Posts

May 30, 2013

+

There is (fair) argument sometimes made that the huge amount of public money expended on often unnecessary and/or ineffective and/or downright dangerous ‘Big Pharma’ products renders objection to that frittered on, say, (always unnecessary, ineffective and potentially indirectly dangerous) homeopathy to be hardly worth rational effort. Indeed, the NHS’s 65-year support for homeopathy is on the wane: though not an immaterial amount – £4–12 million a year awarded to strapped academics […]

May 22, 2013

+

2:41 PM | From Discovery to Market: How Invention Happens – a three-part seminar at OBR-Manchester

by Charlotte Rosher, OBR-Manchester Correspondent MANCHESTER, Greater Manchester – OBR is hosting a three part seminar series at the University of Manchester which will outline how academic discoveries can be transformed into successful businesses, step-by-step. The first seminar, titled ‘Getting Your Biotech Idea Funded’ will be held on the 28th May at the University of [...]The post From Discovery to Market: How Invention Happens – a three-part seminar at OBR-Manchester […]

May 09, 2013

+

9:00 PM | I’d like my shampoo gluten-free, please

The Voice of Young Science, an early career researchers group, pens an open letter to supermarket CEOs calling them out on their misleading marketing ploys. And, yes, there is such a thing as gluten-free shampoo though there seems to be 0.21% reasons for it. Supermarkets cash in on unfounded fears about food and health. We have all found ourselves standing in a supermarket aisle, staring at packets and cans, struggling to choose between different versions of the same thing: Do I choose the […]

May 06, 2013

+

10:13 PM | Zeal to ensure clean leafy greens takes bite out of riverside habitat in California

Perceived food safety risk from wildlife drives expensive and unnecessary habitat destruction around farm fields By Liza Lester, ESA communications officer Meticulous attention to food safety is a good thing. As consumers, we like to hear that produce growers and distributers go above and beyond food safety mandates to ensure that healthy fresh fruits [...]

Sasha Gennet, Jeanette Howard, Jeff Langholz, Kathryn Andrews, Mark D Reynolds & Scott A Morrison (2013). Farm practices for food safety: an emerging threat to floodplain and riparian ecosystems, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, e-View ahead of print (May 6th) Other: 10.1890/1202443

Citation

May 03, 2013

+

9:41 PM | The Low Information College Applicant

The competition for students is intense. Colleges need to seem really attractive in order to get new kids to sign up for their particular institution. So they engage in fancy marketing efforts. Glossy mailings. Disney-like campus tours. Targeted Youtube videos. Yes, we know this looks like a lot of money, they say, but we offer “generous financial aid” (mostly in the form of loans) and it’s really an “investment” in your future (though we’re not going to […]

April 26, 2013

+

7:48 PM | Is Dove Beauty Campaign Based on Bad Data?

A widely reported survey found that 4 percent of women consider themselves beautiful, but what does that really mean? Continue reading →

April 25, 2013

+

1:53 PM | Choosy moms choose…

On Twitter the other day, I was told that “moms choose organic” for their kids. I’m a mom (almost) and I don’t choose organic. Personally, I dislike the implication that I am doing wrong by not buying organic and I think it causes harm to spread such an idea because it might discourage people from eating healthy foods that don’t have that label (or encourage people to eat junk food just because it’s labeled organic). Also, organic is a small percentage […]

April 24, 2013

+

7:29 PM | Another comment on BMC Cancer, WDDTY and homeopathy

Well, I don’t know what bugs are at play in the BMC Cancer system. Almost three weeks since submitting the latest re-worked version of my comment (which I append below so it may be read by somebody), not only has it not appeared under the paper in question, but the continued lack of response (excepting one message informing me that – again – my query has been forwarded to the Editorial team) to my interim e-mails to the relevant provided... Read more

April 23, 2013

+

12:02 PM | Wait, Electricity Isn’t Harmful To Health?

Sometimes, the list of things to be paranoid about feels endless: BPA in your water bottles, pesticides on your food, prescription drugs in your drinking water, and nanotechnology in your donuts. Luckily, most of these things will not statistically be responsible for your ultimate demise (you can likely credit heart disease and cancer for that). [...]

