Category Archives: Human Behavior

Human Behavior

Cash transfers to the poor linked to ecological benefits – The Hub at Johns Hopkins

ByChanapa Tantibanchachai

In a new study, researchers recently discovered that Indonesia's national anti-poverty program reduced deforestation by about 30%.

The study's findings were published today in Science Advances.

"Two of the great global challenges of the 21st century are to reduce poverty and slow deforestation. Unfortunately, the solutions to those challenges are often perceived as conflicting with each otherprogress on one front means retreat on the other," says Paul Ferraro, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Human Behavior and Public Policy at the Johns Hopkins University and the study's first author.

Paul Ferraro

Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Human Behavior and Public Policy

The study is the first of its kind to suggest that cash transfers to communities in poverty can positively affect forest conservation, says the study's co-author, Rhita Simorangkir, a Research Fellow at the National University of Singapore.

"In other words, reducing poverty does not have to create unavoidable environmental costswe can make progress on both fronts," Simorangkir says.

Biodiversity and deforestation are disproportionately located in regions with high levels of poverty; for example, Indonesia is among the top ten biodiversity hotspots with the greatest area impacted by poverty. Indonesia also has the third-largest area of tropical forest and one of the highest deforestation rates, making it a strong study choice with findings that could be applied to other countries.

In the past, researchers only examined connections between poverty and the environment on the macroeconomic or local scales, says Ferraro. However, these studies are limited because they don't allow researchers to clearly establish a link between specific poverty interventions and environmental impacts.

A clear link would be significant, the researchers say, because so much international and philanthropic aid is aimed at programs to alleviate poverty. If evidence shows that such aid can also benefit the environment, global leaders would have new considerations for budget allocations and environmental goals.

For this study, Ferraro and Simorangkir studied Indonesia's national anti-poverty program, Program Keluarga Harapan, which provides poor households with conditional cash transfers. The team reviewed data from 7,468 rural forested villages exposed to the program between 2008 and 2012, totaling 266,533 households that received cash. To estimate the program's causal effect on deforestation, Ferraro and Simorangkir combined data on annual forest cover loss and data on how the program was phased in across villages, along with methods that help isolate the program's effect on forests from all the other factors that also affect forests.

The authors estimated that the anti-poverty program reduced deforestation in participating villages by 30%, with roughly half of those avoided losses in biodiverse primary forests. Their findings also show that reductions were larger when more villagers received cash transfers and when a village participated for more years.

The authors say the anti-poverty program seems to reduce deforestation because cash provides recipients with a sort of insurance alternative to deforestation (i.e. poor farmers now have money to support themselves instead of deforesting more land when bad weather threatens to lower yields). The program also allows recipients to buy products on markets rather than obtain them by clearing forests, they suggest.

"Other studies have shown that Indonesia's program indeed lifted people out of poverty," Ferraro says. "But even if it had not done so, its environmental benefits are valuable. In fact, the economic value of the avoided carbon emissions alone compares favorably to program implementation costs. Similar programs in other countries should be evaluated in the same way, but if what we found in Indonesia generalizes to other biodiverse nations, it would provide some hope that global efforts to eradicate extreme poverty and reverse the loss of biodiverse ecosystems can be complementary."

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Cash transfers to the poor linked to ecological benefits - The Hub at Johns Hopkins

Human Behavior

Keep the Faith: The pandemic is not Gods punishment – Worcester Telegram

I was listening to the news on the radio the other day and there was a particular segment on opening churches and religious freedom that caught my attention. An enthusiastic proponent of opening churches was being interviewed and in the course of making his point he said something like: the Egyptians were visited by plagues and they didnt succumb, but toughed it out. I did a double take. (Can you do a double take if its a voice on the radio?) Regardless, I said to myself, hes misread the whole story. In fact, I wonder if he really knows the story at all.

Lets go to the Bible. For the sake of brevity, Im going to zip through big parts of the story in order to focus on what I think are the take-away points for us in this instance.

God uses the betrayal of Joseph by his brothers to bring him to Egypt. He has a plan for him. There, through Gods gift, he interprets for Pharaoh the dreams that had been disturbing him. Then Pharaoh entrusts Joseph with managing and preparing for both the seven years of plenty, and the seven years of famine, foretold in his dream.

In gratitude, Pharaoh invites Jacob, Josephs father, Joseph's brothers and their families, and the Israelites to settle in Egypt. They prosper and grow. Over time, the memory of Joseph fades. The Egyptians decide to exploit and then enslave the children of Israel. And so, God sends another deliverer: Moses.

Moses is sent to rescue his people from this slavery, and demands from Pharaoh that he allow them to leave Egypt. Pharaoh refuses, so God decides that he will persuade him, through Moses. His persuasion technique? The plagues.

