21 de noviembre de 2011

Imágenes de Twitter

¿Como se ve Twitter?

Hasta hace poco, esta pregunta no podía responderse. Ya no. Recientemente, Strange Maps, blog de Big Think, publicó unas imágenes muy interesantes usando información de Twitter.

Con ayuda de un software especializado, las imágenes identifican el lugar físico donde está twitteando la gente, así como el idioma en el que lo están haciendo. Abajo, por ejemplo, la imagen proveniente de Europa.




Otras imágenes, aquí en la entrada original.

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17 de noviembre de 2011

Superioridad cultural

Pew Research Center presentó The American-Western European Values Gap en donde compara los resultados de encuestas de valores en Estados Unidos y algunos países europeos. Aquí lo encuentras.

Entre los distintos temas que analiza, la percepción que tiene la ciudadanía en estos países sobre la 'superioridad cultural' de su país. De los cinco países encuestados (Estados Unidos, Alemania, España, Gran Bretaña y Francia), Francia es quien reporta un mayor número de personas respondiendo "si" a la pregunta "Our people are not perfect but our culture is superior to others": el 73% respondió afirmativamente mientras que el 27% no está de acuerdo.

Aquí un extracto del estudio:
  • About half of Americans (49%) and Germans (47%) agree with the statement, “Our people are not perfect, but our culture is superior to others;” 44% in Spain share this view. In Britain and France, only about a third or fewer (32% and 27%, respectively) think their culture is better than others.
  • While opinions about cultural superiority have remained relatively stable over the years in the four Western European countries surveyed, Americans are now far less likely to say that their culture is better than others; six-in-ten Americans held this belief in 2002 and 55% did so in 2007. Belief in cultural superiority has declined among Americans across age, gender and education groups.
  • As in past surveys, older Americans remain far more inclined than younger ones to believe that their culture is better than others. Six-in-ten Americans ages 50 or older share this view, while 34% disagree; those younger than 30 hold the opposite view, with just 37% saying American culture is superior and 61% saying it is not. Opinions are more divided among those ages 30 to 49; 44% in this group see American culture as superior and 50% do not.
  • Similar age gaps are not as common in the Western European countries surveyed, with the exception of Spain, where majorities of older respondents, but not among younger ones, also think their culture is better than others; 55% of those ages 50 or older say this is the case, compared with 34% of those ages 30 to 49 and 39% of those younger than 30.
  • As is the case on other measures, opinions about cultural superiority vary considerably by educational attainment. In the four Western European countries and in the U.S., those who did not graduate from college are more likely than those who did to agree that their culture is superior, even if their people are not perfect. For example, Germans with less education are twice as likely as those with a college degree to believe their culture is superior (50% vs. 25%); double-digit differences are also present in France (20 percentage points), Spain (18 points) and Britain (11 points), while a less pronounced gap is evident in the U.S. (9 points).
  • Finally, among Americans and Germans, political conservative are especially likely to believe their culture is superior to others. In the U.S., 63% of conservatives take this view, compared with 45% of moderates and just 34% of liberals. Similarly, a majority (55%) of right-wing Germans see their culture as superior, while 47% of moderates and 34% of those on the political left agree.
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16 de noviembre de 2011

Veinte segundos es suficiente para saber si puedes confiar en un extraño

Science Daily publica un artículo interesante sobre extraños y primeras impresiones.

Con base en estudios realizados en la Universidad de California, Berkeley, es posible identificar en veinte segundos si un extraño está genéticamente inclinado a ser compasivo y sincero. Aquí lo que menciona el artículo sobre la metodología:

Two dozen couples participated in the UC Berkeley study, and each provided DNA samples. Researchers then documented the couples as they talked about times when they had suffered. Video was recorded only of the partners as they took turns listening.

A separate group of observers who did not know the couples were shown 20-second video clips of the listeners and asked to rate which seemed most trustworthy, kind and compassionate, based on their facial expressions and body language.

The listeners who got the highest ratings for empathy, it turned out, possess a particular variation of the oxytocin receptor gene known as the GG genotype...

... Widely known as the "cuddle" or "love" hormone, oxytocin is secreted into the bloodstream and the brain, where it promotes social interaction, bonding and romantic love, among other functions.


Aquí el artículo.


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14 de noviembre de 2011

Sobre los valores y la riqueza

Tyler Cowen, profesor de George Mason University, en su columna en el New York Times (publicada el 12 de noviembre) retoma algunas de las banderas o temas que ha puesto sobre la mesa el movimiento Occupy Wall Street y reflexiona sobre las distintas maneras de generar riqueza.

En su artículo, comienza señalando cual es su visión sobre la generación de riqueza y el papel que juegan los emprendedores.

The United States has always had a culture with a high regard for those able to rise from poverty to riches. It has had a strong work ethic and entrepreneurial spirit and has attracted ambitious immigrants, many of whom were drawn here by the possibility of acquiring wealth.

... In short, the traditional, pro-wealth cultural vision has a great appeal for me. But I must admit that it is showing some wear and tear, which may partly be why the criticisms made by the demonstrators at Zuccotti Park have so much resonance.


Más adelante, menciona los problemas o dudas que tiene sobre su posición.

The first problem is that higher status for the wealthy can easily lead to crony capitalism...

The second problem is that many conservatives have become so attached to their cultural vision that they have ceded sound, technocratic reasoning to the left and center...

The third problem is that the pro-wealth cultural vision may be overly optimistic about human willingness to embrace the idea of responsibility...


Aquí su editorial.

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