The Effects of Sun and Shade on the Early Stages of Human Decomposition

Existing literature on human decomposition has noted the importance of sun versus shade locations. To date, no study has focused on this variable exclusively. While the affects of temperature are becoming well recognized, there is conflicting information surrounding direct sunlight or lack thereof. Some researchers note that decomposition progresses faster in the sun, while others note that it is faster in the shade. The only existing study of such information was performed in the state of Washington using two pigs. Therefore, the goal of this study is to bridge the gap between animal and human decomposition and to note the differences that result from sun expo sure and shaded locations. From this information, anthropologists will be able to estimate a more accurate postmortem interval based on human as well as animal decomposition studies. This was accomplished by documenting weather data and changes in the bodies of nude subjects as they decomposed in both sun exposed and shaded areas. The individual results were compared to each other using weather data that had been calculated into accumulated degree days. Over the summer months, the cadavers of five unembalmed, unautopsied individuals were placed at the Anthropology Research Facility to decompose. Subjects were studied and all pertinent information, including all kinds of weather data, was recorded on a daily basis over the course of three months. Accumulated degree days were calculated for each location and compared to each other and the local weather service information. Exposed bodies progressed faster then the shaded bodies through the early stages of decomposition. In addition, they began to dessicate earlier due to extreme heat and sun, and thereafter became stalled to future progression of decomposition. This study demonstrates that location of decomposition must be appreciated and examined when estimating the time since death

The neural correlates of intimate partner violence in women

Includes bibliographical references.The hippocampus is more vulnerable than other brain structures to the neurotoxic effects of alcohol. It is reported that patients with chronic alcoholism have decreased brain weights and volumes. The hippocampal volume reductions in patients with chronic alcoholism have been found to be proportional to the reduction in total brain volume. Thus alcohol consumption needs to be accounted for in studies examining hippocampal damage. Nevertheless, it would be important to include subjects who report alcohol use in a study investigating the biological correlates of IPV, since it is known that alcohol use is entangled in the cycle of violence, PTSD and other adverse health outcomes. In this study we would like to determine the relationship between IPV and the hippocampal volume, controlling for PTSD and substances

"Schatz, wie lange brauchst du noch im Bad?"

Aufbauend auf der Fragestellung: „Achten Frauen mehr auf ihr Äußeres als Männer?“ beschäftigt sich diese Arbeit mit dem Stellenwert des Aussehen und der Körperpflege bei Männern in der heutigen Gesellschaft. Das altbekannte Klischee, dass Frauen mehr Zeit mit ihrer Körperpflege verbringen und mehr auf ihr Äußeres achten ist weit verbreitet. Doch stellt sich nun die Frage, ob dies in der heutigen Gesellschaft noch immer zutrifft?! Wie man anhand einiger Studien zum Thema „Aussehen und Körperpflege“ feststellen kann, ist dies nicht mehr der Fall, da gerade für Männer diese Thematik einen immer höheren Stellenwert einnimmt. Interessant hierbei ist jedoch, dass in den wenigsten Studien erläutert wird, warum es zu diesem Wandel zum Thema „Aussehen und Körperpflege“ gekommen ist. Diese Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit drei möglichen Erklärungsansätzen, dem „what is beautiful is good effect“, dem „Einfluss der Medien“ und dem „Wandel des sozialen Rollenbildes des Mannes“. Da das Interesse auf der soziologischen Perspektive liegt wird im Rahmen einer quantitativen empirischen Studie untersucht, ob der Wandel des sozialen Rollenbildes, welcher von den Medien dargestellt wird, als Erklärungsansatz für das Phänomen der steigenden Wichtigkeit des Aussehens bei Männern herangezogen werden kann. Darüber hinaus wird analysiert ob dieser Trend auf andere Ursachen zurückzuführen ist. Ein Ergebnis der Untersuchung zeigt, dass bei der Erklärung dieses Phänomens andere Faktoren ausschlaggebend sind, wobei hier vor allem der „what is beautiful is good effect“ einen wesentlichen Einfluss hat. Dies muss jedoch noch anhand weiterer Untersuchungen genauer analysiert werden.Based on the question, „Are women more concerned with their appearance then men?” this paper deals with the importance of appearance and personal hygiene for men in our society. It is a well-known stereotype that women need more time in the bathroom than men for “getting ready”, but is this cliché still true? There are many studies on “appearance and personal hygiene” that show that appearance and personal hygiene becomes more and more important for men, but none of these studies are able to explain the reasons for this phenomenon. This thesis paper deals with three possible explanations: the “what is beautiful is good effect”, the “influence of media” and the “change of masculinity”. In this sociological study, the phenomenon of “the change of masculinity”, which is shown by media will be used for explaining why we can observe tendencies of men caring for their appearance almost more than women do. Furthermore it will be analyzed if other factors seem to be more important for this trend. Based on empirical findings there are other factors, which can be used for explaining this phenomenon, particularly the importance of the “what is beautiful is good effect”, which should be analyzed by further studies

