Individual difference factors and men's attraction to female body features /

Existing research on attraction to body features has suggested that men show general preferences for women with lower waist-to-hip ratios (WHR), larger breasts, and slender body weights. The present study intended to expand on this research by investigating several individual difference factors and their potential contribution to variation in what men find attractive in female body features. Two hundred and seventy-three men were assessed for sex-role identity, 2D:4D digit ratios (a possible marker of prenatal exposure to androgens, and thus masculinization), physical attractiveness, early sexual experiences (as indices of early sexual conditioning), and early family attitudes toward body features, as well as their current preferences for WHR, breast size, weight, and height in women. For WHR, as predicted, physical attractiveness, early sexual experiences, and lower (more masculine) right-hand 2D:4D ratios significantly predicted current preferences for more feminine (lower) WHR. Early sexual experiences significantly predicted later preferences for breast size; in addition, more masculine occupational preferences and lower (more masculine) left-hand 2D:4D ratios predicted preferences for larger breasts. Participants' height, education level, Unmitigated Agency (masculinity) scores, and early sexual experiences significantly predicted current preferences for height. Finally, early sexual experiences significantly predicted current preferences for weight. The results suggest that variation in preferences for women's bodily features can be uniquely accounted for by a number of individual difference factors. Strengths and weaknesses of the study, along with implications for future research, are discussed.

Microstructural and geochemical investigation of North American lower-middle Paleozoic trilobites and recent arthropods

Trilobites ¥tere collected from Ordovician and Devonian formations of Ontario} New York} Ohio} Oklahoma} and Indiana. Diversity was generally low} but 19..?telllS and Ph..~tY>ps ¥tere the most abundant species from the Ordovician and Devonian} respectively. Recent marine arthropods ¥tere collected from the Atlantic shore of the middle Florida Keys} and from the Pacific and lagoonal waters at Cape Beale} B. C. Fresh-water arthropods were collected along the shore of the Severn River in northcentral Ontario. Cuticles ¥tere analyzed for major} minor and trace elements, 180 and 13C isotopes, as ¥tell as examined by scanning electron micr?scope to identify original and diagenetic fabrics. Examination of trilobite cuticles by scanning electron microscope revealed several microstructures consistent with those observed in Recent arthropods. Microstructures} such as setae and tegumental gland duct openings} in like sized Lim/IllS and Isoteline trilobites may indicate common ancestral origins for these organisms, or simply parallel cuticle evolutions. The dendritic microstructure, originally' thought to be a diagenetic indicator, was found in Recent specimens and therefore its presence in trilobites may be suggestive of the delicate nature of diagenesis in trilobites. The absence of other primary microstructures in trilobites may indicate alteration, taxonomic control} or that there is some inherent feature of S EM examination which may' not allow detection of some features} while others are apparently visit·le onl~1 under SH.·1. The region of the cuticle sampled for examination is also a major influence in detecting pristine microstructures, as not all areas of trilobite and Recent arthropod cuticles will have microstructures identifiable in a SEM study. Subtleties in the process of alteration, however} ma~·· leave pristine microstructures in cuticles that are partial~/ silicified or do 10m itized, and degree and type of alteration may vary stratigraphically and longitudinally within a unit. The presence of fused matrices, angular calcite rhombs, and pyrite in the cuticle are thought to be indicative of altered cuticles, although pyritization may not affect the entire cuticle. t-~atural processes in Recent arthropods, such as molting, lead to variations in cuticle chemistries, and are thought to reflect the area of concentration of the elements during calcification. The level of sodium in Recent arthropods was found to be higher than that in trilobites, but highly mobile when sUbjected to the actions of VY'€'athering. Less saline water produced lovy'€'r magnesium and higher calcium values in Recent specimens .. and metal variations in pristine Ordovician trilobite cuticle appears to follow the constraints outlined for Recent arthropods, of regulation due to the chemislry of the surrounding medium. In diagenetic analysis, sodium, strontium and magnesium proved most beneficial in separating altered from least altered trilobites. Using this criterion, specimens from shale show the least amount of geochemical alteration, and have an original mineralogy of 1.7 - 2.4 mole % MgC03 (8000 t(> 9500 ppm magnesium) for both /s>..?/e/11S lJA'i.riff!11S and PseIAit'11J17ites I..itmirpin..itl/~ and 2.8 - 3.3 mole % MgC03 (5000 to 7000 ppm magnesium) for Ph.i{).?PS This is Slightly lower than the mineralogy of Recent marine arthropods (4.43 - 12.1 mole % MgC03), and slightly higher than that of fresh-water crayfish (0.96 - 1.82 mole % MgC03). Geochemically pristine trilobites were also found to possess primary microstructures. Stable isotope values and trends support the assertion that marine-meteoriclburial fluids were responsible for the alteration observed in a number of the trilobite specimens. The results of this stUdy suggest that fossil material has to be evaluated separately along taxonomic and lithological lines to arrive at sensible diagenetic and e nvironmenta I interpretations.

Is more information always good? : investigating the impact of website interface features on e-retailer's sales performance

A number of frameworks have been suggested for online retailing, but still there exists little consensus among researchers and practitioners regarding the appropriate amount of information critical and essential to the improvement of customers' satisfaction and their purchase intention. Against this backdrop, this study contributes to the current practical and theoretical discussions and conversations about how information search and perceived risk theories can be applied to the management of online retailer website features. This paper examines the moderating role of website personalization in studying the relationship between information content provided on the top US retailers' websites, and customer satisfaction and purchase intention. The study also explores the role played by customer satisfaction and purchase intention in studying the relationship between information that is personalized to the needs of individual customers and online retailers' sales performance. Results indicate that the extent of information content features presented to online customers alone is not enough for companies looking to satisfy and motivate customers to purchase. However, information that is targeted to an individual customer influences customer satisfaction and purchase intention, and customer satisfaction in tum serves as a driver to the retailer's online sales performance.

QUANTIFICATION AND EXTRACTION OF SURFACE FEATURES FROM DIGITAL TERRAIN MODELS

Digital Terrain Models (DTMs) are important in geology and geomorphology, since elevation data contains a lot of information pertaining to geomorphological processes that influence the topography. The first derivative of topography is attitude; the second is curvature. GIS tools were developed for derivation of strike, dip, curvature and curvature orientation from Digital Elevation Models (DEMs). A method for displaying both strike and dip simultaneously as colour-coded visualization (AVA) was implemented. A plug-in for calculating strike and dip via Least Squares Regression was created first using VB.NET. Further research produced a more computationally efficient solution, convolution filtering, which was implemented as Python scripts. These scripts were also used for calculation of curvature and curvature orientation. The application of these tools was demonstrated by performing morphometric studies on datasets from Earth and Mars. The tools show promise, however more work is needed to explore their full potential and possible uses.