OCT 09
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" If symptoms persist, consult a philosopher "
Martin g
Study profiles academic profiles
A decade, roughly, has passed since it was discovered that :
“ The human face expresses emotion asymmetrically. “
A goundbreaking study -
Nicholls, Clode, Wood, and Wood (1999, Proceedings of the Royal Society (Section B), 266, 1517-1522)
- found that when it comes to choosing a pose for facial photographs :
“ Whereas the left cheek is more emotionally expressive, the right cheek appears more impassive, hence the appropriate cheek to put forward depends on the circumstance. “
Now the findings have been refined with a new study by a joint Australian / Welsh research team.
“ Given that the stereotypical representations of members of different academic disciplines differ markedly in their perceived openness and emotionality (e.g., ‘serious’ scientist vs. ‘creative’ writer), we reasoned that people may use cheek as a cue when determining a model's area of academic interest. “
The investigators showed pictures of students to 209 participants (also students ?) – and asked them to guess whether the photo-subjects were studying Chemistry, Psychology or English. Importantly, half the pictures showed a facial pose presenting the right cheek, the other half the left one.
Analysis of the results confirmed what the research team had reasoned – finding that
“ . . . determining the best cheek to put forward depends on your academic expertise: an impassive right cheek suggests hard science, whereas an emotive left cheek implies the arts. “
Intriguingly, Psychology students showed no right-left bias -
“ . . . consistent with its position as a discipline perpetually straddling the boundary between art and science. “
The study is published here in the latest issue of the journal ‘ Laterality ‘.
Comment from reader Max L.
These findings back up my company’s bespoke
research projects - and have profound implications outside
academia - for the PR industry. When it is necessary to present a public
figure as ‘serious‘ and ‘objective‘ they
should predominently show their right cheek in publicity shots. If the idea
is to promote a more ‘caring‘ and ‘sensitive‘ approach
they should normally present their left cheek.
Many high profile individuals (and their PR teams) are blissfully unaware
of these simple yet crucial rules – and many even make the grave mistake
of looking straight into the camera, thus confusingly presenting both cheeks
to the viewer (often in a misguided attempt to imply ‘sincerity‘).
This type of 'mixed message' can and should be avoided - I
have my own PR agency which is available 24/7 to advise those with a potentially
vulnerable
public
persona
which way
to
look.
www.[deleted].ch
30 OCT 09
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Is Rap Music Misogynistic ?
“ Rap music has a reputation for being misogynistic, but surprisingly little research has systematically investigated this dimension of the music. “
To elucidate, two professors from the Department of Sociology at George Washington University listened to 403 rap songs (twice) whilst reading the lyrics. Each line was then coded to identify major misogynistic themes.
The results, which some may find surprising, have just been published in the journal ‘ Men and Masculinities ‘
“ . . . we want to emphasize that misogyny does not characterize rap music as a whole. “
Analysis showed that no less than 78% of the songs did not feature lyrical content which could be described as misogynistic.
Though 22% did, and :
“ . . . our analysis indicates that these messages are rather extreme. “
Hinting at a possible explanation for this 22%, the authors draw attention to the possibility that :
“ ’culture produces industry’ as much as ‘industry produces culture.’ . . .”
Or, as artist ‘ Too $hort ‘ puts it in his nostalgic rap ‘ Thangs Change ‘
“ . . . Rappers like me always disrespectin’ ladies,
Wonder why it’s like that, well so do I.
But I just turn my back and then I go get high,
‘ Cause I get paid real good to talk bad about a bitch.
And you bought it, so don’t be mad I got rich . . .”
Read the full study here ( advisory : contains strong language )
29 OCT 09
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Smelling inside the box.
For food manufacturers, it’s very important that the packaging which they use doesn’t unduly alter the flavour or aroma of the food product.
But sometimes there is little hard scientific data available to them – for example – exactly how does cardboard smell ?
The problem has recently been addressed by a study from the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging in Freising, Germany.
Noting that :
“ cardboards with high odor potential can cause unwanted flavor changes in foods. “
Using a combination of Aroma Extract Dilution analysis, GC-sniffing techniques and HRGC-MS analysis it was determined that the test materials hosted no less than 36 potentially malodorous compounds.
Including :
• trans-4,5-epoxy-(E)-2-decenal (with a metallic odour),
• 4-methylphenol (horsestable-like),
and perhaps most importantly
• (E)-2-nonenal (with a cardboard-like odour).
The results are published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry ( Oct
9th edition )
A similar Fraunhofer report on the same subject can be viewed here in full.
