Xenophilia (True Strange Stuff)

Blog of the real Xenophilius Lovegood, a slightly mad scientist

Archive for March 17th, 2012

George Clooney arrested for demonstrating against Sudanese crisis

Posted by Xeno on March 17, 2012

Actor George Clooney was a free man Friday afternoon following his arrest in Washington during a protest at the Sudanese Embassy, just two days after dining with the president at a White House state dinner and testifying before Congress about a mounting humanitarian crisis in the African country.

Also arrested were two Democratic members of Congress — Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern and Virginia Rep. Jim Moran — Clooney’s father, Nick, NAACP president Ben Jealous and Rabbi Steve Gutow, president of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs.

The men were arrested by the Secret Service, which protects the embassies in the District of Columbia, and were charged with disorderly crossing of a police line, a Secret Service spokesman said. If convicted, the charge will likely result in a small fine.

Shortly before the arrest, Clooney spoke against the violence in Sudan.

He said he appeared in front of the embassy to ask “the government in Khartoum to stop randomly killing its own innocent men, women and children, stop raping them, stop starving them,” according to a video posted online by MSNBC.

Clooney and his fellow protesters were transported to the Metropolitan Police Department’s 2nd District for processing and were held in the same cell.

“It was really rough, you can imagine,” he joked. “Have you ever been in a cell with these guys?”

In high spirits and still speaking passionately about the Sudan crisis, Clooney said this was his first time being arrested.

“And let’s hope it’s my last,” he said.

Clooney had appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday, testifying that a humanitarian crisis is unfolding in the border region between Sudan and South Sudan, which won its independence from Sudan in 2011. But violence has persisted along the border of the two countries, and Clooney argued that it is not getting enough attention, acknowledging that Americans have “misery fatigue” after wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with violence in Syria, Libya and elsewhere.

Gutow, speaking before he was arrested, sharply criticized “the inhumane cruelty” of Sudan President Omar Ahmed Hassan al-Bashir.

“With one hand he assaults his own people while with the other he holds back those who would seek to help,” Gutow said. …

via George Clooney arrested for demonstrating against Sudanese crisis (photos, video).

 

Posted in human rights, Politics, Popular Culture | Leave a Comment »

Uganda Welcomes Oil, but Fears Graft It Attracts

Posted by Xeno on March 17, 2012

When billions of barrels of oil reserves were found in Uganda five years ago, the discovery seemed like a gift from heaven to many in this poor, landlocked country.

Despite Ugandans’ dreams of industrialization, the country’s most lucrative export is coffee, and fish is second. Nearly 40 percent of the population survives on less than $1.25 a day, according to the World Bank. But when oil starts pumping within the next several years, the expected revenue of up to $2 billion a year could propel Uganda into the strata of middle-income countries, where few sub-Saharan African countries rank. A refinery will be built; infrastructure is promised.

Yet there are growing worries that the oil may prove to be more of a curse than a gift, similar to the fates of other countries in sub-Saharan Africa that have joined the petroleum bonanza. Uganda is considered by international experts to be among the most corrupt nations in the world, and even before oil production has begun, several senior government officials, including the prime minister, have been accused of pocketing millions of dollars in bribes from oil companies, forcing at least one of the politicians to resign.

The web of scandals may delay the much-anticipated starting date of oil production, adding to the already volatile politics in Uganda, which has recently been the scene of one of the most active protest movements in sub-Saharan Africa. Uganda’s Parliament voted in an emergency session in mid-October to freeze all oil contracts and begin investigations of the country’s prime minister, internal affairs minister and foreign minister, all of whom are close to the president and have been accused of taking money from Tullow Oil, a British company in Uganda that was scheduled to complete a $2.9 billion deal with the Ugandan government and two other companies to produce Uganda’s oil. Tullow has denied the accusations.

Despite governing for nearly 26 years and handily winning re-election again this year, President Yoweri Museveni now finds that his popularity seems to be waning, along with his grip on the economy and his own party. Many here say that the bribery allegations are part of a campaign by some politicians to determine who comes next.

“Most obviously, the jockeying is for positions,” said Mahmood Mamdani, an anthropology professor at Columbia and Makerere University in Uganda, “especially given the expectation that Museveni will not run the next time.”

Mr. Museveni’s rise, from rebel to leader of a regional power, has paralleled Uganda’s. In the capital, Kampala, vendors sell posters of the president’s image edited into Terminator outfits, next to dictionaries and Bibles. He is prickly about criticism and refers to himself at times in the third person.

