Why We Pick Bad Leaders, and How to Spot the Good Ones

If you want to reach the top at work, it's better to be feared than liked, according to a new study. What's more, bullies are just as likely to achieve high social status as skilled, knowledgeable individuals, according to research carried out at the University of British Columbia (UBC), in Vancouver, Canada.

The two-part study looked at how "dominance" (which the researchers defined as the use of force and intimidation to induce fear) and "prestige" (the sharing of expertise or know-how to gain respect) can be used to achieve social rank and influence.
According to lead author Joey Cheng, a PhD candidate in UBC's department of psychology, the traditional view among social psychologists is that to be a leader you must contribute to the group, make sacrifices and demonstrate expertise.
But, she says the reality is often very different. People often say their boss is mean or pushy, or not particularly skilled, but they have to do what their boss asks or there will be consequences.
Joey Cheng, University of British Columbia department of psychology "People's common experience doesn't match what researchers have assumed for centuries," she says.
"When you talk to people and try to get a sense of what motivates them to do things in the workplace, people often say their boss is mean or pushy, or not particularly skilled, but they have to do what their boss asks of them or there will be consequences.
"We wanted to see if who you listen and defer to could also be a result of 'dominance' -- how much you are afraid of the person, how much they're able to intimidate you by virtue of their ability to decide over your fate, for example whether you get fired or whether you get promoted or not."
Naij

Outrageous Items In 2013 FCT Budget: N4 Billion For First Lady "Mission Building" & N7B For Two Abuja Gates

Minister of the FCT, bala Mohammed

By SaharaReporters, New York

The FCT budget proposal for 2013 is 253 billion Naira, with that sum including several curious items.
Among them:
•    A whopping four billion Naira is for the construction of a First Lady’s “mission building;”
•    N150 million is for the renovation of the vice president's Guest House in Asokoro;
•    Five billion is for the rehabilitation of commercial sex workers and the destitute; and
•    And seven billion Naira is for the construction of two city gates in the FCT.
 Federal Capital Territory Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed,has submitted and received approval the budget from President Jonathan.
 

Keshi likely to start with Omeruo, Obabona against Cote d’Ivoire

By Phillip Eta

Kenneth Omeruo and Godfrey Oboabona, are likely to start the quarter-final game against Cote d’Ivoire on Sunday.
The two young defenders, have impressed in the centre of defence and kept skipper Joseph Yobo out. Although Keshi confirmed that Yobo was fully fit for the match, he hinted that the pair which faced Zambia and Ethiopia, will come against the might of Didier Drogba and co.
“Yobo is in peak condition and he’s ready for the match. He is fully fit,” Keshi said on Friday. “But it’s now the coach’s job to decide if he returns to the starting line-up or not. All the players are ready.

When the Super Eagles handler was specifically asked if Yobo would start, he replied: “I have 100 per cent faith in all my players, whether they are young or experienced. Omeruo and Oboabona have been quite impressive and I’m not worried by what you call inexperience. They might not have played AFCON before but they have experience with their clubs and that counts too.
“Whoever I choose to play on Sunday will do a good job. No shaking. We’re ready.”
 DailyPost

Man jailed 3 years for ATM fraud in Kano State

By Feyi Afisunlu

The long arm of the law has caught up with a man, Auwalu Ibrahim, who was sentenced to three years imprisonment with the option of N250,000 fine by Justice Farouq Lawan of the Federal High Court, Kano on Thursday, for allegedly stealing the sum of N4,524,000 between May 30, 2010 and February 25, 2011 via a debit card fraud.
The accused person pleaded guilty to the one count charge preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC.
The charge read; “That you Auwalu Ibrahim, between 30th May 2010 to 25th February 2011 committed a theft of N4,524,000 using United Bank For Africa ATM. card thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 286 of the Penal Code and punishable under Section 287 of Penal Code”.

Ibrahim, through his defence counsel, Mas’ud Aliyu pleaded with the
judge to tamper justice with mercy considering the fact that his client had no previous criminal record and did not waste the time of the court.
Aliyu further stated that his client had paid back the money he stole to the EFCC.
The judge convicted and sentenced him accordingly.
DailyPost

Babies Can Read Your Mind

Research shows one-year-olds can guess thoughts through empathy.

Infants as young as 18 months old can guess what other people are thinking, a new study claims. A study of children from rural China, Ecuador and Fiji found that their ability to see the world from others' perspectives emerges much earlier than previously thought. It was previously thought that this ability to empathise only emerges in children between the ages of four and seven, but children from different countries develop it at different ages. Researchers say their findings could also shed light on the social skills that differentiate humans from chimpanzees.
The false-belief test was used - which is one of the few cognitive tasks that youngsters can do that primates cannot. In the classic version of the test, one person comes into a room and places an object like a pair of scissors into a hiding place. A second researcher then enters and puts the scissors in his pocket. When the first person returns, researchers ask the child: "Where do you think the first person will look for the scissors?"
The researchers studied 91 children from three communities in China, Fiji and Ecuador aged from about 19 months to five years old with a live-action play that was similar to the classic false-belief test. The only difference in their version of the test was that as the other person came in to pocket the scissors, he paused, held his chin, and said: "Hmm, I wonder where they'll look for the scissors." Video recordings of the children's reactions to the play showed that the youngsters consistently looked at the hiding place, indicating that they expected the first man to search for the scissors where he had left them.
It was this understanding of what the first person believes and what he doesn't know that the researchers said required the children to make sophisticated inferences about how others see the world. The findings show that children develop this kind of mind-reading ability much earlier than was previously thought and also that it emerges at a similar time across disparate cultures. That suggested that cultural differences had indeed affected previous research. This could be because in many societies parents don't ask children apparently pointless rhetorical questions like "What is the cow doing?", when adults already know the answer. The children in those cultures may be confused by such questions and might think "Why are you asking me? You should know it."
Naij

