Personal Belongings Research Articles

Lifestyle chemistries from phones for individual profiling

Imagine a scenario where personal belongings such as pens, keys, phones, or handbags are found at an investigative site. It is often valuable to the investigative team that is trying to trace back the belongings to an individual to understand their personal habits, even when DNA evidence is also available. Here, we develop an approach to translate chemistries recovered from personal objects such as phones into a lifestyle sketch of the owner, using mass spectrometry and informatics approaches. Our results show that phones' chemistries reflect a personalized lifestyle profile. The collective repertoire of molecules found on these objects provides a sketch of the lifestyle of an individual by highlighting the type of hygiene/beauty products the person uses, diet, medical status, and even the location where this person may have been. These findings introduce an additional form of trace evidence from skin-associated lifestyle chemicals found on personal belongings. Such information could help a criminal investigator narrowing down the owner of an object found at a crime scene, such as a suspect or missing person.

THE EFFECT OF SECURITY PROCEDURES ON EMPLOYEE MORALE

Purpose
 The objective of the study is to critically analyze the main issues on the scrutiny of personal belongings and the effect of it on the employee morale and to understand the due impact so as to find out a simplified work atmosphere in order to increase taskforce retention.
 Design/methodology/approach
 The study was conducted with 260 employees working in the Oil fields of Sohar industrial port, Oman. The employees were selected on a simple random sampling basis and were contacted through a well-defined questionnaire which was made available online for this purpose. The sample included both the managers and the workers from the task force.
 Findings
 Our empirical results reveal that the employees understand the logic behind the measures, are not reluctant and hence no negative impact on the employee’s morale. However, the study demonstrates that there is a strong association between the privacy of the employees, their trust, tolerance and the morale of the employees. The main factors which might impede the security procedures are the trust and the privacy.
 Practical Implications
 The study reveals that the security practices may violate the individual privacy and leads to ethical conflict and thus the employees may become untrusted and tend to leave the organization due to daily physical inspection which is not a very good sign.
 Social Implications
 There is a need to educate all the employees on the logic behind such inspection measures and seek the opinion on the ways to improve such measures. A national campaign can be initiated.
 Originality/value
 Very few studies have examined the effect of security procedures on the employee morale in the oil fields of Oman and it is a first-hand study of its kind.

Socioeconomic impact of alcohol in patients with alcoholic liver disease in eastern India.

The aim of this study is to estimate the socioeconomic impact of alcohol use on patients with alcoholic liver disease (ALD) and their families. The demographic and socioeconomic data were collected from hospitalized ALD patients and attendants using a self designed non validated questionnaire and analyzed. Study subjects included 100 consecutive ALD patients (all males). Sixty percent were between 30 and 50years. Most were married (96%), literate (63%), either businessmen (37%) or employed (30%) and belonged to middle socioeconomic class. Ninety percent started alcohol use before age 30years and half during teenage. Mean alcohol intake was 190mL/day (mean duration 23years); 60% consumed alcohol daily. Concomitant tobacco abuse was noted in 79%. Average expenditure on alcohol was Rs 3800/month. Average hospitalizations for ALD related problems was 2.6times/year with average expenditure of INR 30,000 (~440 US$) during each hospitalization. For treatment expenses, 86% of patients borrowed money from friends/relatives, 36% used saving deposits, and 4% sold personal belongings. Eleven percent lost their job, and 7% sold immovable property. In 43% of cases, children were deprived of education. Besides, 52% had disturbed social and family life, 34% abused their spouse, 20% suffered accidents, and 37% indulged in physical violence. Majority of ALD patients and their families had disturbed social and family life and incurred severe financial loss arising of alcohol use.

Functional customization: Value creation byindividual storage elements inthecarinterior.

