The importance of the manufacturing sector in the U.S. economy has been the subject of hot debate for decades, Temple economist Bill Dunkelberg wrote in his Inquirer column "Small Matters." "On average, manufacturers have been increasing overall employment this year, compared with declines in the general small-firm population. The problem is that we can produce a lot of output using relatively few workers, so the manufacturing sector cannot be expected to solve our unemployment problem, no matter how well it performs," he wrote.
Whether you took in a screening of "Scream 4" this year, visited a haunted house this month or bought a zombie Halloween costume, you're a customer in the "business of fear." This is particularly true of people who have a "Type-T" or thrill-seeking personality. "These thrill-seekers thrive on the uncertainty associated with activities that most people would consider scary," says Frank Farley, a professor in Temple's College of Education. "The 'fear business' usually offers us a cocktail of thrills, excitement, intensity and challenge.
Drivers who consider their car an extension of their identity are more likely to behave aggressively behind the wheel and break the laws of the road, a new study finds. The study, which examines how personality, attitude and values contribute to aggressive driving behaviors, was published in the Journal of Psychology & Marketing and conducted by Ayalla Ruvio, a professor in Temple's Fox School of Business. Ruvio found that drivers with compulsive tendencies are more likely to drive aggressively with disregard for possible consequences.
Why many teenagers seek thrills, break rules and seem nonchalant about their own safety has been a question brain scientists have worked to answer in the last two decades. Laurence Steinberg, a professor of psychology at Temple, used functional magnetic resonance imaging to study the brains of teens. He found that teens are more sensitive than adults to rewards of situations or activities, and less sensitive to risks. There's an evolutionary explanation for this kind of behavior.
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