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• Sauna trouble It's not uncommon for business men to drop into the big public saunas before meetings, but you'll also find some of Helsinki's poorest people there and every now and then, they'll get chatting. Roope describes the particular 'sauna chat' that follows strict rules, but it is independent of who you are. After all, when you're naked, there are few status symbols that money has anything to do with.Later on we met T, who was born and raised in New Delhi and moved to Espoo (the afluent Helsinki... from : paulmiller 17th December 2005
• Counterfeit Brit in the Copycat Capital It is certainly an uphill struggle throughout China to change a mindset that to some extent just doesn?t get the issue with IP. A while ago an article on the BBC (which I can?t link to because the BBC is blocked in China) told the story of the craze for amateur pop stars to record their own song in China and put it up online for everyone to hear. One particularly successful young starlet won a record deal from her performance and sold 200,000 CDs. But this was small fry compared to the 3... from : kirstenbound 21st November 2005
• Beijing: Big. Huge. Lots of Traffic. Mapping science in China is of interest not only to us, but to the Chinese as well. We've talked to one of the 2 organisations here which works on bibliometrics - The Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (ISTIC). Last year, when they published their rankings of Chinese universities, over 1,000 people attended the press conference. There is clearly a lot of interest locally in exactly what quality of work is being done in universities, and how it can be measured.We missed... from : mollywebb 19th November 2005
• Elephants have the right of way It was this question which was taken up again later in the week by Ashok Parthasarathi, a veteran of the S&T policy 'game'. His answer wasn't about ensuring a global reputation for Indian science (at least not as an end in itself). His vision is for the future for every Indian. He thinks that basic research can thrive alongside a healthy dose of purpose-oriented research, and basic needs should be a top priority. Both stories emphasize that despite India's 7-8% growth in GDP, many people still... from : mollywebb 15th November 2005
• rules for rickshaws: sit in the middle From the back of a rickshaw, poise goes out the window. As our first test of character at the start of a 3-week research trip for Atlas of Ideas, we headed to Old Delhi. 2 rickshaws, 2 bicycles, 1 'son et lumiere' show later (the history of India in 1 hour, anyone??), we'd had enough wild rides to last at least a week. But I think we liked it, so there may be more. And yes, we did see a monkey sitting on a streetlight (a very brave monkey, in my opinion). And no, not all of our photos will... from : mollywebb 7th November 2005
• What Korea has done for the world Professor Ian Wilmut of University of Edinburgh (who cloned Dolly) and Professor Christopher Shaw of King's College London were perhaps less effusive during their talks, but equally positive. The day ranged from very emotional (Schatten's talk ended with a tribute to his mother who recently died of Alzheimer's) to very technical (I'd explain the technical bit if I'd had a few more years of biology). And then it was back to emotional again, because finally, the moment for Dr. Hwang's... from : mollywebb 20th October 2005
• Seoul at night I'm here researching for Atlas of ideas, but today is Sunday, so I hope I'm forgiven for not writing a lot about science and technology.I made it to Seoul a day late because my connecting flight was so delayed that I missed the last Saturday night flight to Korea! (I heart travel) But it made the arrival all the sweeter, and I've had a wander, checked into the hotel, and met my British hosts for a lovely meal.I can't help but compare Seoul to Tokyo. Similar food stalls on the streets, a... from : mollywebb 16th October 2005
• Walmart superstore??? Say it isn't so Also, while I was ogling eco-adhesive, I was ignoring the digital TV displays. This is ok, because the displays themselves weren't that exciting. But for some kind of journalistic integrity (though I'm not one) I should probably mention that yes, digital TV is a big deal for this area (something like 30% of China's total traditional TV exports are made here, and what if we all start watching TV on our mobile phones instead?)But what I'm really excited about is that I had an evening out of the... from : mollywebb 14th October 2005
• Highrises and hi-tech: Shenzhen is booming Yesterday was my first full day in Shenzhen, and I spent the morning in an event organised by the UKTI on commercialisation of nanotechnology. Speakers included Julie Deacon who works for the MNT network (funded by the DTI), Raymond Oliver of Cenamps, and 2 speakers from Guangdong Province (where Shenzhen is located) on the nanotechnology development priorities for this region. I spoke on nanotech and public engagement. The audience of about 40 or 50 included scientists and policy-makers from... from : mollywebb 13th October 2005
• The low tech way to the China High Tech Fair As Atlas of ideas was launching in London, I was making my way to Shenzhen for the China High Tech Fair to start our southern China scoping work. I had only moments in the Shanghai airport with it's soaring terminal ceiling before I raced onto my connecting flight to Shenzhen. I was very happy to see Nigel Birch, the science and technology officer for the FCO, his wife Rosa, and Adee, who has been organising all the meetings and logistics. We didn't waste any time. Our first stop was one of... from : mollywebb 13th October 2005

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