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Ever wonder how television drama actually compares to real life? Now you can find out. TNT, whose slogan reads, “Your Daily Dose of Drama,” gives us a taste of what it takes to make highly entertaining television through their new ad/viral video. The video, “A Dramatic Surprise on a Quiet Square,” features a red button in the middle of a public space somewhere in Belgium. Above it hangs a giant sign which reads “Push to Add Drama.” The button — obviously — gets pushed. This action is followed by an ambulance racing to the scene, a fight, a woman in lingerie riding a motorcycle, and more. While the video is hilarious to say the least, it’s also insightful. The video, which has gone on to become the second most-shared video of all time — falling only behind Volkswagen’s 2011 Super Bowl ad, “The Force” — also highlights the dichotomy between real life and television. Something we sometimes seem to forget. Seeing how dramatic the media we digest truly is suggests we have to ask ourselves what kind of effect it is having on us whenever we press the “on” button of our remote. Is it drama like this which causes hypochondria, increased violence and other symptoms of a cultural demise we often blame on media? Maybe so. Let us know what you think in the comments below.

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Viral TNT Ad Is Hilarious and Insightful [Video]

“If Bubbles told you to jump off a bridge, would you do it Koko?” A new study suggests that chimpanzees and human toddlers are inclined to follow majority rule. The study, which was published online in the journal Current Biology and written by Daniel Haun et al of the Max Planck Institutes for Evolutionary Anthropology and Psycholinguistics, showed that chimpanzees and 2-year old toddlers were both more likely to repeat a peer group’s actions than a single peer’s actions. The research indicates that both chimpanzees and humans evolved to follow majority rule, in contrast with other some other primates like orangutans, which were also tested. Researchers showed test groups a box with three colored holes. Placing a ball in one of the holes would dispense a treat. The subjects would then watch either a group of four peers or a single peer place the ball into one of the colored holes, at which point the subjects were allowed to place the ball themselves to earn a treat. Chimpanzee and human subjects who viewed the peer groups were more likely to place the ball in the same hole as their peers. When a group of orangutans were tested with the same experiment, they were more likely to pick a random hole than following their peer groups. This shows that orangutans do not have a developed detection of or inclination towards social majority. Although prior research has suggested that humans are subject to majority rule, the study, titled “Majority-biased transmission in chimpanzees and human children, but not orangutans,” indicates that an inclination towards majority rule is in place at a very young age. Previous studies have confirmed the effect of a majority opinion in preschool-aged children, but Haun’s team tested an especially young age group to determine whether the effect is learned. Haun and his team believe that humans evolved to follow majority rule in order to make safe, productive and reliable decisions that would benefit early human groups equally. Haun’s research also shows that chimpanzees have the same inclination and that other primates may have evolved to detect and follow majority rule.

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Humans and Chimps Follow the Crowd [Study]

Today is an exciting day! CommunicationStudies.com is proud to announce the launch of its first research project, the Communication Degree & Major Survey. We’d like to get a good number of participants so we can gather informative and accurate data about the degree. If you are studying for a degree in communication, graduated with one, or are a communication professor, we would appreciate your help completing this survey. Take the Survey The survey is completely anonymous and should take just a couple minutes to complete. That means there are no excuses for not doing it and sharing it with people you know. The survey’s available now and will run until we feel we’ve collected enough data (early participation is greatly appreciated though). After that, we’ll post the findings up on the site. A quick look at the survey. If you’re able, a tweet, Google+ share, Facebook share, or blog post of your own would be incredibly appreciated. It’s our goal to reach as many people as possible and share something truly useful from the data. Take the Survey Thanks for your help and participation!

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Please Help: Take + Share the Communication Degree Survey

