Martin Gardiner

UNDERSCORING EMERGENT INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENTS
 
 
MAR 10


 
 



 

“ Doing what little one can to increase the general stock of knowledge is as respectable an object of life as one can in any likelihood pursue ”

Charles Darwin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

       

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There not there

Turn to the latest edition of the journal Differences  for an essay by Lee Edelman, Fletcher Professor of English Literature and Chair of the English Department at Tufts University around the theme of ‘ The Absence of Theory ‘

In which the author suggests that -

“ . . . the reification of difference as specific, identifiable differences marks the inescapable turning away from the absence, the difference from identity, the insistence of exclusion as such that difference tries to address. “

In the same issue though, Jacques Khalip, assistant Professor at the Department of English, Brown University, takes a different stance in his response-essay ‘ The Remains of Difference ‘

“ Explicit in Edelman's essay is the point that difference is meaningful insofar as it testifies to a turning or torquing ethics of reading that demands that we contemplate but not acquire the disfigurations it compels. In its critical illegibility, difference is neither a model nor an apparatus that can be gesturally employed to get things right. To do so would imply that difference, like an ideal, can methodologically serve and justify the ostensibly positive yields of interpretation. Instead, difference is a kind of syncope or suspension of (dis)belief, a stalling of consequence that turns our belief elsewhere to places 'not there'— to the exclusions or excessive remainders that haunt thought. “


31 MAR 10 (midday edition)



New journal for 2010

‘ Celebrity Studies ’

One of the editors clarifies its origins and aims :

“. . . our aims in the beginning were very much to move away from just to get into the province of film-stardom and to open it out to a broader media context, to reflect the wider context, which is now celebrity studies. “

The journal also incorporates Celebrity Forum, which will feature shorter items – though noting -

“We are acutely aware that the pressures of national research assessment frameworks, such as the Research Excellence Framework (REF) in the United Kingdom, the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) in Australia and the Performance-Based Research Fund (PBRF) in New Zealand, can make us very wary of publishing short pieces such as those called for here.”

Perhaps with this kind of thing , or this in mind ?

Either way, its section editor sums up :

“ . . . I look forward to publishing the first piece on 'low' cultural forms such as TMZ, heat's 'what's hot', Popbitch and Holy Moly (if 'celebs' are not low enough!). “

The whole journal is available as a free issue here :

 

31 MAR 10


This week's new patents

Five new US patents granted this week . . .

Y

yes . . . but what are they ?

 

Sorry, time's up . . .

 

Click the pics to find out . . .

 

30 MAR 10 (midday edition)


The Crispy Seaweed Enigma

It’s fairly easy to find packs of pre-prepared crispy seaweed in the UK food supermarkets. Here are some examples from the many on offer.

    available at Waitrose

    available at Sainsburys

    manufactured by Blue Dragon

The three examples all have one thing in common – they contain no seaweed – none at all, not a trace, 0%, zero, zip.

Not even ‘seaweed flavouring’ or essence of seaweed, or a nature-identical analogue of it.

In common with the majority of cripsy seaweed products sold in the UK, they are 100% seaweed-free.

Really Magazine is informed by UK trading standards officers that regulators are well aware of the crispy seaweed enigma – and frequently receive complaints from the public about it – but are nonetheless minded to leave things just as they are.

Odd perhaps, since the days when manufacturers could call a product ‘Strawberry Candy’ if it had no strawberries in it are long gone. Similarly ‘Orange Juice’ with no oranges. Or ‘Chocolate Cake’ with no chocolate. By law, food suppliers who prefer to use a cheaper alternative instead of the real thing have to clearly label their products in a way which doesn’t mislead the public.

But not so with crispy seaweed – typically made from finely sliced cabbage, spring greens or pak choi.

We invite readers to send us any other examples of food products which are described as one thing – but actually contain none whatsoever of it . . .

؟ ؟ ؟

Footnote – if you’d like to purchase products which look exactly like seaweed, taste 100% authentically of seaweed, and have precisely the same nutritional profile as seaweed does, because they are seaweed  ( instead of sliced cabbage ) find a local supplier via here . . .