“Museveni can never be given money by anybody,” the president said at an impromptu news conference he held last month in Kampala, lashing out when the bribery allegations were publicized. “General Yoweri Museveni. To get money from a Muzungu, or anybody, for my personal use, is contempt of the highest order,” he said, using Ugandan slang for Westerner.

What could happen in Uganda has happened before in Angola, Gabon and Nigeria, all countries with deep corruption where oil intensified class disparities.

“The next generation of Ugandans could grow up in a very different country to that of their parents and grandparents,” the advocacy organization Global Witness said in a 2010 report. “But the risk of the resource curse phenomenon taking hold in Uganda cannot be ignored.”

Uganda has been rocked by a series of demonstrations over surging commodity prices — particularly petroleum — as inflation has hit 30 percent. Protesters say they are inspired by the Arab Spring revolts.

It is not just the decreasing value of Uganda’s currency that critics are complaining about; it is the way the money is being spent. The government was criticized in April for buying fighter jets from Russia for approximately $740 million, which some analysts saw as being costly status symbols rather than useful weaponry. According to the director of the Bank of Uganda, Mr. Museveni ordered the bank to release millions of dollars to pay for the fighter jets, which Mr. Museveni promised would be reimbursed with oil money, a prominent Ugandan newspaper reported.

Uganda’s oil lies underneath the forests and lakes lining the border with its troubled neighbor Congo. Oil industry and government officials estimate that Uganda will be able to pump about 200,000 barrels a day. But Uganda’s oil is waxy, difficult to pump and expensive to refine.

Still, the country has stated its intention to build a pipeline through Kenya to the port of Mombasa, and lawmakers have already accused Mr. Museveni of secretly selling off some crude oil to foreign nations.

As private investors come and go from Uganda, there are worries that hundreds of millions of dollars are up for grabs in kickbacks and secret deals.

According to American diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks, Tullow Oil accused the Italian company ENI of trying to bribe Ugandan politicians, including Mr. Museveni and the prime minister, with more than $200 million to secure oil rights held by Tullow’s onetime partner, Heritage Oil, a British company. One cable cites a Ugandan intelligence report given to the American Embassy by Tullow. But Tullow Oil itself helped write the intelligence report, the cable said. …

via Uganda Welcomes Oil, but Fears Graft It Attracts – NYTimes.com.

Posted in Earth, Money, Politics, War | Leave a Comment »

Men’s sperm count cut by fatty food diet, boosted by Omega-3s

Posted by Xeno on March 17, 2012

http://www.projectswole.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/recoup-90-omegas.jpg… Add a low sperm count to the long list of health problems caused by eating fatty foods. A new study has found that men who eat a high fat diet that’s especially heavy in saturated fats may have more than a 40 percent lower sperm count than men who eat healthier. …

For the study, researchers surveyed 99 men about their diet habits and analyzed their sperm samples between December 2006 and August 2010. Based on their survey responses, the researchers put the men into three groups ranked in order of how much fat they consumed, and then looked how diet impacted “total sperm count” and “sperm concentration.” Total sperm count refers to the total number of sperm in the ejaculate, while “sperm concentration” is the amount of sperm per milliliter.

What did the researchers find? Men in the group that ate the most fat had a 43 percent lower total sperm count and 38 percent lower sperm concentration than men in the group who ate the least fat. The study is published in the March 13 issue of Human Reproduction.

When the researchers took a closer look at the men’s diets, they determined saturated fat intake was the main driving force behind sperm count reduction. Men who at the most saturated fats had a 35 percent lower total sperm count and a 38 percent lower sperm concentration than men who at the least. Meanwhile men who ate the most “good” kinds of fat, called omega-3 fatty acids which are typically found in fatty fish, had nearly 2 percent more sperm then men who ate the least omega-3s.

Diets high in omega-3 fatty acids have been linked to protective benefits to the brain, such as reduced likelihood for Alzheimer’s and dementia, CBS This Morning reported. Omega-3′s are found in cold water fish such as mackerel, salmon, sardines and tuna, and also in flaxseeds, walnuts and soybeans.

“The magnitude of the association is quite dramatic and provides further support for the health efforts to limit consumption of saturated fat given their relation with other health outcomes such as cardiovascular disease,” study author Dr. Jill Attaman, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology

Add a low sperm count to the long list of health problems caused by eating fatty foods. A new study has found that men who eat a high fat diet that’s especially heavy in saturated fats may have more than a 40 percent lower sperm count than men who eat healthier.

