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The impact of spelling accuracy on reading speed orthographic quality: Error location, and type of error
Get PDFThe purpose of this study was to replicate research demonstrating the relation between the quality of orthographic representations (as manifested by spelling accuracy) and reading speed. The impact of error location and consonant versus vowel errors was also evaluated. Seventy-eight participants (56 female; 22 male) with a mean age of 19.82 (SD = 2.32) participated in the study. Participants were given two standardized tests – the WJ-III and the TOWRE-2, as well as an experimental spelling task and an experimental reading task consisting of the same words. Results replicated prior studies in that the quality of orthographic representations, as indexed by spelling accuracy, was directly reflected in reading speed. Further, it was found that the location of the first spelling error within a word influenced the reading speed of that word but, there was no significant difference in reading time depending on the type of error (vowel or consonant based). In conclusion, and consistent with previous research, spelling accuracy plays an important role in reading speed on an individual word basis which can, in turn, influence the fluency of reading
Ethically attaining wisdom: A gradualist reading of Nāgārjuna’s Ratnāvalī
Get PDF(First paragraph of Chapter 1):
In this thesis I will argue for a particular interpretation of the structure of the ethics housed in Nāgārjuna’s Ratnāvalī (RV)1. We will see that the ethics of the RV are not straightforward. Indeed, at many points in the text Nāgārjuna seems to disguise his true position. I will suggest that many of the claims in the RV cannot be taken at face value and in fact must be understood within a gradualist framework. That is, we must understand that many of the ethical claims in the RV are intended for different readers at different levels of spiritual and ethical development
The synthesis and characterization of novel platinum(II) complexes containing salicylaldimine ligands derived from lipophilic amines
Get PDFCisplatin has been used for treating cancers since its FDA approval in 1978. It’s ability to lose the chlorine atoms and form adducts within the DNA of tumor cells causing cell death makes it a useful agent in treating cancers. However, its shortfalls including low-solubility, acquired resistance to the drug, as well as its side effects and toxicity have left researchers searching for a better alternative. Recent work focused on developing a new design strategy for cisplatin analogues has utilized salicylaldehyde to form salicylaldimine, which can be coordinated to platinum in a bidentate fashion. Using this strategy, this study created three novel platinum complexes containing lipophilic amines. All Schiff bases synthesized were created from salicylaldehyde and an aniline derivative containing a long carbon chain. These were then
complexed to the metal to give novel organometallic platinum(II) complexes containing a cyclooctene group. 1H NMR, 13C{1H} NMR spectroscopy were used to confirm the imine formation as well as the coordination of the free ligands to platinum. A shift in the FTIR spectra were observed when the imine coordinated to the metal centre. The melting points of both the Schiff bases and the platinum compounds were found to decrease with the increasing carbon chain length
Re-constructing borders through social news media: The normalization of immigrant exclusion within dominant discourse on Reddit
Get PDFBorders, as both physical and symbolic, delineate socio-cultural conceptions of belonging that exacerbate differences in power and contribute to migrant exclusion. Borders operate internally in the everyday lives of migrants by reproducing and reinforcing oppressive relations with the dominant social group. This study conceptualizes borders as part of a larger system of power and control that contributes to the marginalization and racialization of vulnerable populations within the nation as well as internationally. The media plays a significant role in creating and managing public opinion on issues of culture, race, gender, and citizenship, and thus is useful for analyzing immigrant representation while illustrating the prevalence of additional, theoretical borders. The unification of coherent social actors in the media creates a shared interpretive framework and a collective knowledge within the platform that shapes how interactions are formed. Through an analysis of posted content on social news platform Reddit.com, this project aims to uncover the dominant discourse on immigration and its connection to processes of exclusion that illustrate the construction of theoretical borders in the everyday lives of migrants. The findings from this study indicate a normalization of exclusionary discourse through linguistic narratives that perpetuate social inequality by casting migrants as a cultural “other”
Naturalism, panpsychism, and functionalism
Get PDF(in lieu of an abstract, the preface is presented)
Naturalism in the philosophy of mind—and in philosophy generally—covers quite a wide range of ideas and commitments. This thesis had its genesis in the problems that arise when we ask what it concretely means to hold a naturalistic position in the philosophy of mind. Given the differing conceptions of naturalism that are put forward in the philosophy of mind, we might ask what substantively differentiates a naturalistic position from a non-naturalistic one. To put it roughly, the purpose of this thesis is to inquire into what it means to operate in a naturalistic framework and to evaluate two broad trends I see in naturalistic frameworks put forward in the philosophy of mind.