30 MAR 10



MA in Northern Studies

Leeds Metropolitan University in the UK is offering a recently implemented dissertation-based MA course in Northern Studies - where researchers will be able to explore, and perhaps even answer the questions -

• What is the North ?

   and

• What is ‘Northerness’ ?

Full details here

 

Really Magazine has not been able to find any university offering courses in 'Southerness' , if any readers know of one, please let us know.

[ and what about The Midlands ? Ed. ]

 

29 MAR 10 (midday edition)


Nonconventional surnames in academia

Currently, around six percent of native-born US married women have nonconventional surnames.

Nonconventional surnames include hyphenated surnames, two surnames, and women who kept their own surname at marriage.

“ Women with a master’s degree have odds of using a nonconventional surname that are 2.8 times higher than those who have less than a bachelor’s degree, whereas women with a professional degree have odds that are 5.0 times higher, and women with a doctorate have odds 9.8 times those with less than a bachelor’s degree.”


Continue your research here


29 MAR 10



Goldilocks in the Urban Forest

“ Large contiguous patches of tree canopy are considered to be an important part of an urban environment. In addition to the benefits received by private property owners, such as shade and privacy, these areas provide wildlife habitat, improve air quality, reduce runoff and flooding, lower noise levels, and moderate climate.”

Thus you might expect that increasing the amount of wooded area around urban properties could make them more desirable – and so more valuable.

And indeed it does – according to a new research project which has modelled and correlated various levels of tree-canopy cover with property-prices around Portland, Oregon.

“ The estimated coefficients from the first-stage hedonic price model indicate that an increase in tree canopy in parts of the study area with small amounts of tree canopy (N, NE, SE Portland) is expected to increase the sale price of properties.”

There is however a proviso - for the effect only holds up to a certain level of greenery – above which the price starts to decrease again . . .

“ This effect is attributed to the already large percentage of tree canopy in these areas and the potential that highly desirable views will be blocked. “


The study is published in the latest edition of the journal Land Economics.

And can be read in full here

؟ ؟ ؟

Also see : Waterside Properties - the ups and downs   (Really Magazine Apr 08 )



26 MAR 10


Clouds in Academia.

Readers who find today’s BBC news story Cloudy weather ' increases university appeal '  intriguing, whilst remaining frustrated because Auntie  fails to provide a link to the original research paper, can find it here . . .

[ Perhaps they don't have G**gle ? Ed. ]

25 MAR 10 ( midday edition )


 

Sitting - the upside

Although the health benefits of an exercise-workstation ( like this Nephronaut ) might be self-evident, many have wondered just how easy it is to type ( or use a mouse ) whilst using one.

Now the answer is available. Not very.

A joint US / Australian research project tested 30 office workers while they performed standardized computer tasks in different workstation conditions : sitting, standing, walking and cycling.

And sadly, performance was significantly degraded when doing anything other than simply sitting or standing.


The paper is published in the latest issue of the journal Human Factors

25 MAR 10


 

This week's new patents

Three new US patents granted this week . . .

Yes . . . but what are they ?

 

Sorry, time's up . . .

 

Click the pics to find out . . .

 

24 MAR 10


Bayesian Equilibrias all round !

Recent research from TU Dortmund University and Ruhr Graduate School in Economics  investigates whether drinking (alcohol) might help in revealing whether people can be trusted or not.

“ It is argued that drug consumption, most commonly alcohol drinking, can be a technology to give up some control over one’s actions and words. It can be employed by trustworthy players to reveal their type. Similarly alcohol can function as a ‘social lubricant’ and faciliate [sic] type revelation in conversations.”

Amazingly perhaps, the author was able to come to his conclusions without any experimental data whatsoever – the answers were derived solely via a theoretical mathematical approach – solving a highly complex group of equations involving the pooling of Bayesian equilibria in a set of imaginary drink-fueled game scenarios - and showing

" . . .the social consumption of alcohol can benefit those who would like to honestly reveal their type. "

Drinkers should beware however regarding excess social lubrication -

“There is a tradeoff between the efficiency gains due to the signaling effect and the loss of productivity associated with intoxication.”

