A pilot study examining garment severance damage caused by a trained sharp-weapon user

The pilot study summarized in this paper aimed to raise awareness of a gap that exists in the forensic textile science literature about damage caused to clothing by trained sharp-weapon users. A male trained in the Filipino martial arts discipline of Eskrima performed attack techniques on a physical model of a male torso covered with a 97% cotton/3% elastane knitted T-shirt, that is, a garment commonly worn by males. Fabric severance appearance created by three different, but commonly available, knives was evaluated. High-speed video was used to capture each attack. After each attack the resulting damage to the garment was assessed. This pilot study highlighted differences in severances associated with weapon selection, that is, not all knives resulted in similar patterns of textile damage. In addition, a mixture of stab and slash severances were observed. The findings demonstrated the possible misinterpretation of textile damage under these circumstances compared to damage patterns reported in the existing forensic textile science literature for more commonly occurring knife attacks (i.e. stabbings)

Towards identifying factors underlying readiness for online learning: an exploratory study

To test the potential value of McVay\u27s (2000) Readiness for Online Learning questionnaire for research and practice, the instrument was administered to 107 undergraduate university students drawn from a range of courses in the United States and Australia. The questionnaire was subjected to a reliability analysis and a factor analysis. The instrument fared well in the reliability analysis, and yielded a two-factor structure that was readily interpretable in a framework of existing theory and research. Factors identified were &quot;Comfort with e-learning&quot; and &quot;Self-management of learning.&quot; It is suggested that the instrument is useful for both research and practice, but would be enhanced through further work on 5 of the 13 items. Additionally, further work is required to establish predictive validity.<br /

Victim’s posture and protective clothing changes the approach in an edged-weapon attack

Diverse groups of people use edged-weapons (i.e. knives, spears, swords) professionally. The training received affects how the edged-weapon is used and the area of the body targeted. There is a growing body of information available on the internet which is aimed at the training individuals in offensive knife attacks. This poster aims to raise awareness of this issue and highlight how a trained individual modifies an attack sequence depending on their victim’s posture and the protective clothing worn. A male trained in the Filipino martial arts discipline of Eskrima performed attack techniques on a static mannequin covered with a long sleeved upper body garment and leggings, a police custodian helmet and a HG1 + KR1 police body armour. In some simulated attacks the target was also dressed in a police high-visibility tactical vest on top of the body armour. High-speed video was used to capture each simulated attack and the impact location on the torso recorded using ultra-violet sensitive liquid applied to the weapon. Target posture was modified by adjusting the arm position of the mannequin. In a second series of experiments a PermaGel™ male target torso was used so that penetrating damage could be assessed. Data collected identified the change of attack due to victim’s posture and vulnerability of the neck, underarm area and groi

Introduction effort, climate matching and species traits as predictors of global establishment success in non-native reptiles

Non-native reptiles are often detrimental to native communities and ecosystems and can be extremely difficult to manage once established. Thus, there is considerable interest in predicting the likelihood of establishment of nonnative reptiles. We assessed three hypotheses describing possible factors contributing to the successful establishment of introduced reptiles in an effort to better identify potential invaders

Religious Identity, Religious Attendance, and Parental Control

Using a national sample of adolescents aged 10–18 years and their parents (N = 5,117), this article examines whether parental religious identity and religious participation are associated with the ways in which parents control their children. We hypothesize that both religious orthodoxy and weekly religious attendance are related to heightened levels of three elements of parental control: monitoring activities, normative regulations, and network closure. Results indicate that an orthodox religious identity for Catholic and Protestant parents and higher levels of religious attendance for parents as a whole are associated with increases in monitoring activities and normative regulations of American adolescents

Integrating snow science and wildlife ecology in Arctic-boreal North America

Snow covers Arctic and boreal regions (ABRs) for approximately 9 months of the year, thus snowscapes dominate the form and function of tundra and boreal ecosystems. In recent decades, Arctic warming has changed the snowcover\u27s spatial extent and distribution, as well as its seasonal timing and duration, while also altering the physical characteristics of the snowpack. Understanding the little studied effects of changing snowscapes on its wildlife communities is critical. The goal of this paper is to demonstrate the urgent need for, and suggest an approach for developing, an improved suite of temporally evolving, spatially distributed snow products to help understand how dynamics in snowscape properties impact wildlife, with a specific focus on Alaska and northwestern Canada. Via consideration of existing knowledge of wildlife-snow interactions, currently available snow products for focus region, and results of three case studies, we conclude that improving snow science in the ABR will be best achieved by focusing efforts on developing data-model fusion approaches to produce fit-for-purpose snow products that include, but are not limited to, wildlife ecology. The relative wealth of coordinated in situ measurements, airborne and satellite remote sensing data, and modeling tools being collected and developed as part of NASA\u27s Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment and SnowEx campaigns, for example, provide a data rich environment for developing and testing new remote sensing algorithms and retrievals of snowscape properties

Reliability and Validity of the Supports Intensity Scale (SIS) Measured in Adults with Physical Disabilities

The objective of this study was to investigate the internal consistency and the construct validity of the Dutch version of the Supports Intensity Scale (SIS-NL1.0; Buntinx 2006) in individuals with physical disabilities (N = 65). To investigate the construct validity, the relationship between SIS subscales and practical skills (Barthel Index; BI) was calculated. Support was provided for the internal consistency. The SIS subscales (except Behavior) had moderate to high intercorrelations and the SIS was able to discriminate between groups with different number of disabilities. However, weak relationships were found between the BI and four out of eight SIS subscales. For people with physical disabilities, future revisions of the SIS should also take into consideration limitations in practical skills in other support domains

The Demographics, Stellar Populations, and Star Formation Histories of Fast Radio Burst Host Galaxies: Implications for the Progenitors

We present a comprehensive catalog of observations and stellar population properties for 23 highly secure host galaxies of fast radio bursts (FRBs). Our sample comprises six repeating FRBs and 17 apparent non-repeaters. We present 82 new photometric and eight new spectroscopic observations of these hosts. Using stellar population synthesis modeling and employing non-parametric star formation histories (SFHs), we find that FRB hosts have a median stellar mass of $\approx 10^{9.9}\,M_{\odot}$, mass-weighted age $\approx 5.1$ Gyr, and ongoing star formation rate $\approx 1.3\,M_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$ but span wide ranges in all properties. Classifying the hosts by degree of star formation, we find that 87% (20/23 hosts) are star-forming, two are transitioning, and one is quiescent. The majority trace the star-forming main sequence of galaxies, but at least three FRBs in our sample originate in less active environments (two non-repeaters and one repeater). Across all modeled properties, we find no statistically significant distinction between the hosts of repeaters and non-repeaters. However, the hosts of repeating FRBs generally extend to lower stellar masses, and the hosts of non-repeaters arise in more optically luminous galaxies. While four of the galaxies with the most clear and prolonged rises in their SFHs all host repeating FRBs, demonstrating heightened star formation activity in the last $\lesssim 100$ Myr, one non-repeating host shows this SFH as well. Our results support progenitor models with short delay channels (i.e., magnetars formed via core-collapse supernova) for most FRBs, but the presence of some FRBs in less active environments suggests a fraction form through more delayed channels.Comment: 52 pages, 32 figures, 6 tables, submitte