Buckling Rate and Overhang Development at a Calving Face

Using the finite-element we have modeled the stress field near the calving face of an idealized tidewater glacier under a variety of assumptions about submarine calving-face height, subaerial calving-face height, and ice rheology These simulations all suggest that a speed maximum should be present at the calving face near the waterline. In experiments without crevassing, the decrease in horizontal velocity above this maximum culminates in a zone of longitudinal compression at the surface somewhat Up-glacier from the face. This zone of compression appears to be a consequence of the non-linear rheology of ice. It disappears when a linear rheology is assumed. Explorations of the near-surface stress field indicate that when pervasive crevassing of the surface ice is accounted for in the simulations (by rheological softening), the zone of compressive strain rates does not develop. Variations in the pattern of horizontal velocity with glacier thickness support the contention that calving rates should increase with water depth at the calving face. In addition, the height of the subaerial calving face may have an importance that is not visible ill Current field data owing to the lack of variation in height of such faces in nature. Glaciers with lower calving faces may not have sufficient tensile stress to calve actively, while tensile stresses in simulated higher faces are sufficiently high that such faces will be unlikely to build in nature.

An Unscathed Past in the Face of Death: Mortality Salience Reduces Individuals’ Regrets

Folk wisdom and popular literature hold that, in the face of death, individuals tend to regret things in their lives that they have done or failed to do. Terror Management Theory (TMT), in contrast, allows for the prediction that individuals who are confronted with death try to minimize the experience of regret in order to retain a positive self-esteem. Three experiments put these competing perspectives to test. Drawing on TMT, we hypothesized and found that participants primed with their own death regret fewer things than control-group participants. This pattern of results cannot be attributed to differing types of regrets (Study 1). Furthermore, we provide evidence suggesting that the effect is not purely a product of cognitive mechanisms such as differing levels of construal (Study 2), cognitive contrast, or deficits (Study 3). Rather, the reported results are best explained in terms of a motivational coping mechanism: When death is salient, individuals strive to bolster as well as protect their self-esteem and accordingly try to minimize the experience of regret. The results add to our conceptual understanding of regret and TMT, and suggest that a multitude of lifestyle guidebooks need updating.

Does the Use of Mobile Devices (Tablets and Smartphones) Affect Stated Choice Behavior in Web Surveys? An Application to Environmental Valuation

Web surveys are becoming increasingly popular in survey research. Compared with face-to-face, telephone and mail surveys, web surveys may contain a different and new source of measurement error and bias: the type of device that respondents use to answer the survey questions. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that tests whether the use of mobile devices affects survey characteristics and stated preferences in a web-based choice experiment. The web survey was carried out in Germany with 3,400 respondents, of which 12 per cent used a mobile device (i.e. tablet or smartphone), and comprised a stated choice experiment on externalities of renewable energy production using wind, solar and biomass. Our main finding is that survey characteristics such as interview length and acquiescence tendency are affected by the device used. In contrast to what might be expected, we find that, compared with respondents using desktop computers and laptops, mobile device users spent more time to answer the survey and are less likely to be prone to acquiescence bias. In the choice experiment, mobile device users tended to be more consistent in their stated choices, and there are differences in willingness to pay between both subsamples.

RETICULAR PSEUDODRUSEN ON INFRARED IMAGING ARE TOPOGRAPHICALLY DISTINCT FROM SUBRETINAL DRUSENOID DEPOSITS ON EN FACE OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the quantitative and topographic relationship between reticular pseudodrusen (RPD) on infrared reflectance (IR) and subretinal drusenoid deposits (SDD) on en face volumetric spectral domain optical coherence tomography. METHODS: Reticular pseudodrusen were marked on IR images by a masked observer. Subretinal drusenoid deposits were visualized on en face sections of spectral domain optical coherence tomography below the external limiting membrane and identified by a semiautomated technique. Control RPD lesions were generated in a random distribution for each IR image. Binary maps of control and experimental RPD and SDD were merged and analyzed in terms of topographic localization and quantitative drusen load comparison. RESULTS: A total of 54 eyes of 41 patients diagnosed with RPD were included in this study. The average number of RPD lesions on IR images was 320 ± 44.62 compared with 127 ± 26.02 SDD lesions on en face (P < 0.001). The majority of RPD lesions did not overlap with SDD lesions and were located >30 μm away (92%). The percentage of total SDD lesions overlapping RPD was 2.91 ± 0.87% compared with 1.73 ± 0.68% overlapping control RPD lesions (P < 0.05). The percentage of total SDD lesions between 1 and 3 pixels of the nearest RPD lesion was 5.08 ± 1.40% compared with 3.33 ± 1.07% between 1 and 3 pixels of the nearest control RPD lesion (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: This study identified significantly more RPD lesions on IR compared with SDD lesions on en face spectral domain optical coherence tomography and found that a large majority of SDD (>90% of lesions) were >30 μm away from the nearest RPD. Together, our findings indicate that RPD and SDD are two entities that are only occasionally topographically associated, suggesting that at some stage in their development, they may be pathologically related.

