APR 07
Concept of the day : Ludology
- the study of video / computer games.
The word was coined back in 1999 by academic games researcher Gonzalo Frasca, and since then has emerged as a fully-fledged study discipline.
An article in the current issue of the critical theory journal Thesis Eleven focuses in particular on one Ludological aspect : Computer Game Aesthetics.
Referencing the philosophical works of Adorno, Kant, Ndalianis, and Benjamin, it argues that “ the computer game can be a locus of aesthetic form in contemporary culture. “
But what exactly does ‘ form ’ mean in this context ? :
“ Form is the enigmatic other of instrumental reason that emerges spontaneously in creative works and, in the modern era, is defined as that which makes them captivating and enigmatic yet resistant to analytic understanding. “
And where better to begin analytic probing of the enigmas than the website of Ludology’s creator : where you'll find examples of the current state of the art.
28 APR 07
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Progress since 1870
The European Space Agency’s Automated Transfer Vehicle ( ATV ) is scheduled for launch later this year.
It will act as a replacement for the Russian ‘ Progress ’ spacecraft which have been supplying the International Space Station for some time now.
“ Every 12 months or so, the ATV will haul 7.5 tonnes of cargo from its Kourou launch site in French Guiana to the Station 400 km above the Earth. “
On arrival, it will dock with the ISS to become an integral extra room for the station for six months. Then it will perform its final mission – getting rid of up to 6.5 tonnes of station waste.
Readers will no doubt be wondering if the new multimillion Euro vehicle will bring improvements to the current method of getting rid of station waste – which can be broadly described as ‘ the chuck-it-overboard method ‘. ( see previous RM article here )
The answer is no.
It will do the job in exactly the same way as the ‘ Progress ’ craft do :
“ . . .on a steep flight path to perform a controlled destructive re-entry high above the Pacific Ocean. “
The ‘ waste ’ - the composition of which does not appear on any public ISS manifest as far as Really Magazine is aware – burns up in ( and pollutes ) the Earth’s atmosphere. The remaining unburnt bits of garbage and spacecraft dump into the Pacific.
Really Magazine was wondering why the ESA had opted to call the first vehicle The Jules Verne – and now perhaps the answer is provided. From chapter 5 of his novel ‘ Round The Moon ’ ( 1870 )
“
The window, worked by a powerful lever, which conquered the pressure of air
in the interior upon the sides of the projectile, moved upon its hinges,
and Satellite was thrown out. Scarcely a particle of air escaped, and the
operation succeeded so well that later on Barbicane did not fear to get rid
of all the useless rubbish that encumbered the vehicle in the same way. “
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The ESA has just launched a competition for any interested parties to suggest pieces of music to be taken to the astronauts on the ATV’s maiden voyage. Place your suggestions here :
27 APR 07
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Mobile food
The current issue of the journal ‘ Space and Culture ‘ has a series of articles devoted to the concept(s) of food(s) and movement(s).
All articles are ‘subscribers only' – but here are some tasters.
“ This article explores how food is good to think mobilities with. "
Through the reflections of eating in the dining car by E. M. Forster and Roland Barthes, the article explores the experience of eating on the move, and goes on to examine -
“ . . . how cultures of food and eating are central to experiences of ' traveling-indwelling ' and ' dwelling-in-traveling ' through the wider connections of food mobilities. “
“ This article proposes that eating and drinking out are important performances in the consumption of place. Eating and drinking place myths draw consumers to place, and places are sensed during copresent participation in these activities. “
( examined at Betty's Café Tea Rooms and the Revolution Vodka Bar, Harrogate, Yorkshire, UK )
“ This article examines the intersecting mobilities that are involved in culinary tourism. “
as analysed from travel narratives in various travellers’ websites -
“ The term culinary tourism refers to practices of exploratory eating, especially in which unfamiliar foods are seen as an encounter with Otherness. “
26 APR 07
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The height of shopping
New research from the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management has scientifically examined, for the first (?) time, whether “ . . . the way people think and act is affected by ceiling height. “
The researchers theorized that a high-versus-low ceiling might “ prime the concepts of freedom versus confinement “ - and so have implications for consumer behaviour.
To find out, a series of three experiments, using specially constructed rooms with either 3 metre or 2.4 metre high ceilings required the participants to :
• describe their body-state as [ confined / free ]
• rate a coffee table and a wine rack as [ crude / sleek ]
• and to solve some anagrams.
