Cultureplaces

http://www.dailydot.com/technology/police-body-cam-ferguson/?fb=dd As this article argues, at the very minimum body cameras should be worn by the police. They will definitely help to dilute the cops' confrontational mode which is highly toxic to aggressive young black males. More important I think is to follow up on Pharrell's astute comment in Ebony. This means getting a better understanding of the biosocial variables in the inner city. Michael Brown was at a convenience store stealing cigarillos before he was killed. But Pharrell says he was upset when he saw the way Brown was acting towards the owner. “It looked very bully-ish,” he said. “That in itself I had a problem with. Not with the kid, but with whatever happened in his life for him to arrive at a place where that behavior is OK. Why aren’t we talking about that?”  People quckly misread this to mean a criticism of Michael Brown when it is just the reverse. The fault lies with the community and family-- a particular k...

The case against labeling and medicating children, and effective alternatives for treating them by Marilyn Wedge, Ph.D. Why French Kids Don't Have ADHD French children don't need medications to control their behavior. Published on March 8, 2012 by  Marilyn Wedge, Ph.D.  in  Suffer the Children   Psychology Today Read the bloggers responses at the bottom and the readers  comments if you have time 1,661 in Share In the United States, at least 9% of school-aged children have been diagnosed with  ADHD , and are taking pharmaceutical medications. In France, the percentage of kids diagnosed and medicated for ADHD is less than .5%. How come the epidemic of ADHD—which has become firmly established in the United States—has almost completely passed over children in France? Is ADHD a biological-neurological disorder? Surprisingly, the answer to this question depends on whether you live in France or in the United States. In t...

THE INDEPENDENT BEN TUFFT http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/virus-that-makes-humans-more-stupid-discovered-9849920.html Sunday 09 November 2014 A virus that infects human brains and makes us more stupid has been discovered, according to scientists in the US. The algae virus, never before observed in healthy people, was found to affect cognitive functions including visual processing and spatial awareness.  Scientists at Johns Hopkins Medical School and the University of Nebraska stumbled upon the discovery when they were undertaking an unrelated study into throat microbes. Surprisingly, the researchers found DNA in the throats of healthy individuals that matched the DNA of a virus known to infect green algae. Dr Robert Yolken, a virologist who led the original study, said: “This is a striking example showing that the ‘innocuous’ microorganisms we carry can affect behaviour and cognition. “Many physiological differences betw...

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