4210 research outputs found
Sort by
Enhancing Second Language Acquisition for University Students with Learning Disabilities: A Mixed-Methods Study
Get PDFSecond language acquisition at the university level presents notable challenges, particularly for students with disabilities. Despite its significance, this area has remained underexplored in academic research. This study bridged this gap by investigating the specific challenges and effective strategies employed by students with disabilities in second language learning. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the research combined a cross-sectional survey with in-depth interviews of students with disabilities taking world language courses. The focus was to identify specific obstacles and effective practices in this context, with the goal of offering concrete recommendations for more inclusive teaching methodologies and enhanced support mechanisms in university settings. This inquiry was grounded in relevant literature from the fields of special education, inclusive education, and language pedagogy. The study found that students with disabilities encounter significant cognitive, psychological, and instructional barriers in second language acquisition, which can be effectively reduced through personalized, technology-enhanced educational strategies and increased supportive measures within inclusive learning environments. The study contributes valuable insights into the tailored needs of students with disabilities and improves both their academic performance and overall well-being in second language learning environments
The Plastic Purge: Life Without Plastic
No full textPlastic is quite literally universal, and a growing body of evidence shows that it\u27s doing terrible things to our bodies, our minds, and our environment. However, it may be so entrenched in modern life that we cannot get away from it. For the next month, I am going to do my best not to use, touch, or otherwise interact with plastic. Is living completely plastic-free possible in the modern world? Let\u27s find out
Diaspora and Identity in Jhumpa Lahiri\u27s Unaccustomed Earth
Get PDFMy paper, entitled “Identity and Diaspora in Jhumpa Lahiri’s Unaccustomed Earth” was written for and approved by Dr. Haffey in her 21st Century Fiction (449U) seminar class. The paper explores the complex relationship between first generation Bengali American characters and their identities in the wake of diaspora. This paper shows that Lahiri works to create a kind of liminal space in which her first generation characters exist - a space between being both Bengali and American. Lahiri does so through exploring family relationships, culture, and the pull between heritage and assimilation in order to highlight a new culture of existing in between the native and host culture. She creates a liminal space for her characters to highlight the idea that a singular identity is a utopian ideal - that we as humans exist in a multiplicity of identities, and can find peace in doing so
Boolean Group Structure in Class Groups of Positive Definite Quadratic Forms of Primitive Discriminant
Get PDFIt is possible to completely describe the representation of any integer by binary quadratic forms of a given discriminant when the discriminant’s class group is a Boolean group (also known as an elementary abelian 2-group). For other discriminants, we can partially describe the representation using the structure of the class group. The goal of the present project is to find whether any class group with 32 elements and a primitive positive definite discriminant is a Boolean group. We find that no such class group is Boolean
The Behavioral Origins of Phylogenic Responses and Ontogenic Habits
Get PDFAn examination of innate behavior and its possible origins suggests parallels with the formation of habitual behavior. Inflexible but adaptive responses-innate reflexive behavior, Pavlovian conditioned responses, and operant habits-may have evolved from variable behavior in phylogeny and ontogeny. This form of plasticity-first scientific narrative was unpopular post-Darwin but has recently gained credibility in evolutionary biology. The present article seeks to identify originating events and contingencies contributing to such inflexible but adaptive behavior at both phylogenic and ontogenic levels of selection. In ontogeny, the development of inflexible performance (i.e., habit) from variable operant behavior is reminiscent of the genetic accommodation of initially variable phylogenic traits. The effects characteristic of habit (e.g., unresponsiveness to reinforcer devaluation) are explicable as the result of a conflict between behaviors at distinct levels of selection. The present interpretation validates the practice of seeking hard analogies between evolutionary biology and operant behavior. Finding such parallels implies the validity of a claim that organismal behavior, both innate and learned, is a product of selection by consequences. A complete and coherent account of organismal behavior may ultimately focus on functional selective histories in much the same way evolutionary biology does with its subject matter
The Effect of Social Isolation on Orexin Production and Hedonic Drive in Female Mice
Get PDFSocial stress is a primary instigator of psychological disorders in humans. While social stress results from social dominance relationship (i.e., being subordinated or maintaining a dominant position), social isolation is an intense psychosocial stressor for social organisms (including mice and humans) that can have profound effects on physiological and neurobiological systems. One of these negative effects is a loss of feelings of reward, or anhedonia. Rewarding feeling in response to positive stimuli, or ‘hedonic drive’ is largely controlled by orexins. Two neuropeptides, orexin A and orexin B, are produced in the lateral hypothalamus, and can be disturbed by intense or chronic stress. The aim of this work was to investigate the effect of chronic social isolation on hedonic drive and orexin production in female mice via behavioral and molecular analysis. In addition, this research developed a novel method to assess individual voluntary wheel activity in social cages. After 54 days of treatment, socially isolated (SI) mice showed increased hyperactivity, increased anxiety-like behavior, and reduced appetitive behavior towards palatable food in the conditioned place preference test and the light dark box test compared to group-housed (GH) mice. Plasma corticosterone levels were lower in SI mice compared to GH mice (t-test, p \u3c 0.01). Finally, orexin levels in the lateral hypothalamus were significantly decreased in SI mice compared to GH mice (t-test, p \u3c 0.01). These results suggest that decreased hedonic behavior induced by social isolation stress is associated with decreased corticosterone and reduction of orexin in the perifornical area of the lateral hypothalamus of female mice
