Ambitious, successful people live longer
Ambitious, successful people who actually make it to the top not only are richer than the rest of us, but they apparently live longer, too, a new study shows. Researchers found that ambitious people who achieve their goals live longer than those with average drive and determination. Making matters worse, they’re even a little happier than everyone else, according to a study to be published in the Journal of Applied Psychology.“I guess you could say that those people got it all,” says the study’s lead author Timothy Judge, the Franklin Schurz Chair of Management at the University of Notre Dame. “Of course we don’t know what they did to claw their way to the top, but they took their aspirations and made good.” Like most everything else, ambition does come with a dark side: climbers who don’t manage to scratch their way to the top are most likely to die younger, the researchers found. Judge and co-author John D. Kammeyer-Mueller of the Warrington College of Business looked at data collected as part of a multi-decade study that followed more than 1,500 California children who had scored high on intelligence tests. The teens were followed for more than 70 years starting in 1922 by a Stanford psychologist named Lewis Terman. The Stanford study looked at a wide range of topics, including the teens’ level of ambition. The study volunteers were asked about their physical and emotional development, school histories, recreational activities, home life, family background, as well as educational, vocational and marital histories. As the years passed follow-up surveys asked about the evolution of the participants’ careers, activity patterns and personal adjustment.
Filling the learning gap helps close the achievement gap
When discussing how to close the achievement gap, typically the focus is on what happens in the classroom. But a narrow focus will not succeed. It ignores reality, which is that: a) youth spend twice as much time outside of the classroom as they do in the classroom; and b) learning occurs outside of the classroom as well as inside the classroom. We have more than an “‘achievement gap.” We have a “learning gap.” Any teacher will tell you that factors away from the classroom greatly influence performance in the classroom. If we expect youth to achieve in the classroom, all who work with youth and who advocate on behalf of youth need to start talking about the learning experiences that occur beyond the classroom. This includes social workers, youth development workers, parents, law enforcement, counselors, civic and business leaders, philanthropic leaders and educators. Closing the learning gap is analogous to a space mission. An astronaut does not venture into space alone. A highly trained team with different skill sets makes a successful space mission possible. Like an astronaut being sent into space, a student needs a diverse team to support his or her learning ventures with the target being success in the classroom. Out-of-school-time programs provide learning experiences and structure that youth need to be prepared for classroom learning. High-quality programs help youth develop self-confidence and provide them with connections to a broader network of caring adults. They help youth feel part of something larger than themselves. Connecting youth to these programs is working toward eliminating the achievement gap and building stronger communities.
At first glance, tablets seem like some of the least sensibly designed cameras and camcorders ever created. The iPad’s 9.7-inch display, for example, makes it far less portable than many digital cameras and camcorders that offer equal or better image quality and imaging features. It has no tripod mount, and using it with one hand is an invitation to capture video that could lead viewers to question whether they’re watching an earthquake. Indeed, for many tablets, imaging has been an afterthought. Apple left cameras completely off of the first-generation iPad; HP passed on a rear camera for its ill-fated TouchPad; and Amazon and Barnes & Noble have left them off their value-priced Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet. And yet, if you live in a center of high iPad concentration (the five Manhattan Apple stores help New York City qualify), you may have noticed people using iPads for exactly that purpose. People using tablets to capture stills and video are hard to miss because of their awkward two-handed grappling of the device. While image and video capture are far from the most popular activities on tablets, about one in five consumers use their tablets to capture photos, and one in eight use them to capture video, according to The NPD Group’s Connected Intelligence research. What’s more, while satisfaction with these activities trails behind smartphones somewhat, consumers report being overwhelmingly satisfied when using their devices for these tasks. What’s capturing the interest in capturing? Several factors may be at play.