DEC 05
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No
A survey of 3,600 people in the UK has found unequivocal public support ( 71% ) for a smoking ban in ALL workplaces, including all pubs and all restaurants.
Odd then, that government ministers “ have said again and again that public opinion in England does not support a comprehensive smokefree law. “ ( source: Cancer Research UK )
Have
the ministers been misinformed ? Or could it be that the tobacco industry
contributes enormously to the govt. coffers ?
The tax revenues generated by the sales of tobacco barely covers the costs of providing (free) healthcare to the 364,000 UK residents whose health is seriously damaged by smoking each year.
But, as the treasury long since worked out, the country saves a fortune every year on state pensions which would have been paid out to 114,000 citizens – had they not died early from tobacco-related illness. . .
* figures source: www.ash.org.uk
For an overview of the new survey, click here:
* * *
Here’s a few choice cig ads from the 1950's courtesy tobaccodocuments.org
Camels agree with your throat !
It’s wise to smoke extra-mild Fatima – “I agree . . .“ says NURSE Shirley Gellman
Your voice of wisdom says SMOKE KENT
The ‘Dawnette cigarette glove’ .
31 DEC 05
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Keeps fresh for 14 years.
“ US intelligence service bugged website visitors despite ban ”.
Says this piece in today’s Guardian .
The story reveals that -
“ Monitoring files, known as ‘ cookies ‘, were discovered by a privacy activist “ . . .
They’d been stored on users’ computers when they visited the National Security Agency (NSA) website.
But, is the use of the word ’ bugged ’ in the headline perhaps just a touch alarmist ?
Cookie = bugging device ?
Errrrr . . . really ?
The piece goes on to explain that it’s not the use of cookies per-se that is objected to – but the fact that they are ‘persistent’ ( i.e. remain on the system for several years )
“ the site was using two persistent cookies that would not expire until 2035, well beyond the life of most computers.”
Nasty stuff.
Fortunately, the excellent Firefox browser allows users to see all the cookies installed on their system ; the content and the expiry date.
So, Really Magazine was able to identify the following cookies stored on the office computer - by none other than www.guardian.co.uk
Here they are : [ with expiry date ]
• GU_ST : [ at end of session ]
• GU_revsci : [ Friday, December 30, 2005 ]
• GU_LOCATION : [ Friday, January 20, 2006 ]
• GU_MU : [ Saturday, December 26, 2015 ]
• CP : [Tuesday, December 31, 2019 ]
Could a Guardian cookie programmed to expire in 14 years time be considered a touch ‘ persistent ’ ?
* * *
p.s. If you'd like to wipe all the cookies off your system, use the Firefox web-browser, which comes with one of these . . .
Note: The Really Magazine site does not install cookies, or any other tracking devices.
30 DEC 05
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Wait 15 seconds, and press 
The slightly worryingly named ‘ Central Commission for Discipline Inspection ‘ has launched a new website to report corruption.
The details were released yesterday via China’s Xinhuanet news agency
The new site will allow any Chinese residents to ( anonymously ? ) pinpoint dodgy officials - and is part of the central government’s ongoing attempt to rid the country of endemic corruption.
Citizens ( with access to the www ) can now report incidents of corruption directly to the ministry, rather than having to contact their own local officials – which, in the past was the only, possibly risky, method.
If the system works, and is itself corruption-free, it will be interesting to see if any other countries pick up the same, highly radical, idea . . . Is there a country on the planet which couldn’t benefit from such a facility ? ( o.k., Iceland, maybe )
The Xinhuanet story also reveals that “ 67,000 new songs with anti-corruption themes were composed and over 24,000 singing concerts held in the past year to educate key officials about self-discipline.”
Here is a direct
link to the new site ( as translated by AltaVista’s
Babelfish )
29 DEC 05
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Jam tomorrow ?
The first Galileo launch went well.
The new satellite net claims to be the first non-military positioning system. The other two systems, already in operation ( the US GPS and Russia’s GLONASS ) were, or course, unashamedly developed to allow accurate global targeting of missiles and ‘smart’ bombs.
You won’t find any mention of military applications on the official Galileo website.
Just the news that a more accurate ( paid-for ) version of the data will be available for ‘commercial and industrial users’.
