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Ober Plagiarist Shepard Fairey 3535 Responses
Last post: 1 year, 1 month ago | Thread started: Nov 29, 07, 9:46 a.m.
- acescence
10 Benefits of Owning a Pet
When thinking of ways to moderate stress in life, usually techniques like meditation, yoga and journaling come to mind. These are great techniques, to be sure. But getting a new best friend can also have many stress relieving and health benefits.
While human friends provide great social support and come with some incredible benefits, this article focuses on the benefits of furry friends: cats and dogs!
Research shows that, unless you’re someone who really dislikes animals or is absolutely too busy to care for one accordingly, pets can provide excellent social support, stress relief and other health benefits — perhaps more than people! Here are more benefits of owning a pet:
1. Pets Can Add Structure to Your Life
All of us need some amount of structure in our lives. Pets are entirely dependant on their owners for exercise, food, and health care. So having a pet will undoubtedly instill structure into the owner’s life and will set a steady rhythm to each day.
Morning walks are a good example of how pets keep you on your toes. The last thing you want to do is to come home from a long day at the office and find a “surprise” on your oriental rug or that your sofa has been converted into a chew toy. So you do what’s best for everyone and get out of bed to walk your pal.
This, along with regular feeding and general care for your pet, will give you just enough responsibilities to put you up to par with the rest of society. But obviously, if you have too much structure in your life or if you’re just plain lazy, it might be best for you to just get a fish.
2. Pets Are Date Magnets
Dogs are great for making love connections. Forget Internet matchmaking — a dog is a natural conversation starter. When we’re out walking, having a dog with us can make us more approachable and give people a reason to stop and talk, thereby increasing the number of people we meet, giving us an opportunity to increase our network of friends and acquaintances, which also has great stress management benefits.
This especially helps ease individuals out of social isolation or shyness. People ask about breed, they watch the dog’s tricks. Sometimes the conversation stays at the “dog level,” sometimes it becomes a real social interchange.
3. Pets Can Improve Your Mood
For those who love animals, it’s basically impossible to stay in a bad mood when a pair of loving puppy eyes meets yours, or when a super-soft cat rubs up against your hand.
Studies support the mood-enhancing benefits of pets. A recent one found that individuals with AIDS were less likely to suffer from depression if they owned a pet. According to researchers, people with AIDS who did not own a pet were about three times more likely to report symptoms of depression than those who did not have AIDS. But people with AIDS who had pets were only about 50 percent more likely to report symptoms of depression, as compared to those in the study who did not have AIDS.
4. Pets Encourage You To Get Out And Exercise
Playing with pets is in the top ten physical activity choices for children and families; owning a dog may encourage children to exercise and help reduce childhood obesity. Also an American study showed that those patients who owned a pet had a much better chance of surviving for more than a year after a heart attack — a difference that could not be explained by the extra exercise the dog owners enjoyed.
5. Pets Control Blood Pressure Better Than Drugs
Yes, it’s true. While ACE inhibiting drugs can generally reduce blood pressure, they aren’t as effective on controlling spikes in blood pressure due to stress and tension. However, in a group of hypertensive American stockbrokers who got dogs or cats were found to have lower blood pressure and heart rates than those who didn’t get pets. When they heard of the results, most of those in the non-pet group went out and got pets!
6. Pets Can Improve Family Bonds
Anyone who owns a pet knows that a pet quickly becomes a member of the family. As such, the family addition under the dinner table has tremendous benefits for you and the whole family.
Pets are great stress-busters in domestic situations — a good Sheppard dog will intervene when tensions rise. In addition to teaching compassion, responsibility and nurturing behavior, pets also make great playmates for the kids. Ultimately though, at the end of the day a pet won’t judge you for watching the entire Super Bowl, and that’s what makes them truly wonderful.
7. Pets Are Allergy Fighters
It was once thought that kids who were raised up in a home with dogs and cats were likely to develop pet allergies and asthma. However, a growing number of researches have suggested that kids growing up in a home with “furred animals” — whether it’s a pet cat or dog, or on a farm and exposed to large animals — will have less risk of allergies and asthma.
