XIAM007

Making Unique Observations in a Very Cluttered World

Monday 21 July 2014

Mall Creates Bigger Parking Spaces -- Just For Women -

Mall Creates Bigger Parking Spaces -- Just For Women - 



A Chinese mall is in the spotlight after creating larger parking spots specifically designed for women.

The 10 pink outlined spaces, which are found at the Dashijiedaduhui -- "World Metropolis" — shopping centre in the northern city of Dalian, were drawn in after managers decided women were having difficulty getting into narrower spaces, reports AFP.

They are approximately 30 centimetres wider than normal, and bear the statement "respectfully reserved for women."

These spaces come on the heels of Chinese policemen offering undeniably skewed advice to female drivers last year, like not to panic if they suddenly can't find their way to their destination, or to release the handbrake before beginning to drive.

Some patrons at the mall in China are finding the spaces convenient, but others find them insulting and sexist, according to AFP.

As far as whether or not they're warranted, one driver instructor's experiment found that while women took longer than men to park, they were, on the whole, far more accurate about actually getting into the spot.

This is not the first time female-only parking has been created, though the intention seems very different. When Seoul, South Korea, implemented thousands of women-only parking spots earlier this year, for example, they did so with a focus on safety, putting them in better lit spots and closer to stairs and elevators.

Read more - 
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/07/21/parking-spots-for-women_n_5605471.html

STUDY: FACEBOOK Users More Likely To Divorce... -

STUDY: FACEBOOK Users More Likely To Divorce... - 



According to a new study, Facebook as well as other socialmedia websites may increase the likelihood of divorce.
“Results show that using social networking sites negatively correlated with marriage quality and happiness, and positively correlated with experiencing a troubled relationship and thinking about divorce,” the researchers noted in the study obtained by The Christian Post.
Researchers from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and Boston University’s College of Communication say they found a link between Facebook and divorce.
Researchers say a 20 percent increase in the population of a state with a Facebook account correlated with a 2.18 percent increase in the rate of divorce.
“This study explores the relationship between using social network sites, marriage satisfaction, and divorce rate using survey data of married individuals and state-level data from the United States,” the researchers noted in the study’s abstract.
Researchers took into account multiple factors on how social media usage and divorce may be linked.
“If the preliminary findings in this study are sustained, it would represent an important step forward in the study of SNS and human behavior,” the researchers noted in the study’s conclusion.  “It would also raise profound questions about the role of social media in daily lives. Finally, it would spur new lines of research in understanding the role of Facebook in divorce and marital satisfaction, prompting a host of policy-oriented research endeavors by social scientist.”
The researchers stressed that correlation does not imply causation. They know that other factors may also contribute to divorce.

Read more - 
http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2014/07/20/study-facebook-users-more-likely-to-divorce/