Hacking a Smartwatch, Workplace Behavior, Ice Cream

Thailand, South Sudan, Boko Haram Guest: Quinn Mecham, PhD, Professor of Political Science at BYU We welcome regular contributor Quinn Mecham as he points our attention toward three international events worthy of a bit more attention. How Your Smart Watch Could Leak Your ATM Pin Guest: YingYing Chen, PhD, Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor at Stevens Institute of Technology “Wearables” are big in personal technology right now. Fitbits, Apple Watches and devices like them can count your steps, measure your heartrate, track your location . . . and give away your ATM pin.  Yep, researchers at the Stevens Institute of Technology have figured out wearable technology could accidentally “leak” information to hackers. Probing the Parallels Between Boss-Employee, Parent-Child Relationship Guest: Peter Harms, PhD, Professor of Management at the University of Alabama As a kid, did your parents tend to let you work out your troubles or did they rush in to comfort you? Did you feel anxious about whether you could rely on them for comfort? The type of attachment you felt with your parents could be affecting your relationships at work, too. What's Really Driving the Lipstick Effect Guest: McKenzie Rees, PhD, Postdoctoral Teaching and Research Associate at the University of Notre Dame When the US economy takes a dive, people cut back on lots of spending. But economists have noticed one exception – during recessions, people tend to spend a little more on things that improve appearance. It’s sometimes called the Lipstick Effect and the thinking has been that women, in particular, are subconsciously trying to attract a male provider to improve their economic lot. New research out of the University of Notre Dame finds women have a very different reason today for buying lipstick when the economy tanks. Secret Science of Ice Cream Guest: Scott Rankin, PhD, Professor and Chair of the Department of Food Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Few treats are as simple, and simply satisfying, as ice cream on a hot summer evening. But ice cream is hardly simple – which you’ll know if you’ve ever tried to make it. Even understanding the chemistry of creaminess is still fairly mysterious to scientists. The Value of a Gap Year Guest: Evan Ward, PhD, History Professor at BYU Parents dread hearing the words, “I think I’ll take some time off,” come out of the mouth of a child just graduated from high school. If a young person doesn’t dive straight into the business of getting a degree and getting on with life, what’s to stop him or her from sliding into a low-wage limbo, mooching off their parents and failing to launch? We Americans like to see our kids dive straight into the business of growing up after high school. But elsewhere in the world – particularly in England –  taking a “gap year” before starting college is not uncommon.