This thesis has three chapters. In the first, I broadly outline and explicate the naturalistic frameworks of Galen Strawson and Daniel Dennett. Both claim to operate according to the dictates of naturalism but have radically different accounts of the mental (that is, the category that includes such things as ‘experience’, ‘belief’, ‘understanding’, etc.) and consciousness or experience (which I use interchangeably). This chapter serves to survey two, mutually exclusive approaches to and accounts of the mental. Its purpose is both to highlight some of the ways in which the mental is accounted for and to display the points of departure that lead to those accounts. It also serves to outline two distinct kinds of naturalism, what I will ultimately call liberal and restrictive naturalism, as described by Hillary Putnam and John McDowell, for example. In this chapter, I also introduce a number of problems in the philosophy of mind that I revisit in the subsequent chapters.
In Chapter 2, I critically analyze the positions put forward by Strawson and Dennett by evaluating the plausibility of panpsychism—which Strawson accepts—versus functionalism/behaviourism—which, in a special form to be discussed in this thesis, Dennett accepts. I characterize what I think a substantive naturalism consists in and then argue that panpsychism falls well within its range. I then argue, in part through considering a number of problems in the philosophy of mind (notably radical emergence and reductionism) that panpsychism provides the most felicitous framework for approaching and accounting for the mental. I also consider Dennett’s alternative proposal for accounting for mental terms within a particular kind of materialist worldview, though I argue that it does not adequately deal with a number of concrete problems that arise.
In the last chapter, I characterize the two naturalistic systems of Strawson and Dennett in terms of liberal and restrictive naturalism, respectively, focusing on the former. Put simply, liberal naturalists wish to maintain the integrity of the concepts in what Wilfrid Sellars called the ‘manifest image’: the concepts of the mental outlined (not exclusively) above. Restrictive naturalists do not handle these categories in a way that would satisfy the liberal naturalist, since their program, broadly speaking, is characterized by the effort to reduce the concepts of the space of reasons into the space of causes. I argue in favour of a liberal naturalist approach in the philosophy of mind and demonstrate that the kind of reductionism that is popular in the philosophy of mind is neither possible nor auspicious for our understanding of the mental. To this end, I also show how I think we might be able to take some of Strawson’s insights regarding panpsychism as a way to provide support for the idea that the concepts of the mental can be dealt with on their own merits rather than simply accounting for them behaviouristically.