It may be wise for the military not to get too involved with the new system, because, as was agreed by the European Commission (EC) back in July last year, the door has been specially left open so that Galileo can be electronically jammed ( ‘ in times of war ‘ * ) by the US.
In 2004 the EC obligingly agreed to change Galileo’s operating frequencies
so that the US could jam the system without affecting their own GPS ( M-Code ) devices.
(source: New Scientist 03 July 2004 ‘Galileo fudged ’ )
Really Magazine couldn't find any mention of the J-word on the official website though – perhaps we missed it.
* * *
* The US administration seems to be of the opinion that it is ‘at war’ now . . . as in “ Make no mistake about it, we are at war “ (source: Second Term Accomplishments and Agenda Priorities speech Aug 03 2004 ).
28 DEC 05
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Holes revealed in Liverpool.
‘ What exactly is a hole ? ’ asks a yet-to-be-published research paper from the Visual Perception Lab at the University of Liverpool.
The paper offers the following definition :
“ A visual hole can be defined as a 2D region on a surface surrounded by a closed contour but perceived as an aperture (a missing piece of surface) through which a further surface is visible.“
Though Really Magazine prefers this more enigmatic outline from the paper’s footnotes :
“ a hole requires an object whilst an object does not require a hole. “
Some questions remain unanswered.
More work is necessary.
Watch this space.
27 DEC 05
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Off-centre Caribbean gyrations ?
“
scientists have suspected that dance so often plays a role in courtship because
dance quality tracks with mate quality ” said Lee Cronk, associate
professor of anthropology at Rutgers University, New Jersey.
Researchers used motion capture techniques to cut’n’paste dance movements of 183 Jamaican teenagers onto computer generated ‘stick-figures’.
The researchers ( rather than the subjects ) then rated the dance movements according to how ‘symmetrical’ they were.
Later, the teenagers evaluated each of the performances for ' dancing ability '.
“ They found that symmetric males received better dance scores than symmetric females and that female evaluators rated symmetric men higher than male evaluators rated symmetric men.”
You
can a video of two examples ( .wmv format, 12Mb or so ) ( non-streaming,
for some peculiar reason ) here:
Oddly though, to our untrained eye, the ‘asymmetric’ dancer looks perfectly fine too.
Really Magazine is clearly choreographically challenged.
Rutgers
Press
release here :
26 DEC 05
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BMJ Xmas Scoops
Hats off to the British Medical Journal (BMJ) who have published so many articles in their double Christmas issue that Really Magazine can’t cope . . . Just click the links to view.
Link: " The case of the disappearing teaspoons: longitudinal cohort study of the displacement of teaspoons in an Australian research institute “
( determined the overall rate of loss of workplace teaspoons and whether
attrition and displacement were correlated with the relative value of the
teaspoons or type of tearoom. [ Macfarlane Burnet Institute for Medical
Research ])
Link: “ Harry Potter casts a spell on accident prone children “
( Releasing Harry Potter books seems to reduce the incidence of traumatic injuries in children [John Radcliffe Hospital ])
Link : “ Shape of glass and amount of alcohol poured: comparative study of effect of practice and concentration “
( Determined whether people pour different amounts into short, wide glasses than into tall, slender ones. [ Cornell University ])
Link : “ Didgeridoo playing as alternative treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome: randomised controlled trial “
( self explanatory [Univ. Hosp. Zurich])
23 DEC 05 (late)
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Luvvies under the microscope
If you subscribe to the journal ‘ Personality and Individual Differences ‘ you’ll be able to gain some thespian insight in the forthcoming January issue.
A research article from the University of Newcastle, entitled ‘ Psychological profiles of professional actors ‘ describes how –
“ Actors of both sexes [ scored ] significantly higher than comparison groups in extraversion, openness to experience, and agreeableness. “
very touching . . .
Though there was “ a trend towards higher neuroticism.”
Oooooh !
The actors also scored significantly more highly than comparison groups on Baron-Cohen’s empathizing quotient * – ( no, not that Baron-Cohen – this one ).
Here’s an
abstract of the article . .
* * *
* Note : some example questions from the test, revealing how empathetic you are . . .
" I am interested in knowing the path a river takes from its source to the sea. Strongly agree? Slightly agree? Slightly disagree? Strongly disagree? "
" When I read the newspaper, I am drawn to tables of information, such as football scores or stock-market indices. Strongly agree? Slightly agree? Slightly disagree? Strongly disagree? "
etc etc etc
23 DEC 05
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Betrayal Blindness
Would you rate yourself as part of the ‘ reality-based community ’ ?