God visits the plagues on Egypt, on Pharaoh, not to punish, but to alter their behavior, to get them to repent. Yes, they endured each of the plagues, one more terrible than the other, but after a brief repentance, they reverted to their original hard-heartedness. Even after the last terrible plague of the death of the first-born, they reverted and were determined to bring the Israelites back to Egypt, back to slavery. The Egyptians wanted their old life back again. And so, they pursued them even into the Sea turned dry land, and then God allowed the waters to cover them over.

No, the Egyptians did not overcome the plagues. No, they didnt really tough it out. They refused to accept what God was trying to teach them and suffered the consequences. It wasnt punishment, it was the obvious result of their unwillingness to learn. So, if one is going to take up lessons from the Bible, one might first need to read the Scriptures a little more carefully.

What any trial or crisis elicits is the hidden strengths or weaknesses in a person or community or nation. This particular crisis, this pandemic, is such a test, on steroids. We are seeing expressions of what is best in us in the sacrifice of countless people who are putting themselves, and often their loved-ones, at risk to help others. We are also seeing what is weak and even selfish in us by wanting our life back without yet fully appreciating what it was that got us here in the first place; by blaming others while ignoring what we ourselves need to do, in a word, repent. The pandemic is not Gods punishment, but perhaps he is using it to persuade us to change the way we treat one another and his creation.

The Exodus event has much to teach us. I would urge you to pick up your Bible and read it over from the second half of Genesis through the Book of Exodus and see how the children of Israel responded to their new-found freedom. Also, see the lessons God had for them as well. It turns out that the Egyptians are not the only ones afflicted with a prideful hard-heartedness.

I'd urge you to study the lessons in the Exodus. Like much of Scripture, it's replete with examples of human behavior and God's love that we can learn from. Christians see in this great story a precursor, a foreshadowing, of the salvation God would bring humanity in the coming of Jesus Christ. In most languages Christians call Easter: "Passover," (something we lose in English). The first Passover points to the second. In both Feasts we learn that true freedom, true liberation comes when we listen to God and strive to do his will.

The Rev. Nicholas Apostola is parish priest at St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Shrewsbury

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Keep the Faith: The pandemic is not Gods punishment - Worcester Telegram

Human Behavior

NUDGESTOCK 2020: Ogilvy’s Festival of Creativity and Behavioral Science Goes Global – PRNewswire

NEW YORK, June 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --Ogilvy today announced the final line-up for Nudgestock 2020, the can't-miss festival where creativity and behavioral science intersect. It's a day to think differently. After eight years, Nudgestock is going global, digital, and free on Friday, June 12. This year's festival will include 12 hours of programming streaming on LinkedIn and YouTube with contributions from around the worldfrom Sydney, Singapore, and India to Paris, Boulder, Toronto, Hawaii, and beyond.

The annual festival curated by Ogilvy Consulting will feature a roster of the planet's brightest and boldest thinkers in behavioral science. Register and see the full agenda here. The festival will run in three main sessions across timezones: the first from 2:30 AM, ET to 6:30AM, ET; the second from 7:00AM, ET to 11:00AM, ET; and the third session from 11:30AM, ET to 3:30PM, ET.

Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman, Ogilvy UK said: "One of the most interesting developments of the last three months is that, suddenly, every business question is a behavioural question.There has never been a moment where marketing insight and creativity has been more needed in business and government. In times of stability, businesses tend to take human behaviour as a given, and focus on the more deterministic, operational questions posed by the balance sheet. Now, unless you can answer the human questions first, every other question is theoretical. With Nudgestockwe aim to bring together some of the best of thinking in behavioural science with the simple aim of exploring how real-world humans think, decide and actsomething that has never felt more relevant."

Since its inception, Nudgestock has brought together a wonderfully eclectic mix of talks and case studies from some of the leading thinkers and practitioners in behavioral science, marketing and creativity. This year's headliners include some of the world's pre-eminent thinkers:

Laurie Santos is a Professor of Psychology, and Director of the Comparitive Cognition Laboraty at Yale University. She has been a featured TED speaker and currently teaches Yale's most popular course In history, "Psychology and the Good Life," which over 170,000 people from 170 countries have enrolled in through Coursera, as of November 2018. Santos' work has been published in outlets including the New York Times, Forbes, NPR and more. She currently hosts the hit podcast, "The Happiness Lab," which covers the latest research on factors impacting well-being and happiness.

