is pioneering a way to help college graduates battle student loan debt by applying their skills on behalf of nonprofi t community organizations. Researchers at ProjectOnStudentDebt.org say seven of 10 college students that graduated in 2013


owed money on a student loan, each averaging nearly $30,000 in debt. With SponsorChange, graduates with student loan debt sign up to help participating organizations, earning credits


while adding work experience and leadership roles to their résumés. Organization donors sign up to reimburse the workers for their time by helping to pay down their student loans through tax-deductible funding. All see specifi c results for their contributions to worthy causes.


16 Central Florida natural awakenings


Honeybee Hit Scientists Nab Fungicide as Bee Killer


Colony collapse disorder, the mysterious mass die-


off of honeybees that pollinate $30 billion worth of crops in the U.S., has been well-documented, with toxic insecticides identifi ed as the primary culprits. Now, scientists at the University of Maryland and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have expanded the identifi cation of components of the toxic brew of pesticides and fungicides contaminating pollen and decimating the bee colonies that collect it to feed their hives. A study of eight agricultural


chemicals associated with increased risk of infection by parasites found that bees that ate pollen contaminated with fungicides were three times as likely to be infected. Widely- used fungicides had previously been accepted as harmless for bees because they are designed to kill fungus, not insects. Dennis vanEngelsdorp, the study’s lead author, states, “There’s growing evidence that fungicides may be affecting the bees on their own, highlighting a need to reassess how we label these agricultural chemicals.” Labels on pesticides warn farmers not to spray when pollinating bees are in the vicinity, but such precautions have not applied to fungicides.


Source: qz.com


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