JULY 09
 |
|
|
 |
" Reality is merely an illusion - albeit a very persistent one. "
Albert Einstein
Adjusting proxemic bubbles for profit
Is your local supermarket cramped or spacious ?
A new research paper, due to be published in the December 2009 issue of the Journal of Consumer Research, investigates the idea that cramped supermarkets might affect consumers’ purchasing choices.
A series of experiments with real and mock-shoppers ( students ? ) , and a series of candy-bar choices, found that cramped aisles pushed the shoppers into making more varied choices.
“ . . . spatially confined consumers react against an incursion to their personal space by making more varied, unique, and diversified choices. “
Retail managers might be interested in the possibilities of cramping up consumers
to increase sales.
“ Our studies suggest a number of counter-intuitive practical implications, including the potential benefit of smaller retail spaces when new and unique products are promoted. “
The authors explain their counter-intuitive findings by reference to ‘ Reactance Theory ‘ . Suggesting that customers might be reacting to having their ' Proxemic Bubbles ' restricted - ( viz. being unpleasantly confined ).
“ we argue that consumers will demonstrate a heightened tendency to seek variety as a means to assert their freedom. “
But Really Magazine wonders if it might just be that they could reach out and grab a few candy bars more easily in the narrow aisles ?
( See link [2] below )
[1] Read the full
paper here :
[2] Previous research on candy proximity here
03 JULY 09
comments | permalink | back
to the top
Electronic Whispering
Over the past few years business meetings have gradually been infiltrated by ICTs ( information and communication technologies ). Think : mobiles, BlackBerries ™ , laptops , palmtops, etc etc etc.
Has
the use of ICTs got out of hand ? Several high-profile companies believe
so – and
have implemented so-called ‘ laptop-less ’ policies
at all meetings - effectively banning the use of ICTs in an effort to recapture
participants’ undivided
attention.
For some suspect that a good amount of ICT use might be centered around Electronic Whispering Behaviors - such as updating Facebook ™ profiles and e-mailing jokes about the chair rather than in productive co-operative thought . . .
A new research project from the University of Texas at Austin contacted meeting-participants at more than 19 organisations * in order to analyse their use of ICTs, and found a surprising ( to some ) result.
Their use depends not so much on today’s business-world demand for multitasking, for as the authors point out, participants in business meetings have been ‘ multitasking ‘ for decades, using pen and paper : and
“ It is highly unlikely that people have been asked to leave their pens and paper at the door before a meeting begins, “
but rather :
“ The findings suggest that social influences in the form of observed behaviors and perceptions of others’ beliefs about electronic multitasking strongly predict how individuals will electronically multitask in meetings “
Or, put another way, everyone uses them because everyone else does.
The paper will be published in the August 2009 edition of the journal ‘ Management Communication Quarterly ‘
In the meantime, You can read the full paper ( or something very like it ) here
* via e-mail
02 JULY 09
comments | permalink | back
to the top
Nomothetic Onion Scratching in Arizona
Turn to the latest edition of the ‘ Journal of Research in Personality ‘ for an unusual article which focuses on what some might say is the under-researched field of ‘ eavesdropping. ‘
The eavesdropping ( and its subsequent analysis ) was made possible by a device called ‘ The EAR ‘ ( Electronically Activated Recorder ) first developed at the University of Arizona in 1997 .
In essence, the EAR is a basic audio sampling device ( a recorder ) attached to individuals via a belt ( or purse ) and which records snippets of sound every few minutes.
“ Due to its fine meshed sampling (~ 5 data points per hour), it can reliably capture even low-frequency behaviors such as arguments, self-talk, or laughter. “
Deceptively simple as the strategy may seem, its use over the last ten years or so has allowed “ nomothetic as well as idiographic analyses “ of the individuals and groups concerned.
The latest research for example has demonstrated that perhaps it’s time to rethink a fundamental assumption about ' person perception ‘
“ . . . and to replace the ‘ peeling an onion ‘ metaphor of how long it takes to know someone with a ‘ scratching the surface of the onion ‘ metaphor because ‘ after all, the distinctive taste of an onion is as marked in its outer layer as it is in the innermost layer ‘ “
You can read the full paper here :
؟ ؟ ؟
Also see the results of previous EAR – based research which has enabled the researchers to go some way towards answering such questions as :
Q. Are Women Really More Talkative Than Men ?
( A. no )
and
Q. Are Mexicans more or less sociable than Americans ?
( A. more )
30 JUNE 09
comments | permalink | back
to the top
Blending Idioms
For psycholinguisticians: a ‘ Lemma ‘ is an abstract conceptual form that has been mentally selected for utterance in the early stages of speech production, but before any sounds are attached to it.
