One of our notebooks in the August issue takes a linkurl:close look at press releases;http://www.the-scientist.com/2007/8/1/18/1/ about research, and why some press offices choose to cover seemingly obvious research. We only mentioned one university-based press office, but it's not just Ohio State University that "sells the self-evident," as a press release that landed in my inbox last week demonstrates. "Mizzou study shows that possessing a fake ID results in more drinking by underage college students," the University of Missouri-Columbia linkurl:release;http://munews.missouri.edu/NewsBureauSingleNews.cfm?newsid=16345 reads. The study, from professor of clinical psychology Kenneth Sher and his colleagues, showed that owning a fake ID increased the risk of drinking among students in their first two years of college. Also, students who belonged to fraternities or sororities were more likely to own a fake ID. "The biggest finding is that having a fake ID is a risk factor for additional drinking -- drinking that might not otherwise...
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