If so, you might be interested to read an article in this month’s Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy which is running a ‘special’ on ' The Social Psychology of the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election'.
It neatly links the concept of Betrayal Blindness ( a term previously used with reference to personal relationships ) to voting behaviour.
Exit polls from the 2004 U.S. presidential election indicated overwhelming support for President Bush among voters who said they valued honesty, even though the Bush administration had been sharply criticized for deceiving the public . . .
As the New York Times put it :
“Voters who cited honesty as the most important quality in a candidate broke 2 to 1 in Mr.Bush’s favor . . . “
Sensing an irony overload ?
Does the ‘Healthy Forests Initiative’ really describe a plan to cut down more trees ?
And can the ‘Clear Skies Initiative’ really mean a plan that will ultimately allow more pollutants in the air ?
Is the reality-based community a pipe-dream ?
Anyway, with Betrayal Blindness and Betrayal Trauma Theory firmly in mind, how does the author see things panning out in the future ?
“ Assuming the Bush administration continues its deceptive practices, one
should not expect conservative Americans to suddenly notice that
they are being lied to.”
See: Lies in a Time of Threat: Betrayal Blindness and the 2004 U.S. Presidential
Election.
22 DEC 05
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Shocking V.O. news
New research from the University of Washington Business School has shown that :
“ The relationship between celebrity attitude and attitude toward brands paired with the celebrity's voice is moderated by identification of the celebrity but only when attitude is measured explicitly. “
All clear ?
Perhaps the press-release summation is more easily digestible :
“ Television commercials featuring celebrity voice-overs are most influential when consumers can't identify which actor it belongs to. “
Which is most of the time of course.
Begging the question :
‘Why are ( extremely expensive ) professional actors used at all ?’
Here’s the Really Magazine explanation :
Professional actors are ( in general ) extremely good at doing voice-over work quickly and efficiently – they’re also ( in general ) supremely patient when it comes to putting up with endless ( and pointless ) re-takes emphasising different syllables of the phrase they’ve been hired to record.
“Hmmm, that was wonderful darling - superb - but can we do just one more stressing the ‘not’ instead of the ‘butter’ ? ” ( repeat with variations until the studio time runs out – then choose the first take anyway ).
There’s another reason too – the ad. agency producers and the clients ( the manufacturers of the product in question ) get to meet mega-famous celebrities. If Sean Connery is doing the voice-over you can be sure that the C.E.O.s and a swarm of other execs will turn up at the recording session . . .
The research is published in this month’s Journal of Consumer Research.
Or read the press release here :
* * *
Note: On a broader note, we might also ask, “ does
television viewing cultivate perceptions of the prevalence of societal
affluence through a memory-based
process that
relies on the application of judgmental heuristics.? ”
Luckily, this is also covered in the same issue of Journal
of Consumer Research
21 DEC 05
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Nosocomials under the microscope
8.7% of patients admitted to acute care hospitals acquire infections directly
from the hospital or its staff. . . if you are unlucky enough to be admitted
to intensive care, you can expect the figure to rise to 25% ( source: WHO )
Thus, at any time some 1.4Million people worldwide are suffering from infectious complications associated with healthcare ( nosocomial infections ). In the US alone, 80,000 die every year as a result.
Much of the problem could be avoided if doctors / nurses disinfected their hands properly before attending patients. But only 25% do . . .
“ Hand hygiene, a very simple action, remains the primary measure to reduce healthcare-associated infection “
“ Availability of alcohol-based hand rubs is critical to promote effective hand hygiene practices . . . “
But to compound the problem, there are also ‘ cultural and religious factors ‘ which are discouraging some hospital staff from basic hand-hygiene.
Specifically, the reluctance of some followers of Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikh religions – who won’t touch alcohol.
The appalling situation was underlined at this week’s Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) , in Washington DC.
World Health Organisation consultant Dr Benedetta Allegranzi, presented a talk on the subject entitled ' Religious and Cultural Aspects Influencing Hand Hygiene Promotion Worldwide '.
The WHO is at present researching “ possible solutions to overcome religious and cultural barriers for the use of alcohol-based hand rubs ”
Let’s hope they find one p.d. quickly. And that it doesn't contain anything less benign than alcohol.
