Scott Magelssen has had more lives than an accident-prone cat. He’s been a waiter in a logging camp. An anthrax victim. A Mexican migrant trying to cross into the U.S. A slave seeking freedom on the Underground Railroad. An observer during an attack on an Iraqi village.
It’s all in a day’s work for Magelssen, a UW associate professor of drama, who has participated in a variety of interactive simulations for his upcoming book, “Simming” to be published in June by University of Michigan Press. The book explores the impact of simulations and the potential of such immersive environments to promote social change. (more…)
With a goal to reduce HIV risk behaviors, researchers investigated whether gay men and male sex workers in Mexico City would participate in a conditional cash transfer program that encourages HIV prevention education and regular testing. A new study in the European Journal of Health Economics reports the price that would get more than 75-percent participation: $288 a year.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Studies have found that conditional cash transfer programs, in which governments pay citizens if they consistently practice societally beneficial behaviors, have improved pediatric health care and education in Mexico, increased HIV testing in Malawi, and reduced sexually transmitted infections in Tanzania. Public health researchers therefore investigated whether the idea could be applied to HIV risk behaviors among gay men and male sex workers in Mexico City. A new study reports not only that some members of those populations would change behavior for conditional cash payments, but the exact prices they would accept. (more…)
A team of archaeologists led by Stephen Houston has made a new discovery at the Maya archaeological site in El Zotz, Guatemala, uncovering a pyramid believed to celebrate the Maya sun god. The structure’s outer walls depict the god in an unprecedented set of images done in painted stucco. In 2010, the team uncovered a royal tomb filled with artifacts and human remains at the same site. Researchers believe the pyramid was built to link the deceased lord to the eternal sun.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — A team of archaeologists led by Brown University’s Stephen Houston has uncovered a pyramid, part of the Maya archaeological site at El Zotz, Guatemala. The ornately decorated structure is topped by a temple covered in a series of masks depicting different phases of the sun, as well as deeply modeled and vibrantly painted stucco throughout.
The team began uncovering the temple, called the Temple of the Night Sun, in 2009. Dating to about 350 to 400 A.D., the temple sits just behind the previously discovered royal tomb, atop the Diablo Pyramid. The structure was likely built after the tomb to venerate the leader buried there. (more…)
• 8,042 commuters in 20 cities on six continents surveyed
• Parking elusive worldwide; Over half report abandoning search for parking spot
• Chicago reports the least amount of tickets for illegal parking; Bangalore tops the list
• Drivers in New Delhi, Bangalore, Nairobi and Milan argue most over parking spaces
IBM’s first parking survey released today found that drivers in 20 international cities face a daily struggle in finding a parking space. In the past year, nearly six out of 10 drivers have abandoned their search for a space at least once, and more than a quarter have gotten into an argument with a fellow motorist over a parking space (more…)
While the country folk can detect contaminant in food (that makes bad smell) in lower levels, city dwellers are even more resistant. The 20 Million inhabitants of the Mexico City are probably going to lose their ‘sense of smell’. Reason: air pollution.
