THEM'S THE RULES

Welcome to the first episode of Them’s the Rules, a show that reasons you have to know the rules in order to break them. In this episode, Bronwen sheds light on Oregon’s very specific gas pumping laws. As one of only two states in the country that does not allow people to pump their own gas, Oregonians are in a very unique position. We hear about some of the reasons behind the law and find out the reaction when these laws have been altered. Bronwen also talks about twiplomacy, explaining what the concept is and how it affects all of us, even if we are not Twitter users. We find out about some of the rules around world leaders using Twitter and some proposed amendments that are in the pipeline. Tune in to hear this and more!.

Key Points From This Episode:

• Details into Oregon’s gas-pumping rule and the reasoning behind it.
• Seventeen reasons the state of Oregon has cited as to why Oregonians shouldn’t pump their own gas.
• What the legal ramifications for pumping your own gas in Oregon are.
• The reactions to the law that allowed those in rural Oregon to pump their own gas.
• An unspoken rule about tipping Oregon fuel pump attendants.
• The review Twitter is currently undertaking regarding world leaders using the platform.
• Debates around political leaders on social media and different thinking on the topic.
• Twiplomacy: what it is, what the drivers are, and where it’s headed.
• When the current Twitter rules for world leaders were implemented and what does and doesn’t violate them.
• If you have an opinion about world leaders on Twitter, share it!
• Why banning Donald Trump was not a violation of the First Amendment.
• What the new rule will aim to do and how it will be enforced.
• The criteria laid out around whether a tweet is of public interest.
• When the survey on Twitter was available.

LINKS

TwiplomacyFOLLOW THEM'S THE RULES: || WEBSITE || INSTAGRAM || FACEBOOK || TWITTER ||

When is it “appropriate” to move out of your parents’ house? Are you “behind” in life if you haven’t gotten married by the time you hit thirty? Why is it so hard to balance career and family, and what does it say about us if we can’t?

In Part 2 of Clock-Blocked, Bronwen continues to examine how social rules are impacted by cultural orientation to time. Tackling a variety of time-related issues, like birthday depression, social clocks, motherhood, and how silence can be a useful “tool” to manipulate time in conversations, Bronwen points out how dangerous certain social rules can be to our collective mental health.

Elicia and Rayan offer further insight into the cultural differences between France and America, how to manage a transatlantic relationship, and what, if not “money,” time is in France.
Key Points From This Episode:

• What are the “birthday blues,” and why they are so common in Western society.
• What the symptoms of birthday depression are.
• How future-orientation takes the fun out of growing older.
• Why birthdays have different significance as we grow older, and how our temporal orientations shift by age.
• What some important milestones on the American social clock are.
• Attitudes toward aging and their impact on health and wellbeing.
• The threat to mental health presented by the pressure to conform to social clocks.
• Changes in marriage trends across the decades.
• Who Edward Hall was.
• What the definition of “chronemics” is.
• Why the tempo of life is different in industrialized countries.
• How the pace of life is determined by economic health, geographical location, and temperature.
• What the AAQ is and why it is important for evaluating mental health in older adults.
• Why America is afraid of aging.
• What the difference is between a birth cohort and a generation.
• The different meanings of silence and why it makes us so uncomfortable.
• Insight into why and how we “wait.”

LINKS
Envy on Facebook Study

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One of the most controversial topics over the past few years has been immigration. The U.S immigration system is riddled with complexities, biases, blind spots, confusing criteria, and conflicts of morality. Rather than just sharing dull facts and figures, which don’t shed any light on the lived experience of what it is like to navigate this overwhelming system, we thought it best to humanize the topic. As an immigrant himself, today’s guest, Javier S., has in-depth knowledge on what it takes to immigrate to the United States. In this episode, we hear about Javier’s journey, the different times he has lived in the U.S, and the various visas he has held. Each visa comes with strict criteria, and many have limits, which Javier has experienced all too well. We also talk about hiring a lawyer to help you with your immigration process, the uncertainties that immigrants faced during the Trump era, and the intersection of immigration and identity. Tune in to hear it all!

Key Points From This Episode:

• What research into the topic of immigration revealed to Bronwen.
• Insights into a very recent change in the “immigration rulebook.”
• Javier’s take on the label “illegal alien” and why it is such a complicated term.
• The story of how Javier came to the U.S. and the complexity of gaining citizenship.
• Some of the notable immigration policies that have been implemented since the U.S independence from Britain.
• A look at the H1B Visa Javier got when he came back to the U.S and the caveats that come with it.
• Some of the limitations that come with the U.S student visa.
• Facts and figures about the Immigration and Nationality Act.
• The difference between family and work-based immigration.
• The long wait times that are synonymous with family-based sponsorship visas.
• Details about the O-1 visa and the criteria.
• Why the visa process is so dehumanizing, according to Javier.
• What the term ‘anchor baby’ means, and the U.S’s unique birthright citizenship process.
• Although the U.S immigration system is tough, it is still easier than in a lot of other countries.
• The uncertainties that immigrants faced during the Trump administration.
• There are so many subjectivities in the immigration process.
• Why Javier decided to hire a lawyer to guide him through the immigration process.
• The crossroads Javier faced deciding to pursue his relationship or his visa.
• Immigration also calls your identity into question.
• It is so important to humanize the issues in the immigration system going forward.