Mobility demands change due to differing life stages of car owners. Car sharing and retail markets seldom offer a possibility for customization by the user in contrast to the freedom of choice of an initial owner of a car. The value creation of functional customization is investigated. Prior to a test with a concept design, different use case scenarios of car drivers are identified regarding the preferred storage location of their personal belongings in different situations. A study with 70 subjects was conducted in order to evaluate the value added by functional customization. Storage habits of users were investigated in general and in relation to a concept design offering the possibility for flexible storage. Smartphones, supplies, beverages and wallets were the most relevant belongings in all driving situations (commuting, leisure, vacation and special occasions) complemented by sports equipment. Smartphones and other valuables are stored within reach and sight of the user. The emotional responses, recorded before and after the test, subdivided in attraction, hope and joy indicated positive feedback. The ease of use and the design proved to be crucial product characteristics of individually adaptable storage solutions. Positive emotions are contributing factors for a user's purchasing decision.

Growth in the Size of Unit Loads and Shipping Containers from Antique to WWI

This paper explores subject of the increasing the size and mass of unit loads and its relationship to the development of transloading technology over the past 2000 years. It shows that the principles of development of these parameters have been important for carriers and for trade. Although the change of shape and construction materials for load units are very different from today's shipping containers, the same design rules apply. The reasons for the change of usage of some kinds of the load units in history relate to changes in technology and the availability of the construction materials. The industrial revolution created an increase in demand and stimulated mechanization of transloading technology. The first ‘bulk’ product to be successfully handled by crane was coal. Later developments in rail transport and steamships changed the geometry and capacity of transport vehicles, which stimulated the development of mechanical reloading techniques. Steam power used in many solutions increased the maximum payload of cranes. The development of electric power and motors for road transport further increased handling capacity, enabling greater size and mass of unit loads. Later, the big emigration from Europe to USA stimulated the creation of large unit loads and shipping containers for personal belongings and imports. The size and weight of unit loads lagged, but grew in direct proportion to the growth in lifting capacity, and mechanization reduced human labour required for transloading. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The English Merchants’ Settlement in Šventoji: An Analysis and Interpretation of the Artefacts

A settlement was established by English merchants in Sventoji in the second half of the 17th century. The rich collection of artefacts and historic documents distinctly suggests the daily life of merchants. In this paper, the artefacts are assessed as indicators of the cultural and personal identity. Most of the finds were imported, and not locally produced. Their provenance, if possible, was identified and associated with manufacturing centres by using a comparative method. Ceramic dishes, glass vessels and cutlery represent merchants’ dining traditions and habits, while personal belongings can be associated with the presentation of social status or individual expression. Key words: archaeology of the early modern period, Sventoji, English merchants, tableware, personal belongings, cultural identity. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15181/ab.v23i0.1308

The History of Russian Railway Museums

In Russia there are hundreds of railway museums and expositions of railways. The article is concerned with the history of railway museums of Russia, in particular, museum in Saint Petersburg, one of the oldest technical museums in the world, creation of which showed the beginning of history of railway museums of Russia in 1813 and further which was opened as the museum of the department of transport named after the emperor Nicholas I in 1902. The emperor Nicholas II visited it and donated some personal belongings of Nicholas I from the imperial palaces to the museum. In 1987 it became the Central Museum of Railway Transport of the Ministry of Railways in Russia. Also the history of the museum of railway transport of Rostov-on-Don is analyzed. The museum is the second in Russia by the uniqueness of the collection and out of competition by the number of the existing exhibits. As the construction of railways have changed the development of Russia, visiting of the railway museums let to examine the historical periods of development of the country.

Multi-group localization problem of service robots based on hybrid external localization algorithm with application to shopping mall environment

Intellectualization of life is a general tendency due to the proliferation of technology and science. Based on this concept, this paper presents multi-group localization algorithms and detection algorithms for multi-group service robot system (MGSR). Shopping cart problem is considered as an exemplary multi-group service robot system. The MGSR is designed to provide users with co-service by multiple carts and allows multiple users operation simultaneously. In MGSR, a cart carrying personal belongings of the user follows the user automatically and provides real-time position information to the user. To fulfill estimating the location of MGSR, hybrid external localization algorithm based on combination of QR location information and ZigBee location estimate is proposed. To detect and track a cart by another cart with LRF, we define cart features in LRF data and employ a support vector data description method. Recognition of user---cart groups in MGSR is realized by ZigBee blind nodes on the cart. We verified the feasibility of the proposed algorithms for MGSR through three experiment trials.