Dan Arielyis the James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University and a founding member of the Center for Advanced Hindsight.He is the author of the bestsellers Predictably Irrational, The Upside of Irrationality, The Honest Truth About Dishonesty, Dollars and Sense and Amazing Decisions, as well as the co-creator of the film documentary (Dis)Honesty: The Truth About Lies.Dan is committed to describing his research findings in non-academic terms, so that more people will learn about this type of research, discover the excitement of behavioral economics, and possibly use some of the insights to enrich their own lives.

BJ Fogg is the Founder, Professor and Director of the Behavior Design Lab at Standord University. He is the creator of "Tiny Habits", a method of developing habits from baby steps and the BJ Fogg Behavior Model. He is a two-time TEDx speaker and conducts research on different aspects of behavioral science and the intersections of personality, behavior, and technology. His books include Persuasive Technology (2003) and Tiny Habits (2020).

Cass Sunsteinis the Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard, as well as the founder and director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy at Harvard Law School. In 2018, he received the Holberg Prize from the government of Norway, sometimes described as the Nobel Prize for law and the humanities.Mr. Sunstein has testified before congressional committees on many subjects, and has advised officials at the United Nations, the European Commission, the World Bank, and more on law and public policy.Mr. Sunstein is author of numerous articles and books, including Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness with Richard Thaler, and Too Much Information. He is now working on a variety of projects involving the regulatory state, "sludge" (paperwork and similar burdens), fake news, and freedom of speech.

Dr. Chiara Varazzaniis a Behavioural Science Adviser in the Behavioural Economics Team of the Australian Government (BETA) within the Australian Government Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.Prior to joining the Australian Government, Chiara worked at the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) in London and as a consultant for Influence at Work. To date, Chiara has been involved in designing and implementing trials in a range of policy areas, including education, public health, service delivery, public transport and gender equality. Her area of research focuses on Neuroeconomics and evidence-based public policy.

More on this year's speakers can be found at https://www.nudgestock.co.uk.

Since 2012, Ogilvy has spearheaded the application of behavioral science, powered by creativity. The Ogilvy Center for Behavioral Science, led by Christopher Graves, was launched in 2017 to build on the groundbreaking work of the behavioral science practice, led in the UK by Vice Chair Rory Sutherland. Ogilvy has behavioral science capability across the world with dedicated hubs in Europe, the USA and Asia-Pacific.

About OgilvyOgilvy has been producing iconic, culture-changing marketing campaigns since the day its founder David Ogilvy opened up shop in 1948. Today, Ogilvy is an award-winning integrated creative network that makes brands matter for Fortune Global 500 companies as well as local businesses across 132 offices in 83 countries. The company creates experiences, design and communications that shape every aspect of a brand's needs through six core capabilities: Brand Strategy, Advertising, Public Relations and Influence, Customer Engagement and Commerce, Digital Transformation, and Partnerships. Ogilvy is a WPP company (NASDAQ: WPPGY). For more information, visit Ogilvy.com, or follow Ogilvy on Twitter at @Ogilvy and onFacebook.com/Ogilvy.

Media Contact: David Ford / [emailprotected] / 917-327-6288

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https://www.ogilvy.com

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NUDGESTOCK 2020: Ogilvy's Festival of Creativity and Behavioral Science Goes Global - PRNewswire

Human Behavior

Hoping to avoid ticks this summer? There’s an app for that – MSUToday

Summer is back and so are ticks and the potential to get Lyme disease. With more people eager to be out in the woods after months at home, a Michigan State University researcher, who helped develop The Tick App, warns of the possible increased risk for getting Lyme disease.

We dont want people to be afraid. We just want them to take a few precautions so they can still enjoy being outside, said Jean Tsao, an associate professor in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at MSU who researches ticks and tick-borne illness. More than 300,000 people contract Lyme disease each year, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control.

We know being in nature is good for peoples health, but we just dont want them to have a bad experience with ticks or tick-borne diseases, Tsao said.

Tsao worked with scientists at Columbia University and the University of Wisconsin to develop a smartphone application, The Tick App. The app provides information on ways to prevent tick exposure. The app also shows how to identify different kinds of ticks and the diseases they transmit.

In addition, app users have the opportunity to be citizen scientists and help researchers understand how human behavior influences the risk of contracting ticks. Close to 3,000 people used the app in 2019, Tsao said.

Were interested in knowing if people use prevention methods, which prevention methods are used and what factors might influence the prevention methods used, Tsao said. These data will aid the development of more effective prevention strategies."

Tsao said one of the best ways to prevent contact ticks is to avoid their habitat.

When hiking, its important to remember to not stray from the trail, she said. This is particularly relevant now during the coronavirus crisis since people need to social distance by staying 6 feet away from others, even on trails.

Also, people should do a thorough tick check after being in tick habitat and take a shower or bath to reduce the chances of getting Lyme disease.