Men in the group that ate the most fat had a 43 percent lower total sperm count and 38 percent lower sperm concentration than men in the group who ate the least fat. The study is published in the March 13 issue of Human Reproduction.

When the researchers took a closer look at the men’s diets, they determined saturated fat intake was the main driving force behind sperm count reduction. Men who at the most saturated fats had a 35 percent lower total sperm count and a 38 percent lower sperm concentration than men who at the least. Meanwhile men who ate the most “good” kinds of fat, called omega-3 fatty acids which are typically found in fatty fish, had nearly 2 percent more sperm then men who ate the least omega-3s.

Diets high in omega-3 fatty acids have been linked to protective benefits to the brain, such as reduced likelihood for Alzheimer’s and dementia, CBS This Morning reported. Omega-3′s are found in cold water fish such as mackerel, salmon, sardines and tuna, and also in flaxseeds, walnuts and soybeans.

“The magnitude of the association is quite dramatic and provides further support for the health efforts to limit consumption of saturated fat given their relation with other health outcomes such as cardiovascular disease,” study author Dr. Jill Attaman, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Dartmouth Medical School, said in a written statement.

The researchers said that 71 percent of the men in their study were overweight or obese, much like 74 percent of men in the U.S. population, which suggests lots of men around the country may not have strong sperm counts. The World Health Organization says a “normal” total sperm count should be at least 39 million, and a normal sperm concentration should be at least 15 million per milliliter.

Commenting on the study, Dr. Joseph Alukal, director of male reproductive health at NYU Langone Medical Center, told HealthDay, “Although this study is limited by the number of patients evaluated…it reminds us that male fertility is delicate and can be easily influenced by the same things that influence our general health.”

Heavy use of tobacco, drugs, and alcohol has also been tied to lower sperm counts. …

via Men’s sperm count cut by fatty food diet: Which foods can boost it? – HealthPop – CBS News.

Posted in Biology, Health | Leave a Comment »

Mum, Son Survive ‘Bizarre’ Crashes

Posted by Xeno on March 17, 2012

Double crash graphicA mother and her son survived two separate head-on crashes within four minutes of each other on the Kapiti Coast.

Annie Price, 65, of Wellington, is in intensive care after a freak accident at Pukerua Bay.

She was driving north through the township in her Suzuki Escudo when a tyre came off a ute and hit her vehicle, causing her to cross the centre line and crash head-on into an oncoming car.

Just four minutes earlier, her son had also been involved in a head-on smash in which his car was written off.

Anthony O’Halloran, 35, had a “freaky, uneasy” feeling when he left his Upper Hutt home about 6am on Tuesday to head over to the coast, deciding at the last minute not to take his 2-year-old son with him.

“He was meant to come with me but my sister said leave him there.

“As I was going over Haywards I had a funny, uneasy feeling about the day and thought it was best he stayed behind,” Mr O’Halloran said.

He was planning to help his mother and stepfather with some work in Paraparaumu.

He turned off State Highway 1 at McKays Crossing and was driving around a corner in nearby Emerald Glen Rd at 6.49am when he saw lights coming straight toward him in the dark.

A Nissan Sentra crossed the centre line and crashed into him.

Despite his Toyota stationwagon being written off, he escaped with only minor injuries.

He said emergency services told him “they had never seen anyone walk away from devastation like that”.

“My car was like a piano accordion. All I got was a tiny scratch and a bruise”.

As police arrived at the scene, his partner rang. “She said my mother had had a head-on crash. I said, `Yes, I have’.

“She said, `Have you had a head-on crash? Your mother has just been in one.’

“It was so bizarre, neither of us have ever had car accidents before. Two head-on crashes, it was unreal.”

Mrs Price remains in Wellington Hospital’s intensive care unit but is expected to be moved to a ward later this week.

Two other people were taken to hospital to be checked, one of whom had whiplash.

A 19-year-old man in the car that collided with Mr O’Halloran suffered pelvic injuries and was trapped for a while in his vehicle. He was flown to Wellington Hospital because State Highway 1 was blocked by Mrs Price’s accident.

Mr O’Halloran was still recovering from the shock yesterday, “very glad” that he and his mother had survived.

“It still hasn’t sunk in. It is so bizarre I was really totally unharmed. I am not in any more pain than I would be after a rugby game.

“The scariest thing for me was that my 2-year-old was meant to come with me, then 40 minutes later – bang.”

