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Are we centering the adult in youth media education? Decolonizing the reception of youth-produced media texts
Get PDFThis article asks media educators to consider how the assumptions and values we hold are reflected in our reception and circulation of youth-produced texts in ways that colonize youth interests, sensibilities, and aesthetics. Drawing from experiences facilitating youth media workshops and focusing on two videos produced by teens in foster care as case studies, I demonstrate how youth media programs overlook the value of “just for fun” youth-produced media texts. Although media educators value play as part of the media production process, I argue that the media we choose to circulate and celebrate are texts that resonate with and reflect adult values; this is because playful media texts are less likely to legitimize adult institutions and pedagogies. I propose that a youth-centered reading of playful youth media requires us to: acknowledge that the adult reading is not the dominant reading, validate memetic literacies, and legitimize embodied playfulness and pleasure. Circulating illegible youth media shifts how media educators read and articulate the values of playful texts
A Neuropsychological Perspective on Defining Cognitive Impairment in the Clinical Study of Alzheimer\u27s Disease: Towards a More Continuous Approach
No full textThe global fight against Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD) poses unique challenges for the field of neuropsychology. Along with the increased focus on early detection of AD pathophysiology, characterizing the earliest clinical stage of the disease has become a priority. We believe this is an important time for neuropsychology to consider how our approach to the characterization of cognitive impairment can be improved to detect subtle cognitive changes during early-stage AD. The present article aims to provide a critical examination of how we define and measure cognitive status in the context of aging and AD. First, we discuss pitfalls of current methods for defining cognitive impairment within the context of research shifting to earlier (pre)symptomatic disease stages. Next, we introduce a shift towards a more continuous approach for identifying early markers of cognitive decline and characterizing progression and discuss how this may be facilitated by novel assessment approaches. Finally, we summarize potential implications and challenges of characterizing cognitive status using a continuous approach
Mitochondrial and metabolic dysfunction in ageing and age-related diseases
No full textOrganismal ageing is accompanied by progressive loss of cellular function and systemic deterioration of multiple tissues, leading to impaired function and increased vulnerability to death. Mitochondria have become recognized not merely as being energy suppliers but also as having an essential role in the development of diseases associated with ageing, such as neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases. A growing body of evidence suggests that ageing and age-related diseases are tightly related to an energy supply and demand imbalance, which might be alleviated by a variety of interventions, including physical activity and calorie restriction, as well as naturally occurring molecules targeting conserved longevity pathways. Here, we review key historical advances and progress from the past few years in our understanding of the role of mitochondria in ageing and age-related metabolic diseases. We also highlight emerging scientific innovations using mitochondria-targeted therapeutic approaches
Dietary polyphenol oleuropein and its metabolite hydroxytyrosol are moderate skin permeable elastase and collagenase inhibitors with synergistic cellular antioxidant effects in human skin fibroblasts
No full textOleuropein (OLE) and hydroxytyrosol (HT) are dietary polyphenols with skin beneficial effects but their effects on skin-ageing-related enzymes are not clear. Herein, we evaluated their inhibitory effects on elastase and collagenase. OLE and HT (62.5–1 000 μM) showed moderate anti-elastase and anti-collagenase effects (5.1–26.3%, 5.8–12.2% and 12.6–31.0%, 11.6–31.9% inhibition, respectively). Combinations of OLE and HT (1:1 ratio) exerted synergistic inhibitory effects on elastase, which were supported by their combination index (CI), kinetic assay and computational docking. Moreover, HT (100 μM) reduced hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced cytotoxicity and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in human dermal fibroblast cells by 21.8 and 15.2%, respectively. In addition, combinations of OLE and HT (6.25/6.25–100/100 μM) exerted synergistic cytoprotective effects by reducing ROS levels by 7.6–37.3% with CIs of 0.17–0.44, respectively. The findings from this study support the cosmeceutical activities of OLE and HT but further research is warranted to evaluate their anti-skin-ageing effects using in vivo models
Exploring the Strength of Relationships between Group Exercise Instructors and Participants Through Social Media Outreach
Get PDFHere at the University of Rhode Island, the department of Campus Recreation is a major component of student life on campus, offering substantial activities and employment opportunities that encourage students to get involved, in addition to increasing their overall physical and mental well-being. Campus Recreation hosts a wide variety of group exercise classes taught by students from within our facilities each week, including popular formats such as yoga and cycle. This project aims to strengthen the relationship between group exercise instructors and their participants by increasing opportunities for engagement both inside and outside the exercise studio. Campus Recreation social media accounts are responsible for posting announcements and promoting group exercise classes that encourage members to participate in Campus Rec affiliated activities. During the duration of this project, social media posts were curated in the form of Instagram posts, blogs, and a podcast episode devoted to the benefits of group exercise classes, encouraging those interested to participate. The goal was to increase member engagement and participation in group exercise classes, thus establishing a strong connection between group exercise instructors and their participants, creating a sense of community within URI Campus Rec. Results are analyzed in accordance with IMLeague statistics and responses from an administered survey
Soundscapes of South County: RI\u27s Disappearing Coastline
Get PDFThe purpose of this project is to create unique soundscapes that depict the sonic environments of coastal communities in Rhode Island’s South County. This is an area of coastline that has been drastically impacted by climate change already, and will be inevitably transformed due to coastal erosion over the next 50-100 years. This project is aligned with the practices and ideologies of acoustic ecology. However, it is important to note that this is in no way a scientific endeavor and is instead an artistic investigation of South County’s coastal communities created through the production of unique interpretations of their sonic environments.
Acoustic ecology is a discipline that investigates the relationship between humans and their environment, and in this case the investigation is centered around the relationship of our coastal communities to nature as well as climate change and industrialization. By creating soundscapes for seven beaches around South County, this project seeks to preserve their unique sonic environments before they disappear forever.
This collection of soundscapes can have many functions, depending on the wishes of the end user, but its overarching purpose is to preserve the acoustic environments of South County’s coastlines, which are largely artistically preserved through visuals only. Consequently, this collection will serve as an aesthetic time capsule of the unique auditory environment of this particular area of Rhode Island’s vanishing coastline
URI Undergraduate and Graduate Course Catalog 2022-2023
Get PDFThis is a downloadable PDF version of the University of Rhode Island course catalog.https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/course-catalogs/1074/thumbnail.jp
Large-Scale, Persistent Nutrient Fronts of the World Ocean: Impacts on Biogeochemistry
No full textThis chapter identifies and describes the large-scale nutrient fronts that span the width of basins and explores the processes that maintain these fronts and those that act against them. In particular, we investigate the nutrient fronts that ring the subtropical gyres and propose that exchange across these fronts represents a critical pathway for nutrients to enter the gyres. However, these biogeochemical fronts most often coincide with dynamical fronts or jets, which are often considered barriers to exchange. Therefore, our view of ocean fronts as nutrient gateways must be reconciled with their tendency to act as barriers to exchange. Ekman transport is one mechanism that allows for nutrient transport across the surface of the fronts and is shown to be a leading term in the subtropical nutrient budgets. Ring formation and mixing beneath the core of jets are other mechanisms that can mediate cross-frontal exchange and have intriguing implications for nutrient budgets and their variability