April 22, 2013

+

5:39 PM | Make Earth Day More than a Will-o’-the-Wisp

Like a will-o’-the-wisp, Earth Day captures media attention periodically before fading into the background again. Why does this happen? Thomas Hayden has some ideas about why media focus on environmental topics waxes and wanes. He mapped out the coverage of … Continue reading →

+

4:08 AM | Choice, Control, Freedom and Car Ownership

Cars have long been symbols for personal freedom. With the open road before you you can go anywhere—from behind the wheel you really take control of your destiny. In this regard, cars are empowering. Ownership means that you have the means to be independently mobile, that you own not just a vehicle but choice as [...]

April 13, 2013

+

4:05 AM | Farmer—regulate thyself; ag takes food safety into its own hands, now market it so consumers can choose

There’s plenty of talk amongst policy wonks about various food safety reforms, but that’s been going on for years: people eat three times a day. Erin Brodwin writes in Scientific American that consumers look for safer food, especially as the … Continue reading →

April 12, 2013

+

10:44 PM | A week of links

Links this week: E.O. Wilson’s argument that great scientists don’t need math has already received plenty of responses. Wilson’s argument reminded me of one of Paul Krugman’s critiques of Stephen Jay Gould’s popular work, which were “literary confection” as they lacked math. A free webinar with Geoffrey Miller and others on What Every Marketer Should [...]The post A week of links appeared first on Evolving Economics.

April 05, 2013

+

3:08 PM | BMC Cancer, WDDTY and homeopathy: ‘new’ comment

It took (me) a month to get a comment posted on a paper on BMC Cancer’s site. My abbreviated version (which appeared five days after re-submitting it) has now sat there for three weeks alongside Kausik’s, both seemingly being roundly ignored. As is my query concerning the full text of my original blog post. What to do? Does it matter? Well, actually, as a QuackRag deems that the paper in question constitutes subject(ive) matter for (re-)citation, then yes, I think... Read more

March 28, 2013

+

4:46 AM | How Psychology is Used in Advertising

A cute and educational animated short film about advertising and psychology.

March 22, 2013

+

6:30 PM | Meet The 22-Year-Old Inventor Helping Marketers Read Your Mind

NeuroSpire CEO Jake Stauch Courtesy Jake StauchNeuroSpire, with Jake Stauch at the helm, has developed software that lets companies scan brains to deliver better ads--and do it on the cheap. About four years ago, Jake Stauch was in a neuroscience class at Duke, learning about an intriguing experiment. In it, subjects went through an fMRI while being shown photos of Godiva chocolates. A price accompanied the chocolates, and the subjects had to answer yes or no, would they buy this? Some of their […]

March 18, 2013

+

3:55 PM | The world is our oyster – shellfish safety in Sydney

I got to deliver an opening keynote chat at the 9th International Conference on Molluscan Shellfish Safety in Sydney yesterday, with my usual refrain about how the best producers should be marketing their safety investments directly to consumers and retailers. … Continue reading →

March 15, 2013

+

2:35 AM | Social Media Can Drive Environmental Goals Forward

Sometimes a picture is worth 200 Twitter follows. That’s what Ceres‘s online communications director, Brian Sant, learned when he ran a campaign to stop natural gas flares in North Dakota. Oil companies use these flares to burn away unwanted natural … Continue reading →

March 03, 2013

+

4:46 PM | Do the right thing Tim Hortons

cc imageIt's that time of year again, yes it's "Roll up the Rim to Win" at Tim Hortons. For anyone who is unaware of this phenomenon, Tim Horton's is a Canadian coffee institution (I have no idea why, but I still buy it) and Roll up the Rim to Win is a marketing ploy to get us to buy more coffee. Every time we buy a coffee, we're essentially playing the lottery, to win anything from donuts to a BBQ or even a car. I believe that Americans are also subjected to this chaos, but I'm not […]

February 24, 2013

+

10:07 PM | Customize Climate Communication

“What is the main lesson you’ve learned from trying to target specific audiences in your climate work?” David Minkow, who edits content for Climate Access and the Social Capital Project, asked me this question recently. In three words, my response is: … Continue reading →

+

5:25 PM | Pitcher Plant Predator Micro Terrarium

Who wouldn't want one of these? Hey, kids let's grow a pitcher plant predator! TPP discovered an entire display of "micro -terraria", basically a plastic egg with a jiffy 5 (? smaller than a jiffy 7) inside and a tiny packet of seeds (2 and a third doubtful one). Well, for under $3 why not try this out for fun? Now the materials here are all of 30 cents worth, so clearly a lot of the cost is in the marketing, a handsome, dramatic display in one of those […]

February 23, 2013

+

4:18 PM | Marketing consultant’s study pleases his horse-promotion client

No summary available for this post.

