New book: “Thirty Lessons for Loving” by Karl Pillemer

30 Lessons for Loving: Advice from the Wisest Americans on Love, Relationships, and Marriage uses data and stories from the most detailed survey of long-married people ever conducted to show the way to lifelong, fulfilling relationships. Author and incoming BCTR director Karl Pillemer presents this sage advice from the oldest and wisest Americans on everything from finding a partner, to deciding to commit, to growing old together. The new book, out in January, follows the success of Pillemer’s 30 Lessons for Living, which offered life advice across various areas (work, family, money,etc.). Pillemer is also Hazel E. Reed Professor in the Department of Human Development and Professor of Gerontology in Medicine at the Weill Cornell Medical College.

In an article in Cornell Alumni Magazine, Pillemer explains why advice from this group is so important and can be so helpful to younger generations,

They're looking back from the finish line; it's no longer a mystery how things are going to turn out. These are people who've been through just about everything that keeps young people awake at night, and they're still doing okay. They're living examples that a lot of what we worry about is actually resolvable—that with resilience, drive, and flexibility, you can still be happy, even though bad things sometimes happen to you.

The book is already garnering media attention, including an interview on CBS This Morning (video below). Pillemer will give a book talk on 30 Lessons for Loving on Wednesday, February 25th at 4:00pm in Room 160 Mann Library, Cornell campus.

The book trailer:

Pillemer on CBS This Morning:

Secrets to a successful marriage from 700 retirees - CBS This Morning
Heart to heart - Cornell Alumni Magazine
It's never to late for love, according to gerontology research - Cornell Chronicle
Inside Cornell: Karl Pillemer's "30 Lessons for Loving" - CornellCast
The love advice that shocked expert Karl Pillemer - Huffington Post
Romantic advice from highly experienced practitioners - Sarasota Herald Tribune
Hundreds of retirees share secrets to a happy marriage - USA Today
Forget 'gray divorce': Here's how to make love last - The Wall Street Journal

Chats in the Stacks with Neuro book editor Valerie Reyna

Valerie Reyna, professor of human development and psychology, will be speaking in Mann Library's "Chats in the Stacks" series about her book The Neuroscience of Risky Decision Making (co-edited with Vivian Zayas, associate professor of psychology). This is the newest volume in the Bronfenbrenner Series on the Ecology of Human Development, out this month from the American Psychological Association (APA). The work within is drawn from presentations from the Third Biennial Urie Bronfenbrenner Conference.

Whether the decision is to have unprotected sex, save or spend, consent to surgery, or have an extra helping of dessert, risky decisions permeate our lives, sometimes with disastrous consequences. How and why risk taking occurs has important implications, yet we have many unanswered questions about what influences risky behavior. This new book aims to help us understand the neural roots of bad decisions and paves the way for translation of science into practice and policy.

The talk will be held at 12pm on Monday, February 10 in the Stern Seminar Room (room 160), Mann Library. Books will be available for purchase and to be signed and light refreshments will be served. More information on the event can be found here.

New Book: “The Neuroscience of Risky Decision Making”

The newest book in the Bronfenbrenner Series on the Ecology of Human Development is out this month from the American Psychological Association (APA). The work presented in The Neuroscience of Risky Decision Making, edited by Valerie Reyna and Vivian Zayas, is drawn from presentations made at the Third Biennial Urie Bronfenbrenner Conference.

From the APA web site:

Whether the decision is to have unprotected sex, consent to surgery, spend rather than save for retirement, or have an extra piece of pie, risky decisions permeate our lives, sometimes with disastrous consequences. How and why risk taking occurs has important implications, yet many questions remain about how various factors influence decision-making.

Vivian Zayas and Valerie Reyna

This book advances basic understanding and scientific theory about the brain mechanisms underlying risky decision making, paving the way for translation of science into practice and policy. This compelling research topic crosses a number of disciplines, including social, cognitive, and affective (emotion) neuroscience psychology, brain sciences, law, behavioral economics, and addiction.

The book's chapter co-authors include Valerie Reyna, Vivian Zayas, Scott Huettel, Eveline Crone, Beatriz Luna, Brian Knutson, Walter Mischel, and Antione Bechara.

The book is the third in the APA's Bronfenbrenner Series on the Ecology of Human Development, each volume in which results from research presented at a Biennial Bronfenbrenner Conference. The first two books in the series are:

Chaos and Its Influence on Children's Development: An Ecological Perspective, edited by Gary Evans and Theodore Wach

Research for the Public Good: Applying Methods of Translational Research to Improve Human Health and Well-being, edited by Elaine Wethington and Rachel Dunifon

Book debuts brain models of risky decision-making - Cornell Chronicle
Video from the Third Biennial Urie Bronfenbrenner Conference

New expanded edition of Jill Iscol’s “Hearts on Fire” out now

New updated and expanded trade paperback and enriched e-book editions of Hearts on Fire: Stories of Today's Visionaries Igniting Idealism into Action by Jill Iscol with Peter W. Cookson were released on January 15th by Random House. Jill Iscol is the president of the Iscol Family Foundation, supporter of the BCTR's Iscol Family Program for Leadership Development in Public Service, which supports the Iscol Lecture and Iscol Scholars.