- says the author.


Read In Vino Veritas: The Economics of Drinking  in full here [ use the one-click download link ]

؟ ؟ ؟

Postscript :

The math(s) also revealed possible similarities between drinking and religion.

“If signaling of trustworthiness is an important aspect of both religion and moderate alcohol consumption, then religion and alcohol are to some extent substitutes.”

 

22 MAR 10


 

Profile . . .

Dr. Satoshi Kanazawa

• Reader in Management at the London School of Economics and Political Science

• Honorary Research Fellow, Department of Psychology, University College London

• Honorary Research Fellow, Department of Psychology, Birkbeck College University of London

Originator of the Savanna Principle ( and its derivation, the Savanna-IQ Interaction Hypothesis ) which feature in the following of his publications :

• Why Liberals and Atheists Are More Intelligent (2010)

• IQ and the Values of Nations (2009)

• Why the Less Intelligent May Enjoy Television More than the More Intelligent (2006)

and, (pre Savanna Principle )

• In Defense of Unrealistic Assumptions (1998)

 

In the pipeline :

• Escaping Biology: Why Intelligent People Are the Ultimate Losers in Life (tentative title)  (2011)

 

17 MAR 10


Downhill in Innsbruck

The Institut für Sportwissenschaft at the Universität Innsbruck, Austria, has completed a unique study into the factors associated with self-reported risk-taking behaviour on ski slopes.

Researchers measured the speed of 453 skiers with a radar speed gun, and then used a stepwise forward logistic regression model to correlate the data against various observable and quantifiable meta factors - revealing no less than five independent determinants for risk-taking behaviour on the slopes.

Risk takers tend to :

       • be less than 40

       • male

       • have a low body-mass-index

       • have a higher skill-level

And, perhaps most importantly :

       • they tend to ski faster


The study can be found here in the latest issue of the British Journal of Sports Medicine.


16 MAR 10


 

F14tt3ry m1ght g3t y0u 50m3wh3r3


It’s more than 15 years since it was first suggested that ‘ Computers Are Social Actors ‘ (CASA) when the authors of this now classic research paper announced that -

“ We have presented five studies which show that experienced computer users do in fact apply social rules to their interaction with computers, even though they report that such attributions are inappropriate. “

In other words, computer users often see their computers as ‘ individuals ‘ ( but are unlikely to readily admit it )

Now the concept has been taken several steps further.

If computers are ‘ humanlike ‘ then perhaps they may be able to, say, for example, flatter their owners ? If so what mechanisms are at work ? Perhaps Anthropomorphism or even Mindlessness ?

A new paper from the Department of Communication, College of Social Science, at Seoul National University, Korea, describes two experiments that did indeed reveal that computers can successfully flatter – but dependent on how ‘ rational ’ the users are . . .

“ Anthropomorphic cartoon characters elicited more positive overall evaluations of the computer, but they significantly reduced low rationals’ self-confidence . . . Moreover, low rationals were less likely to accept the computer’s suggestions when flattered whereas high rationals showed no corresponding tendency. “

 

‘ What Triggers Social Responses to Flattering Computers ? Experimental Tests of Anthropomorphism and Mindlessness Explanations ‘ is published in the April 1st , 2010, issue of the journal Communication Research.

 

15 MAR 10


Head Lice Avoidance Techniques (x 2)

Head lice affect more than 100 million people worldwide each year. A new international research project has just published results in the New England Journal of Medicine - drawing attention to a novel orally administered treatment for head lice.

Featuring   Ivermectin    (22,23-dihydroavermectin B1a + 22,23-dihydroavermectin B1b)

“ For difficult-to-treat head-lice infestation, oral ivermectin, given twice at a 7-day interval, had superior efficacy as compared with topical 0.5% malathion lotion, a finding that suggests that it could be an alternative treatment. “

However, the drug is not as yet licenced for human lice treatment in the US.

