Public servant stereotypes: It is not (at) all about being lazy,greedy and corrupt

As stereotypes strongly influence social interactions, this study explores the stereotypical associations regarding public servants, and about various professions in the public sector as well as the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. This leads to a better understanding of the theoretical and practical challenges, such as citizen behaviour towards public servants, attractiveness of and political decisions about public service jobs. With a mixed-method analysis of cognitive associations (7,470 associations by 415 respondents for 12 professions), the defining epithets of public servants are clarified, along with their positive or negative connotation. Despite the strongest associations for public servants being positive (caring, helpful and dedicated), as an overall category, it has a less positive connotation compared to some specific professions typical in the public sector (nurse, firefighter and police). However, cognitive associations are substantially more positive for public servants compared to politicians, lawyers and salesmen.     

The state of the heart. If you thought cholesterol was all you had to worry about, better think again

As recently as five years ago, doctors thought they had a pretty clear picture of what causes a heart attack. They saw it as a plumbing problem: too much fat in the diet builds up in the blood vessels that feed the heart, creating stoppages that starve the heart of oxygen. It was an elegant model and one that patients could understand. But it's not that simple. Cholesterol, it turns out, is just the starting point of a cascade of interlocking events. Underlying the new research presented at the American Heart Association meeting last week was a clear message: this isn't your father's heart disease anymore.