Lastly, Tsao said if you do get bitten by a tick, carefully grab it with tweezers at the point closest to your skin to remove it. Then, take a clear photo and submit it to The Tick App so the team can identify the species.

Afterward, put the tick in a plastic bag labeled with the date and geographic location where you think you may have contacted it, then store it in your freezer.

If you start feeling ill, go to a doctor and show him or her your tick, Tsao said. The species and degree of swelling can help with diagnosis and treatment. But dont panic. Just be aware, take proper precautions and enjoy being outside this summer.

Download The Tick App for freehereor find it on Google Play or the App Store.

For more on ticks and tick-borne disease, visit theCDC,

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Hoping to avoid ticks this summer? There's an app for that - MSUToday

Human Behavior

Mental Health: Depression and Anxiety Overwhelm Students During the Coronavirus Pandemic – Science Times

As the world continues to battle the day to day issues of the coronavirus pandemic, one aspect is the increasing problem of mental health for students. As schools have closed down and had suddenly transitioned to online classes, depression and anxiety have overcome many individuals.

Students with pre-existing mental health problems such as general anxiety disorder (GAD) or depression have become more vulnerable due to lockdown policies. More than the lack of social contact and activities, the dramatic disruption of routines, loss of part-time jobs, and the burden of online classes, have added a negative aspect to their conditions.

Dr. Joyce Lee, a psychologist at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, analyzed the effect of 90% enrolled students losing an education because of the pandemic had on their mental state. General Audrey Azoulay, the director of UNESCO, calls this educational disruption unparalleled. Moreover, graduating seniors would most likely have to renavigate their career towards the online job market, which remains highly competitive, while coping up with their final year of university.

YoungMinds, a mental health charity, conducted a survey including 2,111 individuals with a history of mental illness in the UK. 83% said that their conditions have gotten worse due to the pandemic while 26% of them have been unable to access mental health support and attend support groups while phone calls or online meetings prove to be quite challenging.

Zanonia Chiu, a psychologist from Hong Kong, said that although students with depression had struggled to go to school before the pandemic, at least they had the daily routines to keep. 'Now that schools are closed, some lock themselves up inside their rooms for weeks, refusing to take showers, eat, or leave their beds. For some children with depression, there will be considerable difficulties adjusting back to normal life when school resumes.'

Ali Gold, a college student who participated in a Boston mental health challenge called 'This Is My Brave,' shared with her audience at Tufts University about her history of anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), bipolar and eating disorders when she was younger. She also shared her history of cutting herself and eventually a suicide attempt by overdosing on prescription pills.

'I wanted to escape the endless cycle of shame, guilt, feeling like a burden. Inside my mind, I had convinced myself that everyone would be happier without me,' she shared.

Eventually, she went through therapy, gained a better perspective at life, and graduated from Boston University this month with a degree in health science and psychology. However, the pandemic put a sudden halt to her final classes, transitioning online, while canceling her internship at the psychiatric hospital where she once was a patient.

For Mercy Eme, diagnosed with GAD last year, her anxiety has been overwhelming as she is balancing her online classes as a 2nd year molecular, cell, and developmental biology student, while taking care of her family. She is her family's caretaker, who 'is extra concerned for [Eme] this quarter because they know [how] easily she can let [her] anxiety overwhelm [her].' What makes her lost sleep some nights is the overwhelming fear over her grandmother's health who lives nearby and remains quite vulnerable to the virus.

Read Also: Frontliners' Mental Health Pushed Beyond Limits by COVID-19

Ali shared that 'The lack of social connection has really influenced my anxiety. I just think, day-to-day, it's a bit higher,' she shared. With structure almost gone, she had realized how fueled she by in-person connections, especially therapy sessions where she thinks that body language plays an important role.

Sarah Lipson, an assistant professor at Boston University's School of Public Health, 'We need to be telling students that we care about them - that we see them... every opportunity for prevention of mental health problems requires being proactive.' However, colleges are still in the process of figuring out how to help students online with mental health services as advocates recommend that they provide 'clear, empathetic communication about where students struggling with mental health.'

Read Also:How to Deal with Depression in College

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Mental Health: Depression and Anxiety Overwhelm Students During the Coronavirus Pandemic - Science Times

Human Behavior

Roy Exum: Sheriff Candid On Riots – The Chattanoogan

In a conversation with Jim Hammond on Thursday, Hamilton Countys sheriff for the past 15 years, told me the rioting that has swept across America in the past two weeks is absolutely unprecedented. It is the worst sampling of unchecked criminal behavior I have ever witnessed. I cant believe what my eyes tell me I am seeing. And as a lifelong devotee of history and human behavior, this is exactly the recipe Hitler used to take over Germany just before World War II.

