Via Sapientiae: The Institutional Repository at DePaul University
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Foucault\u27s brain: discourse, matter, and the possibility of a plastic genealogy
No full textThis project describes a problem in Foucauldian genealogy centered on the relationship between discourse and matter, while coordinating a few related projects to indicate a possible resolution. It gathers a set of critiques of Foucault that coalesce around common articulations of the issue together with a set of developments that differently attempt to resolve it. The overarching goal is both to define the extant problem and to assert that it is necessary and possible for genealogy to overcome it. For the set of critics taken up here, including Karen Barad, Beatrice Han, David Harvey, and Catherine Malabou, the problematic ambiguity in Foucault\u27s work crystallizes in the figure of the individual and the question of how genealogy handles the non-discursive. To Han, and differently to Harvey, these mark a terminal failure of genealogy to overcome the Kantian transcendental themes Foucault explicitly rejects; genealogy remains either anthropological (Han) or stuck in an outmoded thinking of space and time inherited from Kant (Harvey). However to Barad, and differently to Malabou, carefully developing certain concepts in genealogy’s analytic framework can resolve these issues, which they in turn acknowledge. Separately, both Barad and Malabou aim to move genealogy towards a new engagement with the natural sciences as part of this response. For Barad, this entails revising the concept of the dispositif or apparatus to account more directly for the material arrangements of forces. For Malabou, this entails rethinking contingency in terms of plasticity. This project puts their elaborations in concert with a third positive program, the cognitive archaeology of Lambros Malafouris, that shares an interest in accounting for historical transformations in subjectivity with attention paid to their material dimension. The goal in weaving these developments together is to apply their analyses to the concept of the sub-individual, deployed by Foucault in Nietzsche, Genealogy, History and elsewhere, suggesting further development of the concept. Ultimately, this is to assert the possibility (and necessity) of a plastic genealogy that would be able to engage in a more material analysis that successfully navigates the transcendental and anthropological pitfalls identified by the critics
How We Feel About Numbers: The Impact of Framing and Number Format on Emotion and Decision Making
Get PDFThe impact of framing and number format on people’s comprehension of and feelings about information they encounter has been documented and replicated (Kühne et al., 2015; Lee et al., 2019, 2021). However, existing research does not extend beyond specific feelings such as anger and fear. The goal of this thesis was to address this gap by broadening the scope of affect from specific emotions to positive and negative affect. This thesis also aimed to extend the line of research to investigate how message frames and numerical formats impact comprehension, feelings, perceived issue seriousness, and judgements by using a 2 (Frame: gain, loss) x 2 (Number format: frequency, percentages) x 3 (Domain: impaired driving, wild species extinction, juvenile crime) mixed factorial design, with frame and number format as between-subjects factors and domain as a within-subjects factor. Frame was found to have the most consistent effect. In terms of comprehension accuracy, participants had greater comprehension accuracy for information presented as a gain relative to a loss. Frame also had an impact and varied depending on how people felt (both positively and negatively) and what domain they evaluated. Number format, similarly, had a significant effect on comprehension accuracy but not on the other dependent variables in the study. The implications are discussed
An Exploration of Affective, Physiological, and Environmental Stress Among Adolescents with Chronic Medical Conditions
Get PDFYouth with chronic medical conditions (CMC) may be at-risk for increased stressors. For adolescents with CMC, maladaptive stress responsivity could lead to worse psychological and physiological effects from the stressors themselves. The current study aimed to understand the relation between affective and physiological responses to stress, environmental context, and longer-term health outcomes in youth with and without CMC. A sample of 141 adolescents, 73 with CMC and 68 without CMC, were randomly matched on age and gender. Participants completed self-report questionnaires at two time points, 6 months apart. Cortisol samples were collected during different timepoints of the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Correlations assessed differences in the relation between affective and cortisol responses, and how chronic environmental stressors impacted affective and cortisol responses differentially in youth with and without CMC. ANOVAs assessed differences