EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. Training the ‘caring’ brain bl-premium-article-image

Updated - January 23, 2018 at 11:48 PM.

LIFE SKILLS

Training the ‘caring’ brain

Can training our brains help make the world a better place? Tania Singer from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences thinks it can. She’s a social neuroscientist and psychologist who says the brain’s plasticity means it can be trained to make us less selfish and more compassionate. Singer demonstrated how our decision making is driven by a set of psychological motivations — from power to fear — that can be altered to help us make better decisions for society and for our health. Her research has also influenced the development of a new model of “caring economics” that hopes to work towards sustainability and global cooperation.

LEADERSHIP

Male bosses are more popular

A majority of respondents polled by an Indian online jobs portal say they prefer a male boss to a female one. As many as 66 per cent said they preferred working with a male boss, while only 34 per cent, voted for female bosses. Surprisingly, as much as 79 per cent of female respondents said they preferred a male boss to a female one! Is the glass ceiling created by women?

TALENT

Struggling to nurture talent

When it comes to developing people’s talents and helping them reach their full potential, the concept of a world where no one is left behind remains a distant prospect. This is the case even in rich countries with well-developed educational systems and robust employment, the World Economic Forum’s new Human Capital Report reveals. The study, done by Mercer Consulting, measures countries’ ability to nurture talent through education, skills development and deployment at all stages of the human life cycle. Finland ranks number one in the index, having developed and deployed 86 per cent of its human capital potential, India ranks 100 out of the 124 countries covered!

Published on May 26, 2015 18:25