An interesting study just came out of Vanderbilt University that addresses women in business negotiations.

“We found that men and women alike were targeting women with more deception than men,” said Jessica Kennedy, an assistant professor of management at Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management and co-author of the study. “It was interesting that men and women alike tried to deceive women in negotiations.”

Please watch the video above, in which Kennedy talks about the study and why women face negative experiences during negotiations.

It’s October. Do you know where your vacation days are?

According to Skift’s latest travel habits survey, almost 51 percent of U.S. workers say they haven’t taken a single vacation day in 2014 so far.

“About 15 percent of Americans say they have taken more than 10 vacation days this year, while the rest is split between those who took fewer than 5, and those who took between 5-10 vacation days this year,” Rafat Ali reported.

The survey of 1,008 participants also found that women and lower-income Americans take the least amount of vacations.

“More American women than men have taken no vacation days this year,” Ali reported. “On the other hand, more men have taken more than 10 vacation days in the U.S. this year than women.”

Check out the Skift report to learn more results, and if you haven’t schedule a vacation yet, get to it. They’re great for your health, mental and physical.

(Image: Skift)

Hear me now and believe me later: you can give your memory a lift by lifting weights. So says a Georgia Institute of Technology study released this week that shows working out for as little as 20 minutes can improve a person’s long-term memory.

“Our study indicates that people don’t have to dedicate large amounts of time to give their brain a boost,” said Lisa Weinberg, a Georgia Tech graduate student who led the project.

Previous research has shown how aerobic exercise can improve memory. This study took a new approach. Participants lifted weights just once two days before being tested, and the researchers had the participants answer questions before a workout rather than after one. And even though weight lifting was used, Weinberg said that other resistance activities (e.g., knee bends) may produce the same results.

The reason lifting weights helps improve memory is due to acute stress responses, the researchers suggest.

“Even without doing expensive fMRI scans, our results give us an idea of what areas of the brain might be supporting these exercise-induced memory benefits,” said Audrey Duarte, an associate professor in the School of Psychology at Georgia Tech. “The findings are encouraging because they are consistent with rodent literature that pinpoints exactly the parts of the brain that play a role in stress-induced memory benefits caused by exercise.”

Watch Weinberg explain the study and its results in the video below, and then hit the gym.

(Image: Saturday Night Live/NBC)

There was a lot of news this past week. Here are some stories that caught our eyes.

SXSW Probably Isn’t Going Anywhere – But Big Changes Loom
—Billboard
“A new report, commissioned by SXSW from international design and event firm Populous, is causing ripples this week because of a recurring theme: the suggestion that the massive Austin-based festival could, if certain suggestions aren’t implemented, solicit bids from other cities to host the event. ”

Why MLB Really Wants You to Have WiFi and a Smart Phone at the Ball Game
—New York Business Journal
“A lot of baseball’s plans to target, retarget and build relationships with its fans depends on a digital connection, so count on much better WiFi league-wide sooner rather than later.”

A Call for an End to Panels
—Amplify
“We’ve been conditioned to believe that they’re necessary for conferences. That we as professional industry folks can only meet if it’s done on a regimented agenda of keynote speeches and expert panels…”

Treating Music Fans as Customers
—Forbes
“Smart rockers have known all along that the fans are the ones who buy the records and the tickets. Without the fans, there would be no concert. And especially as rock n’ roll fans get older, they may be physically unable or psychologically unwilling to be treated more poorly at a rock show than anywhere else.”

PDF: How Can Your Venue Increase Revenue?
—Ungerboeck
“Nine tips to buing a profitable event business for your venue”

(photo credit: gak via photopin cc)

Deadline to submit nominations for the 2015 Charles A. McElravy Award is Nov. 14, 2014.

The Charles A. McElravy Award may be awarded annually to a Professional, Honorary, or Retired member of IAVM who, in the opinion of the Board of Directors has made the greatest lifetime achievement to the welfare of the association or profession.

The following criteria are established for the McElravy Award nominees:

1. The nominee must have been a Professional, Honorary, or Retired Member of the IAVM in good standing for at least fifteen (15) years total (though not necessarily consecutively).

2. The nominee needs to meet the minimum service to IAVM requirements for Honorary Membership, but is not required to be retired. The following criteria must be met for a member to be eligible for consideration for Honorary Membership: 1) Attendance at no fewer than 10 Annual Conferences (VenueConnect) during the past 15 years; 2) Attendance at no fewer than five region meetings during the past 15 years; 3) Service as chair of at least three international or two region committees during the past 15 years; 4) Service as: Director of IAVM or officer in a region at least once during the member’s tenure with IAVM or b) Program chair for an IAVM venue-specific or specialty meeting during the member’s tenure with IAVM or c) Member of Board of Regents, Board of Trustees, or Board of Governors during member’s tenure with IAVM.

3. Any member in good standing may make a nomination, which must provide, in writing, a minimum of three examples of the nominee’s outstanding contributions to IAVM and/or the industry (for example: leadership, accomplishments, professional service/activities, projects/results).

4. At least three letters of recommendation must accompany the nomination letter.

5. No Chairman of the Board (or Past President) of IAVM is eligible for consideration until the third Annual Conference (VenueConnect) following his/her term of office.

6. Previous recipients are ineligible (and may be found on our website under Legacy of Leaders).

The nominations and letters of recommendation should be written to IAVM President and CEO Vicki Hawarden, CMP, and submitted to Rosanne Duke electronically. The nomination letter and all letters of recommendation must be received by close of business Nov. 14, 2014. If you have any questions, please contact Rosanne Duke at 972.538.1025.