Scientists analyzed the blood of babies immediately after birth and one year later. They were looking for evidence of an allergic reaction, immunity changes, and for reactions to bacteria in the environment. If a dog lived in the home, infants were less likely to show evidence of pet allergies — 19 vs. 33 percent. In addition, they had higher levels of some immune system chemicals — a sign of stronger immune system activation.
Some pets are dirty animals, and this suggests that babies who have greater exposure to dirt and allergens have a stronger immune system.
8. Pets Stave Off Loneliness and Provide Unconditional Love
Pets can be there for you in ways that people can’t. They can offer love and friendship, and can also enjoy comfortable silences, keep secrets and are distinguished snugglers. And they could be the best antidote to loneliness.
Actually, studies show that nursing home residents reported less loneliness when visited by dogs than when they spent time with other individuals! All these benefits can reduce the amount of stress people experience in response to feelings of social isolation and lack of social support from people.
9. Pets Can Reduce Stress — Sometimes More Than People
While we all know the power of talking about your problems with a good buddy who’s also a good listener, researchers found that spending time with a pet may be even better! Recent research shows that, when conducting a task that’s stressful, people actually experienced less stress when their pets were with them than when a supportive friend or even their spouse was present! This may be partly due to the fact that pets don’t judge us; they just love us.
10. Pets for the Aged
Researches have shown that individuals with Alzheimer have fewer anxious outbursts if there is an animal in the home. Their caregivers also feel less burdened when there is a pet, especially if it is a cat, which normally requires less care than a dog.
Walking a dog or just caring for a pet — for elderly people who are able — can provide exercise and companionship. One insurance company, Midland National Life Insurance, asks clients over age 75 if they have a pet as part of their medical screening — which often helps tip the scales in their favor.
Whether you own a pet for therapeutic reasons or purely because you don’t know how to talk to people, the perks of owning one are abundant. So next time you want to tug on his leash for sniffing where he shouldn’t or get mad at him for relieving himself on one of your guest’s foot during Thanksgiving dinner, just look him in the eye and say, “Thanks buddy.”
- Dog-earNov 29, 07, 9:51 a.m. – Permalink
- harlequino
goddamn furry
- Dog-earNov 29, 07, 9:55 a.m. – Permalink
- lvl_13
Reading Online Text: A Comparison of Four White Space Layouts
by Barbara Chaparro, J. Ryan Baker, A. Dawn Shaikh,
Spring Hull, & Laurie BradySummary: In this study, reading performance with four white space layouts was compared. Margins surrounding the text and leading (space between lines) were manipulated to generate the four white space conditions. Results show that the use of margins affected both reading speed and comprehension in that participants read the Margin text slower, but comprehended more than the No Margin text. Participants were also generally more satisfied with the text with margins. Leading was not shown to impact reading performance but did influence overall user preference.
Research investigating the proper amount of “white space” on a web page has produced mixed results (Chaparro & Bernard, 2001; Spool, 1997). The latest recommendation by the National Cancer Institute (2003) is to limit the amount of white space on pages that are used for scanning and searching. Few recommendations, however, are provided for the amount of white space for online text passages such as short stories, news articles, or online novels.
To examine the effects of white space on reading performance, this study compared four white space layouts that manipulated margins and leading. A margin was defined as the white space surrounding the text passage on the left, right, top, and bottom. For purposes of this study, margins on a web page were manipulated such that 10 mm of white space surrounded the text (Margin) or 2 mm of white space surrounded the text (No Margin). Leading was defined as the vertical distance from the baseline of one line of text to the baseline of the next line (i.e., space between lines of text). This space was manipulated to have 5 mm between lines (Optimal) or 4 mm between lines (Sub-Optimal). Participants read online text passages from each of the four possible white space layout combinations: (1) Margins & Optimal Leading; (2) Margins & Sub-Optimal Leading; (3) No Margins & Optimal Leading; and (4) No Margins & Sub-Optimal Leading. Figures 1 through 4 (below) show examples of each of the four white space conditions.
