When are you most likely to do your best work? Two economists think they know.
Monash economist Denni Tommasi and University of Granada economist Alessio Gaggero examined five years’ worth of tests taken by STEM students in the UK and came to the conclusion that our brains work best in the middle of the day - if asked to perform abstract, logical or problem-solving tasks. Their research was published in a working paper by the IZA Institute of Labor Economics, a non-profit research institute based in Germany.
Having studied the results of exams scheduled at 9 am, 1:30 pm and 4:30 pm, Tommasi and Gaggero’s findings suggested the cognitive peak happened in the middle of the day – on average, STEM students performed best in the 1:30 pm exam.
Many parts of Britain, the land of Daleks and the hot water bottle, find themselves in a precarious condition since Sunday. The outbreak of a new strain of the Covid virus imaginatively named VUI-202012/01 by the natives of this island-bananarchy that is ‘75% more contagious’ than plain old Sars-CoV-2 has resulted in a ‘hard lockdown’ being imposed. Which means no stepping out for Christmas shopping for some 16 million Britons, no eating out, no lager louts, and no multi-culti ‘household mixing’.
The last one is the real test, especially for folks like former government adviser on the coronavirus Neil Ferguson, who had to quit in May after admitting that a woman he was in a relationship with visited his home during lockdown. If social distancing is tough for the people that gave us John Donne’s ‘No man is an island entire of itself ’, then physical distancing may be impossible, Brexit notwithstanding.
Harsh Goenka, chairman, RPG Enterprises
2020 goal: Becoming fitter
Agencies On the personal front, Goenka is really looking forward to going back to his old ways back at the workplace, meeting people and travelling.
“In the beginning, work from home was a pleasure. I was grateful for the quiet, enjoyed the sunsets, spent more time on exercises and walking. Being fit had taken on a greater priority to improve my immunity. However, solitude and conf inement have made me think deeper. They made me more accepting, giving and adapting. On the personal front, I am really looking forward to going back to our old ways back at the workplace, meeting people and travelling.”
Will children be able to get COVID-19 vaccines?
Not until there s enough data from studies in different age groups, which will stretch well into next year.
The Pfizer vaccine authorized in the U.S. this month is for people 16 and older. Testing began in October in children as young as 12 and is expected to take several more months. The Food and Drug Administration will have to decide when there s enough data to allow emergency use in this age group.
Depending on the results, younger children may be enrolled for study as well.
Moderna, which is expected to become the second COVID-19 vaccine greenlit in the U.S., began enrolling study participants ages 12 to 17 this month, and will track them for a year. Testing in children younger than 12 is expected to start in early 2021.
BOSTON: Natural variations in ultraviolet radiation influences the spread of the novel coronavirus, says a new study which adds that the effect is still modest compared to that of measures like physical distancing, and mask wearing.
The findings, published in the journal PNAS, suggests that the incidence of COVID-19 may have a seasonal pattern in which the virus spreads faster in the winter when it s darker with lower levels of UV radiation than during summer. Understanding the potential seasonality of COVID-19 transmission could help inform our response to the pandemic in the coming months, said Jonathan Proctor, a co-author of the study from Harvard University in the US.