The Face of Power

Objective: In humans and other animals, open, expansive postures (compared to contracted postures) are evolutionary developed expressions of power and have been shown to cause neuroendocrine and behavioral changes (Carney, Cuddy, & Yap, 2010). In the present study we aimed to investigate whether power postures have a bearing on the participant’s facial appearance and whether others are able to distinguish faces after “high power posing” from faces after “low power posing”. Methods: 16 models were photographed 4-5 minutes after having adopted high and low power postures. Two different high power and two different low power postures were held for 2 minutes each. Power-posing sessions were performed on two consecutive days. High and low power photographs of each model were paired and an independent sample of 100 participants were asked to pick the more dominant and the more likeable face of each pair. Results: Photographs that were taken after adopting high power postures were chosen significantly more often as being more dominant looking. There was no preference when asked to choose the more likeable photograph (chance level). A further independent sample rated each photograph for head tilt, making it unlikely that dominance ratings were caused merely by the posture of the head. Consistently, facial width-to-height ratio did not differ between faces after high and low power posing. Conclusions: Postures associated with high power affect facial appearance, leading to a more dominant looking face. This finding may have implications for everyday life, for instance when a dominant appearance is needed.

Is the Cheating Risk Always Higher in Online Instruction Compared to Face-to-Face Instruction?

This article analyzes the exposure to cheating risk of online courses relative to face-to-face courses at a single institution. For our sample of 20 online courses we report that the cheating risk is higher than for equivalent face-to-face courses because of reliance on un-proctored multiple choice exams. We conclude that the combination of a proctored final exam, and strategic use cheating deterrents in the administration of un-proctored multiple choice exams, would significantly reduce the cheating risk differential without substantially altering the assessment design of online instruction.

Les Tribus Dans l´histoire et face aux états. En: Avá, nº 17

Este brevísimo libro de Maurice Godelier, cuyo texto procede de la conferencia inaugural del coloquio internacional The Political Role of Tribes in the Middle East (Ammán, Jordania, Octubre de 2009), ofrece en apenas unas 80 páginas un panorama general de cuestiones de antropología política, con una vertiente de comparación histórica en diversos períodos y lugares, sobre la naturaleza de las sociedades tribales y su relación con las organizaciones estatales.

Face Lift Surgery for Reconstructed Virtual Humans

We introduce an innovative, semi-automatic method to transform low resolution facial meshes into high definition ones, based on the tailoring of a generic, neutral human head model, designed by an artist, to fit the facial features of a specific person. To determine these facial features we need to select a set of "control points" (corners of eyes, lips, etc.) in at least two photographs of the subject's face. The neutral head mesh is then automatically reshaped according to the relation between the control points in the original subject's mesh through a set of transformation pyramids. The last step consists in merging both meshes and filling the gaps that appear in the previous process. This algorithm avoids the use of expensive and complicated technologies to obtain depth maps, which also need to be meshed later.

Brain dynamics of mild cognitive impairment during face encoding

Brain oscillations are closely correlated with human information processing and fundamental aspects of cognition. Previous literature shows that due to the relation between brain oscillations and memory processes, spectral dynamics during such tasks are good candidates to study and characterize memory related pathologies. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI), defined as a clinical condition characterized by memory impairment and/ or deterioration of additional cognitive domains, is considered a preliminary stage in the dementia process. In consequence, the study of its brain patterns could help to achieve an early diagnosis of Alzheimer Disease.