Of Human Interest: News-lite

PEOPLE LIKE OPRAH'S LIFESTYLE

According to a national survey conducted for Ragu on how Americans are making the most of every day, people overwhelmingly think Oprah Winfrey lives life the fullest.

A distant second is World Wrestling Federation sensation and actor The Rock.

However, some celebrities appear to live more boldly than others:

-- Katie Couric (34 percent over Matt Lauer (29 percent),

-- Bill Clinton (67 percent) over George Bush (24 percent),

-- Julia Roberts (58 percent) over Nicole Kidman (26 percent)

The survey also finds that more than 75 percent of respondents say they've taken a spur of the moment road trip or vacation. More than half say they've played hooky from school or work.

While 8 percent thought traveling to space and 6 percent thought hang-gliding or sky-diving was taking it to the limit, most Americans seek more common pursuits.

When asked which activity they would choose to live life more abundantly, 35 percent selected vacationing on a remote island and 34 percent chose spending a day at the park with their kids, family or friends.

FORGET THE CORPORATE BONDING DAYS

A new survey shows that workers would rather be better paid, thanked for their efforts, or even given some fruit than be given a "fancy" job title.

Research among 800 employees reveals a hatred for working around the clock and of money being "frittered" on corporate bonding days, according to youatwork.co.uk, a division of the insurance firm Royal & Sun Alliance, reports the Web site Ananova.com.

The main benefits workers say they want are good work; better pay; thoughtful perks, and well-deserved promotions.

The workers questioned thought that perks should include discounts on holidays, luncheon vouchers, free fruit and an afternoon siesta.

"In the race for talent and quest for better results, a tremendous amount of time and money is committed to motivating and encouraging the workforce when, in practice, straightforward rewards are often the most effective," says Gerry Callaghan of Royal & Sun Alliance.

TV SEX AND VIOLENCE DOES NOT PAY

All that sex and violence on television may not be paying off for advertisers, according to Iowa State University researchers who find that viewers of programs with sexually explicit or violent content were less likely to remember commercials.

The findings appear in the June issue of the Journal of Applied Psychology.

Psychologist Brad J. Bushman randomly assigned some 300 participants to watch a violent, sexually explicit, or neutral television program.

The age distribution was 18 to 54 years old and was representative of the age distribution of adults the same age in U.S. households. Each program contained nine ads for products with broad market appeal, such as soft drinks, cereal and laundry detergent.

Immediately after viewing the television program, the participants were given a surprise test in which they tried to recall the brand names in the commercial messages. The next day they were tested again.

Results show those participants who saw the ads during a neutral program had better memory of the products advertised than did participants who saw the ads during a sexual or violent program.

The violent and sexual content impaired memory for both males and females of all ages, regardless of whether they liked programs containing violence and sex.

This is the first published study that included the effects of televised sex on television ad messages, according to the researchers.

Bushman says that people might pay attention to sex and violence, thus reducing the amount of attention they can pay to the commercials, or the sexual and violent content could prompt sexual and violent thoughts blocking out the commercials.

WTC BABY BOOMLET?

Nine months after the World Trade Center terrorist attacks, some New York City obstetricians are expecting post-disaster baby boom and some are not, the New York Daily News reports.

"It depends on whom you speak to," says Dr. Paul Kastell, who heads the faculty obstetrics practice at Long Island College Hospital.

Kastell sees clear evidence of a baby boomlet directly related to fears, relief and priority changes among couples after the attacks.

The 12-year veteran said that in his private practice, patients with due dates in June, July and August are up 20 percent.

Erika Brown-Campbell, a psychotherapist at New York Methodist, says that a devastating event like the World Trade Center attacks can affect different people and different segments of the population in opposite ways.

She explains that it's possible that some doctors could see a spike, while hospitals see no change overall.

"Some people might say that life is short and they need to hurry with their life plans, but others may have decided that it is not a safe time to bring a child into the world," she says.