Planetary exploration : progress and promise

Shows current and planned missions as of June, 1978.Compiled by Dr. Leonard Srnka

Lehr- und Lernkonzept der Wirtschafts- und Unternehmensethik: Die Ethik-Simulation als innovativer Mehrmethoden-Ansatz

"Over the past decades, business has recognized that it cannot ignore ethical issues. As a consequence, interest in ethical trainings has surged. Although various approaches have been proposed in the literature, none of them seems to fully meet the demands of business practice. In this article, the author suggests an innovative, pluralistic approach towards teaching ethics in a business context – the ‘ethics simulation’ – as a viable solution. Conception and procedure as well as possible results of an ethics simulation are presented pointing out the significant advantages of this multi-method approach." (author's abstract

Macht, Verantwortung und Information: der Konsument als Souverän? ; theoretische Reflexion und praktische Ansätze am Beispiel ökologisch verantwortlichen Kaufverhaltens

"Der mündige, souveräne Konsument hat die Macht, durch seine Kaufentscheidung das Marktangebot langfristig zu beeinflussen und damit soziale, gesellschaftliche und ökologische Verantwortung zu übernehmen. Konsumentensouveränität setzt allerdings die Verfügbarkeit relevanter Informationen voraus. Wesentliche Informationsagenten sind in diesem Zusammenhang Medien, staatliche Institutionen und Interessengruppen. Der vorliegende Beitrag verdeutlicht anhand eines Modells die Bedeutung dieser Schaltstellen der Information und zeigt praktische Ansätze für eine Annäherung an das Ideal der Konsumentensouveränität am Beispiel ökologisch verantwortlichen Kaufverhaltens auf." (Autorenreferat)"The article discusses and extends the idea of consumer souvereignty as well as the concept of power on which it is based. It points out the relevance of information concerning social, societal and ecological aspects for responsible purchase decisions. The authors criticize the existing information asymmetry between consumer and producers and they explore practical possibilities of eliminating this barrier to responsible consumer behavior." (author's abstract

Measuring and Reducing the Cognitive Load for the End Users of Complex Systems

With the proliferation of complex computer systems, end users face a never-ending increase in the numbernof tasks, methods, inputs, passwords, usernames (and so on) when using online and standalone computerbased systems and applications. This paper examines a method and approach to measure how complex a system is to use, and how to reduce the complexity of such systems by minimising the requirement for human inputs as much as possible, in order to reduce the cognitive load for that user, or group of users. This paper addresses a study completed around using virtualised computer management systems interfacesof two well-known products AWS (Amazon Web Services), Oracle Cloud, and compares the complexity of the steps and interface for end users to a private cloud less well-known system called the IDE (Intelligent Design Engine). By using a set of derived formula, we examine how this can be applied to systems that have qualitative data feedback from the experiment process, and how to convert this effectively into quantitative data. This data is then analysed numerically using a unique approach to provide additional and meaningful results based of the original end user data