( The ICAAC is sponsored by . . . )
See :
http://www.who.int/patientsafety
( caution: .pdf )
20 DEC 05 (late)
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Enhanced cubicity revised.
Full marks to Saab, who, as from November, have managed to correct
their ad copy in New Scientist magazine.
The ' all-new Saab 9-3 SportWagon ' can now carry 1273 litres ( instead of the mysterious 1273 cubic litres it used to hold ).
Could it be the ad agency saw our piece back in September ?
Probably not.
20 DEC 05
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Chronically happy
Frederick Nietzsche famously wondered whether he was depressed because
he was ill, or ill because he was depressed. On a similar tack, a new joint
study from
the University of California , the University of Missouri ,
and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, asked :
‘ Does happiness lead to success ’ ? ( rather than success making one happy )
To investigate, the researchers trawled though 225 scientific papers in the current issue of Psychological Bulletin - covering an impressive 275,000 participants.
The papers used various happiness / positive aspect (PA) measuring techniques such as :
• The Life-as-a-whole index
• The FACS Duchenne smile
• The Delighted-Terrible Scale
• Cantril’s Ladder Scale
• and The Chinese Happiness inventory
The results ?
“ chronically happy people are in general more successful across many life domains than less happy people “
The researchers do point out though, that happiness alone isn’t necessarily all one needs in life : “ Other resources, such as intelligence, family, expertise and physical fitness, can also play a role in people's successes."
Who would have . . . .
Access the 53 page report, published yesterday, here : it should make you smile.
* * *
Also check this version of Eric Idle's classic from the Brobdingnagian Bards
19 DEC 05
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Disease mongering
It’s early yet, but Really Magazine would like to remind readers that registrations are open for the upcoming ‘ Disease mongering ‘ conference in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia - April 11th to 13th 2006.
Here’s the conference programme :
The concept of disease mongering might be summed up as ‘ selling sickness in order to sell drugs ‘
To put things into context, the pharmaceutical industry is the world's most profitable stock market sector – revenues currently approaching half a trillion dollars per year.
“ During 2000 more than $13.2 billion was spent on pharmaceutical marketing in the US alone. “ ( source : Sourcewatch )
Could it be that disease risks are sometimes exaggerated – or even invented ?
viz. marketing drives pushing non-effective drugs for non-existent diseases ?
If you have the chance, ( and $440 AUD to spare ) you might be able to find out in Newcastle.
* * *
( p.s. in the interests of balance, here’s a
recent .doc from the
The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry – which insists
that disease mongering doesn’t exist. )
16 DEC 05
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Data pipes
Following the enthusiasm shown by the electricity distribution industry for sending internet data along powerlines, Really Magazine would like to draw attention to what seems to be a vast swathe of www opportunities for other utility companies . .
A new study from the University of Missouri-Rolla has found that it’s possible to send 802.11 signals along gas pipes.
“ We found that we could communicate over a little less than a mile with a 24-inch pipe ”
The systems were being evaluated as an aid to remote-sensing of pipe inspection robots – but Really Magazine believes that the idea has money making implications too . . . Why not turn the gas pipe grid into an internet backbone ?
And why stop there? There’s the water supply grid too – still with vast stretches of metal piping ( full of electrically conductive water ) to use for transmissions ?
The list goes on : oil/gas pipelines : canal systems : sewers etc etc.
You read it here first.
15 DEC 05
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Asimo updated.
Honda have unveiled a ‘new model’ of their famous ¥20Million
robot ‘ Asimo ’.
Here’s a direct link to a video of him it in action.
Is it just us, or does he it seem to have painful feet ? What has he it been up to ?
For more details see today’s TokyoTimes
14 DEC 05 (late)
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" Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts. "
said Richard Feynman.
The notion has just gained further credibility following a recent study from the Norwegian Food Research Institute - which compared experts’ - and the public’s - rating of cheese.
12 Norwegian cheeses were evaluated by a panel of specialists whose job is to “ professionally predict the likelihood of consumer rejection of a product “.
Then 5 of the cheeses [ what happened to the other 7 ? Ed. ] were given to 110 consumers to rate for “ hedonic liking, plus flavor intensity and degree of soft/firm texture ”
The results, were, in one case at least – notable.