Practice, Process, and Product: A self-reflexive inquiry of practice-led research in progress

This paper investigates through a series of immersive and interactive installations how traditional notions of family archives have altered due to new media. Notions regarding the affect this might have on the performance of memory are central to this investigation. My creative praxis is situated within a practice-led research methodological paradigm. As this paper will discuss, practice-led research centralises interdisciplinary practices, fosters a holistic and experimental art-making process and is informed by theoretical frameworks and subjectivity. Photographs, videos and personal belongings are sourced from own family’s archives. Consequently, my research approach positions me as artist, subject and researcher working within a framework that encourages subjectivity and reflexivity. This paper will explore the importance for transitional dialogues in practice-led research between theory and artistic practices, processes and products.

Co-Conception Process of an Innovative Assistive Device to Track and Find Misplaced Everyday Objects for Older Adults with Cognitive Impairment: The TROUVE Project

Purpose: Misplacing or losing personal belongings is a concern of everyday life among people of all ages. Older adults with cognitive impairment are significantly more affected by this problem. It is a source of frustration, anxiety, interpersonal conflict and disability in this population. Informal caregivers are greatly impacted by this problem, which compels them to spend a lot of time searching for misplaced items and comforting the person. Assistive technology could thus be of great benefit in this area. However, existing item locator devices do not appear to meet the needs of older adults with cognitive disorders. The TROUVE project aims to conceive and assess an innovative item locator device that effectively addresses their needs, capacities, and goals.Procedure: The project team conducted a co-design process involving relevant stakeholders (persons with cognitive impairment, informal and formal caregivers, researchers, industry representatives, ethical bodies) using user-tests, focus groups, interviews, and questionnaires. The project plan involved three phases: (1) analysis of end-users' needs, (2) definition of system requirements and iterative prototype development, and (3) prototype assessment.Findings: The analysis of end users' needs and the evaluation of existing item locator devices provided us with details about the items which are the most frequently lost or misplaced by older adults at home and their coping strategies to manage these situations. The analysis of usability problems observed throughout the assessment of existing devices allowed the definition of the system requirements. Prototype assessment showed that spatialized sound can be used to help these users find missing items, and that an item locator device can be part of a more comprehensive assistive and rehabilitation system such as a robot.Conclusions: An item locator that relies on sensory information (spatialized sound) rather than on conceptual reasoning (“the item is located to your left 4 meters away”) appears to be an interesting solution to address the problem of misplacing personal items in elderly with cognitive impairment. Involving end-users and relevant stakeholders throughout the cycle of design and development of assistive technology is an effective method to explore design opportunities and define creative solutions.

Uncertain Belongings: Absent Mourning, Burial, and Post-mortem Repatriations at the External Border of the EU in Spain

ABSTRACTSince the mid-1980s, migrants from North African and sub-Saharan countries have irregularly crossed the Strait of Gibraltar in the hope of a better future for themselves and their families. Travelling in small, poorly equipped boats without experienced captains has cost the lives of myriad border-crossers. Exploring the junction of death and belonging, I first open a discussion about the enigmatic relation between a dead body and a dead person and argue for the importance of the physical presence of the body for mourning. Second, I show how the anonymity of dead border-crossers and their uncertain belongings are generated, concealed, or rewritten. Following the story of an undertaker, I third examine post-mortem border crossings. Depicting the power relations within identification processes, I outline the ambiguity of the term belonging by emphasising the constitutive significance of personal belongings such as clothes to restore a person's identity. Reflecting on the ethical relationships which different actors (including the researcher) undertake with the deceased, I aim at gaining a better understanding of the multiple belongings of dead border-crossers found on Spanish shores.

‘All change please – make sure you take all your personal belongings and mind the gap’

‘All change please – make sure you take all your personal belongings and mind the gap’

The Importance of Personal Possessions for the Development of a Sense of Home of Nursing Home Residents

ABSTRACTPersonal possessions of nursing home residents can contribute to their sense of home. This study investigated which of the personal belongings were considered most important, and if these items indeed contributed to a sense of home. A qualitative research was conducted with 27 nursing home residents. Photographs, paintings, and pieces of furniture are objects with sentimental value. The television set is valued for its practical function. Residents of larger rooms have more flexibility in bringing along personal items, including pieces of furniture. The results of this study can be used for the design of nursing homes or for making informed choices during the process of institutionalization.

