Number of published U.S. science and technology articles plateaued in the 1990s, despite continued increases in funding and personnel for research and development.
A new National Science Foundation (NSF) report finds the number of U.S. science and engineering (S&E) articles in major peer-evaluated journals flattened in the 1990s, after more than two decades of growth, but U.S. influence in world science and technology remains strong.
The report, Changing U.S. Output of Scientific Articles: 1988 - 2003, finds changes occurred despite continued increases in funding and personnel for research and development. Flattening occurred in nearly all U.S. research disciplines and types of institutions.
In contrast, emerging Asian nations had large increases in publication numbers, reflecting their growing expertise in science and technology. European Union totals also went up.
Numbers of articles published and their citation in S&E journals is a widely accepted indicator of research capability. When paired with trends in patenting, licensing, research and development expenditures and advanced training of personnel, publication trends may be viewed as a factor affecting a nation's ability to spur technological innovation.
Despite the leveling of articles published, scientists emphasize other evidence that indicates U.S. science and technology capability remains strong. They say the change in U.S. share of the world's S&E articles is not a surprise in view of growing S&E research capability around the world, nor do they view it as a cause for concern.........
Athens, Ga. -- Some anti-smoking ads are simply ineffective, while others actually make youth more likely to light up. Fortunately, some are successful, and a new University of Georgia study helps explain why.
Hye-Jin Paek, assistant professor at the UGA Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, observed that anti-smoking ads are most effective when they convince youth that their friends are listening to the ads. Otherwise, the ads appear to stimulate the rebellious and curious nature of youth, making them more interested in smoking. Paek and co-author Albert Gunther from the University of Wisconsin-Madison examined data from surveys of nearly 1,700 middle school students, and their results appear in the recent issue of the journal Communication Research.
Anti-smoking ads have the greatest impact on smoking attitudes and behavior when adolescents believe that their peers are listening to those messages, Paek said. And that makes sense because people are more likely to listen to what their close peers say rather than what the media says.
Evidence that anti-smoking ads have the potential to make youth more likely to smoke has been accumulating for the past five years. Paek and Gunthers study adds to that evidence and helps explain how anti-smoking ads can be effective.........
We may like to pretend that we're open-minded, non-judgmental people but the truth of the matter is that most of us date people who fall within a certain weight range. And for people engaged in online dating, that brings up the question of how much weight matters and how honest to be about it. In a New York Post roundtable discussion, two sides of the issues came head-to-head.
On the one hand, online dating gives you the opportunity to lie a little (or a lot) about your weight so that the other person can get to know your personality before judging your looks. On the other hand, many people say that personality goes out the window when they meet in person and the other party has drastically misrepresented their weight. The general consensus of the group was that most people post pictures that flatter themselves but that outright lying about your weight on an online dating site is a no-no.
People who are concerned that their weight is going to be an issue might want to get the topic out of the way immediately by signing up for a site like OverweightDate.com or Large Passions. Of course, not all people think that being overweight is a bad thing. Some people think it's sexy and so there are also sites (such as Large Passions) for "Fat Admirers". One size does not fit all.
Google has a vested interest in just about everything. Last week, the Internet search giant announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Postini for $625 million.
Postini is global leader in on-demand communications security and compliance solutions serving more than 35,000 businesses and 10 million users worldwide.
"With this transaction, we're reinforcing our commitment to delivering compelling hosted applications to businesses of all sizes. With the addition of Postini, our apps are not just simple and appealing to users -- they can also streamline the complex information security mandates within these organizations," said Eric Schmidt, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Google.
"The response to Google Apps has been tremendous, with more than 1,000 small businesses signing up for the service every day. At the same time, large businesses have been reluctant to move to hosted applications due to issues of security and corporate compliance. By adding Postini products to Google's technology, businesses no longer have to choose -- employees get the intuitive products they want, and the company achieves the security and assurance it needs," said Dave Girouard, Vice President and General Manager, Google Enterprise.
Should we suspect that these acquisitions mean that Google will control 90% of the market by 2017? No idea by now. But Microsoft Live Search is gaining momentum. Let the race begin!
Adaptive changes occur in the arm bone and soft tissue of the shoulders of young athletes participating in youth baseball and help protect them against injury, according to new research released recently at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine at the Telus Convention Center (July 12-15).
Young baseball players who throw a lot maintain external shoulder rotation as they mature, says principal investigator Scott D. Mair, M.D., associate professor of orthopedic surgery at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. Good external rotation of the shoulder helps athletes throw faster while reducing their chance of injury.
Some shoulder motion is naturally lost through aging. Dr. Mair says that the throwing shoulder does not lose as much external rotation. An adult will never have as much shoulder motion as a nine year-old, he explains.