Results :
• High ceilings encourage ‘ relational ’ thought – with an emphasis on data integration and abstraction.
• Low ceilings encourage ‘ Item-specific ’ thoughts – an emphasis on separately analysed and specific, relatively concrete data.
The researchers believe the work might have implications for mall designers,
store owners, art galleries and airplane manufacturers.
They go on to suggest that even more extreme ceiling heights and spatial volumes might perhaps provoke as-yet uncategorized and unquantified reactions.
“ . . . extreme expanses like the Grand Canyon might also prime distally and more abstractly related associations about one’s origins, possible other life forms, or spiritual forces . . . at present it remains uncertain whether our findings generalize to these sorts of extreme spatial volume contexts. We hope that future work will explore this and many other important issues. “
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The full research paper will be published in the August edition of the Journal of Consumer Research – but you can get a sneak preview here :
25 APR 07
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Norms ( invoking )
Hotel chains can cut down on their environmental impact ( and save a large percentage of their laundry bill ) by encouraging guests to re-use their towels. Many chains now use message cards in the guest rooms to persuade visitors to comply – but what would be the most effective message to have written on the card ?
If you wrote, for example :
“ HELP SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT.
You can show your respect for nature and help save the environment by reusing
your towels during your stay. “
Then, according to new research form the psychology dept. Arizona State University, just published in the journal Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly you could expect only around 38% of guests to agree to re-use.
Another message, which informed guests that :
“ the hotel will donate a percentage of the energy savings to a nonprofit environmental protection organization. “ fared no better.
Various other messages were tried, with varying degrees of success.
One, however, stood out, persuading almost half the guests to recycle.
The message read :
JOIN YOUR FELLOW GUESTS IN HELPING TO SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT
Almost 75% of guests who are asked to participate in our new resource savings
program do help by using their towels more than once. “
It was clear ( brushing aside the slightly-less-than-factual ‘ 75% ‘ assertion ) , that the best way to influence the guests was to imply that they would be behaving abnormally if they requested a fresh towel every day.
Any ideas for even more effective messages ? ( get in touch )
23 APR 07
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Elucidating Conceptual Twilights
Socrates once said “ The only thing I know for sure is how little I know " or “ I know that I know not “
Thus helping to lay the cornerstones for the current philosophical discipline of Fuzziology.
For readers who haven’t come across the concept before, imagine that you have a headache. But you are well-informed enough to know that the curative drugs which you have at your disposal have unwelcome side-effects in the form of gastric upsets. A non-Fuzziological approach would be to take a full dose of the drugs, cure your headache, and put up with the side effects. Whereas as a Fuzziologist might opt for a lower dose, alleviating the headache to an extent, but with only low-level side effects.
The example comes from one of the world’s leading authorities on Fuzziology, Dr. Vladimir Dimitrov at the Centre for Systemic Development, University of Western Sydney, Australia.
The doctor has built up an extensive website partially devoted to the subject, where readers can learn about Fuzziology, De-fuzzification, Social Fuzziology, Delusive Fuzziness, Fuzzy Clusters, the Vorticity of Fuzzines, and the Conceptual Twilight.
“ In a broad sense, fuzziness is the opposite of precision. Everything that cannot be defined precisely ( that is, according to some broadly accepted criteria or norms of precision ) and everything that has no clearly described boundaries in space or time is considered a bearer of fuzziness. “
or :
“ The truth contained in a fuzzy statement can neither be proved nor disproved, as fuzziness contains both 'truth' and 'non-truth' at the same time.”
For further reading, a good page to start exploring might be this one
- ‘ Discovering
Fuzziology ’ where you'll find the Main Messages of
Fuzziology 1 to 5
20 APR 07
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A few ‘ Bad apples ‘ or a ‘ Rotten Barrel ‘ ?
Back in August 1971, prof. Philip Zimbardo at Stanford University decided to set up a psychological experiment.
“ What happens when you put good people in an evil place - does the place triumph, or does the goodness of people dominate the evil place ? “
The basement of the psychology dept was converted into ‘prison cells’ and two groups of participants ( who had previously been selected as ‘normal and healthy’ via a battery of standard psychological tests ) were randomly assigned as either ‘ prisoners ’ or ‘ guards ’.