The Factors Influencing the Sense of Home in Nursing Homes: A Systematic Review from the Perspective of Residents.

Purpose. To provide an overview of factors influencing the sense of home of older adults residing in the nursing home. Methods. A systematic review was conducted. Inclusion criteria were (1) original and peer-reviewed research, (2) qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods research, (3) research about nursing home residents (or similar type of housing), and (4) research on the sense of home, meaning of home, at-homeness, or homelikeness. Results. Seventeen mainly qualitative articles were included. The sense of home of nursing home residents is influenced by 15 factors, divided into three themes: (1) psychological factors (sense of acknowledgement, preservation of one's habits and values, autonomy and control, and coping); (2) social factors (interaction and relationship with staff, residents, family and friends, and pets) and activities; and (3) the built environment (private space and (quasi-)public space, personal belongings, technology, look and feel, and the outdoors and location). Conclusions. The sense of home is influenced by numerous factors related to the psychology of the residents and the social and built environmental contexts. Further research is needed to determine if and how the identified factors are interrelated, if perspectives of various stakeholders involved differ, and how the factors can be improved in practice.

The Hoarders: Material Deviance in Modern American Culture by Scott Herring

THE HOARDERS: Material Deviance in Modern American Culture. By Scott Herring. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. 2014.Scott Herring's The Hoarders: Material Deviance in Modern American Culture is a provocative book that interrogates contemporary psychology's treatment of hoarding as a mental illness. Herring demonstrates that hoarder is not a transhistorical reality resulting from defective DNA or deteriorating neurons, but a cultural construct embodying and enforcing powerful norms about appropriate attitudes and behaviors toward objects. People who flagrantly violate these norms face medico-juridical consequences, and the spectacles made of hoarders function as visible reminders of how we should not engage with (8). Without discounting that many people who hoard suffer and cause harm, Herring questions whether hoarding invariably leads to or results from mental anguish or trauma; when it doesn't, Herring calls upon readers to [l]et objects and owners have their quiet, in their peace. It would be nice if these things somehow became less important, more immaterial, not quite so much cause for concern (141).Herring's critique is informed by culture studies, queer studies, and disability studies, though his genealogical method is most indebted to the work of Michel Foucault. Herring limits the scholarly apparatus throughout, relegating most of it to a brief Note on Method and to endnotes. Instead, he devotes his efforts to the explication, contextualization, and analysis of four fascinating genealogies that illuminate some of the steps by which the formation and pathologization of hoarder became imaginable. Chapter 1 discusses the wealthy, elderly Collyer brothers, Homer and Langley, who be- came sensational news in 1947 after their corpses were found in their Harlem brownstone, which contained over one hundred tons of ranging from several grand pianos to scads of pinup posters (19) as well as stacks of bundled newspapers that had collapsed on Langley, burying him alive. Herring argues that the brothers came to be seen not only as embodiments of the perceived social disorganization of Harlem, but also as material and mental deviant[s] (43) whose strangest curios turned out to be their own bodies. Chapter 2 describes the furor surrounding the estate sale of Andy Warhol, whose massive, eclectic collection of personal belongings ranged from paintings and sketches by famous artists to chewing gum and a plaster lobster. Herring contends that Warhol's desire seemingly to save everything ran afoul of efforts to rationalize, legitimize, and standardize the collectibles market, separating objects worth saving, selling, or buying from ephemera and junk. …

The Alert Collector: Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Guide to the Latest Resources

Since the early 1990s there has been a steady escalation in the numbers of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)—today it is considered the fastest growing developmental disability in the United States. In 2010, it was estimated that 1 in 68 children were affected by autism spectrum disorder. This is an increase of approximately 120 percent from the data collected ten years earlier. Identifying it as one of six neurodevelopmental disorders, the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) describes autism spectrum disorder as “a series of developmental disabilities characterized by impaired social communication and interaction skills, accompanied by the existence of repetitive behaviors or activities, such as rocking movements, hand clapping or obsessively arranging personal belongings.”

