Santa Monica, CA, USA. Information theory is devoted to the discovery and exploration of mathematical laws that govern the behavior of data as it is transferred, stored, or retrieved. Human language is subject to the vagaries of contextual nuance. When applied to the language of interpersonal communication, the theory becomes more approximate in its results but can be a useful way to structure discussion of such issues as relevance, sincerity, influence, and manipulation.

The classic economic model of information manipulation figures that the key to influence is based on knowing more than anybody else. As a challenge to these assumptions, economists have presented a situation — commonly observed in real life — in which all parties have access to the same information, but one party still manages to control public opinion.

Influence through ignorance. Isabelle Brocas, Juan D. Carrillo. The RAND Journal of Economics 38 (4), 931–947. doi: 10.1111 / j.0741-6261.2007.00119.x

Louisville, KY, USA. Decades of research point to the need for a universal preschool education program in the U.S. to help give our nation's children a sound cognitive and social foundation on which to build future educational and life successes.

Making preschool available to all children age three and older in the United States would carry great benefits, say three Yale scholars who have won the 2008 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award in Education.

The change would improve the school-readiness of the nation’s young children, fill a gap for working families, lower the high school dropout rate, reduce crime and boost the economy. The award winners — Edward Zigler, Walter Gilliam and Stephanie Jones — made this argument in their winning 2006 book. The authors provide detailed analyses of the many different longitudinal research designs on pre-school, highlighting the pluses and the minuses of each study.

Forty U.S. states now fund pre-kinderg

Springfield, VA, USA. The Roman Catholic Church is the largest Christian church worldwide, representing over half of all Christians. It is the largest organized body of any world religion, with a worldwide nominal membership exceeding 1.1 Billion individuals (2005), approximately one-sixth of the world's population. The Roman Catholic Church is on record as opposed to transition of individuals with Harry Benjamin Syndrome (aka transsexualism) because it is a "mental pathology".

The Catholic Church identifies a number of actions as, objectively speaking, gravely disordered. Among them are abortion, adultery, contraception, fornication, homosexual acts, masturbation, pornography, prostitution, and rape. The degree of sinfulness can vary with the intensity and frequency of the offenses.