The experiment, later to become known as the Stanford Prison Experiment, was scheduled to run for two weeks, but had to be shut down prematurely, following rapidly escalating levels of verbal and physical torments devised by the ‘guards’ - culminating in " ever more pornographic and degrading abuse of the prisoners. "
Four 'prsioners' suffered emotional breakdowns, one began a hunger strike, and Prisoner #819 did a Bad Thing. After just 6 days the professor decided that the experiment had to be stopped.
“ The sad conclusion is that humanity lost that contest. “
The professor’s new book The Lucifer Effect : Understanding How Good People Turn Evil has just been published by Random House.
Recent ( and ongoing) events suggest that human nature hasn't changed much since the SPE, in fact, the experiment seems even more relevant now than it did in 1971.
here’s the book's website :
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Notes:
• During the six days, over 50 ‘outsiders’ ( college staff etc who were not involved in the experiment ) had seen what was going on. Only one complained.
• There’s a 50 minute documentary about the experiment called Quiet Rage – trailer here.
• The experiment was recently quoted in the final report of the Independent Panel to review DOD detention operations ( prompted by Abu Ghraib scandal )
( caution : 126 page .pdf )
19 APR 07
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Thorough procedural scrub-up long overdue
• 10% of in-patients in UK hospitals develop HCAI. ( that's twice the US rate )
• Health Care Associated Infections are responsible for around 5000 deaths in the UK each year.
• Most HCAIs are spread by direct contact, especially via the hands of health workers.
• Largely preventable by strict hand-washing / sterilising schemes.
• The number of high-quality long-term studies assessing the success of campaigns to improve hand hygiene compliance ? – zero.
Source : Interventions to improve hand hygiene compliance in patient
care – published
by The Cochrane Library today.
18 APR 07
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The happiest place in Europe
- is here, the Sjælland ( Zeeland ) region of Denmark.
It’s also the top-scoring location for ‘ Life Satisfaction ’ or Eudaimonia as Aristotle liked to call it.
The Faculty of Economics at Cambridge University have just published their report into regional well-being in Europe. It took account of the views of 20,000 people interviewed across 15 countries during 2004.
To determine the final results, the researchers considered a wide range of factors, such as GDP, trust levels ( of individuals, their governments, and the police ), religiosity, social intimacy, etc etc.
Although the crucial question as to how each of these factors was ‘ weighted ’ for importance in the final results is not at all clear to the mathematically-challenged ( like Really Magazine ).
And it does seem to stretch credibility just a touch that the Well-Being function ‘ Y ’ can so easily be pinned down by a formula . . .
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Readers will find the full
report .pdf here.
Our tip for the mathematically-challenged ; scroll to page 37, where the maps and graphs begin.
17 APR 07
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mmmm . . .
A proportion of Really Magazine readers may have been wondering whether cows enjoy a good scratch ? And, if so, how much ?
We direct such readers to the current issue of the Journal of Dairy Science.
Researchers from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada decided to investigate by providing dairy cows with a set of large rotary mechanical brushes ( think : carwash ).
They loved it. Within 24 hours of installation of the mechanical brush, nearly 57% of the cows had utilised it - and after two weeks all but one cow had made use of it.
And total scratching itme ( as compared to a brushless control group ) increased by more than 500%
“ . . . the results of this study show that the
use of a mechanical brush makes it easier for
cows to groom themselves, particularly in places that are hard to reach by
the cow. “
Read the research
report ( with pics of the brush ) here :
16 APR 07 (late)
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Condition of the day.
Think you might be Orthorexic ?
Colony Collapse
It’s been called Disappearing Disease, Spring Dwindle, May Disease, Autumn Collapse, and Fall Dwindle Disease - but it has now been officially re-named as Colony Collapse Disorder.
The syndrome is severely affecting bee colonies across the US, with some states reporting a 75% loss of hives. The bee-pollination industry is valued at $14.6 Billion in the US alone ( source below ). And if it were to collapse, the financial implications for other industries which depend on it would be truly vast.
( Similar colony collapses have also been reported in several other countries, notably Poland, Spain , Switzerland, Germany and Turkey. )
The symptoms resemble a plot from a sci-fi movie.