Should I stay or should I go? Patient understandings of and responses to source-isolation practices

Isolation of patients, who are colonised or infected with a multidrug-resistant organism (source-isolation), is a common practice in most acute health-care settings, to prevent transmission to other patients. Efforts to improve the efficacy of source-isolation in hospitals focus on healthcare staff compliance with isolation precautions. In this article we examine patients’ awareness, understandings and observance of source-isolation practices and directives with a view to understanding better the roles patients play or could play in transmitting, or limiting transmission, of multidrug-resistant organisms (MRO). Seventeen source-isolated adult surgical patients and two relatives participated in video-reflexive ethnography and interviews. We learned that, although most of these patients wanted to protect themselves and others from colonisation/infection with a MRO, they had a limited understanding of what precautions they could take while in isolation and found it difficult to obtain ongoing information. Thus, many patients regularly left their source-isolation rooms without taking appropriate precautions and were potentially contributing to environmental contamination and transmission. Some patients also interacted with other patients and their personal belongings in ways that exposed other patients, unnecessarily, to colonisation/infection risk. By not providing patients with adequate information on infection risk or how they could contribute to their own safety or that of others, they are denied the opportunity to fully engage in their healthcare. To improve the efficacy of source-isolation and contact precautions in general, patient care providers should consider colonised or infected patients as active partners in reducing transmission and involve patients and relatives in regular, ongoing conversations about transmission prevention.

Valuing Affect: The Centrality of Emotion, Memory, and Identity in Garage Sale Exchange

AbstractThis article draws upon affect theory to analyze transformations of garage sale sellers through the exchange of their affectively charged possessions. Garage sales are awash with human emotion; they feature used personal belongings suffused with identities, histories, stories, and memories that are moved along with affect. The objects for sale are “sticky” in that they act as vessels and glue for strands of sentiment to reflexively pass between sellers and buyers, transmitting affective orientations, whether positive or negative. The affective elements of garage sale goods are contagious as they can intersubjectively leap from one body to another.

Recreating and Materializing Social Differences through Patina-oriented Consumption: The Post-socialist Ownership History of a Second-hand, Luxury Commodity

The study examines the post-socialist ownership history of an extremely valuable Gabor Roma prestige object: a silver-footed beaker. The resulting object biography sheds light on the role of the prestige economy constructed around silver objects in the creation, materialization, and renegotiation of social differences among the Gabor Roma in Romania. The analysis also reveals that this economy is a contemporary, second-hand culture based on patina-oriented consumption, similar to other economies of inalienable possessions (family heirlooms, etc.) or communities of competing collectors specializing in personal belongings of celebrities. The object biography further demonstrates how the second-handedness and ownership history of silver prestige objects are constructed through various ideologies and practices (sale, inheritance, economic brokerage, proprietary contests, etc.). Finally, the study makes a detailed comparison of the patina-oriented versus the fashion or novelty-oriented prestige goods popular among the Gabor Roma. The two can be distinguished from each other primarily by the different meanings and values associated with the ownership histories outlined in the introduction.

Did Raoul Wallenberg try to leave Budapest in January 1945 with jewelry and 15–20 kg of gold hidden in the gasoline tank of his car? On sensationalism in popular history and Soviet disinformation

ABSTRACTThis article addresses the claim made by the American journalists Frederick Werbell and Thurston Clarke (in 1982) and the Swedish author and researcher Bengt Jangfeldt (in 2012) to the effect that the Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, when preparing to leave Budapest for Debrecen in January 1945, hid jewelry and 15–20 kg of gold in his car. As is evident from the examination conducted here, the testimonies referred to in support of this theory are all fraught with serious problems. Most importantly, there is not a single witness making such a claim before the July 1947 issue of the American journal Reader’s Digest, where it first appeared. The article concludes that the sources referred to are not sufficiently solid to support the claim that Wallenberg tried to bring anything of value out of Budapest, except for the small number of bills of different currencies that was handed over to his relatives by the KGB in 1989, together with his personal belongings. The article also describes a number of known and suspected Soviet attempts to furnish the Swedes with disinformation regarding Wallenberg’s fate and discusses whether the gold-and-jewelry claim is in fact the distant echo of an almost 70-year-old Soviet attempt to discredit Wallenberg.