“ One notable finding was that one of the cheeses, which was scored lowest overall by the experts, was scored higher among one consumer segment. “
Thus suggesting that one should not always trust experts when it comes to evaluating prospective hedonic liking of lacto-based foodstuffs.
The research will be published in the next issue of the ‘J ournal
of Food Quality ‘ – or you can read a short description here :
14 DEC 05
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How to make money from p0rn in China.
If you are a resident of the Guangdong Province you can now make up to 2,500 yuan ( US$309 ) each time you report a ( local ) p0rn site to the authorities.
Announced by the Guangdong public security department at a press conference yesterday, the new measures are aimed at ‘protecting the health of young people’.
Informants can report infringements to the official govt. site, and, to protect their identity, they can use a six digit ID number instead of their name. ( The number can later be used to collect the 'reward' in the case of a successful prosecution.)
Here’s the govt. official
web info page ( as translated by AV’s
Babelfish )
13 DEC 05
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Re the fire at the UK's Buncefield oil depot.
From The Guardian ( Mon 12 Dec )
“ The black plume that has been drifting across southern England is non-toxic. “
Also From The Guardian ( Mon 12 Dec ) ( errrr . . . that’s the same article )
“ The blaze sent a plume of toxic black smoke
into the sky after a series of explosions . “
12 DEC 05 (late)
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Facial recognition.
Computer research labs across the globe – replete with funds allied to the fat-ginst-terrism – are trying 1001 ways to achieve reliable facial-recognition systems. It takes enormously sophisticated hardware and software to do the job, and even the best systems are still a long way from 100% reliable.
Effortless as it may seem to the average human, the task of recognising a face obviously requires a vastly sophisticated computational system - or does it ?
Errrr . . . maybe not.
A bee can do it.
This month’s Journal of Experimental Biology carries info on the research
carried out at the neurobiology lab of Johannes Gutenberg Universität,
Germany which has shown that bees can distinguish human facial photos from
a crowd with 80% accuracy –
They even managed to ‘remember’ faces for a couple of days. And they could pick out the photos when they were turned upside down ( although the accuracy was lower ).
Will teams of trained bees on the government payroll soon be appearing at airport check-in desks ?
They could even combine their skills with non-lethal restraint duties too
?
12 DEC 05
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Doubtedly
Researchers from the Johns Hopkins University Space Telescope Science Institute have “ mapped the location of invisible ‘dark matter’ in unprecedented detail in two very young galaxy clusters “
According to yesterday's press release the result of the team's analysis is “ a series of vividly detailed, computer-simulated images illustrating the dark matter's location. “
It goes on to explain that
“ Dark matter presents one of the most puzzling problems in modern cosmology. Invisible, yet undoubtedly there — scientists can measure its effects — its exact characteristics remain elusive. “
'Undoubtedly there' ? Really ?
Interesting as the work is, Really Magazine would like to point out that the ‘Dark Matter’ idea is just an intriguing theory at this stage.
An alternative explanation is that we only have a very limited understanding of the way gravity works on universal scales . . .
If the effect of gravity isn’t linear, then the maths ( currently out by 90% ) could work without the 'need' for Dark Matter.
10 DEC 05
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Clots
Accident n. an unfortunate event, esp. one causing physical harm or damage. ( Oxford English Reference Dictionary.)
Around 8,000 – 9,000 UK air travellers develop Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)
every year.
500 to 1000 of them die as a result. ( source : BBC news )
Economy-class syndrome traveller's thrombosis is caused ( or at least encouraged ) when a passenger has to sit in a very confined space for several hours – such that the blood-flow in the legs becomes unduly restricted.
As has been pointed out many times, if airlines transported animals ( of the same size as humans ) in the conditions that economy-class air travellers have to endure, then they would be breaking national and international laws which demand each creature has enough room to move around – at least a little.
If you had been severely damaged by DVT, or one of your friends or relatives had died as a result of it, would you be tempted ( given the budget ) to sue the airline concerned for failing in their ‘duty of care’ ?
As of yesterday, you can forget it. ( in the UK at least )
The UK’s House of Lords has – deliberated – and blocked the way so that passenger cannot sue the airlines.
Perversely, the decision was based on whether DVT damage is ‘accidental’ or not. If it could be considered ‘accidental’ then, under the Warsaw Convention, the airlines would be liable . . .
The House of Lords has thus launched a highly disturbing logical paradox.