Today’s culture is obsessed with data. We love approval ratings of presidents, how the public feels about prescription drugs, and the ratings of our favorite TV shows. So it’s no wonder that infographics have been all the rage online. If you’re not familiar with infographics, here’s the scoop: they are a way to visualize and absorb data quickly through graphics. But just like anything, there’s good and there’s bad infographics. Bad infographics don’t go viral. Great ones do. Here are some tips for creating and designing brilliant, wonderful, great infographics. Great infographics tell a story The whole point of an infographic is to stray away from boring data. How do you do that? By telling a story. Anyone can slap some charts and graphs on a canvas and call it an infographic, but great infographics establish an emotional connection through stories. Stories can make anything interesting. Even the boring topics. Take a look at this interview with Chairman and CEO of Mandalay Bay, Peter Guber, about how to use purposeful storytelling to engage audiences: Take a look at this bad infographic: By: The Economist Not only is it ugly and its data is misleading, but it tells no story. I may now know some percentage changes in violent crime rates, but I can guarantee I’m not passing it on. It didn’t connect with me. Now take a look at this one: By: Veracode It’s a battle! A clash of the titans on one of the internet’s most important subjects today: privacy and security. It makes me ask, “Who am I rooting for?” See the difference? By creating a narrative you can engage audiences, draw them in, and make them want to pass around your infographic. Great infographics are specific Imagine trying to sum up the Royal Wedding. Where would you begin? There just are far too many elements to include. But the social impact of the royal wedding online, now there’s a concept. By: iStrategyConference.com Great infographics use short text Shakespeare once wrote, “..brevity is the soul of wit.” There is far too little time in this world for it to be wasted. Make it brief and make it concise. If you don’t, you’ll lose us in your monstrous paragraphs. And didn’t we click on this infographic link because we thought we’d get it quick and dirty? This is not quick and dirty: By: MisconceptionJunction.com This is: By: ADT Great infographic titles say it all Now this infographic isn’t bad, but it’s unclear. The title “The Mobile Advantage” tells us nothing. Does that mean people with mobile phones have more friends? Do mobile phones make us more money? Do they make us sexier? I have no idea because the title doesn’t tell me. By: Nuance Now take a look at this infographic: By: Jobvine The title says it all. “What Does It Take to Get a Job at Google?” I know exactly what this infographic is about. It’s going to tell me everything I need to do in order to get hired by Google. Clear and informative. Much better than a title like “Google Jobs.” Great infographics use credible sources One source from Wikipedia isn’t going to cover it. Credibility is everything. Strictly from an ethical standpoint, you don’t want to mislead people with the wrong data. Plus they’ll find out — which they always do — and you’ll be torn to pieces. If you can’t find the data you need or collect it accurately, don’t do it. Find a new concept. Simple as that. Here are a few sources for finding reliable data: Census.gov – This is the data collected by the United States Census Bureau. Data.gov – Data collected by the United States government. Data.UN.org – Data collected by the UN.

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What Makes Great Infographics Great

Written by Dr. Michelle Mazur This guy is lost. Your audience shouldn’t be. Have you ever been hiking and the trail suddenly disappears? All of the sudden, you don’t know where you are going. You are lost! You have to struggle to find the trail to push forward or you have to turn back. Have you ever sat through a presentation where you are utterly lost? You have no idea where the speaker is going. No idea where he has been and you are struggling to make sense of it all. Like hiking, when speaking the last thing you want is to get lost. Luckily by following some good hiking advice, your speech can keep the audience engaged and on the same happy trail as you. Be prepared Before venturing out on a hiking outing, you need to be prepared – food, water, proper clothes, and good boots. Before giving a presentation, you need to take the time to thoroughly prepare and rehearse your speech. Do your research. Craft a speech and then practice the speech. Not sure how to approach practicing a speech – check out 8 Steps to Practicing a Presentation for practical practice tips. Decide how to pack your speech backpack You’ve prepped for your hike – now you have to decide how to pack your backpack. For speakers, this means deciding on the structure of your speech. Deciding on what structure to use depends on your topic. For example, recounting a historical event – it’s best to use chronological order. Exploring two opposing viewpoints try a compare and contrast approach. Always bring a map Just a like hiker needs to know where they are going; your audience wants to know where they are following you. Provide them with a road map. Be sure in the introduction to preview your main points. Watch the transition to new terrain When I hike, I spend a lot of time looking at my feet. I’m always watching out for where the terrain might change. If only there were signposts that let me know when my smooth trail turns rocky. In presenting, there should always be signposts throughout the speech. When you transition from one point to the next, tell your audience. It can be something as simple as “My second point is” or you can summarize your previous point before introducing the next. Whatever your approach, you should take great care in how you transition to new terrain. End strong A few years ago after a long hike, I was off the trail, walking back to the car, fell, down and hurt myself. Why? Because I wasn’t paying attention to the end of the hike! I didn’t end strong. Speakers often make the mistake of just saying “thank you” or “that’s all I’ve got” before scurrying back to their seats. End your presentation strong. Summarize your main points. Leave your audience with a statement that you want them to remember! By being prepared, packing your speech backpack, having a map, watching your transitions and ending strong, you won’t lose your audience! More importantly, you won’t lose yourself out on the hiking trail. Do you have any tips on not losing your audience when you speak? Share ideas below. I’d love to hear them.