Sergeant Mike George said it was “incredible and bizarre” that both mother and son were involved in head-on crashes, in which neither was at fault, within four minutes of each other.

“It was very, very bizarre. Sometimes reality is stranger than fiction.” …

via Mum, Son Survive ‘Bizarre’ Crashes – national | Stuff.co.nz.

Posted in Strange | Leave a Comment »

Skydiver Leaps From Stratosphere in ‘Space Jump’ Practice

Posted by Xeno on March 17, 2012

A daredevil aiming to set the record for world’s highest skydive moved one step closer to his goal today (March 15), completing a practice jump from more than 13 miles up in the stratosphere.

Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner stepped out of a custom-built capsule at an altitude of 71,581 feet (21,818 meters), officials with Red Bull Stratos — the name of Baumgartner’s ambitious mission — announced today.

He plummeted to Earth in a freefall that lasted three minutes and 43 seconds, reaching a top speed of 364 mph (586 kph). Baumgartner deployed his parachute at 7,890 feet (2,405 m) and eventually landed safely about 30 miles (48 kilometers) from Roswell, N.M., project officials said.

Baumgartner had lifted off from Roswell in his capsule at about 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT), borne aloft rapidly by a balloon. Once he reached 71,581 feet, the 42-year-old daredevil ran through a 39-step safety checklist, depressurized the capsule and stepped out into the thin, frigid air of the stratosphere in his custom-made spacesuit.

From leap to touchdown, the entire test flight lasted just over eight minutes, officials said. According to Baumgartner, the toughest part of the dive was the extreme cold he experienced high up in Earth’s atmosphere.

“I could hardly move my hands,” the skydiver said in a statement. “We’re going to have to do some work on that aspect.”

Baumgartner is gearing up for an even bigger leap — his so-called “space jump” — from 120,000 feet (36,576 m) this summer. The current record for highest-altitude skydive is 102,800 feet (31,333 m), set in 1960 by U.S. Air Force Captain Joe Kittinger.

Baumgartner hopes his attempt will also set several other marks. He is chasing the record for longest freefall (estimated to be about 5 minutes and 30 seconds from 120,000 feet), and he hopes to become the first person to break the speed of sound during freefall.

Today’s successful flight is a significant milestone, Red Bull Stratos officials said. It gave Baumgartner a taste of what he’s in for with his record attempt, and it allowed the team to gauge how well his suit and other equipment held up.

Prior to today’s jump, Baumgartner’s highest-ever skydive was from 30,000 feet (9,144 m) up, according to team officials.

Baumgartner and his team had hoped to make his record jump in 2010, but they were delayed by a legal challengethat claimed the idea of the dive was earlier suggested to Red Bull by California promoter Daniel Hogan. That suit has now been settled out of court, and the Red Bull Stratos project is moving forward.

via Skydiver Leaps From Stratosphere in ‘Space Jump’ Practice | Red Bull Stratos Mission | Space.com.

Posted in Space, Sports | Leave a Comment »

Osama Bin Laden ‘plotted to kill Obama’ before death

Posted by Xeno on March 17, 2012

Osama Bin Laden [April 1998]Osama bin Laden was plotting to kill US President Barack Obama, US media reports say.

The plans are said to be in papers found in the compound in Abbottabad where the al-Qaeda leader was killed by US special forces last year.

Bin Laden asked deputies to plan an attack against an aircraft carrying Mr Obama and General David Petraeus.

He said the killing would throw the US into crisis, as Vice President Biden was “totally unprepared” to take over.

The documents were seen by the Washington Post. There is growing anticipation in the US over government plans to publish all the papers seized at the compound when it was raided in May 2011.

Laptops, notepads and computer hard drives were also taken.

Bin Laden asked one of his deputies, Ilyas Kashmiri, to start preparing the attack.

Drone danger

“Please ask brother Ilyas to send me the steps he has taken into that work,” he wrote in a 48-page note.

The US media says intelligence officials believe it is unlikely that al-Qaeda had the capacity to launch such an attack in the US, and have not seen evidence of any preparations.

Kashmiri was killed in a US air attack a month after the death of Bin Laden.

In his 48-page note Bin Laden called on al-Qaeda operatives to move away from the Pakistani tribal areas because of the constant attacks by US remotely-controlled planes.

He also debated changing al-Qaeda’s name, because US officials “have largely stopped using the phrase ‘the war on terror’ in the context of not wanting to provoke Muslims”, he said. …

via BBC News – Osama Bin Laden ‘plotted to kill Obama’ before death.