Attachment to Diagnostic Labels: Social Media, Over Identification, and Self-Efficacy for Personal Recovery
Get PDFThis study explored the relationship between self-diagnosis, social media exposure, and how individuals interpret a diagnostic label. Different attitudes toward one’s diagnosis impact an individual’s attitudes toward therapy, compliance with care, and general psychological well-being. One such attitude is over-identification, how attached an individual is to their diagnostic label and how they see a diagnosis as a part of themselves, as this could have implications for their self-concept and attitudes toward therapy. We will ask the following questions: Firstly, do individuals with different diagnoses show meaningfully different levels of attachment to their diagnosis? Secondly, do individuals vary in their social media usage by diagnosis? What variables can predict higher levels of this attachment to a diagnosis? Finally, how does an individual’s attitude toward their diagnosis relate to clinical outcomes such as self-efficacy for personal recovery? A cross-sectional survey data collection was performed to answer these questions. Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) had significantly higher levels of over-identification. There were no differences in social media use. Having a self-diagnosis, having a weaker sense of self, and social media use all predicted more over-identification. Findings indicate that over-identification has complex and contradictory effects in the context of both functional and dysfunctional coping attitudes, with no clear beneficial or detrimental consequences
CLASSIFICATION OF TOPOLOGICAL DEFECTS IN COSMOLOGICAL MODELS
Get PDFIn nature, symmetries play an extremely significant role. Understanding the symmetries of a system can tell us important information and help us make predictions. However, these symmetries can break and form a new type of symmetry in the system. Most notably, this occurs when the system goes through a phase transition. Sometimes, a symmetry can break and produce a tear, known as a topological defect, in the system. These defects cannot be removed through a continuous transformation and can have major consequences on the system as a whole. It is helpful to know what type of defect is produced when a symmetry breaks. Defects are differentiated based on their dimension: a domain wall, cosmic string, and magnetic monopole are 2-, 1-, and 0- dimensional defects, respectively. Depending on the type, each defect can have very different implications for the entire system, so we classify them. We do this using homotopy theory. The basic idea of this is to show equivalence of paths based on continuous transformations. As we noted earlier, a defect cannot be removed upon a continuous transformation, so homotopy theory can tell us about the defect because it will not be “homotopically” equivalent to the rest of the surface. Specifically, we compute zeroth, first, and second homotopy groups to classify defects. As our Universe evolved, it is reasonable to ask if there were any defects produced. We look at some proposed models of our Universe’s evolution and compute homotopy groups to classify defects produced in phase transitions
Is No News Good News?: Exploring the Impact of Social Media Use on Misinformation Beliefs
Get PDFDoes diminishing access to print news have an impact on people’s propensity to believe misinformation? What if this misinformation emanates from an online source as opposed to a print source? The focus of recent research on misinformation has been narrow: (1) recognizing its existence and acknowledging its potential impact, and (2) generating and categorizing potential analytical types of misinformation. However, the ramifications of vanishing print media have so far been overlooked. This paper asserts a connection between news sources and misinformation beliefs, further positing that the decline in the quality and availability of quality print journalism predicates an individual’s belief in political misinformation. Although inconclusive results were found linking geography with a tendency towards using social media as a main news source, analysis of social media habits and beliefs using the 2020-2022 ANES Social Media Survey suggests that misinformation belief generally concurs along party lines; that is, most users of these sites will follow general political leanings toward or against fake news stories. However, as partisan users increase their exposure to online material, they become more likely to believe in the misinformation spread from politically like-minded sources as opposed to those who obtain news from print. Thus, these data suggest that misinformation relies on the size of the audience exposed to it alongside the time invested in reading and propagating these stories. Although a preliminary analysis, it suggests several avenues for further examination and study and introduces a basis for new research on the topic to better explore correlations of the phenomenon
Establishment Support in Primary Elections: How Much Does It Matter?
Get PDFThis study examines the relationship between establishment support and electoral success in primary elections. Specifically, this relationship is examined through three case studies: the 2023 Virginia Republican legislative primaries, the 2016 Republican presidential primaries, and the 2016 Democratic presidential primaries. The findings indicate that voters employ establishment support as a heuristic when they feel they are independently uninformed on the race and its candidates, but tend not to employ this heuristic in cases where they feel they are sufficiently and independently informed