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Plastic Perennial: A House of the Anthropocene
No full textPlastic Perennial is an architectural installment that critiques humanity’s dependency on plastic, leading toward the various environmental consequences it causes. Built entirely out of recycled plastic bottles, the structure is a contributing symbol of human innovation that has advanced society while simultaneously causing ecological harm. By highlighting the persistence of plastic pollution and the resilience of plant life, this piece of work offers a unique and creative approach to the influences of the Anthropocene.
This installation takes the form of a ten-foot house, constructed from over ten thousand plastic bottles fused together. Empty and hollow, each plastic bottle emphasizes the depletion of natural sources, such as flowing water that is contained and contaminated with microplastics. Vines serve as the perennial plant as they intertwine and compact the bottles into the house-like structure, yet these plants lack the nutrients necessary for survival, the plastic bottles becoming unnecessary to their growth. Nature’s struggle against human factors employs the placement of the structure to be positioned in front of political landmarks drawing attention to systemic inaction on climate change, similar to the commentary of Isaac Cordal’s distinctive artwork.
A warning sign, “Choking Hazard: A Caution of Society,” forces viewers to confront plastic’s potent harm to pollution’s role and the emission of global greenhouse gases. Designed to self-destruct, the structure collapses into a pile of plastic and vines, in forcing its distinctive message of the degradation of environmental conditions, aligning to Timothy Morton’s Hyperobjects as a portrayal of plastic in overwhelming omnipresent manner.
Drawing inspiration from artists such as Tara Donovan’s illustrious work and the showcase of real-world contributions such as Robert Benzeau’s plastic bottle village in Panama, Plastic Perennial serves as a reflection of humanity’s call to environmental distress and a call to forward action that may reap the consequences of plastic waste - leaving behind a house, not a home
The Influence Of Apoe Status On Rate Of Cognitive Decline
Get PDFBackground
Apolipoprotein (APOE) ɛ4 positivity and subjective cognitive decline (SCD) both increase risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) development. However, few studies have examined the relationship between SCD and APOE status, especially using longitudinal data. The current study examined whether APOE is associated with the rate of cognitive change in SCD and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Methods
A sample of 3494 older adults (1990 normal controls, NC, 775 SCD, and 729 MCI) with a mean follow-up of 9.09 years were included from the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center Research Sharing Hub. Linear mixed effects models examined the relationship between APOE status and cognitive change in older adults with SCD normal controls, and people with MCI. Results
The presence of at least one ɛ2 allele in SCD and MCI results in cognitive change rates similar to a NC with the ɛ3ɛ3 genotype. Older adult SCD-ɛ4 individuals exhibited increased rate of cognitive decline compared to all groups, including NC-ɛ4 and MCI-ɛ4. Conclusion
People with SCD with at least one ɛ4 allele experience increased rates of cognitive decline compared to cognitively healthy older adults and people with MCI. These findings have important implications for treatments and interventions and can improve future research and clinical trials by targeting people in the preclinical AD phase (i.e., SCD) who also possess at least one APOE ɛ4 allele
An overview of systematic reviews investigating clinical features for diagnosing neck pain and its associated disorders
Get PDFBackground: Neck pain is a common condition that is often difficult to diagnose. Previous literature has investigated diagnostic accuracy of examination measures, but the strength and clinical applicability are limited. This overview of systematic reviews aimed to investigate clinical features for diagnosing neck pain and its associated disorders.
Methods: An overview of systematic reviews was conducted searching four electronic databases for systematic reviews evaluating diagnostic criteria for neck pain. Quality and risk of bias were assessed using the AMSTAR 2 and ROBIS. Clinical features for neck pain were investigated for diagnostic utility.
Results: Twenty-seven systematic reviews were included. Hand radiculopathy and numbness have good specificities (0.89–0.92) for facet and uncinate joint hypertrophy. For facet-related dysfunction, the extension rotation test (ERT) and manual assessment have good sensitivities and moderate-good specificities. Positive ERT combined with positive manual assessment findings (+LR = 4.71; Sp = 0.83) improves diagnostic accuracy compared to positive ERT alone (+LR = 2.01; Sp = 0.59). Canadian C-spine Rules and Nexus criteria have excellent validity in screening for cervical fracture or instability. Imaging appears to have validity in diagnosing ligamentous disruption or fractures but lacks clarity on predicting future neck pain. Increased fatty infiltrates have been found with whiplash-associated disorders and mechanical neck pain.
Conclusions: This review found limited indicators providing strong diagnostic utility for diagnosing neck pain. Strength of recommendations are limited by heterogeneous outcomes, methodology, and classification systems. Future research should investigate new differential diagnostic criteria for specific structures contributing to neck pain
Politics and Language in works by Donne and Austen: a Double Header - “Jane Austen, Rhetorician: Her Guide to Noting and Resisting Deceptive Language, or Picking your Way through Bulls***.”