February 22, 2013

+

12:54 AM | Big Data: Big Opportunity for Marketers

Marketers are no strangers to leveraging data to their benefit. Especially over the last decade, with a major shift in focus and budget from traditional media to digital media, analytics has been one of the key weapons for strategic marketers. The Internet has facilitated this data explosion further and we are now creating and consuming [...]The post Big Data: Big Opportunity for Marketers appeared first on Oxbridge Biotech.

February 21, 2013

+

3:41 PM | ‘What Doctors Don’t Tell You’ cites paper that demonstrates there is no such thing as homeopathy

Back in that supermarket a few days ago, I again found myself driven to taking a thumb through the latest edition of QuackRag What Doctor’s Don’t Tell You, whose unscrupulously permissive advertising policy is being systematically exposed by The Nightingale Collaboration. Though I didn’t buy the rancid rubbish, I alighted on a small piece entitled ‘Homeopathy is more than placebo’, from which I noted the reference cited as voucher for that statement. From BMC Cancer, no less. I’ll […]

Rostock, M., Naumann, J., Guethlin, C., Guenther, L., Bartsch, H. & Walach, H. (2011). Classical homeopathy in the treatment of cancer patients - a prospective observational study of two independent cohorts, BMC Cancer, 11 (1) 19. DOI: 10.1186/1471-2407-11-19

Citation

February 05, 2013

+

4:00 PM | Internship Opportunity!

New illustration of the sexual system of Carolus von LinnaeusBe a Marketing Intern for BHL! Are you a library student or recent graduate? Do you love biodiversity, writing, and old books? Love to blog, tweet, and post on Facebook? Then our new internship opportunity, hosted through the Smithsonian Libraries, is perfect for you! Learn more and apply today! Virtual work options are available. https://library.si.edu/internships/bhl-marketing Project Title: Biodiversity Heritage […]

February 01, 2013

+

4:00 PM | A “book” trailer

Helping put together a book has taught me a lot about the writing, editing, production, and marketing of a book. For me, this was learning by doing: trial and error. [...]The post A “book” trailer appeared first on The Science Writers' Handbook.

January 30, 2013

+

10:00 AM | Magically Amplify Your Music

Keep things lively with the Touch Speaker Innovative gift and gadget developer thumbsUp! announces a new wireless/cableless speaker to market. The Touch Speaker hits the market as demand for smartphone-compatible portable music devices continues to build: this elegant option allows you to simply place your phone on the speaker to amplify your sound on the [...]

January 24, 2013

+

2:47 AM | 10 Twitter Tips for Photographers and Artists

With each new day we are becoming photographers and artists who use more and more social networks, and in particular, many are beginning to enter the world of Twitter. Very simply, I wanted to focus on some ideas that might be interesting in your handling and positioning within this application that allows us to send messages…

January 20, 2013

+

3:54 PM | Marketing Campaign Drags Science Through the Streets for the Jeering Masses…

Next time you see a scientist in the street, grab him or her and ask who they view as the enemy. Quite likely they’ll give you a weird look, and perhaps they’ll run away, but if they don’t, I’d bet they’d say journalists. Many scientists I know brace themselves for speaking with journalists about their [...]

January 18, 2013

+

4:45 PM | A few (unoriginal) words on evidence-based versus complementary and alternative medicine

(A variation on some accommodating words proffered elsewhere, though unlikely to make the cut...) . Science is disingenuously misrepresented by those whose agenda rely on contra-scientific promotional tactics, such as devotees of ‘Complementary and Alternative Medicine.’ Refutation necessitates an appreciation of the psychology underlying people’s needs and preferences. CAM appeals to our intuitive nature. We seek patterns and readily attribute cause and effect: post hoc ergo propter hoc […]