Hard to visualize ( audio-ize ? ) though it is, the concept has recently been taken a step further by researchers at the University of Canterbury ( New Zealand ) and the Max Planck Institut für Psycholinguistik ( Germany ).
With their concept of ‘ SuperLemmas ‘.
The research group concerned themselves with the part which idioms and other multi-word lexical items (MLIs) play in the processes of speech production.
They looked in particular at ‘ Slips of the Tongue ‘ with regard to MLIs. For example when a speaker accidentally mixes up two commonly used idioms.
To clalrify :
“ We then use slips involving irreversible binomials to distinguish between the predictions of superlemma theory which are supported by slips involving irreversible binomials and the Cutting and Bock model’s predictions for slips involving these MLIs which are not. “
The team's investigations trawled up a veritable plethora of so called ‘ Phrasal Blends ‘ - for example :
• Going out for a bite of fresh air
• Keep your ear to the grindstone
• Don’t fly off your rocket
• Many things have happened under the bridge
and
• A chicken with its hair cut off
Readers will note though that all(?) the examples given in the research paper are a blend of just two idioms. So Really Magazine’s suggestion for further research centres around what we propose to call ‘ PolySuperLemmas ‘ involving three, four, or more phrasal blends [ and a few Gin & Tonics ? Ed. ]
Some examples :
• Putting the horse before the bathwater saves nine. [x3]
• Running around like a bag of hammers in a barrel. [x3]
• Look before you rock the goalposts in a month of Sundays. [x4]
Readers' suggestions for further PolySuperLemmas are of course very welcome.
Suggestion from reader John B.
• A blip on the wrong end of a stick pulls the wool over a lead balloon for two pins. [x5]
26 JUNE 09
comments | permalink | back
to the top
Unusual patent of the week . . .
Food music
‘ We are the microbes, my friend
And we'll keep dividing
Till the end
We are the microbes
We are the microbes
No time for chlorine
'Cause we are the microbes
In your food . . . ‘
To be sung to the tune of ‘ We are the Champions ‘ [ Mercury. F. et al. 1977 ]
Back in 1996 Cooperative Extension specialists at the University
of California at Davis decided
to test the idea that re-arranging the lyrics and re-recording famous pop
songs* might be a good way to educate
students, foodservice supervisors and teachers about food hygiene.
The results of the study have now been published, in the latest issue of the Journal of Food Science Education
Generally, it turned out nicely :
“ The use of music parodies to educate about food safety represents a promising approach that generated enthusiasm among food safety instructors surveyed in this study. “
However :
“ When asked if they liked the music, a majority of culinary arts students (59%) said ‘no’."
To find out why, listen to the following tracks :
and Really Magazine’s fav. ' I can’t believe it’s not Dire Straits ' . . .
* may contain copyright issues
25 JUNE 09
comments | permalink | back
to the top
Gender shock
Are certain objects ‘ Gendered ‘ ? ( see musical instruments earlier this week ).
Taking an extreme example for contrast - say an electronic stun gun - would it tend to be considered as more ‘ masculine ’ than ‘ feminine ‘ ?
The answers may be found in a new study, just published in the innovative journal ‘ Feminist Criminology ‘.
Researchers from the department of sociology at the University of Minnesota have been exploring whether non-lethal weapons manufacturers might tend to use marketing appeals adapted to suit a hegemonic masculine police subculture.
“ Although nonlethal weapons are designed to decrease brutality, the brutal aspects of police work have become an important defining characteristic of the hypermasculinity that is so essential to the police habitus. “
Thus the stun gun is, in the main, designed and marketed with the übertoughguy ( goodguy ) firmly in mind.
One of the main manufacturers appears to be ahead of the game though – for they produce not only the hyper masculine ruggedized and battle hardened X26C , but also the sleek and rather ladylike C2 available in pink. ( Note ; the leopard-skin print version mentioned in the university study appears to have been discontinued )
Read the full paper here :
24 JUNE 09
comments | permalink | back
to the top
The Dismal Amusing Trade
If you were thinking of a list of services which could be ‘ commodified ‘ then perhaps the funeral industry might not be the first to spring to mind.
Though that is exactly what seems to be happening, at least according to a research article in the latest issue of the journal ‘ Critical Sociology ‘.