For the record, the county sheriffs department is a Constitutional office. To defund Hammonds department and other sheriff departments across the United States would take an Act of Congress.

But, sheriff, the rowdies say they are going to recall you vote you out of office -- if you fail to comply. Let them try. And wish em luck, he said candidly. That is never going to happen. I was on WGOW earlier this morning and every caller was pro-law enforcement. This movement to defund police is absolutely wrong. In the 15 years I have held office, I can count on one hand the instances where race has been a factor in an arrest. I can also tell you in Hamilton County black-white policing is not a problem we even worry about. In the proper enforcement of law, every soul is the same.

A current poll on Chattanoogan.com asks, Should the City Council take money from the police budget and put it into social programs? At 8 oclock last night, 2,737 who responded answered with a resounding no by an 82-18 percent margin.

Unfortunately, this has become a Black Lives Matter issue and my office has always taken the stance that crime has no color. We have never, and we will not ever, arrest anyone because of race. I was looking at our county jail census the other day and we had 158 whites and 156 blacks. It is roughly the same at Silverdale where a larger population of county detainees are held. There is no racial disparity.

One of lifes most true facts is that in every population or area of business, the great majority are law-abiding, God-fearing people who contribute mightily to our community. We are charged, very seriously, to keep all of them safe in every way, said the sheriff, but even before the Bible was written, we find that a small percentage in any specific group is not nice.

There are a few white people, black people, men, women, teenagers, doctors, teachers, firemen news media, too who are bad. Less than 10 percent, who take up 90 percent of the good peoples time, effort and patience. Its true. What I find is worse, than all, are bad cops, Hammond pointed to each of the 40 years hes worn a badge. I take the responsibly of hiring who I believe are the right people very personal.

Right now, there are approximately 1 million law enforcement officers in our nation. More and more of them come from the military; a huge number are college graduates. Most have families, children of their own, and the only thing that each has in common is that they love peace, and will perform whatever it takes to insure that American ideal.

Several weeks ago I am afraid a white police officer, using a method of control that certainly wasnt proper, resulted in the death of a black man. Wait again, crime doesnt come in a color yet the incident touched off a terrible phenomena that was quickly fanned into a race issue. The death could have happened between two white people, two black people, or with the black man on top. Instead, it touched off total havoc, our government leaders on every level reacted terribly, and now The Black Lives Matter crowd wants to 'profile' every officer, defund every police department across America, and create a vicious criminal atmosphere where police suddenly have not enough funding 'to protect and serve.'

How bad is it? Our County Commission could take a vote on anything in the sheriffs department and it would be a purely racist show of hands six conservative ones versus three liberal ones. To me, very personally, that is one of the most hurtful things for me to watch because my oath is to protect all nine commissioners, completely and fairly, but because I am a white law enforcement officer well, it breaks your heart, said Hammond, who has announced his retirement in the next election cycle, two years from now. Because of the protests and our riots, my overtime surplus is spent. I am having to go before the County Commission and ask for $50,000 more thats the bill right now and the vote will be 6-3 by nine people I admire very much.

In other words, compassion, the benefit of the doubt, the slow down, okay? days are over. Hate is now the true word among the The Legion of the Miserable who have as their cornerstone the steadfast vow to pull any and all down. Then, as Hitler so adroitly accomplished, made these inessentials the first he slaughtered. Follow the script, and be ever vigilant.

royexum@aol.com

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Roy Exum: Sheriff Candid On Riots - The Chattanoogan

Human Behavior

Four ways to tell a prophet from a political puppet – Brookings Institution

In the streets of Washington, D.C., we have seen religion used as a political prop and we have seen it exercise its prophetic voice.

On June 1, President Donald Trump infamously had the street in front of the White House cleared of protesters so he could use St. Johns Episcopal Church on Lafayette Square as a photo backdrop. Not only were peaceful demonstrators tear-gassed, clergy were chased away from the church, which was turned into a political prop without the permission of its pastor or bishop.

The crassness of this photo-op was transparent to all but the president, who is used to being blessed by obsequious clerics in the Oval Office. If this were done in China, it would be denounced by the U.S. State Department as a violation of human rights and religious freedom.

Meanwhile, many of the demonstrators who had been pushed aside were responding to the prophetic call of their religious leaders. Racism was denounced as a sin, and police violence condemned as an assault on the life and human dignity of Gods children. This prophetic voice was heard especially from black clergy, but white clergy and white believers also responded to the call.

Religion and politics have been locked in relationship since the dawn of humanity. Sometimes that relationship is healthy and sometimes its exploitative. Working together in a positive way, the two forces have created community and fostered the common good. With the blessing of the gods, political leaders could rule without brute force. With the help of political leaders, great temples and works of art were created that enriched the religious and cultural life of the community.

