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UO E-clips, April 1, 2008
News stories for April 1, 2008: Statistics can predict Oscar winners, according to a report in the New Scientist, which cites work by the UO's Iain Pardoe, a professor of decision sciences in the Charles H. Lundquist College of Business; the Oregon Daily Emerald reports that the UO ranks high on the Peace Corps' 2008 volunteer list; the student-operated Daily Emerald also feature an update on UO course known, informally anyway, as "Slanguage arts," a linquistics class that back in 1999 established a Slang Dictionary; Oregon universities offer 'gender-inclusive' dorm rooms, reports the Citizen Link of Colorado; and Science Daily (and numerous other on-line science Web portals) are using a UO news release about Jim Hutchison's call in the journal ACS Nano to use green chemistry in nanotechnology to help promote environmental safety
Statistics can predict Oscar winners (New Scientist): At last, relief from the tortuous uncertainty of Hollywood's annual Academy Awards. Now there is a surprisingly accurate way of predicting who will win. Various attempts have been made to predict the Oscars, such as web-based games where people "buy shares" in actors. Instead, Iain Pardoe of the University of Oregon in Eugene and Dean Simonton of the University of California, Davis, took a purely statistical approach.
UO highly ranked on Peace Corps' 2008 volunteer list (Oregon Daily Emerald): Hand up, shut up. That is the system Zack Barnett developed to communicate with his class of chatty high school Ukrainian girls. Although it took some time for the 14 girls to grasp that Barnett raised his hand into the air when he wanted them to be quiet -- as opposed to wanting them to say "shut up" in unison - once they did understand it, the system worked quite well. "They would run around screaming, 'Hello, hello, hello!'" said Barnett. "By the time I left, we were communicating on a level we hadn't communicated on before."
Slanguage arts (Daily Emerald): Some might say Linguistics 101 students have a hella dank assignment. Or that their class is bomb. The linguistics department couldn't agree more - it is beginning to see results after eight years of compiling slang terms from Linguistics 101 students. In fall of 1999 the department launched its own online Slang Dictionary after linguistics department head Eric Pederson proposed the idea. "We wanted to find a way to involve students whose only training came from one course," Pederson said.
Oregon universities offer 'gender-inclusive' dorm rooms (Citizen Link, Colorado): Colleges and universities across Oregon are starting to allow anyone to room together on campus, regardless of gender, The Oregonian reported. At Oregon State University, that means heterosexual and homosexual couples can room together in the new "gender inclusive" wing, which houses 12 students. Lewis & Clark College and Portland State University also allow roommates of opposite genders. Willamette University and Reed College are trying it out in the fall, and the University of Oregon is considering the possibility.
Potential nanotech hazards are hard to determine, researchers urge proactive approach (Science Daily): The University of Oregon's Jim Hutchison already holds three patents in the emerging field of nanotechnology as well as leadership roles in organizations that promote the technology's potential in materials science and medicine. Hutchison, a chemist and materials scientist, however, also embraces a strong call for exploring potential environmental and health implications, which he says could be many, and for designing new materials with reduced hazard. The available data, he notes, are often uncertain or in conflict. He urges the industry to adopt a proactive approach now, before unforeseen roadblocks threaten the technology's progress.