The author points to the standardisation of the relevant products and services, and even uses the unlikely term ‘ McDeath ‘ to emphasise the point.
Showing too that :
“ amusement is beginning to impact the operations of the funeral industry. “
For, incongruous as it may seem :
“ amusement aids the stabilization of capitalizing forces and their requisite expansion by creating the possibility of new products, new markets, and, most importantly, new consumers. “
As an example, the paper links to this service provider.
Demonstrating that :
“ if death … can be re-figured into something that can contribute to an amusement culture, then perhaps capital can transform most anything into an amusement of one kind or another. “
The
paper is ‘ subscribers
only ‘, but a previous version of the dissertation is available
here : [ downoad caution : 278 page
.pdf ]
؟ ؟ ؟
Also see :
The upcoming National
Funeral Directors Association ‘ Leadership ‘ Conference.
which runs July 26-29, 2009, Chateau on the Lake Resort, Branson, Missouri
options include a shopping and wine tasting tour, a lake cruise, a golf tour, and an evening at the ballpark.
23 JUNE 09
comments | permalink | back
to the top
Query By Tapping
Really Magazine tried it out with the surely unmistakable rhythm of the Lone Ranger Theme Gioachino Rossini’s William Tell Overture – but the engine found Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s String quartet No. 18 in A instead.
We probably tapped wrong.
22 JUNE 09 ( late edition )
comments | permalink | back
to the top
IGAs in NY
Q. What do girls play ?
A. Flutes, violins, and clarinets
Q. And what do boys play ?
A. Drums, trumpets, and trombones.
At least that has been the traditional state-of-affairs in some North American music schools over recent years. The question is, are things changing ?
The answer is, yes they are.
According to new research just published in the Journal of Research in Music Education, Instrument / Gender Associations (IGAs) have become less distinct over the last thirty years or so ( at least in New York ).
There are almost certainly wider implications to be drawn from these findings,
but Really
Magazine is
as yet uncertain as to what they are.
؟ ؟ ؟
Further reading :
This study by Griswold and Chroback ( 1981 ) which found that the musical instruments’ gender association continuum tends to play out like this [ most ladylike first ] :
Harp, flute, piccolo, glockenspiel, cello, violin, clarinet, piano, french horn, oboe, guitar, cymbal, saxophone, bass drum, trumpet, string bass, tuba.
Reader's comment from Anon.
' I have a nice pair of maracas. '
22 JUNE 09
comments | permalink | back
to the top
Banned so don’t miss
In the last week of September, the American Library Association (ALA) traditionally fires up its ‘ Banned Book Week ‘.
This year it will run from September 26th until October 3rd, 2009. Of course the ALA hasn’t published its list of the most-banned books of 2009 yet, but here is a look at last year’s.
When the most banned book in the US was ‘ And Tango Makes Three ‘ a children’s book about two male penguins caring for an orphaned egg. *
Although some of the details of book bannings - and burnings - have been lost in the mists of time ( for the practice goes back at least 300 years in the US ) the ALA has built up a truly impressive compendium of recently banned books. Which, in hindsight, can be absolutely relied upon to identify the must-read classics for both literary scholars and booklovers alike.
Some examples : ( no particular order )
The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald
1984
George Orwell
Catcher in the Rye
J.D. Salinger
The Lord of the Flies
William Golding
The Grapes of Wrath
John Steinbeck
Beloved
Toni Morrison
The Color Purple
Alice Walker
Gone with the Wind
Margaret Mitchell
Ulysses
James Joyce
Of Mice and Men
John Steinbeck
Catch-22
Joseph Heller
Brave New World
Aldous Huxley
Huckleberry Finn
Mark Twain
And the most banned book-series of all time ?
Harry Potter
J.K. Rowling
( prohibited in various states for ‘glorifying wizardry and sorcery ‘. )
؟ ؟ ؟
More examples here :
* Life imitates art here :
19 JUNE 09
comments | permalink | back
to the top
Perceptions in California
The Institute of Environmental Quality, San Francisco, California has just published the results of its study into Shape and Spaciousness.
Two experiments involving 109 participants ( students ? ) set out to determine how people judge horizontal area, and aspect-ratios of building recesses, with regard to the perceived spaciousness of city streets.
Both simulation protocols generated the same conclusions.
“ The most important factor in judged spaciousness was horizontal area. Larger areas were judged as being more spacious. “
The Institute has its own website, where its previous research papers are published, for example this one - which looked at the perceived threat-levels associated with images of different animals - ranging from small, warm, fuzzy mammals ( bunny, sleeping kitty cat, baby harp seal etc ) as compared to monsters ( dragons, ogres, gargoyles etc etc )
“ Findings indicate that monsters are much scarier than mammals “
Comment from reader Alf. B.