To evaluate the adaptive changes in the shoulder joint of overhead throwing athletes, Dr. Mair and colleagues followed 32 male baseball players between 13 and 21 years of age for six years to study changes in range of motion, strength, and X-ray images.
The researchers found that the act of throwing causes changes in the upper arm bone and soft tissue in the shoulders of young baseball players. This is not necessarily a bad thing, explains Dr. Mair. It can help protect players from injury. However, pitch counts that are too high and playing year-round can push those adaptive changes to the point of injury.........
I am sure most of you have seen this video. This viral video was all over the Internet few months ago. This is a video with a political theme that deserves to be watched again. I am posting it for those of you who wants to watch it again and for those of you out there who has never watched it before. - Make up your own mind. Decide for yourself who should be our next president.
NOTE: This is a mashup of the famous Apple 1984 Super Bowl ad. You can watch the original in the lower video.
I just want to turn you all on to a pretty good read. See the description below:
Four pastors' wives. All desperate for something.
Is it possible that their desperation will lead to hope?
Mimi, Lisa, Jennifer, and Felicia all live in the fishbowl of Red River, Ohio. Everyone expects something from them. Gourmet casseroles. Perfect husbands. Well-behaved children. They expect even more of themselves.
The constant demands and always-ringing phones are enough to drive any sane woman crazy. Add to all that the condescending Katherine Fleming Katt -- self-promoting pastor's wife of the town's largest church -- who loves to flaunt her superior position. In the midst of such chaos, will each woman find the one thing she longs for?
When the unflappable Kitty Katt starts showing up at odd places, the four friends get suspicious. Is Kitty hiding something? What secrets lie behind her "perfect" exterior? But even more significant than unraveling Kitty Katt's secrets is finding answers for themselves.
(Review taken from http://www.simonsays.com/content/book.cfm?tab=1&pid=537882)
My 2 cents:
I am thoroughly enjoying this book. After the Yada Yada series (my fav), this one is definitely a close second and I believe the writers have a winner new series on their hands.
If you are like me and sometimes want a little fiction to “take you away” from reality without having to watch television, try this one on for size!
Why certain products are used as markers of difference
Rich Brits stopped buying Burberry once it became the brand of choice for soccer hooligans.
Consumers often abandon products when other social groups adopt them. Teens want to distinguish themselves from their parents. Jocks want to separate themselves from geeks. Rich Brits stopped buying Burberry once it became the brand of choice for soccer hooligans and Shanghai urbanites avoid the Volkswagen model that is preferred by the suburban nouveau riche. Yet, the same teens who wouldnt be caught dead wearing the same jeans as their parents have no problem using the same brand of detergent. A new study by Stanford scientists explores why some products are used by people to differentiate themselves from certain social groups.
Previous work on individual drives for differentiation tells us a lot about who is more likely to prefer unique products or when people might be more likely to prefer them, write Jonah Berger and Chip Heath (Stanford University) in the recent issue of the Journal of Consumer Research. But these approaches have less to say about where people diverge, or why people diverge more in certain domains.
In a series of experiments, the scientists explored the differences between products that convey identity information and products that do not tend to be identified with a certain group. For example, in the pilot study, the scientists had undergraduates choose options in 19 difference product areas (e.g., power tools, hairstyles, soap, and favorite CD). In each area, they were told that 65 percent of other students preferred Option A, 25 percent preferred Option B, and 10 percent preferred Option C. They were then asked which option they would choose.........
An automated way of allowing cars to drive much closer to each other in heavy moving traffic, so-called platooning, could cut congestion, save fuel and cut greenhouse gas emissions, as per research published recently in Inderscience's International Journal of the Environment and Pollution.
As populations grow and the number of vehicles on the roads in cities and motorways across Europe, North America and the developing world, rises, traditional ways of tackling the problem, such as simply building more roads or improving public transport are becoming less and less effective. "Automated highway systems are one of the a number of approaches that have been suggested to tackle the problems," says Mitra.
Traffic is a growing problem across the globe with the number of vehicles on the on the roads in Britain alone having risen from 26 million to almost 33 million in the last decade and that number set to rise by 25% over the next ten years. The problem is burgeoning in areas of enormous economic growth, such as China and India where countless new vehicles are pulling out and entering the traffic flow on newly built roads. With all that new traffic, of course, comes more pollution, and the need for ever more innovative approaches to tackling it.
Driving a lot closer than a safe stopping distance from the vehicle in front is not a sensible option. Learner drivers are taught from their first lesson on the road to keep their distance. As per Debojyoti Mitra and Asis Mazumdar in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India, in heavy traffic these safe distances mean more tailgate turbulence and increased drag on individual vehicles, which means lower fuel efficiency.........
Net World Directory