If, as the Law Lords claim, DVD isn’t caused ‘accidentally’, then what ? Is it deliberate ?
If it’s not an accident, then wouldn’t that confirm the airline’s culpability ?
So, what could be the origin of such an ‘imaginative’ legal decision ?
The BBC sums it up this way,
“ If the Lords had allowed the appeal, it is believed airlines throughout the world would have faced huge damages claims. “
Put another way. How many occupants of the House of Lords travel economy
class ?
* * *
Editor's note.
Really Magazine is always acutely aware of how easy it is to criticise without giving any alternative and helpful solutions to problems.
So. here is our suggestion for a new seating format for all economy class
flights. We can confidently predict that this new layout, if adopted, would
considerably
reduce the risk of DVT.
And while we’re about it, here’s a suggestion to renew the seating arrangements in the House of Lords.
09 DEC 05
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Don’t mention the MIBMS
Global software piracy is currently running at 35% according to a new report from the Business Software Alliance.
According to the BSA, the global IT industry contributes nearly $1.7Trillion a year to ‘global economic prosperity’ – and reducing piracy by just 10% could create
“ 2.4 million new jobs, $400 billion in economic growth and $67 billion in tax revenues “
The study looked at software piracy in 70 countries – and focussed as well on 'organised piracy' “ which has become a legitimate business in some countries "
You can download the BSA ‘ White
Paper’ (
32 page .pdf file ) here.
The paper goes into very considerable detail about the levels of piracy in individual countries. Really Magazine wasn’t, however, able to find any mention of the concept of what might notionally be called ‘ Manufacturer Initiated Backdoor Market Seeding ’ (MIBMS)
Major software manufacturers are presumably well aware that a substantial proportion of the pirated packages go to users who would never have been potential customers anyway – they simply don’t have the money.
But those users train themselves on the pirated copies, get ‘hooked’ on the proprietary file formats, and help to promote awareness of the product.
Could this explain how it’s possible that pirate versions of very expensive software packages often turn up on the black market before the same releases are available for sale from the legitimate dealers ? . . . Where do these copies originate ?
Really Magazine is not claiming that MIBMS is a good thing – or a bad thing – or even that it really exists. But if it does go on, then it should be admitted to : and used to modify the figures.
p.s. Really Magazine also failed to find a mention of the hugely profitable ‘alternative software manual’ industry. Practically any large bookshop nowadays stocks shelves-full of very expensive guides to major software packages. Some are presumably bought by the legitimate owners of software ( but they also have the full set of manuals anyway ) . . .
Could it be that the majority are sold to users of pirate software who can get the programme for a few dollars on a CD , but who can’t get a legit copy of the 600 page manual ?
* * *
08 DEC 05
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Lithuania – two points.
Atomstopp.com is running a campaign to collect 1,000,000 signatures from EU citizens who are opposed to the expansion of nuclear power.
Anyone wanting to sign the petition can download this form and send it in by post to the organisers before April 26th 2006.
Here are the results so far :
which show a very marked difference in the responses from different countries.
Way ahead at the top of the anti-nuke league is France, ( 111606 signatures ) – compare that with the UK (442) and Lithuania (2)
Why the huge differences ? Really Magazine has no idea. As far as we know, the wind-borne drift of fallout from the Chernobyl disaster (hence the April 26th date) did not take much notice of national boundaries.
07 DEC 05
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Guiyang Alien Investigation
Was the Baiyun district of Guiyang, capital of Guizhou Province, in China visited by aliens in 1994 ?
What is certain is that more than 27 hectares of pine trees ‘fell
down’ and
night-shift workers reported being pulled upwards by ‘strange forces’.
The causes will be investigated with the help of a US$20 million grant announced yesterday.
The money is coming from an un-named ' Taiwan-based company ’.
So China will soon have its first officially publicised UFO research base – and with a $20Million kick-start it’s sure to attract the attention of visitors of all kinds.
We should perhaps bear in mind though the advice given by an official Chinese tourist-info site for Guiyang :
“As the incipient Chinese tourist industry gathers
momentum however, expect the innocent spirit of these fragile societies
to be compromised by
the easy lure of the tourist dollar.”
See: http://news.xinhuanet.com
06 DEC 05
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Oi ! you spilled my mineral water you [ deleted ] !
