The link between mental imagery and emotions may be closer than we thought.
It turns out seeing really is believing when it comes to scary stories. Photo: Unsplash.
People with aphantasia – that is, the inability to visualise mental images – are harder to spook with scary stories, a new UNSW Sydney study shows.
The study, published today in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, tested how aphantasic people reacted to reading distressing scenarios, like being chased by a shark, falling off a cliff, or being in a plane that’s about to crash.
The researchers were able to physically measure each participant’s fear response by monitoring changing skin conductivity levels – in other words, how much the story made a person sweat. This type of test is commonly used in psychology research to measure the body’s physical expression of emotion.
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Inspired by the United Nations Aichi Biodiversity Targets, nations are rallying behind an ambitious pledge to conserve 30 percent of their lands and waters by 2030. However, more than two-thirds of the world’s marine protected areas (MPAs), a primary marine conservation tool, allow some form of fishing. Now, an in-depth study of MPAs along Australia’s southern coast shows that these partially protected reserves are largely ineffective both for protecting biodiversity, and for improving people’s enjoyment of the protected space. The study, conducted by social ecologist John Turnbull and his colleagues at the University of New South Wales in Australia calls partially protected marine reserves “red herrings” that “create an illusion of protection and consume scarce conservation resources.”
University of Tasmania
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How long does education and training take? To work in the legal department of a company or an administration, completing a two-year technical university degree can be sufficient. An undergraduate degree of three years gets you a license, which can lead to careers as a legal assistant, real estate negotiator, clerk, or police lieutenant. With an additional 2-year master s degree, graduates can become lawyers specializing in public law, private law, European, or international law.
Salary for recent graduates: The gross salary of a young graduate is around $35,000 (€30,000) for a company lawyer, according to the website L Etudiant.
Australian Universities Back Research Commercialisation as Sector Struggles With Post-COVID Blues
Industry groups representing Australian universities are backing the federal government’s move to explore how the sector can better commercialise research and technological developments.
The proposal comes as the tertiary sector grapples with a post-COVID economic environment, which has seen the sector shed 17,300 jobs and lose over $1.8 billion in revenue over the past year.
The government launched the University Research Commercialisation consultation paper in late February, seeking to gather ideas on how to best “maximise” the economic benefits of university research.
“We want our high-quality research to better translate into the breakthrough products, new businesses and ideas we need to grow our economy and improve our society,” Education Minister Alan Tudge said at the University of Melbourne.