Funding for the study ? - it depends who you ask . . .

"The study was funded by Johnson & Johnson-Merck Sharp & Dohme Consumer Pharmaceuticals, a joint venture between Johnson & Johnson Consumer and Merck Sharp & Dohme. Merck manufactures Ivermectin. Some authors were employed by or had financial relationships with the companies." says the Los Angeles Times

"The study was sponsored by a European joint venture of Whitehouse Station, New Jersey-based Merck and New Brunswick, New Jersey-based Johnson & Johnson known as Johnson & Johnson- MSD Consumer Pharmaceuticals." says Business Week / Bloomberg

"Johnson & Johnson Consumer & Personal Products Worldwide" says ClinicalTrials.gov ( a service of the US National Intsitutes of Health )

؟ ؟ ؟

Those who wish to keep headlice at bay without the use of drugs, could try this Head Lice Repelling Unit

12 MAR 10


 

Freebie Devaluation

As a sales incentive, retailers and manufacturers often package a free giveaway item with a product – for example a free shower cap with a bottle of shampoo, or free batteries with an mp3 player.

But a swathe of previous research projects have shown that this devalues the perceived worth of the giveaway item.

Now things have gone a stage further – it seems that the newly discovered Freebie Devaluation Effect  is at work too - by which the free item also devalues the main product . . .

A set of experiments involving eBay™ auctions with a free giveaway, and subsequent lab-based experiments with shampoo pinpointed the effect :

“ If a free product is needed to coax a sale, consumers may conclude that the focal product must be worth less than they thought "  say the researchers.


Indiana University press-release here

Research paper in the Journal of Consumer Research

 

                    More Free Offers Here !

                       [1]         [2]         [3]

 

11 MAR 10


 

Questioning the questionnaire

New research from the University of Wolverhampton, UK, threatens to undermine one of the most longstanding and trusted conerstones of public research techniques – the questionnaire.

“ The authors challenge the link between the data that are collected and what is concluded from them, and particularly the notion that such conclusions offer insight into informants’ experiences. “

Shortcomings were revealed in an experimental session in which participants were asked to ' think aloud ' whilst filling-in a questionnaire.

Three coping strategies were observed.

• One was to radically restructure true responses to match the questions.

• Another was to reformulate the questions.

• And the third was outright rejection of the whole thing.

The article concludes by arguing that -

“ . . . the process of filling in a questionnaire results in the experiences that the instrument [the questionnaire] is designed to examine being made irrelevant and their complexity far too great for a-contextual quantification.”

Editor's comment : Next thing we'll be hearing that telephoned polls aren't reliable either . . . and don't even mention 'internet surveys' . . . So where next for solid and reliable public research ? Covert electronic eavesdropping anyone ?. . .


See : ‘ Questionnaires and Lived Experience: Strategies of Coping With the Quantitative Frame ‘ in the April 1st edition of the journal Qualitative Enquiry.

10 MAR 10


 

Towards countering media spoonfeeding

Along with many other mainstream news outlets, the New York Times  is continuing its coverage of the ongoing fighting for the city of Marja in Afghanistan, noting, in its editorial of March 5th :

“ United States and NATO troops have chased most of the Taliban out of the Afghan city of Marja.”

And with more coverage regarding the liberation of the  " Showcase City "  ( and its 80,000 inhabitants ) a day later . . .

But wait ! Really Magazine can’t find the showcase city . . .

And neither can the CIA, in their World Factbook . . .

Perhaps that’s because it doesn’t exist ? . . .

Surely not ? . . .

More here

- and here ( thanks to reader Carmelita for the link )

Editor's comment :

We might be witnessing the birth of a new noun - as in "a load of Marjas " or perhaps it's better as a verb - ' to Marja '

UPDATE March 10th

Many thanks to reader Simeon, who has located the Showcase City of Marja on G**gle maps ! It appears to be situated in a field about 35Km west-northwest of the village of Delaram, in the Farah province.