I would also like to express a brief word of thanks to the Department of Philosophy for their support over the last years. Special thanks also to my supervisor, Dr. Robbie Moser
The influence of hot and cool executive function on social norm learning and sharing in preschool children
Get PDFResearch indicates that norm understanding, as indicated by complying to and enforcing
social norms, develops during the preschool years. In addition, children refine prosocial
behaviours during this time. While hot and cool executive function (EF) abilities have
been explored as independent systems, few studies have investigated the impact of their
interaction on more complex cognitive abilities. Therefore, the current study examined
the effects of both hot and cool EF on preschool children’s sharing behaviours after
viewing an Ultimatum-style norm paradigm. The sample consisted of 101 three- and
four-year-old children (M = 3.58 years, SD = 0.50) including 55 females and 46 males
from daycares in rural New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, Canada. Participants completed
a number of tests of EF including working memory, inhibitory control, as well as a
version of the Preschool Gambling task. Participants also completed a task to assess
social norm learning which included three phases: baseline sharing, norm learning, and
post-manipulation sharing. Whether children observed a generous or stingy model of sharing did not influence subsequent sharing behaviour on its own. Rather, a cluster analysis resulting in three distinct groups differing on baseline sharing and rejection rates suggested that individual differences may be more important in determining sharing behaviours. Moreover, the findings suggest that a balanced combination of both hot and cool EF abilities are necessary for understanding and complying to social norms. The findings of this study will help to inform the field about the early processes which underlie social norm learning, and more broadly, prosocial development
The effect of cholecystokinin administration in the dorsomedial nucleus of the hypothalamus on food intake in young rats
Get PDFCholecystokinin (CCK) is an appetite-suppressing hormone and neuropeptide that has recently been found to act in the dorsomedial nucleus (DMH), a key appetite-regulatory area of the hypothalamus. In a recent electrophysiology study using brain slice recordings from young rats, CCK was found to activate CCK2 receptors (CCK2R) and interact with nitric oxide (NO) to increase the release of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA onto appetite regulatory neurons in the DMH. However, it is unclear whether this is the pathway through which CCK supresses appetite, thus necessitating the use of in vivo studies in young rats to elucidate the function of this pathway in relation to CCK. In the current study, we implanted bilateral guide cannulas into the DMH of young, male rats and administered injections of either 1) vehicle (aCSF), 2) CCK, 3) CCK + a NO synthase inhibitor, 4) CCK + a CCK2 receptor antagonist or 5) a NO synthase inhibitor, into food deprived animals. Following injections food intake, change in body weight and latency to feed were measured over a two-hour period. We also looked at the effect of CCK in young rats given a high fat diet (HFD) using two treatments 1) vehicle (aCSF) + HFD and 2) CCK + HFD. We found that CCK suppresses food intake in young rats and does so through interactions with NO but not CCK2 receptors in the DMH. We also found that the appetite suppressing effects of CCK had no impact on latency to feed. Finally, CCK was unable to suppress appetite in rats given high fat food. By confirming that CCK supresses appetite through NO signaling in the DMH this project provides a potential therapeutic target for future drugs to combat obesity
The synthesis and characterization of novel platinum coordination complexes
Get PDFPlatinum-based compounds represent one of the main forms of anticancer therapies. There are currently only three platinum compounds, cisplatin, carboplatin, and oxaliplatin, that have achieved widespread use as anticancer agents, and each presents issues with toxicity and resistance. As such, this study focuses on the generation of platinum-based coordination
complexes which can undergo future biological testing. Three imines were generated from thereaction of 6-methyl-2-pyridinecarboxaldehyde with bulky cycloalkyl functionalized amines. This route of synthesis led to the production of the desired iminopyridine ligands in moderate yields.
The imines were subsequently reacted with a half-equivalent of [PtCl2(h2- cis-cyclooctene)]2 in an attempt to produce platinum coordinated complexes. The bulky nature of the imines led to complications during ligand substitution, resulting in incomplete conversion to compounds 2a, 2b, and 2c. As such, reactions were attempted under a variety of conditions. All imines and fully synthesized platinum complexes were characterized using 1H NMR, 13C{1H} NMR, and FT-IR spectroscopy
Relationships between empathy and executive function in preschoolers
Get PDFThe current study examined relationships between hot and cool executive function (EF) and two stages of a threefold model of empathy: reactive empathy and regulatory empathy. Ninety-three preschoolers (53 girls, 40 boys, age range 36 to 68 months) completed a complex working memory task and a response inhibition task to assess cool EF, and a gambling task to assess hot EF. Empathy was assessed by asking preschoolers to care for a baby doll when it was happy and when it was crying. Results indicated a positive relationship between reactive empathy and hot EF, a negative relationship between EF and aggression, and inconclusive results as to a relationship between cool EF and regulatory empathy. Continued research should assess a greater variety of EF processes, use a wider age range of participants, and develop a more accurate method of measuring regulatory empathy