Very few dead bees are found within or near the hive. They leave and don’t return. Abandoning shelter and food supplies. Any bees which do stay are usually found to be suffering from an array of different diseases – fungal, bacterial, viral etc. Possibly suggesting a suppressed immune system. The hive remains empty, and is shunned by other nearby colonies – which would normally ‘rob’ an abandoned hive. So it’s clear that healthy bees can tell when a hive is infected.
The cause of the is, as yet, unknown. Though there are many theories – involving microbial pathogenic agents, mites, the use of supplemental sugar feeds, poisoning by pesticides ( chemical or bacterial ), toxic environmental chemicals, GM’d crops etc etc
Late last month, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture heard a testimony from the Dept. of Entomology at Penn State University , one of several US universities currently investigating the syndrome.
One of note, detailed in the report, is Bee Alert at the University of Montana, who are well positioned to help, having been researching the chemistry ( both natural and manmade ) and pathology of bee colonies with specially constructed Electronic Hives for more than ten years. ( Sadly, Really Magazine was unable to find any mention of their work on CCD on their website. )
If the causes turn out to be man-made rather than natural in origin, Really Magazine predicts that a swarm of uber-high-damages court cases could well appear on the horizon.
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Further
details of the syndrome here :
Many thanks to reader Simeon , who alerted us to the subject this via this story detailing recent Australian exports of bees to the US ( presumably they are sold rather than leased for return to Aus. )
16 APR 07
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Weighing abstractions in Hyderabad
The current (April) issue of the journal New Ideas in Psychology has an interesting article from the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad, India, entitled : Rationality and Reasoning with Metaphors.
The author argues that metaphors and analogies are ubiquitous, and asks :
“ When is it rational to accept a conclusion derived from a metaphor ? “
Because of course -
“ sometimes metaphors can be used to derive rational conclusions, sometimes not. “
- leading to the question(s) - when can they or should they be used (rationally) ?
The professor makes considerable progress along the path towards illuminating what is a notoriously slippery subject – ammunition for his argument coming from a smorgasbord of metaphorical benchmarks - referencing war declarations, paintbrushes-as-pumps, concert violinists and even the theories of Immanuel Velikovsky.
But the article doesn’t seem to quite hit the mark in terms of pinning-down a fully-gelled final-solution for metaphorical phenomena – appearing to run out of steam towards the end and leaving us with the feeling that there are still nettles to be grasped.
There’s plenty of food-for-thought though - if you’re up for it, read the full paper here :
14 APR 07
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Weather : Tans : Britney
First, a definition -
Semiotics : (n. plural) Philosophical theory of the functions of signs and symbols ( from Gk. semeiotikos ‘of signs’. )
Now turn to this month's issue of the journal Critical Discourse Studies ( Volume 4, Issue 1 April 2007 ) for an in-depth look at hegemonic discursive orders of leisure, consumption, capital accumulation, and risk management through the technologization of discourse.
As provided by semiotic analysis of the TV weather forecast. ( 3 days-worth of the Weather Channel )
The authors " demonstrate that while alternative readings of weather discourse are possible, they are nevertheless shaped by the technologization of weather discourse. "
And conclude by : “ promoting socio-semiotics and critical discourse analysis as promising theoretically-guided methodologies for analyzing discourse on the environment.”
Also see : ( by the same team, 2004 )
A semiotic examination of sun-tanning which discussed the lengths to which people will go to attain the social semiotic seductive power of the tanned body. It looked at artifical tanning too -
“ We analyze the practice of artificial tanning and the interplay among processes of seduction, impression management, self-expression, and the construction, exchange, and interpretation of embodied sign-values. “
and, from 2002
A semiotic and discourse analysis of Britney
Spears' texts
12 APR 07
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Aspidistras in Umeå
A new dissertation from the Dept. of Culture and Media at Umeå University in Sweden may help to provide insight into our connections with potted plants.
“ It deals with the relationship between humans and things, addressing the feelings of humans in relation to plants in the home. “
Background:
Potted plants belong to a group of small, everyday things that are often overlooked in relation to the truly important items on the agenda, and, superficially speaking at least, potted plants might appear to have no indispensable function in a home.
They are, nevertheless, almost ubiquitous - so it’s clear that there
must be reasons, perhaps as yet not fully explored, to explain their huge
popularity.
" These are big questions," says the ethnologist Clas Bergvall, author of the dissertation, which he will defend, a week next Friday, at Umeå University.
Read the university’s press-release here.