Directions : Follow the A01 for about 16Km northwest from Delaram, then branch westwards across the terrain ( sorry no tracks ) for about 10Km. You will then be in, or at least near the Showcase City.

 

09 MAR 10


 

Singlasses

As many a police worker will tell you – things get trickier after dark. But do people behave more selfishly even if they just ‘think‘ it may be dark – even when it isn’t . . .

For example when they are, say, wearing sunglasses ?

Researchers from the University of Toronto and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill  designed a set of experiments to find out.

Teams of experimental subject (students) were fitted with sunglasses or plain-glass spetacles.

They were then given the opportunity to play a game ( involving real money ) in which they could choose how generous they’d like to be.

And yes, the shades-wearers consistently behaved less generously . . .

The explanation :

“ . . . the experience of darkness, combined with the difficulty of transcending one’s own phenomenological experience, triggers a fundamental psychological belief that one is protected from others’ attention and inspections. “  say the authors.

 

The experiments didn’t test, however, whether shades-wearers are perceived as more selfish by others – which, according to this research, they should be.

Room for another research project . . .

Full paper here :

08 MAR 10


 

Predicting Goals (Unconsciously)

Is it always a good idea to think carefully about things ? Why not just let your brain figure things out for itself - without your help . . .

Back in 2004, professor Ap Dijksterhuis at the University of Amsterdam published his first paper examining the previously unexplored concept of what he terms ‘ Unconscious Thought Theory ‘. (UTT)

“ That is, even when conscious attention is directed elsewhere, we can unconsciously mull over a problem, idea or decision. “

Now the idea has been broadened with an experiment to determine whether Unconscious Thought might be of use for predicting the outcome of football matches.

A set of experimental subjects (students) were divided into three groups. One group was distracted with a numerical task, the second thought consciously about which teams might win, and the third group engaged in Unconscious Thought ( e.g. they made a snap decision )

The results :

Depended whether the guessers were ‘expert‘ or not – but those who were ‘expert’ in the football field did make more accurate predictions with the use of Unconscious Thought – or rather by not thinking about it.

The paper was published in the journal Psychological Science November 2009; 20 (11)

 

Over the last few years, the professor has built up a considerable body of research into UTT, and several more of his papers, with insights into the benefits of UTT techniques for buying cars, moving house, and even where to work can be found here :

 

05 MAR 10


Diversions - the benefits

A new study from the University of Cologne  has, for the first time (?) examined the perils of ‘ Driving on Autopilot ’.

People who commute using exactly same route everyday may be putting themselves and others at risk – due to lack of brain activity.

Researchers used fMRI  techniques to examine the brain functions of experimental subjects in a driving simulator – some used a ‘ familiar route ‘ and others a new one.

“ The findings of the study show that the brain is more active and reacts more along unfamiliar routes. When the test persons became familiar with the routes, the activity of their brains became less; this was the case for both the experienced and inexperienced drivers. “

explains the university press-release.

Leading the Fachbereich Polizei der Fachhochschule für öffentliche Verwaltung NRW ( police dept. ) to point out :

“ It must be made clear to drivers that there are also risks involved with taking familiar and seemingly harmless routes. The risks groups, i.e. young professionals, especially bakers, are to be specifically targeted. “

[ errr . . . bakers ? Ed. ]

The implications being that it may be safer to take the occasional random diversion – and perhaps quicker  too . . .

For another new piece of research, this time from the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Southern California, re-examines so-called Wardrop Equilibria – artifacts of a curiously counter-intuitive theorem that was developed by John Glen Wardrop  in the 1950s – formally stated as :

‘ The journey times in all routes actually used are equal and less than those which would be experienced by a single vehicle on any unused route. ‘

- one implication being that drivers who regularly take small random diversions from their normal route can improve  the overall flow of traffic ( up to a point ).

