Who Were the Body-Snatchers? A portrayal of those men that resorted to the occupation of stealing Human Cadavers in 19th Century America

On a cold autumn night in Baltimore, three men rush to the cemetery where they begin a grisly business under the cover of darkness. Each man is fearful of night patrolmen and any casual pedestrians, for their nightly escapade is both appalling and grim. These men have chosen the occupation of body snatching, a surprisingly popular job in the 19th century. One man is charged with transport; he drives a wagon to the cemetery then hides in an inconspicuous spot while the other two remain to dig up the body. With only a lantern, a tarp, a rope, and wooden shovels the two men continue their grim business. First, they lay out the tarp surrounding the grave and then begin to dig up the head portion of a coffin. They attempt to shield their lamplight from any one passing the cemetery and after an hour of digging, they finally break the coffin and pull the body out head-first using their rope. Just as their task is almost finished, an angry mob storms into the cemetery, so these two young men leave the site and run for their lives. The job of body-snatching was no easy task, in fact it came with quite a few risks and hassles. Yet it was an incredibly prevalent occupation in Westernized nations during the 19th century. Who were these men that risked angry mobs and bore the burden of snatching bodies for a living

Carcassonne: A Medieval Citadel Rich in Historical Eloquence

The history of the middle ages is vast and expansive; it impacted Europe in countless ways. Although the many intricacies of this history cannot be compacted to just one region, there are certain areas of Europe that are especially representative of much of the middle ages. The reason most of these areas are such accurate representations is because they were so strategic to the events and occurrences of the medieval age. One such area of Europe that is especially representative of the history of the Middle Ages is a citadel known as Carcassonne in what is today southern France. This massive fortress was certainly strategic to anyone wishing to conquer and rule the region of Languedoc; it was built on a hilltop and on a crossroads between the Atlantic and Mediterranean, and it also encompassed a large population of people. For all of these reasons, many of the happenings that affected the heart of Europe affected this large citadel as well. Carcassonne has a rich history that eloquently represents that of the Middle Ages; this rich history involves the transition from Roman to Visigothic rule, conflict with Arabs, cementing of Catholicism within the region, and the coming of the crusades

Intravenous conscious sedation in patients under 16 years of age. Fact or fiction?

Recently published guidelines on the use of conscious sedation in dentistry have published varying recommendations on the lower age limit for the use of intravenous conscious sedation. There are a large number of dentists currently providing dental treatment for paediatric patients under intravenous conscious sedation. The 18 cases reported here (age range 11-15 years), were successfully managed with intravenous conscious sedation. The experience in this paper is not sufficient evidence to recommend the wholesale use of intravenous conscious sedation in patients who are under 16 years. The fact that a range of operators can use these techniques on paediatric patients would suggest that further study should be carried out in this population. The guidance should be modified to say there is insufficient evidence to support the use of intravenous conscious sedation in children, rather than arbitrarily selecting a cut off point at age 16 years

Individual differences in zoo-housed squirrel monkeys’ (<i>Saimiri sciureus</i>) reactions to visitors, research participation, and personality ratings

Understanding individual differences in captive squirrel monkeys is a topic of importance both for improving welfare by catering to individual needs, and for better understanding the results and implications of behavioral research. In this study, 23 squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus), housed in an environment that is both a zoo enclosure and research facility, were assessed for (i) the time they spent by an observation window under three visitor conditions: no visitors, small groups, and large groups, and (ii) their likelihood of participating in voluntary research, and (iii) zookeepers ratings of personality. A Friedman’s ANOVA and Wilcoxon post-hoc tests comparing mean times found that the monkeys spent more time by the window when there were large groups present than when there were small groups or no visitors. Thus, visitors do not seem to have a negative effect and may be enriching for certain individuals. Through GLMM and correlational analyses, it was found that high scores on the personality trait of playfulness and low scores on cautiousness, depression, and solitude were significant predictors of increased window approach behavior when visitors were present. The GLMM and correlational analyses assessing the links between personality traits and research participation found that low scores of cautiousness and high scores of playfulness, gentleness, affection, and friendliness, were significant predictors. The implications of these results are discussed in relation to selection bias and its potential confounding effect on cognitive studies with voluntary participation

Self-efficacy in the context of psychological abuse: a model of efficacy erosion.