11 APR 07 ( midnight edition )
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More on ‘Q’s
Towards the end of last month we published a story on :
– but now, reader Orchestras has alerted us to a possible source of confusion regarding the seemingly simple formula IQ + EQ + MQ = LQ as provided by Development Dimensions International ( The World leader In Assessment Center technology )
( where: IQ is Intelligence, EQ is Emotional intelligence, MQ is Managerial Intelligence and LQ is Leadership Intelligence )
Our confusion arises via a publication from Lominger International ( The Leadership Architects ) which leads us to believe that we may have under-reported the number of leadership ‘Q’s by as much as 50%
See : The 6 Qs of Leadership.
which (re)defines the 6 ‘Q’s as :
IQ – Intelligence Quotient – how bright you are.
TQ – Technical/Operational Quotient – how able you are to get
things done.
MQ – Motivational Quotient – how driven you are to achieve and
grow.
XQ – eXperience Quotient – how many of the requisite kinds of
experiences you have had.
PQ – People Quotient – how well you handle yourself and work
with others (sometimes referred to as EQ).
LQ – Learning Quotient – how deftly you adopt new skills, behaviors
and beliefs.
Their Blueprint for Success at the Top describes in detail the complex interactions between all six.
For the time being though, we've decided to stick with the simpler version. Perhaps the collective IQ around the Really Mag office isn’t sufficiently high to fully embrace the Architecture of the 6 ‘Q’s . . .
And anyway, given the prevailing level of Leadership Excellence which we see around us on a daily basis – displayed globaly via multinational corporations, governments, and their militaries - the concept of 4 ‘Q’s seems somehow more fitting.
11 APR 07 ( late edition )
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East / West Eyes / Mouth Happy / Sad
Are the windows to the soul the same in the East and West ?
This was the subject of interest in recent joint Japanese/US study, which
looked at possible East/West differences in the interpretation of facial
expressions. The first study to demonstrate that, when interpreting emotional
expressions, people from different cultures tend to weight cues differently
in different parts of the face.
The researchers started with the hypothesis that :
“ Given that the eyes are more difficult to control than the mouth when people express emotions, we predicted that individuals in cultures where emotional subduction is the norm (such as Japan) would focus more strongly on the eyes than the mouth when interpreting others’ emotions. “
“ By contrast, we predicted that people in cultures where overt emotional expression is the norm (such as the US) would tend to interpret emotions based on the position of the mouth, because it is the most expressive part of the face. “
The experimenters opted to investigate their ideas by using ‘ emoticons ‘.
“ . . . in the United States the emoticons :) and :-) denote a happy face, whereas the emoticons :( or :-( denote a sad face. However, Japanese tend to use the symbol (^_^) to indicate a happy face, and (; _ ;) to indicate a sad (or crying) face “
Tests involving around 100 students in both Japan and the US asked the participants to rate a series of six ‘emoticons’ , and in the second part of the study, real facial photos.
The subjects rated the images from 1 to 9 ( 1 = extremely sad. 9 = extremely happy )
Findings supported the initial hypothesis :
“ Results showed that compared to Japanese, Americans weighted cues displayed in the mouth more when judging emotions, whereas Japanese tended to weight cues in the eyes more than Americans. “
There was at least one unexpected result though ;
“
. . . it is somewhat puzzling that the effect regarding the sad eyes/neutral
mouth across the two studies was somewhat unreliable. “
( emoticon 'e' above was rated as consistently ‘sad’ by both groups )
The study also raised ideas for future research : It’s suggested that perhaps
• Westerners might be misperceiving the dominant cues that Japanese use to indicate their internal emotional state.
• Japanese might be more efficient at spotting ‘false’ or non-Duchenne smiles.
Questions that may possibly be resolved with future emoticon research.
• The paper is published in the March issue of The Journal of Experimental
Social Psychology ( subscribers only )
• or read a full copy here - free of charge fO_o
11 APR 07
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6 billion broilers can’t be wrong ?
Every year in the US, around 6 billion broiler chickens eat their way though 1000 tonnes of :
Roxarsone a.k.a. 4-hydroxy-3-nitrobenzenearsonic acid.
The arsenic-based food additive has been routinely mixed into chicken feed for more than 30 years.
Despite the obvious financial interests of the chemical production industry, yesterday’s edition of the journal Chemical and Engineering News carried a story on the compound, asking, in effect, whether perhaps it’s time for a ban.