Conflict between the religious and political leaders could also be healthy. Before there were elections, independent courts and the rule of law, religion often provided the only check on political power. There was a higher law than the law of the king, and the prophet could challenge the despot with the voice of God.

On the other hand, rulers sometimes became the only ones powerful enough to reform religious institutions that had become corrupt.

Over the course of history, prophets and reformers have only succeeded when the people supported them.

But when religion and politics were in an incestuous relationship, religion turned rulers into gods and political leaders corrupted religious leaders with wealth and gave them power to impose religious beliefs on unbelievers. Temples and churches became not houses of God but monuments to clerical power and privilege.

The history of the United States has seen these themes play out. Political and religious leaders supported slavery and racism in an incestuous relationship where religious institutions even owned slaves. On U.S. soil, religion too often became part of the establishment and turned against new immigrants, whether Catholic or Muslim, Irish or Chinese.

Too often religion stood on the side of the status quo against workers, blacks, women, gays and social reformers. It too frequently used its political influence to protect criminal clergy and hush up scandals. It tried to impose its views about human behavior long after it had lost the support of the public.

But religion in America also had a prophetic voice, whether it was Catholic clergy defending Irish immigrants against the WASP establishment or black clergy leading the civil rights movement against racism.

Today, there are prophetic voices on almost every issue, sometimes on both sides. There are pro-life prophets and feminist prophets. How can we judge true prophets from false prophets?

Here are four ways to test a prophet:

Religion can be a political prop or a prophetic voice. History should teach religious leaders not to get in bed with political leaders. Religious and political leaders can work together for the common good, but they should be enriching the community, not each other. A prophet can speak courageously about issues, but when he starts endorsing political parties and candidates, he is no longer speaking for God.

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Four ways to tell a prophet from a political puppet - Brookings Institution

Human Behavior

Anderson: We have been jolted awake . . . now lets heal the wounds – Deseret News

The last several days have been wrenching for our nation and state. My own emotions have been on a roller coaster. Ive seen, mostly via TV, police brutality, senseless deaths, peaceful protests, courageous law enforcement action, violent rioting, malicious looting along with many acts of kindness, compassion, service, forgiveness and grace.

We have seen the whole range of human behavior, the best and worst of individuals and society.

After much thought, one humbling thing has become clear to me. While I have tried my entire life to be empathetic, to treat all people with caring and respect, I have not fully understood, and perhaps never will, the depth of pain, anxiety and suspicion that members of our black and brown communities feel as a result of longstanding racial inequality and distrust.

The deaths of George Floyd and other black people have struck a nerve so deep and sensitive among these communities that all of us have been jolted and awakened to festering wounds that have not healed. As someone who has obviously never experienced life as a person of color, I have not fully grasped the gravity and intensity of these feelings.

And, thus, at this tipping point in history, we are having conversations that are both uncomfortable and necessary. It wont be easy, but I believe we can emerge much better than before. Many of us are now thinking and stretching, in ways we havent previously, to determine how we can unite in creating a more just and equal society. It will be difficult, and will take sustained effort and time. It starts with our own hearts and souls.

I have been touched by the heartfelt statements released by a wide variety of individuals. While some might note that these are people of privilege and power, they have been humbled by this transformative moment and they are committed to make a difference. Here are some excerpts:

Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, while marching Sunday with protesters in Washington, D.C.: We need a voice against racism, we need many voices against racism and against brutality. And we need to stand up and say Black Lives Matter. He earlier said: We are all children of God, equal in His eyes. And I am committed to continuing to listen and to learn from Utahns about the changes we must make together to ensure the full promise of America for all its people.

Mayor Erin Mendenhall, Salt Lake City. The path with the greatest potential for good begins with we. ... Let us rise together as we take this opportunity head on. Together we will commit to this critical work in the months and years ahead with an open heart, mind and imagination and a healthy dose of kindness and grace.

Gail Miller, owner of the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies. As I stated on the basketball court of Vivint Smart Home Arena last year, We believe in treating all people with courtesy and respect as human beings no one wins when respect goes away. It is my sincerest hope that we will work together, peacefully and respectfully, to put an end to the mistreatment of any human being.

Harris Simmons, chairman and CEO of Zions Bancorporation. I hope each one of us will consider seriously the opportunity we have to build stronger relationships ... especially with colleagues whose backgrounds, characteristics and perspectives differ from our own. Tolerance should never be the objective; none of us aspire to be tolerated. Our lives will be most abundant as we move beyond tolerance and form real friendships with those outside our usual circles and determine to do all we can to help them succeed.