It would be strange if Osama Bin Laden ‘plotted to kill Obama’ after death, wouldn’t it? Good thing we have those drones. Good thing we are killing so many people by remote control, because according to the people doing those attacks, they killed someone who plotted to kill our president.  Actually, they killed the same guy, Ilyas Kashmiri,  at least two different times with missiles from drones, once in September 2009 and then again in June 2011.

Posted in Politics, War | Leave a Comment »

UFO Caught On Tape Over Santiago Air Base

Posted by Xeno on March 17, 2012

Seems like a small insect close to the camera. What do you think? Supposedly this is one of seven videos that captured the same UFO from different angles. I guess I’d have to see the other videos.

CEFAA officials collected seven videos of the El Bosque UFO taken from different vantage points. Bermúdez commissioned scientists from many disciplines, aeronautical experts, and air force and army photogrametric technicians to subject the videos to intense scrutiny. They all came to the same conclusions.

Each video included three different, mainly horizontal loops flown by the UFO within seconds of each other. The object made elliptical passes either near or around each of three sets of performing jets. It flew past the Halcones, F5s and F16s at speeds so fast it was not noticed by the pilots or anyone on the ground below.

- tdg

More on msnbc’sCosmicLog: cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com

Posted in - Video, UFOs | 5 Comments »

Superman look-a-like, Kony 2012 Filmmaker Detained

Posted by Xeno on March 17, 2012

20120316-204657.jpgA co-founder forInvisible Childrenwas detained in Pacific Beach on Thursday for being drunk in public and masturbating, according to the San Diego Police Department.

Jason Russell, 33, was allegedly found masturbating in public, vandalizing cars and possibly under the influence of something, according to the SDPD. He was detained at the intersection of Ingraham Street and Riviera Road.

An SDPD spokesperson said the man detained was acting very strange, some may say bizarre. Video: SDPD statement

“Due to the nature of the detention, he was not arrested,” Lt. Andra Brown said. “During the evaluation we learned we probably needed to take him to a medical facility because of statements he was saying.”

Police said they received several calls Thursday at 11:30 a.m. of a man in various stages of undress, running through traffic and screaming.

Police described Russell as “in his underwear.” He allegedly took off his underwear at one point, but it was back on by the time officers arrived, said police.

Several people attempted to calm him down and when officers arrived police said he was cooperative.

“He was no problem for the police department however, during the evaluation we learned that we probably needed to take care of him,” said an SDPD spokesperson. “We determined that medical treatment was a better course of action than arrest.”

Russell was taken to a medical center after the incident.

Police could not determine that he formed a criminal intent. There are no criminal charges pending because it looks like this is more of a medical situation, said an SDPD spokesperson.

Invisible Children’s CEO Ben Keeseyreleased a statement after 1:40 p.m. on Friday saying:

“Jason Russell was unfortunately hospitalized yesterday suffering from exhaustion, dehydration, and malnutrition. He is now receiving medical care and is focused on getting better. The past two weeks have taken a severe emotional toll on all of us, Jason especially, and that toll manifested itself in an unfortunate incident yesterday. Jason’s passion and his work have done so much to help so many, and we are devastated to see him dealing with this personal health issue. We will always love and support Jason, and we ask that you give his entire family privacy during this difficult time.”

Russell is one of the the founders responsible for the “Kony 2012″ video that recently went viral. He is described on the organization’s website as a co-founder and “our grand storyteller and dreamer.” Russell is also described as a Christian and father to two children who wants to have nine more children with his wife he calls his “best friend for over 23 years.”

The video “Kony 2012″ calls for the capture of the Ugandan LRA leader whose fighting tactic involves kidnapping and torturing the country’s innocent children.

Russell spoke with NBCSanDiego explaining how the movement was exploding at the organization’s headquarters in San Diego.

“There are hundreds and thousands of propaganda – posters, stickers, buttons, t-shirts, that we are putting in boxes and are shipping all over the world,” Russell said in a March 8 interview.

At the Invisible Children headquarters in San Diego, volunteers and employees have been told not to comment. Workers removed a “Kony 2012″ sign in the lobby and a security guard is at the entrance of the check-in area.

Sounds like they hit him with a serious mind drug and put itching powder in this underwear to discredit him in retaliation. Who would be protecting the Ugandan LRA leader?

Here’s the video, watch it. This is about stopping Kony, but it is much bigger. Jason Russell lit a spark that can change the world. Those in power must know where this will lead… victory for the 99%, right?  Perhaps not. Sure, get Kony in 2012! But the world only changes if this can be repeated after we get Kony, to get others who should be behind bars for war crimes.