They asked the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine for an interview on the subject – but their request was declined.
They did get a comment though from David Wallinga, a physician and director of the food and health program at the Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy. One of the very few researchers who has publicly published results on arsenic levels in chicken meat.
" As a physician, I find it ludicrous that we continue feeding arsenic to chickens now that we know it increases our cancer risk, and it's unnecessary for raising chickens . . . "
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Notes :
Roxarsone has been banned in the EU since 1999.
Should it end up being banned in the US, there are still a few other approved growth promoters for the chicken producers to fall back on.
Aminoglycosides (streptomycin, neomycin, gentamycin)
Aminocyclitols (spectinomycinb)
B-Lactams (penicillinsb)
Decapeptides (bacitracinb)
Fluoroquinolones (enrofloxacin, sarafloxacin)
Lincosamides (lincomycin)
Macrolides (erythromycin, tylosinb)
Tetracyclines (chlortetracycline,b oxytetracycline, tetracycline)
Streptogramins (virginiamycinb)
Bambermycinb
Novobiocin
Oleandomycinb
They’re all Growth Promoting Antibiotics (GPAs) – creating antibiotic-resistance in the environment, and meat-based residues which are subsequently eaten by consumers.
This
2007 report, from John Hopkins University found that aside
from possible health implications for humans, and despite increased chicken
body weight,
the use of GPAs actually results in higher costs to producers
. . .
Suggesting the question . . .
10 APR 07 (late edition)
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An exclusive interview with Prof. Anders Eriksson
- professor of Phonetics at the Department of Linguistics Gothenburg University, Sweden,
The professor comments on the recent UK Govt. decision to begin tests of Voice Stress Analysis software as a means of detecting fraudulent benefit applications. ( see our item VRA > AVS > LVA > from earlier this week )
" . . . many laymen are still so impressed by anything computerized that they are willing to believe just about anything as long as a computer is used to produce the results. “
10 APR 07
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Two ways to Counter Canine Obesity.
Surveys suggest that approximately 5% of dogs in the United States are obese, and another 20 - 30 % are overweight.
A recent article in NJBiz magazine alerted us to the launch of a new drug - Dirlotapide – which was recently licensed by the FDA as a prescription medicine for the management of obesity in dogs.
There are, however some possible side effects to look out for :
Of 28 dogs tested in a manufacturer's trial, nine suffered from vomiting, three became anorexic, two developed corneal ulcers, one became ‘depressed ’ , one had ‘ seizure-like ’ episodes, and one developed ‘ inappropriate urination and defecation ’.
Also observed : diarrhea, salivation, lethargy. ( details
here via Freedom
Of Information policy at the FDA )
The dogs which were given the drug did however lose weight *( though the exact mechanism by which the chemical works is unknown ).
Dog owners wishing to circumvent any possible problems like those outlined above could take the advice of Peter Falk, a veterinarian commentator for the NJBiz article :
“ If the owners were able to make a lifestyle change - calorie restriction and increased exercise - the end goal may very well be the same [as giving them medicine].”
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* Note:
When the drug treatment is stopped, and the dog reverts to previous eating and exercise patterns, this ' can contribute to a re-gain of some or all of the weight loss that has been achieved. '
09 APR 07
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National Pollinator Week
June 24th to the 30th has been declared National Pollinator Week in the US, and a string of events across the country will draw attention to the importance of pollinators.
Birds, bees, butterflies, beetles, mosquitoes, and even bats transfer pollen between seed plants. Pollinators are needed for the reproduction of 90% of flowering plants and one third of human food crops. ( source: NAPPC )
But, due to biodiversity threats such as land development, pollution, and pesticide poisoning, pollinators around the world are under severe stress.
As events co-ordinator pollinator.org puts it : “ Our future flies on the wings of pollinators “
One of the planned events features world-famous crop artist Stan Herd, who will create a giant image of the Southern Dogface Butterfly (Zerene cesonia) in a field at Pendleton’s Country Market farm, Lawrence, KS.
The one-acre image will incorporate plants that conservationists urge for use in backyard butterfly gardens.
It will be best viewed, appropriately enough, from the air.
07 APR 07
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Mark Thomas draws attention to SOCPA again ( 2000 times )
Following on from our recent item . . . but bigger
This time, the target is 2000 demo-applications in one day . . .
