Word: call
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...Human beings are naturally skilled at forming groups and communities - which is a very good thing if you want to call yourself a social species. But we often need a little help to find our interpersonal rhythm, and it often comes in ways that involve literal rhythm. Soldiers march and chant. Religions incorporate singing and even dancing in their rituals. Sports events are filled with songs, synchronized cheers, and cries of "DEE-fense." In order to study the power of such collective behaviors, Stanford psychologists Scott S. Wiltermuth and Chip Heath devised a pair of tests. (See pictures of Super...
...such bonding-by-rhythm is good, as Heath readily admits. Bad-guy armies march too, and rallies that include call-and-response chanting can be used to stop a war ("What do we want? Peace. When do we want it? Now?") as easily as to start one. "Hitler seemed to use synchronous activity in his rallies to bind people," says Heath. "It may have the potential to lead them to commit atrocities...
...sign of his desperation, since polls show the "yes" and "no" votes in a dead heat. "It's the government that wants to make us fall into violence, not the other way around," insists Mejia. "We're the ones being threatened and harassed." He points to a phone call between two students that was recorded by the government and broadcast on state-run media, as if to show how closely the opposition was being tracked. More disturbing, however, is the violence allegedly visited on anti-Chávez students by pro-Chávez thugs like La Piedrita, a sort...
...everyone agreed, however, that it was such a minor snafu. At polling station No. 65 in Baghdad's Karada district, volunteer observer Hafa'a Latif said the number of people who were turned away could call the vote into question...
...four stints as Minister of Social Affairs, Siguršardóttir has gained a reputation for voicing support for social issues such as gender equality, a robust welfare system and rights for the disabled and elderly. Fellow MP Ágúst Einarsson went as far as to call her "socialism incarnate." Firmly planted in left-of-center politics, the new Minister reflects the nation's postmeltdown retreat from the right, as demonstrated in recent polling data...