Dr. Marc Harrison, president and CEO of Intermountain Healthcare. We live in communities enriched by diversity. ... Free speech, fair policing, and peaceful protests are all part of the American way of life. For all forms of discrimination to end, and greater equity to truly take hold, we all must be part of the solution. ... By walking the walk arm-in-arm, all 41,000 of us can make a difference at the individual and collective level. We can start by listening to and truly hearing those who are hurting during this difficult time.

Gov. Gary R. Herbert and members of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Human Rights Commission and the Utah Multicultural Commission. We are here to make the necessary call for us all to work together, to help one another, to listen intentionally to those who feel unheard, to be braver and better, to create the solution for such a time as this, and commit to eradicate racism from our thoughts, words, deeds and actions. ... The time to usher in change and healing is now. ... We look forward to advancing efforts for change and creating a Utah where families of all races and backgrounds feel safe, heard and valued.

President Russell M. Nelson, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We need to foster our faith in the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. We need to foster a fundamental respect for the human dignity of every human soul, regardless of their color, creed or cause. And we need to work tirelessly to build bridges of understanding rather than creating walls of segregation. I plead with us to work together for peace, for mutual respect and for an outpouring of love for all of Gods children.

Personally, I hope we will use this period of improvement to truly make the promise of our Declaration of Independence a reality for all every human is created equal and enjoys unalienable rights endowed by our Creator. I am committed to do better, to listen more, empathize more and support equality life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all Americans.

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Anderson: We have been jolted awake . . . now lets heal the wounds - Deseret News

Human Behavior

Mathematicians Rethink Approaches to Predicting Spread of COVID-19 – CSUF News

While health and science researchers worldwide are racing to find a cure for COVID-19, Cal State Fullerton mathematicians are stepping up to do their part using the power of math modeling.

Sam Behseta and Derdei Bichara of the Center for Computational and Applied Mathematics teamed up to apply mathematical and statistical approaches to understand the spread and control of COVID-19 and even the prediction of a second outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

Many existing math models solely utilize data within each community for predicting the number of infections and fatalities in the future, said Behseta, a statistician and professor of mathematics, who also directs the center.

But these models fall short in exploring scenarios for the prevalence of the disease when the restrictions in multiple states are relaxed, and when populations within those states dont follow the social distancing and self-protection guidelines.

Behseta and Bichara, assistant professor of mathematics whose research focuses on mathematical modeling of infectious diseases, are working on creating a new math approach for the coronavirus to gauge the effects of human behavior and mobility restrictions on the spread of the deadly disease.

Information is one of the main weapons in fighting the disease. I hope, when it comes down to devising policies that affect all of us, our work can be useful for more informative decision-making, Behseta said. Dr. Bichara and I have been in this game long enough to know that no single model, or group of models for that matter, will be sufficient to fully describe the ins and outs of a pandemic of this magnitude.

Historically, the two cultures of mathematical and statistical modeling have been detached in the context of modeling contagious diseases, Bichara explained.

This work were doing brings the two realms together. The main goal, broadly speaking, is to provide decision-makers and the scientific community with yet another layer of useful information as far as understanding the dynamics of COVID-19, Bichara said.

While their research efforts are in the early stages, the mathematicians point to the massive amount of data accumulated from pandemic records across the globe that will aid them in their work. Additionally, the center has created a COVID-19 resources website, which includes the best expert models, research by faculty from CSUF and other universities, and raw data from the U.S. and other countries.

The information on the website can be utilized as a teaching tool for years to come, Behseta said.

This is a simulated cloud of data using a simple mathematical model.

Applying Mathematical and Statistical Approaches

Behsetas expertise in statistics includes building statistical models for biological studies. He has worked on developing models for the patterns of nerve cells in the brain and understanding the effects of temperature and soil moisture on respiratory diseases in Central California.

Bichara has published numerous research papers on the dynamics of diseases and viruses, including malaria, tuberculosis, and Ebola, Zika and HIV. His work takes into account the effects of mobility and interaction among communities, as well as the role of human behavior in the spread of the disease.

Long before the outbreak of the coronavirus, Bichara developed what he calls exogenous and endogenous parameters on the speed in which a disease can spread. In other words, with the current pandemic, exogenous variables are state-imposed restrictions, such as quarantine or shelter-in-place policies, and endogenous or self-imposed restrictions deal with an individual's behavioral patterns with respect to social distancing or wearing masks in public.

We are interested in how mobility and intrinsic human behavior alter or mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in our communities. As the pandemic sprung across the nation, many states issued shelter-in-place or lockdown policies, thereby limiting, and thus decreasing, the mobility of individuals in those states or counties. These are exogenous measures, Bichara said.

