Sightings
Before the Games Begin: Is it Discriminatory for There Not to Be Women's Olympic Canoe Events?
“Ms Rippington does not seek to use this claim to change the 2012 Olympic sports programme. She wants the organisers of these Olympics, who are in the UK bound by equalities rules, to conduct an in-depth examination of the gender bias in the canoeing programme, and, she hopes, in the Olympic sports programme in general." more »
Museum Shopping: Noctural and Tide Computer, a Shakespeare Toy Duck, a Mrs. Delaney Pink Botanical Mug,
Since London will be the focus for the Summer Olympics, we thought we'd explore the British Museum Shop's offerings and, yes, there's no end of the intriguing and unusual. more »
Were You Considering Testing Your Genetic Makeup for Disease Prediction? "The road to efficient genetic risk prediction is likely to be long.”
The Harvard team examined whether disease risk prediction would improve for breast cancer, type 2 diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis if they included the effect of synergy in their statistical models. They found no significant effect by doing so. “Statistical models of synergy among genetic markers are not ‘game changers’ in terms of risk prediction in the general population.” more »
The Marketing of the American Beauty
Advertisers turned to images of feminine mystique to which consumers could aspire (and hopefully emulate) through the purchase of goods and services. Men were also charmed by these images and magazine publishers used the attraction of pretty faces on their covers to boost impulse buying for their all-important newsstand sales. more »