You have until 10.30am Sunday the 14th of April to get your application forms in, and each demonstrator will hold a 10 minute demo at 19 different places within the SOCPA zone on the 21st of April.
Subject ? Well, ( almost ) anything you can think of really.
It's funny and it matters (we reckon )
06 APR 07
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VRA > AVS > LVA >
‘ Benefit Fraud ‘ costs the UK govt. ( and hence UK taxpayers ) £700m per year.
But, according an article in today’s Guardian, help is at hand :
“ Voice Risk Analysis technology picks up changes in a caller's voice which can be signs of stress when telling lies. “
The Govt. has decided to implement trials of the Voice Risk Analysis ( VRA ) software at jobcentres later this year.
• But what exactly is VRA ?
• How does it work ? - And, most importantly,
• How reliable is it ?
Regretably, no clues are provided by the Guardian piece.
Luckily though, Really Magazine has access to the Google™ search engine, and managed to trace the roots of VRA in a few seconds.
For example, UK based DigiLog Ltd. have been supplying insurance companies with VRA systems since 2002.
Using their Advanced Validation Solutions (AVS) techniques they are able to detect that :
“ measurable, anomalous relationships occur when there is conflict between what the brain knows to be true but what it is instructing the subject to say. “
• But what exactly is AVS ?
• How does it work ? - And, most importantly,
• How reliable is it ?
Further digging reveals that their AVS system is in turn based on patented ‘ Layered Voice Analysis ' (LVA) technologies, which are supplied to DigiLog under its exclusive deal with Israeli based Nemesysco Ltd.
And their website explains :
“ LVA detects what we call ‘brain activity traces,’ using the voice as a medium. The information that is gathered is then processed and analyzed to reveal the speaker’s current state of mind. “
• But what exactly is LVA ?
• How does it work ? - And, most importantly,
• How reliable is it ?
Clues may be found here, in the ‘ Love Detector ‘ patent from the company’s founder.
At last we know how what it is and how it
works it’s
implemented - but we're still lacking exact data on :
• How reliable is it ?
Sadly, despite our best endeavours, further digging became ineffective at this point.
If our readers can point us in the direction of any peer-reviewed independently verified scientific test of the technique's accuracy, we’d love to hear about it so that we can publish a link – and we'd be delighted too to be able to e-mail the relevant Govt. dept. ( the Home Office ) with the details.
History shows how concerned they are about spending taxpayers’ money on effective computer systems.
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• Nemesysco's Love Detector is available here :
Update:
No links to peer-reviewed validation as yet, but reader Carmelita kindly sent us this link to an article by Anders Eriksson, Professor of Phonetics, Department of Linguistics, Göteborg University, Sweden.
The Home Office may want to read it.
As might UK taxpayers.
Update :10 Apr.
A Really Magazine exclusive interview with the professor on the implications of the subject is now available here :
05 APR 07
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BioSub
Hats off to Lloyd Godson – who is at this very moment, 3 metres below the surface of a pond – known as ‘ The Pit ‘ in the Wonga Wetlands Centre, off Howlong Rd. , Albury, NSW - in his Bio-Sub.
“ He is not driven by government regulations, by corporate benchmarks or by societal norms, but by his own agenda to show that you can in fact inhabit a self-sustaining environment under water for a period of time. “
With the aid of $50,000 in prize money from Australian Geographic, Lloyd has constructed his Bio-Sub, which houses a power-generating bicycle, a computer, toilet, desk and bed – and he is scheduled to spend at least ten days there as part of the educational project he has devised.
CO2 is removed, and Oxygen is supplied via a large plastic coil filled with algae and illuminated with lightbulbs powered by solar panels above the surface. ( Really Magazine hopes that there’s also a back-up air supply tube should the BioCoil prove inadequate. Either way, Lloyd has eight years Scuba-diving experience.)
A series of interactive events will be delivered through the ESchooling Service of the South Australian Department of Education & Children's Services (DECS) .
Project details here via the Wonga
Wetlands site,
or here ( Australian Geographic )
orvia Lloyd's own pages ( unfriendly for Firefox )
04 APR 07 (late)
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Play : ' Spot the invisible link '
Story one ( yesterday )
Story two ( today )
Honesty in the wild
This month’s edition of the science journal The American Naturalist has two articles which, though quite different in terms of study area, do a have a common denominator.
