Good morning, Norfolk! Wednesday started again with an early breakfast, because there were more lectures to take at Old Dominion University. It was quite cold, so we quickly went to our first lecture at 9 o’clock, which was about „Terrorism“.
Mr. Gary M. Gomez gave us for about an hour an insight into the topic of International Terrorist Networking and showed us various reasons why terrorists carry out assassinations. What surprised me about this lecture was the fact that it was unwanted to take photos or other video recordings during the lecture period, because this had never been the case before.
At 10 AM we went to the lecture called „Understanding Global Climate Change“, which was given by Mr. Henry R. Harvey. Besides some facts about „managed“ versus „natural“ ecosystems we were also shown the consequences of global warming. Directly afterwards, we attended the lecture „Psychology of Criminal Behavior“. The lecturer, Mrs. Sarah Ehlke entered the subject area of „multiple murders and school violence“ and dealt in particular with the work of the profilers. We learned that for investigative psychologists the investigation of 3 factors are necessary: the crime features, personal characteristics and any other crimes likely to have been committed by the same person. For the understanding of Psychological Profiling it is important to have several skills. Besides the know-how of the criminal mind, the profiler needs investigative experience like a police officer and the ability to think logically and objectively as well as intuitively. During the lecture, an exciting discussion developed on the subject, of police racism against colored people, in which many students got involved.
Our fourth lecture took place at 1 pm and was called „The Criminal Justice System“. Ramona D. Taylor greeted us very warmly and after a short introduction to our fellow students, we immediately entered the exciting lesson. The last lecture of the day was called „TPC: Music, Culture and Media“. Mr. Thomas J. Robotham showed us some minutes of the film „Straight Outta Compton“, which the class discussed afterwards. According to Mr. Robotham, this subject is mainly characterized by watching and then interpreting various films and documentaries.
Some of us group went to the Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center (VMASC) in Suffolk in the afternoon. The ODU field office focused on data collection and analysis. In the institute, for example, a flight simulator is on display to prepare pilots for emergencies. Radiant heaters and a smoking machine are used to simulate incidents so that the pilot can be trained more precisely. There was also another area in which research is being carried out into, how the human senses can be more strongly addressed when using VR glasses. The VR glasses were used to send a person to a lonely island. In fact, the ground was covered with sand to enhance the beach feeling. Radiant heaters were also installed here to represent the sun. From loudspeakers, the sound of sea noise could be perceived. This made the participants feel as if they were directly on the beach.
In the evening, we all were invited by Mike and Linda Overstreet. Linda and Mike have been close friends of Mr. Herzog for many years. They organized a great deck party for our group. The sunny and pleasantly warm weather promised in advance that this evening would be very special. Besides homemade salad, iced tea and a crab soup prepared by Mr. Herzog himself, there were crackers, chips and dips. But my culinary highlights were Linda’s homemade brownies and banana pudding. It was very exciting for all of us to take a closer look at an American household. The house of the Overstreets is located directly at the water, so that many beautiful photos were taken at the boat pier. After a tour through the house we had a long and friendly talk with Linda and Mike. We would like to take this opportunity to thank them once again for their hospitality and kindness!
