The relationship between homeownership and life satisfaction in Germany

The article investigates the relationship between life satisfaction and homeownership in Germany using, SOEP data from 1992 to 2009. While controlling for personal characteristics as well as various regional and dwelling attributes, ordered logit models support a marginal, though positive relationship. In addition, other household attributes such as the condition of the dwelling and the neighborhood area, exert a significant effect on life satisfaction. Further, the results confirm a significant interaction between homeownership and the condition of the dwelling as well as homeownership and the financial burden of the household. However, regression models with fixed effects also reveal, unobserved differences between homeowners and renters. --homeownership,housing,subjective well-being,life satisfaction

A Summer Range Shelter

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Heart Rate Recovery and Blood Pressure Recovery Influenced by a Slow-Breathing Protocol After Exercise in Moderately Trained Females

Heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) increases in order to meet metabolic demands as a result of exercise primarily through way of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). This study aimed to build on previous research in finding the best method to rapidly decrease HR and BP after exercise during the recovery period. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a breathing technique on HRR and BPR within a healthy female population during an exercise recovery period compared to active recovery and upright passive recovery. METHODS: Nine moderately trained female participants were recruited to complete this study. Participants cycled at 70% of their predicted HRmax for 15 minutes followed by one of three recovery interventions for five minutes: 6 breaths per minute (BRE), active recovery (ACT), and passive recovery (PASS). Participants completed all three recovery protocols following exercise on three separate visits. HR and BP were measured were measured before, during, and after exercise up to 5 minutes. HR and BP after exercise were converted into HR recovery (HRR) and BP recovery (BPR) by subtracting the recovery values from peak HR and peak BP. RESULTS: Statistical analysis yielded a significant (P ≤ 0.05) effect of time for HRR up to 3 minutes and a significant (P ≤ 0.05) effect of protocol for HRR with BRE resulting in the fastest HRR. Statistical analysis also yielded a significant (P ≤ 0.05) effect of time for BPR but found no significant (P ≤ 0.05) effect of protocol nor a significant interaction between time and protocol for BPR. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that BRE can increase HRR after exercise more rapidly than PASS or ACT but none of the three protocols have an influence on BPR

Battle for the Ruhr: The German Army\u27s Final Defeat in the West

This chronicle describes the events concerning the retreat of Field Marshal Walter Model’s Army Group B from the invasion of Normandy in June, 1944 to it’s ultimate destruction in the Ruhr Pocket in April, 1945. The author focuses on the German perspective of the Second World War, and describes the experiences of former Wehrmacht soldiers, Volkssturm conscripts, Hitler Youth members, and civilians as they witnessed the collapse of the Third Reich. The study encompasses events in northwest Germany, primarily in the lower Rhineland and the Ruhr Valley, as Model’s army group was encircled and destroyed by Allied forces. Detailed accounts of the Ardennes Offensive in Belgium, penetrating the German frontier, and the subsequent capture of the Ludendorff Bridge reveal how the impending defeat was experienced by the German defenders. An examination of the subsequent courts martial and executions of German officers by Nazi officials following the loss of the bridge at Remagen exhibit the ruthlessness and the perverse system of justice within the Third Reich. The Allied crossings of the Rhine through Operations Varsity and Plunder are described by Wehrmacht survivors, local inhabitants and refugees, many of whom had fled the Ruhr industrial area to escape the Allied strategic bombing campaign only to find themselves caught in the vicious battles on the east bank of the river as Eisenhower prepared to launch the final drive toward Berlin. Interviews with former German soldiers portray the experience of becoming prisoners of the United States Army during the closing weeks of the conflict. Accounts from witnesses reveal how local inhabitants endured marauding bands of liberated prisoners and former slave laborers while experiencing defeat, anarchy and eventual occupation by the Allies. The narrative details the dissolution of Army Group B as American forces destroyed the remnants of the Wehrmacht units trapped within the pocket. Walter Model’s final days are portrayed through interviews with the sole surviving staff officer who accompanied him as they evaded Allied forces until the field marshal chose suicide over surrender, and ended his life in a forest south of Duisburg, Germany on 21 April, 1945

Measuring Characteristic Shrinkage Variability Due to Metal Loading Effects in Low Temperature Co-Fired Ceramic Using Image Processing

Low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) has many benefits when it comes to electronic packaging due to the low dielectric loss, reliability in extreme environments, and high breakdown voltage. Though the ceramic has a lot of benefits it is not widely used due to the high cost and complexities associated with manufacturing. One of these issues with manufacturing is compensating for the shrinkage of the ceramic, this is accomplished by using an expansion factor, creating the “green” or manufactured design. This expansion factor is approximated through knowledge of the ceramic factors such as the metal loading, layers of ceramic tape, firing profile, lamination pressures, etc. While this expansion factor method has been studied and equations have been derived for compensation for the shrinkage, there is little evidence that the equations correctly compensate for the complexities of the design. Due to the lack of understanding of how different design parameters play a role in the shrinkage of the panel, this thesis will look to address the fundamental issue of measuring the shrinkage effects due to metal loading using a shrinkage characterization method called shrinkage field mapping. Due to the increased measurements needed for shrinkage field mapping, image processing is used to extract dimensions without dramatically increasing measurement time for the High-Density Electronics Center LTCC process. With the change in the shrinkage measurements, a 0.07-0.25% characteristic shrinkage difference can be measured from changing the volume of metal inside by 1.22mm3 in a DuPont 9k7 50mm x 50mm panel. These measurements were confirmed by three different fabrication experiments

Growth Patterns

The presence of formulaic growth patterns such as fractals and the divine proportion in the botanical, animal and physical landscape inspire and intrigue me. Fractals are characterized by self-similarity, in which the whole form has roughly the same shape as the repeated smaller parts. The divine proportion is characterized by saying the whole is to the larger in exactly the same proportion as the larger is to the smaller. These two principles describe how forms in nature progress and grow in mathematical ways. In the natural world these principles can be seen in the way an onion grows in successive rings, how a bird's wing has large feathers that proportionately get smaller, and the way a wave materializes in the ocean. Using invention, imagination, and emulation with these organic design principles, I generate my own language of wearable and sculptural objects. My conscious choice of materials is a decision to have a low environmental impact, paying homage to my organic influences.M.F.A

Vacuum polarization calculations for hydrogenlike and alkalilike ions

Complete vacuum polarization calculations incorporating finite nuclear size are presented for hydrogenic ions with principal quantum numbers n=1-5. Lithiumlike, sodiumlike, and copperlike ions are also treated starting with Kohn-Sham potentials, and including first-order screening corrections. In both cases dominant Uehling terms are calculated with high accuracy, and smaller Wichmann- Kroll terms are obtained using numerical electron Green's functions.Comment: 23 pages, 1 figur

Future facilities for high-resolution ([pi], K) and other pion reactions at 1 GeV

In 1991, the LAMPF Users considered a facility based on a pion linac (PILAC) to provide pions of up to 1 GeV for ([pi], K) and other pion reactions at LAMPF. We have extended this proposal to a version appropriate for high-energy proton accelerators by raising the pion injection energy and shortening the pion linac so that it is used as a rf separator and bunch rotator (SCRUNCHER). We have then estimated the yield of pions on target expected at LAMPF (PILAC), LAMPF assuming a proton energy upgrade to 2 GeV at 1 mA, the proposed KAON facility at TRIUMF, the Brookhaven AGS with booster, and the Fermilab Main Injector