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Note :
Oddly perhaps, the study doesn’t specify which type of cardboard was used - so there will almost certainly be room for further research on the subject - using boards of different compositions, some of which of course have very different odours.
There is also the question of ‘ Bi-directional Odour Exchange ‘ [ food > packaging > back to food ] which will no doubt be familiar to anyone who has bought a take away pizza.
28 OCT 09
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Patent of the week.
United States Patent 7,607,407
Granted October 27, 2009
click the drawing for further details.
27 OCT 09 (midday edition)
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Informazoology
The term Informavore (also spelled Informivore ) was coined in 1983. When it was noticed that the way in which living organisms consume information has much in common with they way they consume food.
Since then a great deal of research has been conducted. It has taken until today, however, for the publication of a formal academic study into information foraging across multiple sources including the Web ( with regard to the way tourists search for info about holidays. )
The author has identified no less than three distinct classes of foragers - hungry for information.
“ The aggressive foragers resemble sharks and hunt constantly for information, particularly external information. The passive foragers resemble spiders, waiting for personal information that comes their way or drawing on internal information. “
The third foraging style is the ‘satiated forager ‘ - these are the ones who have been satisfied with the data they have found - or perhaps some are, in a sense, 'fed-up' with sorting through all the info on offer.
In either case it should be noted that their situation is only quasi-stable :
“ The satiated foragers might become active foragers, perhaps sharks
then spiders, due to behavioural or environmental changes. “
Read the full
study here :
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Really Magazine suggests that there may well be other classes of Informavore – some as yet under-investigated.
• The Eagle. Using its exceptional eyesight to accurately
pre-identify targets it only needs to swoop down occasionally ( though it
sometimes misses ).
• The Koala. Only eats one extremely specific type of food - hence lessening the chances of making mistakes ( but with the inevitable downside of uniformity).
• The Zebra. Grazes in a leisurely unhurried manner – but thereby necessarily spends a long time doing so ( perhaps overly long ).
• The Mole. This highly specialised forager burrows underground in relative safety ( but ultimately subsists on worms ).
27 OCT 09
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Sejant Quotidian Quiescences
As almost anyone who has made a lengthy train journey will know, staying awake can sometimes be difficult. Bearing in mind the ubiquity of this phenomenon, it’s perhaps surprising that so little formal academic study has been directed at the question.
Turn to the latest issue of the journal Cultural Geographies for an in depth examination of ‘ Mobile Timespaces of Quiescence ‘ where the author
“ . . . illuminates how the multiplicity of quotidian quiescent experiences induces a different set of experiential relationships between a more vulnerable body and the timespace of the railway journey. “
or, simply put, examines falling-asleep-on-trains.
Sadly the paper is ‘ subscribers only ‘ – but happily we can point readers in the direction of a previous paper by the same author : in which he
“ . . . explore(s) sitting as a bodily configuration where a desirable sensibility of comfort can potentially be attained. Sitting provides an ideal framework through which to explore the nuances of comfort, how it can be achieved, and, conversely, how it can subside. “
This earlier paper paints with a broader brush – examining, as it does, comfort-on-the-move in general – viz. not only the tackling the falling-asleep-on-trains question, but also highlighting the quasi-paradoxical role of chairs in cars and planes ( as well as trains ).
“ . . . whilst the role of chairs is arguably heterogeneous and distributed, the potential range of possible performances is rather limiting in that chairs on trains and planes, at stations and airports, are designed primarily to temporarily hold the body upright. “
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Also see Really Magazine January 09 for another work by the same author, on the consequences of inconsequentialities
26 OCT 09
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Keyspans in Nebraska
Bearing in mind that human hand sizes are not rigorously standardised, piano manufacturers are faced with a dilemma.
Make the keys too small and players tend to ‘ fall over ‘ the notes when playing quickly – but too big and they can’t reach extended chords.
Researchers from University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Engineering ( motto : Preparing Innovative Leaders for Tomorrow ) decided to investigate whether smaller keys ( the so-called 7/8th format ) might be more appropriate for players with smaller hands.
[ For the purposes of this study, the authors defined pianists with a hand-span of 20.3cm or less as a ‘small-handed’ . ]
Using a specially developed Joint Angle Measurement device which recorded finger movements of small-handed players on both a ‘standard’ and 7/8th keyboard ( coupled with a follow-up questionnaire ) the researchers were enabled to come to the following conclusion :
“ Although objective data findings from this study are somewhat ambiguous, it is clear from the questionnaires that the majority of small-handed participants preferred the 7/8-size keyboard over the conventional one. “
Whether keyboard manufacturers will attend to the requirements of small-handed players remains to be seen however – bearing in mind that the current ‘ standard ‘ ( 165mm to the octave ) has ‘ evolved ‘ over a few hundred years-worth of fine-tuning, user feedback and compromise.