‘ Is it me, or are all the institute’s
papers written by the same person ? ‘
18 JUNE 09
comments | permalink | back
to the top
Motley faculties ?
The concept of ‘ The Licensed Fool ‘ – a bufoon-like and yet highly-valued individual employed by the medieval aristocracy, whose role was to speak frankly on controversial issues in a way in which anyone else would have been severely punished for – is sadly missing from modern society.
Or is it ?
A study paper from the Department of Management and Marketing, at the University of Cork, Ireland, is published in the latest issue of the journal ‘ Organization ‘.
Pointing out that The Fool might be alive and well – not in the form of a person, but instead in the guise of high level academic organizations.
Bluntly put :
“ . . . the University acts and has a role akin to the Fool in the medieval royal court. “
The study was previously presented at the 2008 conference of the European Group for Organizational Studies ( EGOS ), amongst a selection of other intriguing papers such as :
• ‘ Glumness, unintentional humor, and bullshitting in the identity-work of management and organization scholars ‘
• ‘ Bullshiting in the making: Humour and violence in a context of organisational change ‘
and
• ‘ Nonsense and bullshit in corporate and political discourse: A semiotic
analysis '
17 JUNE 09
comments | permalink | back
to the top
Ridding postponement.
An update on the 2005 research project from Sheffield University , UK, which was the first (?) to define the practice of ‘ Ridding ’ ( getting rid of things ).
Now the same research team has gone a step further with in an in-depth study of ways that are employed to counter postpone ridding.
For consumers in and around Sheffield can, and do, repair things. Or at least try to.
The research article follows the stories of three consumer objects to show that :
“ ordinary consumer objects are continually becoming in the course of their lives in the home and that practices of object maintenance are central to this becoming. “
The team have discovered that repairs and maintenance – cleaning, wiping, polishing etc – go quite some way towards sustaining this becomingness.
But things do not always go according to plan of course, sometimes repairs fail - highlighting the importance of consumer competences ( and incompetences ).
In short :
“ The success or failure of object maintenance is shown to have profound consequences for the social lives of consumer objects. “
The research is published in the latest edition of the Journal of Consumer
Culture.
16 JUNE 09
comments | permalink | back
to the top
Does one ‘ own ‘ one’s body ?
This tricky question has been testing philosophers for centuries, but has come under stronger scrutiny in the last sixty years or so with observations by Quigley M. , Honoré A.M. , and of course Wittgenstein L. .
Though appearing initially to have, on the surface, a very straightforward and common-sense answer, there are, on deeper investigation, many puzzling factors.
For example, we may ‘own’ a house, but that does not give us the right ( according to the law of most countries ) to do absolutely anything we wish to it.
And then there are the differences between ‘ owning ‘ and ‘ possessing ‘. We could own shares in General Motors but may never have set eyes on them.
Happily, the full range of enigmas may have been finally deciphered and perhaps even set to rest by an article from the School of Law and Social Sciences, at the Glasgow Caledonian University, Scotland.
In which the author comes to this reassuring conclusion :
“ It is possible but not certain that we could and should think of our bodies as property and consider ourselves to be the owners of our own ones. However, it does not matter. Nothing of significance hangs on the issue. “
Bearing in mind all the previous hard work which has gone into answering this tricky question, the results may come as disappointing to some - but, as Ludwig Wittgenstein himself once put it :
" A man will be imprisoned in a room with a door that's unlocked and opens inwards; as long as it does not occur to him to pull rather than push. "
The article ' Property, Bodies and Wittgenstien ' can be found here in
the latest (2009) issue of The Open Ethics Journal.
15 JUNE 09
comments | permalink | back
to the top
advertising
|
Editor's picksStuff* as distinct from ordinary stuff The Smart Balloons of El Taawon The Puissance of the Proletaroid
|
|
|
 |
The
Big Tie Shop
"the world's best Big Ties"
De Cecco
"the world's best commercially produced pasta"
New Scientist
"the world's best weekly science magazine"
OFFER CLOSED
Crooke's Radiometer (virtual)
Duvel
"the world's best beer"
"the world's best Sciencebase"
The "DoDo"
( Cassina )
"the world's best chair"
Firefox
"the world's best web-browser"
Bösendorfer
"the world's best pianos"
! Ltd.
"the world's best
! company"