The first, a joint Norwegian, Swedish, French study of male Roe Deer, has determined that : bigger, older males tend to grow larger antlers.
“ Antler size may therefore provide an honest signal of male phenotypic quality in roe deer. “
؟ ؟ ؟
The second study ( joint French / UK ) investigated owls. Specifically the hoots of male Scops Owls. The pitch of their hoots was found to be “ negatively correlated with the body weight of the vocalizer. “ in other words, the bigger the owl – the lower the hoot.
Thus allowing the birds to “ transmit honest
information on their fighting ability. “
04 APR 07
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Link of the day :
( pics here )
Insight for Politicians and Comedians.
Just over twenty years ago, a now famous psychology experiment developed the ‘ Smarties™ test ’.
Children were shown a Smarties™ tube and were asked what they thought was inside ( the usual reply being ' Smarties™ ' ). The tube was then opened in front of them by the experimenter - showing that in fact it contained pencils. The child was then asked what he/she thought another child ( who had not yet seen the tube ) might think was inside. A proportion of those tested, particularly those under 4 years old, would reply ‘ Pencils ’.
Thus it was shown that the so-called ‘ Curse of Knowledge ’ effect could cloud the judgment of children trying to second-guess how others might react to a situation.
Now, a new study, from the University of British Columbia and Yale has further investigated ‘ The Curse of Knowledge ‘ a.k.a. ‘ Hindsight Bias ’ a.k.a ‘ Creeping Determinism ‘ – but this time as applied to adults.
The series of experiments, involving hundreds of experimental adult subjects ( students ) and their opinions regarding imaginary violins and coloured boxes, confirmed the following results :
“ A person’s own knowledge can interfere with their ability to appreciate someone else’s false belief “
or, put another way :
“ - their own knowledge can substantially contaminate
their ability to
make sense of how others will think and act. “
Readers who don't mind exposing themselves to possible adverse effects of
The Curse of Knowlege can read the paper - which is scheduled for
a future issue
of
the
journal Cognition - here
:
؟ ؟ ؟
Hindsight Bias as described by Arthur C. Clarke.
“ New ideas pass through three periods: 1) It
can't be done. 2) It probably can be done, but it's not worth doing. 3) I
knew it was a good idea all along
! “
03 APR 07
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Rights ( your democratic )
If you are minded to protest ( about anything ) here ( Jubilee Gardens in
central London ) or anywhere else in the SOCPA zone,
then bear in mind that under section 132 of the UK’s Serious Organised
Crime and Police Act (SOCPA) 2005 it is an offence to organise or take part
in a demonstration – unless you ask for permission a week in advance.
You
need not feel daunted, intimidated, or go it alone though - thanks entirely
to comedic-activist Mark Thomas, who has been recently organising ‘ Mass
Lone Demonstrations ’ - 5pm to 7:30pm on the third Wednesday of
every month.
The next Mass Lone Demo will be on 18th April 2007.
Hundreds have been turning up, and, as long as they keep moving, each person can demonstrate on as many subjects as they wish ( though each subject requires the police to process the relevant paperwork . . . )
For a full history of the project, listen to this excellent half-hour BBC Radio 4 programme where Mark explains how he came to be the world record holder for the maximum number of demonstrations in the shortest period - 21 in one day . . .
and how, if you sit in the wrong London park eating a sponge-cake with the word ‘ Peace ’ written in the icing – you could well face arrest ( unless you’ve applied for permission first of course ).
؟ ؟ ؟
Note : Don't miss details of lone protestor and peace-activist Brian
Haw, who
has been taking part in a one-man antiwar protest outside the UK parliament
since 2001, and was recently voted Channel 4 TV’s Most
Inspiring Political Figure 2007. (
46% ahead of Tony Blair )
02 APR 07 (late)
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Still jam tomorrow.
“ The entire food industry of the world depends on the fact that evolution doesn’t happen “
- explains ex-Branch Chief of the Department of Guided Missiles, Chuck Missler. ( Ph.D., Louisiana Baptist University, (unaccredited))
For more, see this short video clip where he discounts evolution-theory with the aid of a jar of peanut butter.
02 APR 07
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Google broken shock ?
For the first time ever, it seems that the world's number-one search engine is broken this morning.
Surely not ? Click here. Try any search, and find . . . nothing.
01 APR 07 ( early edition )
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