• The research is published in the journal Applications of Research in Music Education
• University Video News Release
• Players discuss keyboard sizes here
• A Really Magazine idea ( loosely based on a guitar fretboard )
Comment from reader Schmoo
' Your keyboard adaption is the wrong way around - chords are almost always played under the melody. Keys should be close on the left for extended chords, and wider on the right for fast playing. '
[ Ah yes . . . apologies for the slipup - the correct orientation should look like this . Ed. ]
Comment from reader Rick
' It was right the first time ! The big beefy low notes should have huge and awkwardly heavy keys. The small widdly high ones can be tiny and lightweight. Think organ pipes, bells, drums etc '
23 OCT 09
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Pathbreaking in Houston
Binocular Rivalry was discovered more than a century ago. When two different images are presented to each eye, viewers perceive random and persistent alternations from one image to the other. And, more recently, a similar phenomenon was discovered with different sounds presented to each ear.
Now an entirely new effect has been uncovered :
Binaral Rivalry between the Nostrils.
Researchers at the Human Olfaction Lab of Rice University, US simultaneously presented different odours ( a ‘rose’ scent and a ‘marker’ scent ) to each nostril of test subjects.
“ Ten of the twelve subjects tested experienced switches between perceiving predominantly ‘rose’ and predominantly ‘marker’ .”
Although the exact underlying biological mechanisms are, as yet, unknown -
“ Our discovery opens up new avenues to explore the workings of the olfactory system and olfactory awareness. “
[ And, who knows, there may even be commercial applications ? Ed. ]
The research is detailed in a recent issue of Current Biology
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22 OCT 09
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Rage against the machine(s)
If you can, turn to next month’s edition of the journal Computers in Human Behavior for a look at one of the very few formal scientific investigations into Computer-Related-Anger.
The new study from the School of Health and Social Sciences at the University of Bolton, UK examines verbal, symbolic and physical aggression against computers - and concludes that :
“ . . . computer anger is likely to be a source of stress for a small but significant number of people . . . “
[ Small ? Really ? Ctrl|Alt|Del Ed. ]
• Read the full
paper here :
• Really Magazine’s overview . . .
20 OCT 09 ( late edition )
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Nothing succeeds like succeeding again
In these days of ever-dwindling revenue-streams from CD sales, pop music recording artists and their respective record companies are more focussed than ever on upwardly-leveraging sales figures.
But how ?
Help may be at hand.
Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin and Stanford University have identified a new sales effect which they are calling
Backward Spillover
“ We show that releasing a new album causes a substantial and permanent increase in sales of the artist's old albums . . . "
" . . .especially if the new release is a hit. “
The team discovered the BS effect after following the sales figures of 355 music artists over a 9 year period - and their 46 page report was recently published in the Journal of Political Economy.
The paper also paints a broader picture – with observations regarding publicity. Explained here in a Harvard press release about the study :
“ If lack of information is a major factor in buyer choice, then it represents a loss to consumers who might buy less popular products if only they knew about them. “
( The researchers suggest that getting one’s album played on the radio is usually a big help. )
Read the full
research here
20 OCT 09
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Wardrobes in Mississippi
Countries united by a common language often have considerable linguistic
and lexical variations. Thus, words which are in common use in, say, the
deep South of the US are rarely heard in the North.
A very specific group of such variations have been examined in a report just published in the journal American Speech - looking in detail at the geo-lexical options when words are used to describe ' Case Furniture '.
“ . . . responses to the Linguistic Atlas bureau/dresser question and wardrobe question are examined more closely . . . “
Really Magazine prefers the article’s original title though :
‘ Chester Drawers Goes to the Deep South: Lexical Variation in Case Furniture Terms ‘
16 OCT 09
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More on silence
Research into ' Silence ' has just been re-galvanized with the publication of :
‘ Moved by Nothing : Listening to Musical Silence ‘ in the Journal of Music Theory.
The originator of the study - The Music Cognition Lab at the University of Arkansas - is at one of the forefronts of Silence research - having previously published ‘ Context effects on the experience of musical silence ‘ ( 2006 ) and ‘ Silences in Music are Musical not Silent ‘ ( 2007 )
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• For in-depth coverage of the use of silence in music over the ( recent ) ages, see ;
‘ Silence,
music, silent music ‘ (2007, Ashgate publishers,
hardback, 253 pages. )
• For other flavours of silence, see Really Magazine’s ongoing mp3 collection.