Figure 1. Margins, Optimal Leading
Figure 2. Margins, Sub-Optimal Leading
Figure 3. No Margins, Optimal Leading
Figure 4. No Margins, Sub-Optimal Leading
Participants
Twenty college students (10 male, 10 female) with normal or corrected vision participated in the study and received compensation of $25. One female participant was unable to complete more than half of the study and was eliminated from the analysis. Eighty-nine percent of the participants reported visiting websites daily and 10.5% reported visiting websites only a few times per week. Primary online activities reported included e-mail, browsing, searching for information, and instant messaging. Eleven percent of the users reported reading online 24 – 40+ hours per week, 26% reported reading 7 – 24 hours per week, and 63% reported reading 0 – 6 hours per week.
Materials
Text passages used in this study were chosen from SAT and ACT practice examinations and contained approximately 800 words each (M = 802.00, SD=59.68). The passages were presented in a graphical format to incorporate the white space layout features discussed above. Passages were randomly presented using a Visual Basic 6.0 program which captured reading time, and were presented on a Dell Inspiron 5100 Laptop with a 15” display running 1400 x 1050 screen resolution. Passages were also presented on two consecutive pages; users clicked on an arrow at the bottom of each page to advance to a subsequent page or return to a previous page. No scrolling was required. Users read the passages at a distance of approximately 50 cm.
Procedure
Participants were randomly assigned to read two passages from one of the four conditions. In each condition, they spent approximately 20 minutes reading two documents. They were asked to read each document at their own pace. After reading each passage, the participant was given eight comprehension questions about the passage. Participants were permitted to go back to the passage to look up the answers to the questions, but were advised that they only had 5 minutes to do so. After reading both documents, the participants completed a questionnaire regarding their reading satisfaction. Participants then took a short break and then repeated the procedure for the other conditions. After all four conditions were completed participants were shown a sample page with images of the four conditions and asked to state their preference as to which layout they liked best. The order of the conditions and passages was counterbalanced across participants.
Results
Reading performance
Reading time was averaged across passages for each condition and converted to words per minute. Comprehension scores were computed as a sum score out of a total eight possible. A two-way within subjects ANOVA revealed a marginally significant main effect of margins for reading speed (F(1,17) = 3.61, p =.07), with passages in the No Margins condition read faster than those with Margins. There was no main effect for leading or interaction between margins and leading.
Examination of the comprehension scores also revealed a main effect of margins (F(1,17) = 8.34, p = .01). Comprehension of the Margins was higher than that of the No Margins. This indicates that while the participants read the Margin passages slower, they comprehended more than when reading the No Margin passages. There was no main effect for leading or interaction between margins and leading.
Table 1. Mean (SD) Reading Performance Across Conditions
Margins, Optimal Leading
Margins, SubOptimal Leading
No Margins, Optimal Leading
No Margins, Sub-Optimal Leading
Reading Speed (WPM)
176.73(38.39)182.34(56.43)
185.42(50.08)
200.94(62.04)
Comprehension
5.17(1.08)5.06(1.38)
4.28(1.32)
4.58 (1.36)
Figure 5. Effect of Margins on Reading Speed and Comprehension.
Satisfaction
Results revealed a significant main effect of Margins on satisfaction. Users favored the Margin condition, reporting lower levels of physical fatigue during reading and greater satisfaction with the layout for the presentation of textbook, leisure, and news material. Results also showed a significant Margin x Leading interaction for questions related to satisfaction with the overall layout and perceived eyestrain. Post-hoc analysis showed that in both cases, the No Margins, Sub-Optimal Leading condition was significantly less satisfying and more strenuous.