LINKS
US Visa Bulletin

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The “five-second rule” of food hygiene states that any food dropped on the floor is still safe to eat, provided that it is picked up within five seconds. Maybe you’re thinking that this common piece of playground wisdom is just a silly line of inquiry, but food safety is a major health burden in the United States. And this is a rule that people actually follow so, from a public health standpoint, it is important to know whether or not it holds any truth! In today’s episode, dedicated to all her fellow germaphobes out there, Bronwen looks at what the science has to say on the matter, whether the length of time, the wetness of the foodstuff dropped, and the nature of the floor surface influence the outcome, and contemplates what this rule says about our human nature. Tune in for a slightly icky but thoroughly illuminating investigation into the five-second rule and find out why you should definitely think twice before eating off the floor!

Key Points From This Episode:

• Hear the statistics about food-borne illness in the US, according the the CDC.
• The difference between harmful bacteria and good bacteria
• Some fast, fun, and freaky facts about bacteria, including how much bacteria is on your desk.
• The relationship between saying “five-second rule” out loud and its effectiveness.
• The origins of the rule, which trace back to Genghis Khan in the 14th century.
• How the much-loved Julia Child perpetuated the idea that food that looks okay is okay to eat.
• What science has to say about the five-second rule, according to a U. of Illinois study.
• A study by Clemson University that concluded that length of time does, in fact, matter.
• The Connecticut College finding that the five-second rule was more like the 30-second rule.
• How a Rutgers University study debunked the five-second rule, also highlighting the relevance of the structure of the floor surface.
• What influences the microbiological composition of your floors
• What food psychologist, Thomas Shipley, has to say about your ability to assess food risk.
• Find out why it’s known as the five-second rule, not the seven or 15-second rule.
• Discover why beer pong is so disgusting, thanks to the authors of Did You Just Eat That?
• Why the five-second rule isn’t bound by the constraints of practicality or public interest.
• What it has to say about human desire and the reckless pursuit of something forbidden.
• Examining the five-second rule through the lens of the law of scarcity and human psychology.

LINKS

‘If You Drop It, Should You Eat It? Scientists Weigh In on the 5-Second Rule’

‘Residence time and food contact time effects on transfer of Salmonella Typhimurium from tile, wood and carpet: testing the five-second rule’

‘Longer Contact Times Increase Cross-Contamination of Enterobacter aerogenes from Surfaces to Food’

Did You Just Eat That?

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Does your Starbucks barista really care when she asks, "Hi, how are you today?"
Do you really mean it when you say, "I'm fine." ?
In this episode, Bronwen explores sidewalk psychology and the unwritten rules of meaningless conversation, also known as "phatic expressions." These seemingly innocuous strings of words make our social interactions easier, but with their wide variation across cultures, generations, and societies worldwide, they can also become points of contention.
If you (like many others) think that the French are rude, you may just not understand “bonjour culture." Interrupting is not a universally impolite action, and some people consider, “No problem,” a dismissive statement. You’ll also hear about the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on our interactions, how computer scientists are using these rules of phatic communication to program robots with more human qualities, and how deviating from the script of polite exchanges can unravel the constructs of our social reality.

Key Points From This Episode:

• Sidewalk psychology differs from state to state, and country and country.
• Adjusting to a move away from Southern hospitality.
• Possible factors which influence what is known as the “Seattle Freeze.”
• How Nordic communities view small talk.
• The experience of saying goodbye in the Midwest.
• Power that lies in eye-contact, or a lack thereof.
• What we can quickly learn from following the unwritten rule of greeting.
• The definition of phatic expression.
• Examples of phatic expressions which we commonly use.
• Benefits of phatic expressions.
• How rules around phatic expressions have changed over time.
• Making use of phatic expressions through social media.
• What social reality is, and how it is upheld by phatic expressions.
• Types of phatic expressions that exist in other cultures.
• Ways that the COVID-19 pandemic has altered our use of phatic expressions.
• The artifice of hiring people as greeters.
• Other unwritten rules which govern our interactions with people, and how these are being transferred to robots.

LINKS

The Bonjour Effect

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