However, as states have started to open up for business, health officials have recommended wearing masks, observing social distancing and other such measures. These are what we refer to as endogenous measures because the responsibility falls on individuals to pursue them.

Ultimately, the mathematicians goal is to assess the effectiveness of these endogenous and exogenous measures in reducing the level of COVID-19 disease incidences.

This will eventually contribute to a better understanding of the dynamics of the disease, as well as a clearer prediction or forecast of the future trends, Bichara said.

Contact: Debra Cano Ramos, dcanoramos@fullerton.edu

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Mathematicians Rethink Approaches to Predicting Spread of COVID-19 - CSUF News

Human Behavior

How JJAIBOT Generates Health and Wellness Awareness From AI – Influencive

Artificial intelligence has undoubtedly become one of the most outstanding concepts among the technological advances of recent times. Its unstoppable application in different fields has attracted worldwide attention. One of the most prominent approaches to the fight against environmental pollution, mental illness, and wildlife destruction, this is precisely the basis of the origin of JJAIBOT.

Julian Jewel Jeyaraj, an artificial intelligence researcher, composer, and influencer, created JJAIBOT in January 2019, focusing on three key elements: environmental, psychological, and wildlife conservation.

His intention is to promote the understanding of the effects of climate change, but also to use artificial intelligence as a valuable resource to help in psychological processes, such as cognitive therapies, meditation, among others, that help decrease conditions such as depression.

Julian seeks that society empathizes with this technology, understanding that robots can act just like human behavior and helping to deal with the problems of everyday life.

However, for Julian, the Artificial Intelligence project seems to have no limits, and besides applying it in these important areas, he had the initiative to create an application that contributes to the early detection of the COVID-19.

After the worsening of the pandemic, Julian arranged his efforts for the creation of this application through JJAIBOT. Its operation is based on the diagnosis of the virus through computerized tomography, with proven accuracy of 99%.

This not only supports the management of medical personnel fighting to deal with the disease but also the possibility of saving the lives of people affected by the coronavirus, thanks to the detection of COVID-19 more quickly.

Demonstrating once again the scope of artificial intelligence in the field of health, Julian implements his creation to help society in the fight against the pandemic. Contributing to an efficient way of diagnosing patients.

In addition to contributing to society, it will also significantly help to reduce the management costs of counteracting the disease. The use of this technology is focused on two outstanding parameters:

It provides an overview of the organs and their condition. Its effectiveness is proven and facilitates the diagnostic process.

It brings greater precision to the studies. It helps to get a view of the lungs and their condition. It has a high degree of accuracy and will help doctors determine the existence and progression of disease in the human body.

Although there is not yet an official cure for COVID-19, it is contributions such as JJAIBOT by Julian Jewel Jeyaraj that represent a significant advance in the fight against this disease. This robot, created with artificial intelligence, represents the possibility of reducing the mortality rates generated by the disease thanks to its rapid diagnosis and early care.

In this context, this new technology constitutes a revolution in the area of medicine, since, given its characteristics, there is the possibility of extending its use, even after the pandemic, for the detection of other respiratory conditions.

JJAIBOT can be used all over the world, having as a central focus to reduce the negative impacts that the disease has generated in society.

Initiatives like JJAIBOT show that artificial intelligence is here to stay. Leading society to understand the effects of climate change, psychological change, and wildlife conservation through the use of this technology is not only a challenge but a transformation to the usual social processes.

In the environmental field, JJAIBOT has had a leading role in India, specifically in Delhi, where its founder has applied the use of its technology to reduce environmental pollution processes and contribute to the health of the population, especially in children who have been most affected by lung diseases due to this phenomenon.

However, in terms of wildlife conservation and psychological changes, Julian implements his computer knowledge, information technology, and other areas, to promote a better quality of life in people, beyond the physical aspect, focusing on the emotional.

Both the current generation and future generations will have the opportunity to understand the importance of preserving and protecting their inner being and the environment through the processes of artificial intelligence proposed by Julian.

A different way to transform societys concept of these issues and generate a true consciousness of well-being and health for human life, through the technology of artificial intelligence.Opinions expressed here are the opinions of the author. Influencive does not endorse or review brands mentioned; does not and can not investigate relationships with brands, products, and people mentioned and is up to the author to disclose. VIP Contributors and Contributors, amongst other accounts and articles, are professional fee-based.

Kevin Leyes is the Chairman ofLeyes Enterprisesand the Founder and CEO ofTeam Leyes, an urban jewelry company, andLeyes Media, an SMM and PR agency. He is an Official Member of the Forbes Business Council and Young Entrepreneur Council.

Published June 12, 2020

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How JJAIBOT Generates Health and Wellness Awareness From AI - Influencive