14 OCT 09
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LOL
‘ The Linguistics of Laughter ’ by Alan Partington ( 2006) remains one of the cornerstones of laughter research. As a source of humorous material, the book examined in particular three corpora of White House press-briefings, which were analysed in detail in search of what the author calls ' laughables '.
This plethora of profitable material enabled the development of a laughter classification/categorization framework - allowing future laughter researchers to more closely pin-down particular types of laughter.
Until now though, most research projects have concentrated on what might be called ‘ two sided laughter ‘ – when a laugh generated on one side of the speaker’s podium is translated into a reciprocal laugh by an appreciative audience.
But what happens when the laughter is one sided ? ( i.e. reverberating on the podium side only )
This previously overlooked aspect of laughter research has just been addressed by the publication of :
‘ One-sided laughter in academic presentations: a small-scale investigation ‘
in the journal Discourse Studies.
The author finds that :
“ . . . one-sided laughter is a communication
strategy of mainly rhetorical nature capable of revealing the underlying
meaning of the interaction: its
hidden ideology, purpose and goal. “
Really Magazine suggests that this new field of study - one-sided laughter in academic presentations - might have the potential as an even more fruitful source of ‘ laughables ‘ than the White House press-briefing logs.
Readers’ Youtube links showing examples very welcome.
12 OCT 09
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An unusual complaint
08 OCT 09 ( midnight edition )
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I rilly lkz yr suit
‘ The world's leading information technology research and advisory company ‘ Gartner – has just press-released details of its vision-of-the-future with regard to the possible uses and misuses of corporate ' Avatars '.
“ Companies with codes of conduct for other Web activities, such as blogging, should be able to extend those policies into virtual environments. However, because 3-D environments add the visual dimension, they will need to make sure that their policies also cover dress codes. “
In other words, managers at blue chip commercial enterprise global excellence centres should be aware that their employees’ dress-codes might well have an impact on hard-won professional corporate image-buiding processes – in the real world or not.
HR & PR executives concerned for the virtual future of their company's online presence can download the relevant report ‘ Avatars in the Enterprise: Six Guidelines to Enable Success ‘ Price: US$95.00 [ you may need to ask permission from your line manager first ]
08 OCT 09 ( late edition )
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Commoditizing consumerism
“ Consumerism is a social phenomenon that is becoming increasingly significant in the modern world. The negative effects of consumerism such as energy crisis and obesity disease start to affect human’s life. “
And, according to a recent publication in the Journal of the Department of English at the State University of Malang, Indonesia, there may be no better place to examine the phenomena than The Simpsons Movie.
The movie depicts a variety of consumeristic behaviours – in scenes such as the Green Day concert, the Krusty Burger advertisement, and the Lard Lad donut.
“ Looking closely at the scenes we can see that the society depicted in the movie is a consumeristic society “
In the final analysis though the research pinpoints an interesting conundrum.
“ . . . looking at the form of the movie that is also a product commoditized and sold to the consumer, there is a tendency of ambivalence. It is possible that the criticisms employed in the movie can be used to criticize the movie itself. “
So. as the author points out, the inherent enigmatic complexities of a film which is itself a high-grossing global consumer product clearly present opportunities for further work :
“ Future researcher can also take the same issues from this research and look at the issues from different perspectives. Therefore, further studies on The Simpsons Movie are possible and highly suggested. “
or, in other words :
“ The result of this study can also be used to study further issues related to the objectives of this study. “
The full thesis can
be found here :
08 OCT 09
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Furthering understanding of HAO
There are of course many hundreds of formal scientific studies into Human Axillary Odor ( a.k.a. underarm B.O. )
But only a very few (2) have investigated whether Human Axillary Odor might have a laterality aspect. In other words, do left armpits smell exactly like right armpits ?
Back in 1982 a study by Bird and Gower found that, yes, there was a difference - between what they termed the ‘superior‘ armpit and the ‘inferior‘ one.
But now a new study, recently published in the journal ‘ Chemical Senses ‘ flags the need for caution – for this time a ( different ) research team found no difference – but with a curious exception - the case of left handed people - whose armpits smelled discernibly different.
The reasons, and potential practical knowledge-based applications, are yet to be determined.
Read the full study here.
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Really Magazine’s suggestions for possible future funding armpit-related research :
• Does the smell vary according to diet ?
• Does it change at weekends ?
• Is it affected by watching different genres of TV and video ?
• Could it be used to detect terrorists at airports ?
etc etc etc etc etc etc etc ( repeat until funding dries up )
06 OCT 09
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