Latest news with #RadfordUniversity
Daily Mail
24-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Dog owners who moan about a hard day at the office could be making their pets depressed
Dog owners who get home and start moaning about a hard day at work could be making their pets depressed, a study has found. It revealed that dogs showed more signs of stress-related behaviour when they are exposed to owners' workplace woes. US scientists who carried out the research insisted dog owners should avoid bringing home their problems in order to 'protect the well-being of man's best friend'. Work-related stress affects an estimated 700,000 people a year in the UK, with an estimated 16 million working days lost each year as a result. The study, by a team of psychologists from Radford University in Virginia, set out to establish if family dogs are also affected. They recruited 85 adults who had a dog and asked them to monitor their pets' behaviour on days when they came home stressed, as compared to days off or less-stressful shifts. Owners were told to look for signs that their dogs were unhappy, which include excessive whimpering and poor appetite. The results, published in the journal Scientific Reports, showed that dogs displayed clear signs of stress on the days when owners moaned about problems at work. They also found that just thinking about stressful issues could drag down dogs' moods. The researchers said: 'Dogs are highly sensitive animals who can 'catch' the emotions and feelings of humans. 'They experience increases in stress when their owner does. 'Given most people view their pets as family, protecting them against stress may encourage them to resist engaging in ruminative thoughts about work.' Previous studies found that dogs are highly sensitive to changes in their owner's feelings, becoming distressed, for example, when they hear them crying. The researchers added that a dog's advanced sense of smell may mean they can detect a rise in levels of cortisol – a hormone released by the adrenal glands when the body is stressed.
Telegraph
24-05-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
Work stress upsets dogs
Dogs are stressed out by their owners' work-related anxiety, a study has shown. Scientists asked 85 dog owners to fill in a survey on their stress levels at work and their pets' behaviour. The owners were asked questions about their professional life including 'are you irritated by work issues' and how much they agree or disagree with the statement 'very few stressful things happen to me at work'. They were also asked to report how often their dog exhibited 11 different behaviours, some of which are linked to stress, such as panting, having their tail between their legs, whining and leaning into people. The researchers found a direct correlation between owners with more stressful jobs and their pet's stress levels. 'Our results do suggest that a person with a more stressful job is more likely to pass that stress on to their dog at home,' study author Dr Tanya Mitropoulos, of Radford University, told The Telegraph. Around a quarter of those studied were healthcare workers and a third were high-level managers - both positions that the study found were particularly stressful. Dr Mitropoulos found that of all the things that can stress a dog out, 13 per cent can be blamed on an owner's job. 'If you have two dog owners, the dog owner with higher stress has a 64 per cent chance of owning the dog that is more stressed,' she added. The scientists found that one of the most problematic aspects of owner behaviour, which the dogs picked up on the most was taking the mental burden of a job home. 'Ruminating about work problems, meaning going over negative thoughts about work when you're at home, facilitated the transfer of job stress to the dog,' Dr Mitropoulos said. 'So cutting off work-related thoughts when you're at home should help prevent transferring your job stress to your dog.' She advised checking work emails as little as possible and not working when at home, as well as making sure work and home were distinctly separated - both mentally and physically - for people who work from home. 'If possible, try to keep your workspace in a designated and remote area of the home so you're not seeing reminders of work while you're supposed to be relaxing,' she said. 'Practising mindfulness has been shown to reduce rumination, and there are now apps that guide people through mindfulness exercises, which you can do at the end of your workday.' She said that the best way to relax for both owners and dogs is to play together at home after work. 'Playing with your dog is a great way to pull your thoughts away from work,' Dr Mitropoulos said. 'Plus, if your dog is stressed due to not receiving enough attention because you're busy mulling over work issues, playing with your pet is a great way to give him the attention he needs while also pulling your mind away from work.'
