Featured Briefings
Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers: Organizational Rank and Stress
Robert Sapolsky - John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn Professor and Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences and of Neurosurgery
Wednesday, 11 November 2009 - 7:30 AM Breakfast, 8:00 – 9:00 AM session
Science proves that stress is not just a state of mind, but something tangible and measurable. Over the last three decades, science has been advancing our understanding of stress - how it impacts our bodies and how our social standing can make us more or less susceptible.
This session will unexpectedly equip leaders to identify stressors and mitigate adverse effects of hierarchy, rank and authority within your organization.
World renowned for his studies on stress and human behavior, and recently featured in National Geographic's documentary "Stress: Portrait of A Killer", Professor Sapolsky delivers an incomparable session on the physiology of stress and human nature revealed by his lifelong research of African baboons and observations of fight or flight responses in zebras.
Long Life in the 21st Century
Laura Carstensen - Fairleigh S. Dickinson Jr. Professor in Public Policy, Professor of Psychology, Director, Stanford Center on Longevity
Wednesday, 9 December 2009 - 7:30 AM Breakfast, 8:00 – 9:00 AM session
We are approaching a watershed moment in human history. In just a few years, the number of Americans over 60 will surpass the number of children under 15. By the time our children reach old age, living to 100 will be commonplace.
Rather than perceiving this as good news, most people respond to extended longevity with discussions about coping with or halting the aging process. Yet, to the extent that people arrive at old age mentally sharp, physically fit, and financially secure, long-lived societies will thrive.
Professor Carstensen argues that among the most pressing needs of the modern world is the development of “longevity science.” Science and technology offer alternatives to catastrophic predictions about societies that are overburdened by frail elders. Advances in science can form the basis of a culture in which we improve quality of life at all ages, and psychological science must be an essential part of that process.