Hearts on Fire tells the stories of international humanitarian activists and includes these past Iscol Lecturers:

Nadim Mahmud and Josh Nesbit (2012 lecturers), two founders of Medic Mobile
Sara Horowitz (2008 lecturer), founder and executive director of Working Today Freelancers Union

Also profiled in the book is the 2013 Iscol Lecturer, Leila Janah, founder and CEO of Samasource, a social business that connects women and youth living in poverty to microwork via the internet. The 2013 Iscol Family Program for Leadership Development in Public Service Lecture will be held on Monday, September 30, 2013 at 7:30PM in Call Auditorium, Kennedy Hall.

Jill Iscol is quoted on Hearts on Fire website as saying,

I believe there is something springing from the ground up that will lead to a world where we truly are one another’s keepers, where violence, poverty, and suffering that are tolerated by bystander populations everywhere will be erased by active leaders and citizens who will intervene because not doing so will no longer be the norm.

Video of Wethington and Dunifon”Chats in the Stacks” now online

On September 27, 2012, Elaine Wethington and Rachel Dunifon delivered a "Chats in the Stacks" talk at Mann Library about their book, Research for the Public Good: Applying Methods of Translational Research to Improve Human Health and Well-being. The video from the talk is now online and is being featured by Cornell Cast this week.

The book, which includes chapters by presenters from the 2009 Bronfenbrenner Conference, demonstrates how emerging methods of translational research can be applied to important topics of interest to social and behavioral scientists.

Chats in the Stacks with TR book co-editors Wethington & Dunifon

Wethington and Dunifon

BCTR's Elaine Wethington and Rachel Dunifon will be speaking in Mann Library's "Chats in the Stacks" series about their book Research for the Public Good: Applying the Methods of Translational Research to Improve Human Health and Well-Being (Bronfenbrenner Series on the Ecology of Human Development, American Psychological Association.

The talk will be held at 4pm on Thursday, September 27 in the Stern Seminar Room (room 160) in Mann Library. A reception and book signing will follow. The book talk is funded by the Mary A. Morrison Public Education Fund at Mann Library. More information in the university events calendar listing.

New Book: “Research for the Public Good”

Elaine Wethington and Rachel Dunifon at the 2009 Bronfenbrenner Conference

Co-edited by Elaine Wethington and Rachel Dunifon, Research for the Public Good: Applying the Methods of Translational Research to Improve Human Health and Well-Being (American Psychological Association Books), is the second volume to be published from the Biennial Urie Bronfenbrenner Conference series.  The book represents work presented at the 2009 Bronfenbrenner Conference, Improving the State of Americans: Prospects of Translational Research in the Social and Behavioral Sciences and is available as of May 15, 2012.

From the Cornell Chronicle article on the book:

In recent years, Wethington said, translational research has been closely associated with medicine, where billions are spent annually to develop new treatments and interventions to combat sickness. But increasingly the National Institutes of Health and other major funding agencies are calling for social scientists to address issues relevant to human health and to collaborate with medical scientists to improve application of basic findings to communities.

“Translational research has gained prominence in biomedical research, where there’s an emphasis on speeding lab findings into practice,” she added. “It also goes back to the work of Urie Bronfenbrenner and his colleagues, however, who were ahead of their time with an ecological approach to human development that brought together research, policy and practice. This book defines the term in that context and provides practical insights for doing translational research.”

Video from the 2009 Urie Bronfenbrenner Conference can be viewed here.

The volume from the 2007 Urie Bronfenbrenner Conference is Chaos and Its Influence on Children's Development: An Ecological Perspective edited by Gary Evans and Theodore Wachs.

Karl Pillemer discusses “30 Lessons for Living” on The PBS News Hour

January 5, 2012, The PBS News Hour aired an interview with BCTR affiliate Karl Pillemer in which he discusses his new book, 30 Lessons for Living: Tried and True Advice from the Wisest Americans.  Given our current state of war and economic recession, Pillemer believes it's an ideal time to look to the wisdom of America's elders, "the truest experts on living through hard times."  30 Lessons for Living presents the stories and advice systematically gathered in The Legacy Project. The full interview can be viewed here.

Karl Pillemer is Hazel E. Reed Professor in the Department of Human Development; Professor of Gerontology in Medicine at the Weill Cornell Medical College; Director of the Cornell Legacy Project; and Associate Dean for Extension and Outreach, College of Human Ecology.