The Independent
09-04-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Trump created his own reality. Now we're all stuck in it
My fellow Americans, this is Liberation Day,' President Donald Trump said from the White House Rose Garden, using a term of his own making as he unveiled a sweeping tariff plan against all U.S. trading partners. The day will 'forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America's destiny was reclaimed, and the day that we began to make America wealthy again,' the president said. Wednesday's fanfare stood in the face of advice from droves of experts, who warned about the 'catastrophic' effects these taxes would have on U.S. consumers. One day after 'Liberation Day,' global stock markets plummeted and world leaders vowed to retaliate. In his inaugural address, the president said 'like never before' five times, and the tariffs plan is just the latest example of his ability to construct an alternate version of reality. 'We really haven't seen anything like this,' Chapman Rackaway, a political science professor at Radford University, told The Independent. He called this level of reality-bending 'unprecedented' in modern U.S. history. Trump has always done this. In April 2011, the Celebrity Apprentice host told his network colleague Meredith Vieira he had 'real doubts' that President Barack Obama had been born in the United States. The interview revived the racist 'birther' conspiracy, which had first emerged during Obama's 2008 presidential run, and helped Trump lay the ground for a political reality where facts were irrelevant — and on which he has now built two presidencies. Now, however, he has the backing of another fan of distorting the truth: Elon Musk. The tech billionaire and now presidential adviser bought Twitter, fired its content moderators, and reinstated suspended accounts (including those of QAnon supporters). He has even personally amplified other fringe theories, such as 'Pizzagate.' Together, Trump and Musk have fused a new political landscape: one in which the president declares himself a 'king,' and the Constitution is ignored. In this reality, there are only two genders, Canada can be the 51st state, and Greenland can be bought. This may be due in part to Trump's and Musk's histories in the world of business. Trump overcame six bankruptcies to become the wealthiest president in the nation's history, and Musk, founder of Tesla and Space X, now finds himself advising a president. Their behavior in the White House has followed the norms of business leaders – rather than the sort that are typically adhered to by presidents and their advisers, like following checks and balances and respecting the rule of law. In business, 'you pretty much do what you want and what you feel like, and the ultimate measure of success there is profit,' Rackaway said. For example, the pair have been calling for the impeachment of judges who rule against the Trump administration, not for reasons 'based in constitutional principles or the established norms over the last 230 years,' Rackaway added, but because they simply don't like the decisions. Throwing out the typically slow bureaucratic process, Trump and Musk, through the Department of Government Efficiency, have moved swiftly but not cautiously. As a result, the government has tried to rehire critical workers after 'accidentally' firing them, has sown chaos and confusion, and has been accused of 'likely violating' the Constitution in one of many legal battles it now faces. Steve Hanson, a professor of government at the College of William & Mary, believes Trump is running the government like a 'family business.' Using a term coined by German sociologist Max Weber, Hanson described Trump as a 'patrimonial' leader, who exercises power based on personal loyalty. 'Patrimonial leaders, including not only Trump but also politicians like Vladimir Putin in Russia, Viktor Orban in Hungary, and Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel, treat the state as their own personal property and run it like a 'family business' of sorts,' Hanson said in an email. That moment when Trump posed next to a red Tesla on the White House lawn, as the electric vehicle manufacturer's share price tumbled, was a return to pre-modern times, which saw 'the use of the state to promote the economic interests of the ruler and his 'extended household,'' Hanson argued. Patrimonial leaders rule as they see fit, he said. 'For this reason, they see independent sources of expertise and professionalism as a threat, and aim to undermine them as forcefully as possible.' The president has questioned journalists, judges, and prosecutors. Trump even barred a reporter with the Associated Press from attending events in the Oval Office after the news agency refused to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America — another reality-bending move in and of itself. 'There were clues' to his rhetorical style long before he took office, Rackaway said, pointing to Trump's time on The Apprentice. 