Preference
Results from a Friedman X2 test showed a significant preference for the Margins, Optimal Leading condition (X2 (3, N = 18) = 8.80, p < .05). Post-hoc analysis showed this condition to be significantly preferred over the No Margins, Sub-Optimal Leading condition. Preference for each condition (percent of participants choosing each layout as their first choice) is shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4. Preference of white space passages. M-OL= Margins - Optimal Leading; M-SL = Margins, Sub-Optimal Leading; NM-OL = No Margins, Optimal Leading; NM-SL = No Margins, Sub-Optimal Leading
Discussion
Results from this study showed that the manipulation of the Margin white space affected both reading speed and comprehension; participants read the Margin text slower, but comprehended more than the No Margin text. In general, the results favored the use of Margins. The manipulation of Leading did not seem to impact reading performance, but did result in lower satisfaction with the layout and perceived eyestrain when paired with No Margins. Forty-seven percent of participants chose the Margins, Optimal Leading layout as their favorite, while 50% of the participants chose the No Margins, Sub-Optimal Leading text as their least favorite. The second preferred combination was the No Margin, Optimal Leading condition. Interestingly, those that chose this condition as the best layout said that they liked the spacing between the lines and indicated the font looked larger and was easier to read. So, while leading did not affect reading performance, it did appear to influence user preference.
The use of white space for online reading is important as the number of people using online textbooks and materials continues to grow at a steady rate (“Another non-traditional option,” n.d.). Figure 5 shows an example of two websites offering short stories. As shown, each utilizes a different amount of white space. The top example is very typical of a selection from a short story site and uses very little margin. Based on the results of this study, it is possible that reader comprehension may be reduced for this passage. Designers should be aware of the potential influence of white space on reading performance. Future research needs to be done to examine the role of white space in online reading. While this study investigated the use of margins and leading, future studies could examine the impact of such variables in multi-column displays and with various line lengths.
http://mbhs.bergtraum.k12.ny.us/…
http://www.short-stories.co.uk/
Figure 5. Examples of white space used on two short story websites.
Acknowledgement: This study was funded by a grant from Microsoft Corporation.
References
Another non-traditional option: Is online learning right for you? (n.d.). Retrieved July 8, 2004 from the Greater Philadelphia Newspapers Web site: http://www.phillyburbs.com/educa….
Chaparro, B. and Bernard, M. (2001). Finding Information on the Web: Does the Amount of White Space Really Matter? Proceedings of the Tenth Annual Usability Professionals’ Association Conference. (also available at http://psychology.wichita.edu/su…
2W/whitespace.htm)De Groote, S. L., & Dorsch, J. L. (2003). Measuring use patterns of online journals and databases. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 91, 231-240.
National Cancer Institute (2003). Research-based web design and usability guidelines. Retrieved on January 28, 2004, from the National Cancer Institute’s Usability.gov Web site: http://www.usability.gov
Spool, J. M., Scanlon, T., Schroeder, W., Snyder, C., & DeAngelo, T. (1997). Web Site Usability: A Designer’s Guide, User Interface Engineering. North Andover MA.
- Dog-earNov 29, 07, 9:57 a.m. – Permalink
- blaw
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- Dog-earNov 29, 07, 10:39 a.m. – Permalink
- TheBlueOne
So, in short this Fairey dude is a half ass artist yet has made a career and money doing it..and it's pissed you off enough that this is where you have finally decided to pitch your flag and make your stand about ethics in the art world and so you copy and paste a long ass article form somewhere else here?
- Dog-earNov 29, 07, 10:40 a.m. – Permalink
- menos
it's nothing new. anyone with half a decent knowledge in art history and particular political movements can easily recognize the language farley uses. i see what the writer is trying to get at but i don't think its such a big deal as he seems to make it. NOTE: i haven't read the whole article, just looked at the pretty pictures.
- Dog-earNov 29, 07, 10:58 a.m. – Permalink
- GreedoLives
I'm tired of people misspelling their topic headlines. It's gotta stop. I plant my flag here and now.
- Dog-earNov 29, 07, 1:01 p.m. – Permalink
- studderine
no way i was going to read all that.
- Dog-earNov 30, 07, midnight – Permalink
