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| 5/24 |
| 2009/5/13-20 [Computer/SW/WWW/Browsers] UID:52991 Activity:nil |
5/13 "Surprise! Daydreaming Really Works the Brain"
http://www.csua.org/u/o8t (news.yahoo.com)
Gotta show this to my boss. Where's the article that someone posted a
few months ago about surfing the web at work improving productivity?
\_ "Facebook, YouTube at work make better employees: study"
http://tech.yahoo.com/news/nm/20090402/tc_nm/us_work_internet_tech_life \_ Page not found
\_ http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/2009/04/reuters_us_work_internet_tech_life |
| 5/24 |
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| www.csua.org/u/o8t -> news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20090513/sc_livescience/surprisedaydreamingreallyworksthebrain letting the mind wander can actually let the parts of the brain associated with problem-solving become active, a new study finds. Kalina Christoff of the University of British Columbia in Canada and her colleagues placed study participants inside an fMRI scanner, where they performed the simple routine task of pushing a button when numbers appear on a screen. The researchers tracked subjects' attentiveness moment-to-moment through brain scans, subjective reports from subjects and by tracking their performance on the task. part of the brain that remains active when the mind wanders. But in the study subjects, the brain's "executive network" - associated with high-level, complex problem-solving - also lit up. The less subjects were aware that their mind was wandering, the more both networks were activated. "This study shows our brains are very active when we daydream - much more active than when we focus on routine tasks," Christoff said. The findings, detailed in the May 11 issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest that daydreaming is an important cognitive state where we may unconsciously turn our attention from immediate tasks to sort through important problems in our lives. "When you daydream, you may not be achieving your immediate goal - say reading a book or paying attention in class - but your mind may be taking that time to address more important questions in your life, such as advancing your career or personal relationships," Christoff said. That's particularly good news, because daydreaming can occupy as much as one third of our waking lives, previous studies have found. com chronicles the daily advances and innovations made in science and technology. We take on the misconceptions that often pop up around scientific discoveries and deliver short, provocative explanations with a certain wit and style. |
| tech.yahoo.com/news/nm/20090402/tc_nm/us_work_internet_tech_life Palm seeking applications for Pre smartphone (AFP) MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Caught Twittering or on Facebook at work? It'll make you a better employee, according to an Australian study that shows surfing the Internet for fun during office hours increases productivity. The University of Melbourne study showed that people who use the Internet for personal reasons at work are about 9 percent more productive that those who do not. Study author Brent Coker, from the department of management and marketing, said "workplace Internet leisure browsing," or WILB, helped to sharpened workers' concentration. au/) "Short and unobtrusive breaks, such as a quick surf of the Internet, enables the mind to rest itself, leading to a higher total net concentration for a days' work, and as a result, increased productivity," he said. According to the study of 300 workers, 70 percent of people who use the Internet at work engage in WILB. Among the most popular WILB activities are searching for information about products, reading online news sites, playing online games and watching videos on YouTube. "Firms spend millions on software to block their employees from watching videos, using social networking sites or shopping online under the pretence that it costs millions in lost productivity," said Coker. However, Coker said the study looked at people who browsed in moderation, or were on the Internet for less than 20 percent of their total time in the office. "Those who behave with Internet addiction tendencies will have a lower productivity than those without," he said. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Opinions expressed by the Advisors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Yahoo! receives no compensation from any manufacturer or distributor nor does it compensate any Advisor for the coverage of any product or service in any Advisor's content. |
| www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/2009/04/reuters_us_work_internet_tech_life Photo: REUTERS/Facebook MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Caught Twittering or on Facebook at work? It'll make you a better employee, according to an Australian study that shows surfing the Internet for fun during office hours increases productivity. The University of Melbourne study showed that people who use the Internet for personal reasons at work are about 9 percent more productive that those who do not. Study author Brent Coker, from the department of management and marketing, said "workplace Internet leisure browsing," or WILB, helped to sharpened workers' concentration. au/) "Short and unobtrusive breaks, such as a quick surf of the Internet, enables the mind to rest itself, leading to a higher total net concentration for a days' work, and as a result, increased productivity," he said. According to the study of 300 workers, 70 percent of people who use the Internet at work engage in WILB. Among the most popular WILB activities are searching for information about products, reading online news sites, playing online games and watching videos on YouTube. "Firms spend millions on software to block their employees from watching videos, using social networking sites or shopping online under the pretence that it costs millions in lost productivity," said Coker. However, Coker said the study looked at people who browsed in moderation, or were on the Internet for less than 20 percent of their total time in the office. "Those who behave with Internet addiction tendencies will have a lower productivity than those without," he said. Ars Technica reports: The fatal flaw with all the social media sites -- MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and the like -- is that they are all separate services, but that may all be about to change, and soon. Ars Technica reports: The fatal flaw with all the social media sites -- MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and the like -- is that they are all separate services, but that may all be about to change, and soon. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast Digital. |
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