04 MAR 10


Qualitative Name Easing

Professor Aparna A. Labroo, and Dr. Soraya Lambotte at the University of Chicago together with Professor Yan Zhang from the National University of Singapore  have recently demonstrated that :

“. . . merely naming a research finding elicits feelings of ease (a ‘name-ease’ effect).“

The team invented a suite of fictitious ( though highly believable ) research ' findings ‘ . . . such as the Optimal Distinctiveness Theory :

“ A tendency exists for people to seek affiliations with groups that enable them to maintain a balance between the desire to assimilate and the desire to stand out. “

Test subjects were asked how memorable and understandable the ‘ findings ‘ were.

But crucially, some of the ‘ findings ‘ were given names whilst others were presented without.

The researchers found that simply giving the ‘ finding ‘ a name ( like the Weierstrass Theorem * ) encouraged feelings of solidity and believability . . .

Readers will have noticed the Catch 22 . . .

                                                                the fact that the effect which the researchers have identified has itself been given a title ‘ Name–Easing ‘

The researchers noticed it too - “ If you are now thinking about whether you understand our finding, our act of merely naming it will increase your perception of how well you understand the effect, making you feel you probably knew about it all along. “


The findings were published in Psychological Science , December 2009

And the paper can also be found here in full

* The Weierstrass Theorem

If f is a continuous real-valued function on [a,b] and if any e>0 is given, a polynomial P on [a,b] exists such that |f(x)_P(x)|<e for all xA[a,b]. In other words, any continuous function on a closed and bounded interval can be uniformly approximated on that interval by polynomials to any degree of accuracy.

03 MAR 10


Patent of the week

US 7,669,552 B2 , issued today


      The Fluid-filled durable pet bed

For reasons not yet fully clarified, it's ' bullet resistant '.

Patent here

02 MAR 10 (midday edition)


Luxury Cruises – the dangers

“ At least 100 infectious disease outbreaks have been described by the World Health Organization (WHO) on cruise ships since the 1970s, although this is likely to be an underestimate as many outbreaks go unreported or undetected. “

As an article in the Irish Medical Times explains.

The most frequent problems are pinpointed in the World Health Organization’s  document Sanitation on Ships ( 1970 - 2000 )

Pathogens include :

“ . . . Salmonella typhi, Vibrio cholerae, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Salmonella spp, Enterotoxigenic E coli, Shigella spp, Norwalk like virus (NLV), Cryptosporidium sp, Giardia lamblia and Cyclospora sp. “

As a guide to remediation the WHO also publishes the International Health Regulations Guide to Ship Sanitation, which describes where the dangers can reside.

Including ( but not limited to ) - Swimming pools, spas, toilets, ventilation systems, humidifiers, bathrooms, galleys, drainage systems, water tanks, door handles, restaurants, chillers, soup kettles, steamers, braising pans, ice storage bins, ladles, paddles, whisks, spatulas, drinking fountains, sinks, basins, bowls, countertops, air filters, dumbwaiters, bulkheads, and deckheads - to name but a few.

There can also be infestations, by insects ( flies, mosquitoes, cockroaches etc ) and rodents ( rats, mice and other vermin ).

But if the correct preventional measures are taken by ship owners and port authorities there should be no cause for alarm - or any reason to discourage the 20 million or so luxury cruise passengers expected this year.


02 MAR 10


Smile turmoil

A new set of experiments from the University of Geneva and Cardiff University may have turned smiling research on its head.

Investigators examined the so-called ‘ Duchenne Smile ‘ ( abbreviated as the ‘D smile ’ )

The D smile makes use of the orbicularis oculi  muscles - enabling Crows-feet  wrinkling around the eyes - and it has previously been widely regarded as the ‘ genuine ‘ smile – and is one of the conerstones of non-verbal facial communication signals.

But it may not be reliable after all.

As a suite of four experiments have shown.

“These findings raise doubts about the reliability and validity of the D smile and question the usefulness of facial descriptions in identifying true feelings of enjoyment.”

The new findings may have major implications not just for smiling researchers, but for actors, salespersons, politicians and many more.

The paper is published in the penultimate edition of the journal Emotion

01 MAR 10


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