Participant Reactivity in an Exhibition: The Effect of Overt Observation on Engagement Times

Participant reactivity was examined in a section of the National Park Center Multimar Wattforum in Tönning, Germany, which combines aquariums with exhibits typical of museums and science centers. Engagement times with exhibits were compared between cued and uncued visitors. Cued visitors were overtly observed. Some were also prompted before the observation period to think aloud. Data were collected by paper-and-pencil timing and tracking. Participants spent approximately 15?min in the observation section. Reactivity was not significant for overtly observed cued visitors unless they were asked to think aloud. In this case, reactivity depended on the type of exhibit. Reactivity was high for information stations, moderate for interactive stations, and low for aquariums. The results indicate that reactivity effects are negligible for overt observation if after the cueing no further interaction between participants and observers takes place but increase considerably even with minimal interaction.     

Information integration in judgements of time to contact

Time to contact (TTC) is specified optically by tau, and studies suggest that observers are sensitive to this information. However, TTC judgements also are influenced by other sources of information, including pictorial depth cues. Therefore, it is useful to identify these sources of information and to determine whether and how their effects combine when multiple sources are available. We evaluated the effect of five depth cues on TTC judgements. Results indicate that relative size, height in field, occlusion, and motion parallax influence TTC judgements. When multiple cues are available, an integration (rather than selection) strategy is used. Finally, the combined effects of multiple cues are not always consistent with a strict additive model and may be task dependent.     

Schmerzmanagement bei fortgeschrittener Demenz

Typischerweise liegen bei geriatrischen Patienten mehrere Erkrankungen gleichzeitig vor, die sich wechselseitig in ihrem Verlauf, aber auch in ihrer symptomatischen Auswirkung, beeinflussen. Dies gilt besonders für Zusammentreffen chronischer Schmerzen mit einer Demenz.     

Analytische philosophie des geistes

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Serial murderers' spatial decisions: factors that influence crime location choice

The outcome of German serial murderer spatial decision making was measured as the straight‐line distance (km) between murderer home locations and each crime location (i.e. body recovery location). Geographic and series development data, as well as information on age, intelligence, motive, marital status, employment status, and mode of transportation of 53 German serial murderers was collected from police and prosecution service files and judicial verdict records. Potential effects of the aforementioned factors on spatial decisions were assessed. Results showed that 63% of the murderers lived within 10 km of their crime locations. Home‐to‐crime distance was negatively correlated with murderer age and positively correlated with murderer IQ score. Results also showed that the mode of transportation used by murderers had an effect on their spatial decisions. Results are discussed in terms of understanding serial murderer spatial decision‐making and implications for police investigations. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How Contextual Frames Normalize Submission

ABSTRACT

Two studies demonstrate how contextual frames normalize submission and hereby complement and legitimize the exercise of power. Combining Kuhn’s qualitative concept of the self with Charles Osgood’s empirical measurements of self-attitudes, the first study tests the impact of the frame of submission on self-attitudes. This assessment of the self allows to quantify the influence of a frame or context. A second study tests the hypothesis that selves, organized by the context of submission, will normalize acts of submission. Computer simulations that quantitatively operationalize the Cybernetic Symbolic Interactionist perspective, find evidence for the normalizing quality of frames.