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How NOT to Lose your Audience in your Presentation

Most doctors skirt the important questions about sexual activity. In spite of the strong link between sexual function and a person’s overall health, the subject is unlikely to come up in a doctor’s office. In fact, according to a new study, a majority of doctors skirt the issue entirely. Of those physicians who do attempt an assessment of their patients’ sexual function, most ask superficial questions that shed little light on issues that could signal underlying problems. For the first time, researchers have conducted a national survey of American obstetrician-gynecologists to determine how they screen for sexual history. The investigators wanted to know how often doctors discuss their patients’ sex lives, whether they discuss them deeply enough to make important assessments regarding the patients’ overall health and what barriers exist that make it harder for doctors to have these crucial conversations with their patients. The results of the survey, conducted by the University of Chicago , were published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine. The researchers found that during the course of most examinations, questions about sex usually begin and end with an inquiry as to whether the patient is sexually active. Sixty percent of respondents don’t routinely ask patients questions designed to uncover sexual problems or dysfunction. More than two-thirds don’t ask their patients if they are satisfied with their sex lives, and roughly the same number fail to routinely inquire about their patients’ sexual orientations. The authors expressed concern over their findings. Sexual function can provide important clues that can help doctors to uncover a number of underlying health problems and to make a more accurate assessment of a patient’s general health. They recommend that new guidelines be established for interviewing patients about their sexual history. Lead author Stacy Tessler Lindau, a professor and practicing obstetrician-gynecologist, says that patients often tell her that she is the first doctor who has ever asked them about their sex lives. She points out that OB-GYNs are in an ideal position to assess female sexual health. Sexual issues are common among women. Current research indicates that more than a third of women experience some form of sexual dysfunction. Examples include lack of pleasure during sex, lowered desire for sex and pain during intercourse. Often, these issues lead to relationship difficulties, shame, guilt, worry and feelings of being alone. Many patients are unaware that there is any benefit to discussing these issues with their doctors. According to Lindau, patients may also fear that their concerns will be dismissed or seem inappropriate. She says that some patients will never bring the subject up; for these patients, it is crucial that doctors be the ones to initiate the discussion. The researchers examined a number of factors to see which ones increase the likelihood that the subject of sex will be swept under the rug. They found that male OB-GYNs are less likely to address the subject of sexual activity. Doctors whose practice focuses largely on prenatal care and delivery are less likely to delve into the possibility of sexual dysfunction in patients. Additionally, doctors over the age of 60 were especially unlikely to ask about sexual orientation or gender identity. The failure to ask about sexual orientation or gender identity is particularly troublesome, according to the authors. Making the assumption that a patient is heterosexual and embraces a female gender identity can alienate those patients who don’t fit these assumptions. Failing to determine sexual orientation and identity can also cause doctors to misinterpret a patient’s symptoms and lead to misdiagnosis. Co-author Janelle Sobecki points to a lack of training regarding the diagnosis and treatment of sexual problems in female patients. Since female sexual problems are often the result of treatment for other conditions, such as breast cancer or depression, it is especially important that doctors uncover and address them. When men are prescribed treatments or procedures that carry a risk of sexual side effects, these effects, as well as possible solutions and ways to cope, are routinely addressed. Women, on the other hand, are frequently not even informed of the possibility of sexual side effects. The investigators speculate that doctors may be more likely to talk to men about sex because there are treatments available for male sexual dysfunction. Doctors have few solutions to offer women who are dealing with similar issues. In the end, change may come as a result of patients themselves, who are more informed about sexual health issues than ever before and are increasingly taking a more proactive stance towards dealing with them. According to Lindau, these women are more likely to initiate conversations with their doctors. Lindau applauds these women and suggests that patients bring the topic up at their next appointment. “If you are waiting for the doctor to start the conversation, it may never happen. Communication is key,” she says.

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Talk Dirty to Me: Researchers Urge Doctors and Patients to Discuss Sexual Health