Below is a different take on it from Alex Jones. He thinks there is a desire to invade these countries by our country, the goal being to kick out China in order to get African oil. If that is true, then Russell in this latest strange event may have been hit with that mind drug and itching powder for a different reason, to get this push for a US invasion of Africa to actually happen. Kony should be stopped, but watch out for the new game, the game of making you think  you decided something for yourself when you are actually still a puppet.

Posted in Strange | 2 Comments »

North Korea to launch rocket, sparking Western fears

Posted by Xeno on March 17, 2012

20120316-202727.jpg

… North Korea will launch a satellite mounted on a rocket to mark the 100th birthday of its late former President Kim Il-sung, state media reported.

It will take place between 12 and 16 April, a spokesman for the Korean Committee for Space Technology said.

South Korea said the launch would be a “grave provocation” and Japan urged the North to “exercise restraint”.

The move is seen as violating UN Security Council resolutions passed after a similar launch in 2009.

Japan is particularly concerned as North Korea’s April 2009 rocket was launched over the country.

‘Threat to peace’

The country’s chief cabinet secretary, Osamu Fujimura, told a news conference on Friday that Japan had set up a crisis management taskforce to monitor the situation and was co-operating with the US and South Korea.

“We believe a launch would be a move to interfere with our effort toward a dialogue, and we strongly urge North Korea not to carry out a satellite launch,” he said.

South Korea’s foreign ministry said such a move would be a “clear violation” of UN Security Council Resolutions.

“It would be a grave provocation threatening the peace and security of the Korean peninsula and north-east Asia,” the ministry said in a statement.

Last month, Pyongyang agreed to suspend long-range missile tests.

The agreement was part of a deal for the United States to supply 240,000 tonnes of food aid to North Korea.

In the launch three years ago, Pyongyang said the satellite made it into orbit and characterised it as a test of its satellite technology.

The move drew condemnation from the US and South Korea and led to the UN resolutions prohibiting the North from nuclear and ballistic missile activity.

Foreign officials said there were no indications that a satellite had reached space and that the launch was a cover for Pyongyang to test long-range missile technology….

Via BBC NEWS | MARCH 16, 2012

Posted in Politics, Space, Technology, War | Leave a Comment »

Using Virtual Worlds to ‘Soft Control’ People’s Movements in the Real One

Posted by Xeno on March 17, 2012

Overhead view of Charles Deering Library… In the paper, “Crowd Soft Control: Moving beyond the Opportunistic,” Bustamante and his group designed a way to “soft control” people’s movements by tapping into games or social networking applications. For example, a game might offer extra points if a player visits a certain location in the real world, or it might send a player to a certain location in a virtual scavenger hunt.

To test crowd soft control, the researchers created Android games, including one called Ghost Hunter in which a player chases ghosts around his neighborhood and “zaps” them through an augmented reality display on his phone. In actuality, the player’s zapping motion snaps a photo of the spot where the ghost is supposedly located.

Unlike a regular “augmented reality game,” where the ghosts might be placed randomly, in Ghost Hunter the researchers are able to manipulate where the ghosts are placed; while some are placed in frequently traveled areas, others are located in out-of-the-way, rarely photographed locations.

The game was tested on Northwestern students, who were told only that they were testing a new game. They were not informed which ghosts were placed randomly and which were placed for research purposes.

“We wanted to know if we could get the players to go out of their way to get points in the Ghost Hunter game,” Bustamante said. “Every time they zapped a ghost, they were taking a photograph of Northwestern’s campus. We wanted to see if we could get more varied photographs by ‘soft controlling’ the players’ movements.”

The participants were willing to travel well out of their regular paths to capture the ghosts, the researchers found. For example, researchers were able to collect photos of Northwestern’s Charles Deering Library from numerous angles and directions — a far broader range of data than the random sampling found on Flickr, where photographs overwhelmingly capture the front of the library.“Playing the game seemed to be a good enough vehicle to get people to go to these places,” said John P. Rula, a McCormick graduate student and the lead author of the paper.

If this technology were implemented on a larger scale, users would need to be notified that their data was being collected for research purposes, Bustamante said. …

via Using Virtual Worlds to ‘Soft Control’ People’s Movements in the Real One | McCormick School of Engineering | Northwestern University.

Posted in Mind, Technology | Leave a Comment »

 
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