The current research proposed that psychological abuse within an intimate relationship erodes one\u27s self-efficacy and aimed to demonstrate a negative relationship between past psychological abuse and how one reacts to a challenge. It was hypothesized that when faced with a challenging task past psychological abuse would be related to decreased task persistence, increased negative affect, and choosing low-difficulty future tasks. Each of these relationships would then be simultaneously mediated by general and specific self-efficacy. The study was conducted in two phases with undergraduate women. During the first phase participants self-reported demographic and relationship history information, level of general self-efficacy, and level of past psychological abuse in a romantic relationship via an online survey. Eligible participants were invited to a participate in the study\u27s second phase, where they were presented with a challenging task - a set of unsolvable anagrams - and their task persistence, change in affect, and chosen difficulty level of a future task were assessed. A total of 300 participants completed the first study phase, with an additional 60 participants completing both the first and second phases. A three-path, joint significance test of mediation tested study hypotheses. Past psychological abuse significantly predicted decreases in general self-efficacy, but when controlling for past psychological abuse, general self-efficacy did not significantly predict specific self-efficacy. When controlling for past psychological abuse and general self-efficacy, specific self-efficacy did not significantly predict task persistence or change in negative affect, but did significantly predict the chosen difficulty level of a future task. Support for the proposed models was not found. As predicted, past psychological abuse was negatively and directly related to general self-efficacy, but was not related to specific self-efficacy, task persistence, or change in negative affect. A direct relationship was also found between specific self-efficacy and the chosen difficulty level of a future task; this relationship was not hypothesized but is consistent with the literature. The restricted ranges of past psychological abuse and general self-efficacy found in the sample, as well as internal and external validity limitations, are discussed as possible explanations for the study\u27s results. Future directions are also outlined

Metacognitive processes in social anxiety : a path analysis.

Social anxiety is prevalent and debilitating. Contemporary models of social anxiety posit that negative, self-focused thought aids in the maintenance of social anxiety symptoms. Although these models emphasize in-situation cognition, recent findings have linked two perseverative thought constructs, anticipatory processing (pre-event) and post-event processing (post-event), to social anxiety symptoms. The current study was designed to investigate whether these maladaptive thinking styles are perpetuated by the superordinate process of metacognition. In particular, three domains of metacognition were included in the current study: metacognitive beliefs, metacognitive monitoring, and metacognitive (attentional) control. A hypothesized model wherein these three metacognitive processes maintain social anxiety symptoms via anticipatory and post-event processing was tested using path analysis. Previously established direct and hypothesized indirect relationships within this model were evaluated. One hundred fifty four undergraduate students from a large Midwestern university participated in the study and provided self-report data regarding the mentioned constructs. Results indicate that, overall, this model was a good fit for the data. Contrary to expectations, a number of the previously established direct relationships failed to reach statistical significance within the context of the path model. In terms of indirect relationships, only one pathway was significant. The indirect pathway between metacognitive beliefs and social anxiety symptoms via anticipatory processing was significant. Overall these findings suggest that cognitive phenomena associated with social anxiety interact dynamically. Moreover, these findings corroborate Wells\u27 model of psychological distress as it suggests that metacognitive beliefs (positive and negative) held about anticipatory processing sustains it and, in turn, perpetuates symptoms of social anxiety

Economics, National Policy, and Military Strategy: The Growing Linkage in the 1990s

The challenge now is to prepare for non-specific and changing threats that require robust response capabilities. This imposing task is further complicated by the fact that fewer dollars are available for defense

Behavioral Observations of Drosophila melanogaster as Compared to Humans

In this poster for the Natural Sciences Poster Session at Parkland College, students posit whether there are behavioral similarities between fruit flies and humans, given the genetic similarity. Using both wild type and vestigial wing fruit flies, the students concluded that, while there were no obvious individual behaviors, there might be a similar drive to congregate together