'Everything is about there being an enemy... There was always a 'good guys versus bad guys' kind of approach [on the show].' Trump tends to personally attack those who disagree with him because 'it increases this loyalty from his supporters, who feel he is not only right, but being persecuted for being right,' Rackaway said. Musk himself has become a misinformation machine. In just the three months between Musk endorsing Trump and the November 2024 election, the X (Twitter) owner's 'false or misleading' posts garnered 2 billion views, according to a report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate. It's not just X, though. Meta announced it was scrapping its fact-checkers on Instagram and Facebook in favor of a system similar to X's 'community notes' weeks before Trump returned to office. Truth Social, a social media platform majority-owned by Trump, aims to 'create a free speech haven ' and encourages 'unencumbered free expression.' The president uses this platform equally to fire off tariff threats, announce cabinet appointments, and share other types of content, including a bizarre AI-generated video of the Gaza Strip if it were to follow Trump's vision and become 'the Riviera of the Middle East.' The fanbase he and Musk have built is akin to a religious following — whatever they say becomes the 'truth' to those who believe them, regardless of how factual it is. 'One should not underestimate President Trump's genuine emotional connection to his followers, many of whom see him as a leader chosen by God to save the nation,' Hanson said. 'And even Musk has followers who see him as a uniquely brilliant entrepreneur, able to break old bureaucracies that were previously thought of as untouchable.' Five years after his interview with Vieira, Trump acknowledged that Obama had been born in the United States — a fragile admission that hinged on another alternate version of reality. 'Hillary Clinton and her campaign of 2008 started the birther controversy,' Trump said, without evidence, in September 2016. 'I finished it.'
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump and Musk constructed an alternate reality and now we're all living in it
'My fellow Americans, this is Liberation Day,' President Donald Trump said from the White House Rose Garden, using a term of his own making as he unveiled a sweeping tariff plan against all U.S. trading partners. The day will 'forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America's destiny was reclaimed, and the day that we began to make America wealthy again,' the president said. Wednesday's fanfare stood in the face of advice from droves of experts, who warned about the 'catastrophic' effects these taxes would pose on U.S. consumers. One day after 'Liberation Day,' global stock markets plummeted and world leaders vowed to retaliate. In his inaugural address, the president said 'like never before' five times and the tariffs plan is just the latest example of his ability to construct an alternate version of reality. 'We really haven't seen anything like this,' Chapman Rackaway, a political science professor at Radford University, told The Independent. He called this level of reality-bending 'unprecedented' in modern U.S. history. Trump has always done this. In April 2011, The Celebrity Apprentice host Donald Trump told his network colleague Meredith Vieira he had 'real doubts' that President Barack Obama was born in the United States. The interview revived the racist 'birther' conspiracy, which had first emerged during Obama's 2008 presidential run, and helped Trump lay the ground for a political reality where facts were irrelevant — which he has now built two presidencies upon. Now, however, he has the backing of another fan of a distorted truth: Elon Musk. The tech billionaire and now presidential advisor bought Twitter and then fired its content moderators, reinstated suspended accounts, including QAnon supporters, and has even personally amplified other fringe theories like 'Pizzagate.' Together Trump and Musk have fused a new political landscape, one where the president declares himself a 'king,' and the Constitution is ignored. In this reality, there are only two genders, Canada can be the 51st state, and Greenland can be bought. This may be partially due to Trump and Musk's histories in the world of business. Trump overcame six bankruptcies to become the wealthiest president in the nation's history and Musk, founder of Tesla and Space X, now finds himself advising a president. They've entered the White House with the norms of business leaders, rather than ones typically adhered to by presidents and their advisers, like following checks and balances and the rule of law, In business, 'you pretty much do what you want and what you feel like, and the ultimate measure of success there is profit,' Rackaway said. For example, they've been calling to impeach judges who rule against the Trump administration because they don't like the decisions, not for reasons 'based in constitutional principles or the established norms over the last 230 years,' Rackaway added. Throwing out the typical slow bureaucratic process, Trump and Musk, through the Department of Government Efficiency, have moved swiftly but not cautiously. As a result, the government has tried to rehire critical workers after "accidentally" firing them, has sowed chaos and confusion, and has been accused of 'likely violating' the Constitution in one of many legal battles it now faces. Steve Hanson, a government professor at the College of William & Mary, believes Trump is running the government like a 'family business.' Using a term coined by German sociologist Max Weber, Hanson described Trump as a 'patrimonial' leader, who exercises power based on personal loyalty. 