Plane carrying 116 passengers lands safely after pilot loses consciousness

By Bisola Adeniran

An Alaska Airlines jetliner bound for Seattle made an emergency landing in Portland, Ore., Thursday night after the pilot lost consciousness, an airline spokesman said.
The co-pilot landed Flight 473 safely after declaring an emergency to get priority care for the pilot, spokesman Paul McElroy said. All of the airlines’ pilots are trained to fly single-handedly, reports The Associated Press.
The pilot lost consciousness “somewhere over Oregon,” McElroy said, then later regained consciousness and left the cockpit. A doctor on board the flight tended to him in the cabin until the plane landed and was met by medical personnel on the runway.
The pilot, who was not identified, was taken to a hospital but there was no immediate word on his condition, McElroy said.
The Boeing 737-700 with 116 passengers and five crew members left Los Angeles about 6:30 p.m. and touched down in Portland at about 9 p.m. It had been due to arrive in Seattle at 9:30 p.m.

McElroy says the pilot has been flying for Alaska for 28 years and was current on his six-month medical evaluation. The co-pilot is an 11-year Alaska Air veteran.
On January 22, the co-pilot on an Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to Las Vegas fainted briefly, and the pilot requested emergency landing priority to get prompt medical assistance for him.
“At this point we do not believe there was a connection between the two incidents,” McElvoy said.
DailyPost

Top 6 foods that keep you feeling full

Research has shown that eating an apple 20 minutes prior to eating a meal reduces the amount you eat during that meal.

How full did you feel after your last meal? Did you get a sense of sustained satisfaction or did you find that hunger pangs got you reaching for a snack just a little while later? The good news is there are certain foods that have qualities that rate high on the immediate satisfaction scale (or satiety index) so they make you feel fuller quicker, and keep you feeling full for longer too.

Porridge

Porridge oats have a very low G.I., meaning that the carbohydrate is released into your bloodstream slowly and therefore will sustain your energy levels and help prevent those 11am food cravings.
Porridge is also a great food to fill you up due to its consistency; it’s been found that wetter and creamier foods switch on satisfaction signals and so improve satiety. What’s more, studies show that a bowl of porridge can lower cholesterol. So all up, porridge makes the perfect breakfast that will see you satisfied until lunch.

Popcorn

Popcorn has the benefit of being a wholegrain food which means it contains more fibre than many other snack alternatives, making it a great filling snack. Secondly it fills you up due to its volume — a 25g (0.9oz) serving of popcorn will fill a much bigger bowl compared the same weight in chips — plus there’s less fat too. Make sure you don’t go for the butter, oil, toffee or salt varieties though; plain, air-popped popcorn seasoned with a smidge of KN pepper can give you a great fill-up snack fix.

Apples

Apples are a great food to keep hunger at bay due to the fact that they are full of fibre. Studies have also suggested that they can make a good pre-meal snack; research has shown that eating an apple 20 minutes prior to a eating a meal reduces the amount you eat during that meal. So, enjoying an apple for your daily snack will not only contribute to one of your daily recommended fruit or veg portions (you should be aiming for at least five a day) but the fibre will fill up your stomach and should keep those hunger pangs at bay.

Oranges

Oranges are another super-fruit when it comes to the satiety index and are almost twice as filling as bananas for the same amount of calories. This is thought to be down to their water content, which plays a big part when it comes to helping you feel full. Oranges are 86 per cent water and research shows that foods with high water content can help to improve our satiety because it increases the portion size without adding calories. Choose a whole orange rather than orange juice; it contains more fibre which also helps achieve that ‘I’m full’ feeling.

Eggs

Eggs aren’t as low in calories compared to the other food we’ve mentioned so far, but due to the fact that they are a great source of protein they definitely deserve a mention. You see, foods high in protein will keep you full for longer. Plus, eggs have other benefits too; they contain all the essential amino acids in the exact proportions required by the body for optimum growth and maintenance of lean, metabolically active muscle tissue.

Soup

Starting a meal with a hearty soup is a great fill-up strategy and there’s plenty of good research that suggests eating soup before a meal improves satiety, so you eat less and take in fewer calories as a result. You need to be careful on your soup selection though; your best option is a homemade soup so you have control over the ingredients and you can even include other filling foods (for example potatoes, lentils or beans). If you do choose a pre-made soup, make sure you check out the nutritional information — particularly quantities of salt and fat.

TalkOfNaija