No full textYou might think that concepts such as gaslighting, fake news, mansplaining, gish gallop (look it up) and even rape culture are new, but you would be wrong. You might think that Austen\u27s Northanger Abbey (drafted ca 1797, published 1817) is merely a bubbly story of a silly teenager and a predecessor to Bridgerton, but you would be wrong. Instead, the novel subtly offers warnings about the potential dangers of deceptive language. Through the analysis of a single scene in this novel (with audience participation!), we will note how Austen functions as an analyst of rhetoric
“Through Deaf Eyes”: A PBS Documentary Exploring 200 Years of Deaf life in America
No full textWhile telling the story of Deaf life in America, a story, yes, of conflict and prejudice but also pride and perseverance, this two part documentary also features works by six deaf artists and film makers. Offering a sensitive but not sentimental look at the “cultural linguistic group who use American Sign Language” Through Deaf Eyes also recognizes that not all deaf people in America affiliate with the world of Deaf culture. Following a viewing of both parts of the documentary, discussion will be facilitated by members of Belmont’s American Sign Language Club
BEING BETWEEN BODIES : some notes on the origin of language
No full textThe prevailing opinion among linguists and psychologists today is that the origin of language is unknowable and, moreover, is largely unimportant for the study of language. Following a path opened up by French philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty in his work from 1945, The Phenomenology of Perception, I will argue that the origin of language is a philosophical problem, discuss why this problem matters, and suggest some things that might move us closer to understanding where language comes from and thus what in the world it might be. We do not need to scry into the depths of time but rather to pay close attention, perhaps uncomfortably close attention, to what children are doing as they learn language and then what exactly we are doing when we take up words rather than some other mode of behavior available to us
The Impact of Depression and Anxiety on Emotional Facial Recognition
Get PDFAnxiety and depression are widespread mental health disorders that elicit prolonged tension, uneasiness, and low moods (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2024; American Psychological Association). These mental health conditions have been known to influence cognitive and perceptual processes (Perin et al., 2022). Multiple studies have found evidence that depression and/or anxiety create a heightened issue of misinterpreting facial and emotional cues (Kang et al., 2019; Monferrer et al., 2023). Notably, People with anxiety have a higher rate of sensitivity and/or error when shown a face with an angry expression (Kang et al., 2019), while people with depression have more errors in emotional recognition, specifically with cheerful faces (Kruse et al., 2021). The current study aims to evaluate the impact that depressive and anxious symptoms have on emotional facial recognition, providing further understanding of the complex relationships. Our study consisted of 39 participants who were students in undergraduate psychology courses at Belmont University. Participants were recruited via SONA and participated in a Qualtrics survey in which they identified emotions in a series of photographs of faces. Participants received one SONA credit in exchange for their participation. Our results led us to conclude that those experiencing more depressive symptoms and anxious traits were less accurate in the ability to identify the depicted emotion. Our study had limitations in that we had a small sample size that consisted of mostly women. The present study has future implications in that it strengthens the reliability of the previous findings that initially led us to form these hypotheses. A more extensive array of emotions would be interesting to investigate for future studies
The Effects of Personality Type on Decision Making
Get PDFA person’s personality encompasses many aspects of their life including how they act and how they think. It is common for people to fail to recognize that their personality is at work, or even that it could have an effect on their cognitive decision-making. Particularly, moral decision-making and the effects of personality on their collectivist or individualist mindset. Previous research has shown that certain aspects of a person’s Big Five personality (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism) have the ability to impact the way that people make decisions that benefit themselves or others (Saha, 2018). The goal of the current study is to explore how the Big Five personality traits may affect individualist/collectivist decision-making. The current study asked participants to listen to an eight-item scenario storyline and choose between one of two options that reflected either collectivism or individualism. Participants were then asked to complete the Truity Big-Five personality assessment (The Big Five Personality Test, 2023). The anticipated results are that participants with high scores in agreeableness, extraversion, and openness will yield more collectivist decisions; while those with high scores in neuroticism and conscientiousness will yield more individualist decisions. This study strongly supports the literature that personality traits can have effects on the way people make decisions. In life it is important to consider the decisions we make and reflect on what aspects may be influencing those choices on a cognitive level, beneath the surface
The Effects of Negative Feedback on Cognitive and Behavior Performance Related to Self-Efficacy
Get PDFFeedback is information or guidance in response to a behavior, action, or result. Feedback is a method for improvement and is a tool commonly used by professors, coaches, and bosses. Existing literature suggests that feedback can elicit emotional responses affecting attitudes and behaviors across contexts. Negative feedback specifically is understudied with variable findings; some literature suggests negative feedback is dismissed while other studies suggest that it may enhance performance. Similar inconclusive findings exist when examining ability-based and effort-based feedback. One factor that may play a role in the response to feedback is self-efficacy. Self-efficacy contributes to emotional reactions and thoughts surrounding an individual’s ability to accomplish a task. In the present study, participants were exposed to negative ability-based feedback, negative effort-based feedback, or no feedback (control) during a stop-signal reaction time task. The study seeks to support the hypothesis that individuals who receive negative feedback will demonstrate slower reaction times, less accuracy, and slower latency in decision-making compared to individuals who receive no feedback. Additionally, it is expected that there will be a positive correlation between self-efficacy and task performance following negative feedback. The last hypothesis states that participants will perform better with ability-based feedback than effort-based feedback. Statistical analysis included a within-group t-test, correlational analysis, and an ANOVA. All participants were recruited through Belmont University Department of Psychology and Neuroscience SONA pool and were college students aged 18 years or older