'Patrimonial leaders, including not only Trump but also politicians like Vladimir Putin in Russia, Viktor Orban in Hungary, and Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel, treat the state as their own personal property and run it like a 'family business' of sorts,' Hanson said in an email. That moment Trump posed next to a red Tesla on the White House lawn, amid the electric vehicle manufacturer's crumbling stock, was a return to pre-modern times, when 'the use of the state to promote the economic interests of the ruler and his 'extended household,'' Hanson argued. Patrimonial leaders rule as they see fit, he said: 'For this reason, they see independent sources of expertise and professionalism as a threat, and aim to undermine them as forcefully as possible.' The president has questioned journalists, judges, and prosecutors. Trump even barred a reporter at the Associated Press from attending events at the Oval Office after the news agency refused to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America — another reality-bending move in and of itself. 'There were clues' into his rhetorical style long before he took office, Rackaway said, pointing to Trump's time on The Apprentice. 'Everything is about there being an enemy…There was always a good guys versus bad guys kind of approach [on the show. Trump tends to personally attack those who disagree with him because 'it increases this loyalty from his supporters that feel he is not only right, but being persecuted for being right,' Rackaway said. Musk himself has become a misinformation machine. In just the three months between Musk endorsed Trump and the November 2024 election, his 'false or misleading' posts garnered 2 billion views, according to a report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate. It's not just X, though. Meta announced it was scrapping its fact-checkers on Instagram and Facebook in favor of a system similar to X's 'community notes' weeks before Trump returned to office. Truth Social, a social media platform majority-owned by Trump, aims to 'create a free speech haven' and encourages 'unencumbered free expression.' The president uses this platform equally to fire off tariff threats, announce cabinet appointments and share a bizarre AI-generated video of the Gaza strip if it were to follow Trump's vision and become 'the Riviera of the Middle East.' The influence they've built is akin to a religious following — making whatever they say the 'truth' to those who believe them, regardless of how factual it is. 'One should not underestimate President Trump's genuine emotional connection to his followers, many of whom see him as a leader chosen by God to save the nation,' Hanson said. 'And even Musk has followers who see him as a uniquely brilliant entrepreneur, able to break old bureaucracies that were previously thought of as untouchable.' Five years after his interview with Vieira, Trump acknowledged Obama was born in the United States — a fragile admission that hinged on another alternate version of reality. 'Hillary Clinton and her campaign of 2008 started the birther controversy,' Trump said, without evidence, in September 2016. 'I finished it.'
The Independent
06-04-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Trump and Musk constructed an alternate reality and now we're all living in it
'My fellow Americans, this is Liberation Day,' President Donald Trump said from the White House Rose Garden, using a term of his own making as he unveiled a sweeping tariff plan against all U.S. trading partners. The day will 'forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America's destiny was reclaimed, and the day that we began to make America wealthy again,' the president said. Wednesday's fanfare stood in the face of advice from droves of experts, who warned about the 'catastrophic' effects these taxes would pose on U.S. consumers. One day after 'Liberation Day,' global stock markets plummeted and world leaders vowed to retaliate. In his inaugural address, the president said 'like never before' five times and the tariffs plan is just the latest example of his ability to construct an alternate version of reality. 