InfoTrak

Alexander Fanaroff, M.D., Fellow, Cardiovascular Medicine, Duke University Medical Center led a study that found that less than 10 percent of the treatment recommendations used by doctors to care for heart patients are based on evidence gained from multiple large, randomized clinical trials. He explained how the other 90 percent of treatments have come to be generally accepted by doctors. He hopes to see greater research to provide scientifically-supported treatment guidelines.

Computer algorithms and the artificial intelligence that underlies them make a staggering number of everyday decisions for nearly every American, from what products we buy, to how we consume our news or entertainment, to whom we date, and how we find a job. Kartik Hosanagar, PhD, John C. Hower Professor of Technology and Digital Business and a Professor of Marketing at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, is author of A Human's Guide to Machine Intelligence: How Algorithms Are Shaping Our Lives and How We Can Stay in Control. discussed the potentially dangerous biases algorithms can give rise to as they increasingly run our lives, and offered suggestions for consumers to regain control.

Alexander Fanaroff, M.D., Fellow, Cardiovascular Medicine, Duke University Medical Center led a study that found that less than 10 percent of the treatment recommendations used by doctors to care for heart patients are based on evidence gained from multiple large, randomized clinical trials. He explained how the other 90 percent of treatments have come to be generally accepted by doctors. He hopes to see greater research to provide scientifically-supported treatment guidelines.

Jennifer L. Eberhardt, PhD, Professor of Psychology at Stanford, recipient of a 2014 MacArthur "genius" grant, and author of Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do talked about the numerous forms of bias hardwired into every human being. She said unconscious bias can be at work without our realizing it, even when we genuinely wish to treat all people equally. She explained how bias and racial inequality seeps into classrooms, police departments and businesses. She offered advice on how to recognize our own biases.

Computer algorithms and the artificial intelligence that underlies them make a staggering number of everyday decisions for nearly every American, from what products we buy, to how we consume our news or entertainment, to whom we date, and how we find a job. Kartik Hosanagar, PhD, John C. Hower Professor of Technology and Digital Business and a Professor of Marketing at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, is author of A Human's Guide to Machine Intelligence: How Algorithms Are Shaping Our Lives and How We Can Stay in Control. discussed the potentially dangerous biases algorithms can give rise to as they increasingly run our lives, and offered suggestions for consumers to regain control.

Cooking, cleaning and other routine household activities generate significant levels of volatile and particulate chemicals inside the average home, leading to indoor air quality levels on par with a polluted major city, according to research from Marina Vance, PhD, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder She said that most homes are not properly ventilated and that gas stoves cause more indoor air pollution than electric ones.

Cooking, cleaning and other routine household activities generate significant levels of volatile and particulate chemicals inside the average home, leading to indoor air quality levels on par with a polluted major city, according to research from Marina Vance, PhD, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder She said that most homes are not properly ventilated and that gas stoves cause more indoor air pollution than electric ones.

Nancy Rhodes, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations at Michigan State University examined underage and binge drinking at colleges and found that peer approval is the primary reason that students do it. She said students don’t want to admit they’re influenced by friends, but the reality is they are seeking social acceptance. She offered advice to concerned parents.

Van C. Tran, PhD, Associate Professor of Sociology Columbia University, was the co-author of a study that found that although Asian Americans graduate from universities at far higher rates than white Americans, they still are no more likely to hold professional or managerial jobs. He discussed the additional barriers and discrimination that Asian Americans face when trying to climb the career ladder, a phenomenon known as the “bamboo ceiling.”

Trees play a surprisingly big role in keeping America’s cities and towns cool. Carly Ziter, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Biology Department at Concordia University in Montrea shared the results of her study that found that the right amount of tree cover can lower summer daytime temperatures by as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit. She said the effect is quite noticeable from neighborhood to neighborhood, even down to the scale of a single city block. She stressed the importance of urban landscaping and development in making neighborhoods more livable in the future.