Internet Items
NZYF Relaunches Website. NZ Young Farmers (an industry group of Federated Farmers of NZ) is relaunching its website, www.youngfarmers.co.nz. The site has information about NZYF, the benefits of NZYF membership and a member's section. NZ Young Farmers is a rural group for people aged 15-31. Membership of NZYF offers young people pathways to friendship, achievement and knowledge. Run by young people for young people, NZYF welcomes members from all walks of life.
Good Practice Funding - www.goodpracticefunding.govt.nz - This website helps public servants follow good process in funding community, voluntary and Maori organisations. The focus is on government funding of non-government organisations (NGOs). Some attention is also paid to government funding of Crown entities. The website covers: why the government funds NGOs; the importance of healthy relationships with NGOs in the funding process; funding processes used by NZ government agencies and some from overseas; and NGO perspectives on government funding.
Understanding Statistics. The Statistics NZ website contains detailed information on all statistical collections to provide a better understanding of the statistics and how to interpret them correctly. This information includes details about the source of the statistics, coverage and design, variables available, classifications used, changes over time and any relevant details to be aware of when using and interpreting the statistics. Access this information at: http://www.stats.govt.nz/survey-directory
The 2004 Ig Nobel Prize Winners - As ever, the Ig Nobels call attention to vital areas of modern research, with which it behooves us to become overly familiar. The winners were:
- Medicine. Steven Stack of Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA and James Gundlach of Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, USA, for their published report "The Effect of Country Music on Suicide." Published In: Social Forces, vol. 71, no. 1, September 1992, pp. 211-8.
- Physics. Ramesh Balasubramaniam of the University of Ottawa, and Michael Turvey of the University of Connecticut and Haskins Laboratory, for exploring and explaining the dynamics of hula-hooping. Reference: "Coordination Modes in the Multisegmental Dynamics of Hula Hooping," Ramesh Balasubramaniam and Michael T Turvey, Biological Cybernetics, vol. 90, no. 3, March 2004, pp. 176-90.
- Public Health. Jillian Clarke of the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences, and then Howard University, for investigating the scientific validity of the Five-Second Rule about whether it's safe to eat food that's been dropped on the floor.
- Chemistry. The Coca-Cola Company of Great Britain, for using advanced technology to convert liquid from the River Thames into Dasani, a transparent form of water, which for precautionary reasons has been made unavailable to consumers.
- Engineering. Donald J. Smith and his father, the late Frank J Smith, of Orlando Florida, USA, for patenting the combover (US Patent #4,022,227).
- Literature. The American Nudist Research Library of Kissimmee, Florida, USA, for preserving nudist history so that everyone can see it.
- Psychology. Daniel Simons of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Christopher Chabris of Harvard University, for demonstrating that when people pay close attention to something, it's all too easy to overlook anything else - even a man in a gorilla suit. Reference: "Gorillas in Our Midst," Daniel J Simons and Christopher F Chabris, vol. 28, Perception, 1999, pages 1059-74.
- Economics. The Vatican, for outsourcing prayers to India.
- Peace. Daisuke Inoue of Hyogo, Japan, for inventing karaoke, thereby providing an entirely new way for people to learn to tolerate each other
- Biology. Ben Wilson of the University of British Columbia, Lawrence Dill of Simon Fraser University (Canada), Robert Batty of the Scottish Association for Marine Science, Magnus Whalberg of the University of Aarhus (Denmark), and Hakan Westerberg of Sweden's National Board of Fisheries, for showing that herrings apparently communicate by farting. Reference: "Sounds Produced by Herring (Clupea harengus) Bubble Release," Magnus Wahlberg and Håkan Westerberg, Aquatic Living Resources, vol. 16, 2003, pp. 271-5. Reference: "Pacific and Atlantic Herring Produce Burst Pulse Sounds," Ben Wilson, Robert S Batty and Lawrence M Dill, Biology Letters, vol. 271, 2003, pp. S95-S97.
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