'We really haven't seen anything like this,' Chapman Rackaway, a political science professor at Radford University, told The Independent. He called this level of reality-bending 'unprecedented' in modern U.S. history. Trump has always done this. In April 2011, The Celebrity Apprentice host Donald Trump told his network colleague Meredith Vieira he had 'real doubts' that President Barack Obama was born in the United States. The interview revived the racist 'birther' conspiracy, which had first emerged during Obama's 2008 presidential run, and helped Trump lay the ground for a political reality where facts were irrelevant — which he has now built two presidencies upon. Now, however, he has the backing of another fan of a distorted truth: Elon Musk. The tech billionaire and now presidential advisor bought Twitter and then fired its content moderators, reinstated suspended accounts, including QAnon supporters, and has even personally amplified other fringe theories like 'Pizzagate.' Together Trump and Musk have fused a new political landscape, one where the president declares himself a 'king,' and the Constitution is ignored. In this reality, there are only two genders, Canada can be the 51st state, and Greenland can be bought. This may be partially due to Trump and Musk's histories in the world of business. Trump overcame six bankruptcies to become the wealthiest president in the nation's history and Musk, founder of Tesla and Space X, now finds himself advising a president. They've entered the White House with the norms of business leaders, rather than ones typically adhered to by presidents and their advisers, like following checks and balances and the rule of law, In business, 'you pretty much do what you want and what you feel like, and the ultimate measure of success there is profit,' Rackaway said. For example, they've been calling to impeach judges who rule against the Trump administration because they don't like the decisions, not for reasons 'based in constitutional principles or the established norms over the last 230 years,' Rackaway added. Throwing out the typical slow bureaucratic process, Trump and Musk, through the Department of Government Efficiency, have moved swiftly but not cautiously. As a result, the government has tried to rehire critical workers after "accidentally" firing them, has sowed chaos and confusion, and has been accused of 'likely violating' the Constitution in one of many legal battles it now faces. Steve Hanson, a government professor at the College of William & Mary, believes Trump is running the government like a 'family business.' Using a term coined by German sociologist Max Weber, Hanson described Trump as a 'patrimonial' leader, who exercises power based on personal loyalty. 'Patrimonial leaders, including not only Trump but also politicians like Vladimir Putin in Russia, Viktor Orban in Hungary, and Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel, treat the state as their own personal property and run it like a 'family business' of sorts,' Hanson said in an email. That moment Trump posed next to a red Tesla on the White House lawn, amid the electric vehicle manufacturer's crumbling stock, was a return to pre-modern times, when 'the use of the state to promote the economic interests of the ruler and his 'extended household,'' Hanson argued. Patrimonial leaders rule as they see fit, he said: 'For this reason, they see independent sources of expertise and professionalism as a threat, and aim to undermine them as forcefully as possible.' The president has questioned journalists, judges, and prosecutors. Trump even barred a reporter at the Associated Press from attending events at the Oval Office after the news agency refused to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America — another reality-bending move in and of itself. 'There were clues' into his rhetorical style long before he took office, Rackaway said, pointing to Trump's time on The Apprentice. 'Everything is about there being an enemy…There was always a good guys versus bad guys kind of approach [on the show. Trump tends to personally attack those who disagree with him because 'it increases this loyalty from his supporters that feel he is not only right, but being persecuted for being right,' Rackaway said. Musk himself has become a misinformation machine. In just the three months between Musk endorsed Trump and the November 2024 election, his 'false or misleading' posts garnered 2 billion views, according to a report by the Center for Countering Digital Hate. It's not just X, though. Meta announced it was scrapping its fact-checkers on Instagram and Facebook in favor of a system similar to X's 'community notes' weeks before Trump returned to office. Truth Social, a social media platform majority-owned by Trump, aims to 'create a free speech haven ' and encourages 'unencumbered free expression.' The president uses this platform equally to fire off tariff threats, announce cabinet appointments and share a bizarre AI-generated video of the Gaza strip if it were to follow Trump's vision and become 'the Riviera of the Middle East.' The influence they've built is akin to a religious following — making whatever they say the 'truth' to those who believe them, regardless of how factual it is. 'One should not underestimate President Trump's genuine emotional connection to his followers, many of whom see him as a leader chosen by God to save the nation,' Hanson said. 'And even Musk has followers who see him as a uniquely brilliant entrepreneur, able to break old bureaucracies that were previously thought of as untouchable.' Five years after his interview with Vieira, Trump acknowledged Obama was born in the United States — a fragile admission that hinged on another alternate version of reality. 'Hillary Clinton and her campaign of 2008 started the birther controversy,' Trump said, without evidence, in September 2016. 'I finished it.'