“ Researchers and the lay public have long known of a link between alcohol and aggression. “ says the intro to a new research paper from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
But, ask the researchers, is that because of alcohol’s chemical effects on the brain – or because of – “ an artifact of the belief that alcohol has been consumed “ ?
Could it be possible :
“ for alcohol-related cues to elicit aggressive thoughts and hostile perceptions in the absence of alcohol “ ?
In other words, could just being exposed to alcohol-related cues and materials encourage “ antinormative behavior ” ?
To test the conjecture, the researchers showed experimental subjects ( 125 students ) carefully chosen newspaper, magazine and internet advertisements from beer, vodka, cheese and paper-towel manufactures.
They then read a ‘story’ about a character called Donald, “ engaging in a series of ambiguously hostile behaviors “
Next, Donald was rated for six positive traits - dependable, kind, interesting, considerate, intelligent, and thoughtful :
and six negative traits - hostile, narrow-minded, unfriendly, selfish, dislikable,
and boring.
The students were not, of course, given any actual alcohol. But nonetheless, it was discovered that simply presenting psychological stimuli around the subject of alcohol “ can significantly influence aggression-related outcomes in the absence of alcohol “
The implications ?
“ The current findings have implications for aggressive behavior that occurs in venues where alcohol is served (e.g., parties, bars), suggesting that patrons could be at risk for experiencing aggression even if they do not drink. “
The paper will be published in the January issue of the journal ‘ Psychological Science ’ – or you can read a .pdf here . . .
Note : With regard to the story of Donald . . .
“ Inspection of the correlation structure indicated that ratings on the boring dimension did not correlate well with the other negative ratings; ratings for boring were therefore excluded from the negative ratings scale. “
05 DEC 05
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Flatulent Ruminant update
A healthy cow can eat around 50Kg of grass per day. That gives rise to a fairly astonishing 1,500 Litres of CO2 and up to 600 Litres of methane ( CH4 ).
Unfortunately for Greenhouse Earth, methane is roughly six times more efficient at trapping atmospheric heat. Although levels in the atmosphere appear to have stabilised, it is reckoned to account for about 20% of the global Greenhouse Effect.
A team from the Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen, Scotland, are developing a food additive ( based on Fumaric acid ) which may help to reduce cow-based methane emissions by 70%.
see: http://www.planetark.org/
The story originates from Reuters, so, understandably, is receiving wide coverage in the media. Oddly though, Really Magazine hasn't seen any reports which trace the origin of the idea, which isn’t new – or, as far as we can tell, Scottish.
Research into the use of fumaric acid as a methane reducer has been going on for some time around the world – here’s a paper from Japanese researchers in 2001.
* * *
Note : the Flatulence Tax proposed by the New Zealand Govt in 2003 has now been abandoned after widespread protests.
03 DEC 05
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Coffee & BOLD
Coffee has been scientifically proven to stimulate activity in the anterior cingulum, the part of the brain which controls attention.
I5 healthy volunteers were given ‘the equivalent of’ two serious cups of coffee. Then, using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) their brains were scanned to see if there was any increased activity in their frontal lobes. And there was.
“ increased BOLD responses due to caffeine were observed in brain regions subserving central executive functions as well as in posterior cortical regions for processing of verbal information “
( BOLD responses - meaning Blood-Oxygenation Level Dependent - show up well in fMRI scans, due to paramagnetic effects of blood deoxyhemoglobin – in other words, they pinpoint areas demanding extra oxygen )
Every time you have a caffeine shot, something like this happens :
see: the RSNA press release here :
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According to the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), caffeine is currently the most widely used stimulant in the world.
02 DEC 05
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Is that a freezer with a TV in the door – or a TV with a built-in freezer ?
Technoism is defined as “ suppressed skepticism and blind compliance with regards to the technology revolution in our lives.”
And, as the associate professor of organizational leadership and supervision at Purdue University , Indiana, points out – the imminent gift-purchasing frenzy puts consumers at risk of buying unnecessarily teched-up gizmos.
Further info from the Purdue press-release.
The professor has also produced a ‘ tick-the-column ’ form
( .pdf – sadly
ther’s no interactive on-line version as yet ) 'Are
you a victim of Technoism ? ' - which you can use to asses yourself.
( don’t forget to add one more point if you failed to complain to the manufacturer after your last techno-purchase-debacle)
01 DEC 05
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