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Daily Archives: October 11, 2015

Paper – Addressing the Empathy Deficit

Addressing the Empathy Deficit: Beliefs about the Malleability of Empathy Predict Effortful Responses when Empathy is Challenging – Karina Schumann, Jamil Zaki, and Carol S. Dweck Stanford University.

“Empathy is often thought to occur automatically. Yet, empathy frequently breaks down when it is difficult or distressing to relate to people in need, suggesting that empathy is often not felt reflexively. Indeed, the United States as a whole is said to be displaying an empathy deficit. When and why does empathy break down, and what predicts whether people will exert effort to experience empathy in challenging contexts? Across 7 studies, we found that people who held a malleable mindset about empathy (believing empathy can be developed) expended greater empathic effort in challenging contexts than did people who held a fixed theory (believing empathy cannot be developed). Specifically, a malleable theory of empathy—whether measured or experimentally induced—promoted (a) more self- reported effort to feel empathy when it is challenging (Study 1); (b) more empathically effortful responses to a person with conflicting views on personally important sociopolitical issues (Studies 2–4); (c) more time spent listening to the emotional personal story of a racial outgroup member (Study 5); and (d) greater willingness to help cancer patients in effortful, face-to-face ways (Study 6). Study 7 revealed a possible reason for this greater empathic effort in challenging contexts: a stronger interest in improving one’s empathy. Together, these data suggest that people’s mindsets powerfully affect whether they exert effort to empathize when it is needed most, and these data may represent a point of leverage in increasing empathic behaviors on a broad scale.”

NARA Digitization Priorities based on user feedback

“A few weeks ago, we asked the public for suggestions and feedback about NARA’s digitization priorities to help us develop an agency-wide priority list.  This list will guide the work of the digitization program over the next couple of years. After putting out that call, responses flooded into us with comments here on NARAtions, emails… Continue Reading

Supreme Court to Highlight Revisions in Its Opinions

Supreme Court What’s New – “Beginning with the October Term 2015, postrelease edits to slip opinions on the Court’s website will be highlighted and the date they occur will be noted. The date of any revision will be listed in a new “Revised” column on the charts of Opinions, In-Chambers Opinions, and Opinions Related to… Continue Reading

New Self-Guided Curriculum for Digitization

DPLA: “Through the Public Library Partnerships Project (PLPP), DPLA has been working with existing DPLA Service Hubs to provide digital skills training for public librarians and connect them sustainably with state and regional resources for digitizing, describing, and exhibiting their cultural heritage content. During the project, DPLA collaborated with trainers at Digital Commonwealth, Digital Library of Georgia, Minnesota… Continue Reading

Mother Jones investigates the work of Threat Assessment Professionals

Inside the Race to Stop the Next Shooter: “…As gun rampages have increased, so have security efforts at public venues of all kinds, and threat assessment teams can now be found everywhere from school districts and college campuses to corporate headquarters and theme parks. Behind the scenes, the federal government has ramped up its threat… Continue Reading

Librarian shares what profession can learn from Buzzfeed

Christina Manzo, Boston Public Library Volume 1, Issue 3, 2015. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3998/weave.12535642.0001.302 5 Lessons Library Websites Can Learn from Buzzfeed – “Since its 2006 launch, Buzzfeed has become an Internet institution by recognizing and capitalizing on the insatiable life-cycle of viral media. The idea behind the website is relatively simple: bring together trending content (e.g.,… Continue Reading