in affective and cortisol responses, and in neighborhood stress between youth with and without CMC. Linear regressions assessed the impact of affective and cortisol responses at Time 1 on health outcomes reported at Time 2. Results revealed cortisol reactivity of adolescents without CMC was related to change in positive affect. Among those with CMC, adolescents experienced less positive affect before the stressor task. In addition, those with higher levels of neighborhood stress were associated with more anxiety and less positive affect. Furthermore, higher crime was associated with lower peak cortisol reactivity and more negative affect. Finally, those who experienced more negative affect prior to the acute stress later reported less pain-free days and lower quality of health
The Interplay between Parental Psychological Control and Parental Emotional Overinvolvement on Depressive Symptoms among Early Adolescents
Get PDFParenting and parental behaviors are critical to the emotional well-being of youth. Emotional overinvolvement is one part of a broader construct known as Expressed Emotion. Emotional overinvolvement is known as intrusive, overprotective, excessively self-sacrificing, or devoted behavior or exaggerated emotional response to the child (Leff & Vaughn, 1985). It is not known how Emotional Overinvolvement relates to other dimensions of parenting. Psychological control parenting behavior that involves the use of tactics such as love withdrawal, guilt induction, invalidation, and conditional approval (Barber, 1996). The current study is the first study to investigate the association between psychological control, emotional overinvolvement and changes in depressive symptoms. The sample for this study included 349 middle school aged youth (Mage = 12.3 years, 57.0% female) recruited from Chicago Public Schools across four years. The sample was 78.2% Latinx, 10% African American and 10% Mixed Backgrounds. The study found significant moderational and mediational relationships between the constructs. Gender significantly moderated the relation between psychological control and emotional overinvolvement, such that a stronger relation was found for females than males. The study also found that emotional overinvolvement mediates the relation between psychological control and changes in depressive symptoms and this effect was not moderated by any of the demographic variables that were evaluated. Findings from the current study have the potential to inform future parenting interventions that support children’s autonomy
The Protective Effects of Physical Activity Coping and Environmental Supports on Academic Stress among Adolescents
Get PDFThis study aims to identify how physical activity (PA) coping interacts with environmental risks and resources to predict youth mental health. Academic stress poses a threat to adolescent wellbeing, and has been linked to adverse mental health outcomes, including depression and anxiety. Previous research has established that engaging in PA protects adolescents from depression and anxiety. However, very little is known about how PA may function as a coping mechanism, specifically (i.e. PA coping). PA is influenced by risks (e.g. crime, low built environment quality, etc.) and resources (e.g. accessibility, exercise equipment, etc.) in one’s environment, and accordingly, the present study accounted for such factors in the home, school, and neighborhood. Adolescents (NT1 = 373, NT2 = 170) were surveyed at the beginning and end of a school year. Linear regressions and a series of moderation analyses were used to analyze data. Results indicated that PA coping significantly buffered the relationship between academic stress and depression, but only in the context of high levels of risks for PA in one’s school setting (b = -0.07, p = .029). These findings highlight how systems-level risks interact with individual-level coping techniques to predict depression among diverse adolescents living in urban settings. Research, practice, and policy implications are discussed
Youth Relational History Affecting Mentoring Relationship Quality
Get PDFBlack youth in low-income communities have a heightened risk of exposure to poverty-related stressors, increasing the risk of poor youth outcomes. Proven moderately effective, youth mentoring programs were created to decrease the risk of negative outcomes and promote positive development. A primary relational experience, the parent – child relationship shapes a youth’s relational history and influences their relational capacity, or ability to connect with a mentor. The mentoring relationship quality (MRQ) is a key determinant in mentoring success. Emerging research suggests youth with moderate relational histories experience the most benefits from mentoring, demonstrating a curvilinear relationship.
This study investigated two research questions: 1) Does parent – child relationship quality predict satisfaction in the mentoring relationship? 2) Is there a curvilinear relationship between parent – child relationship quality and satisfaction with the MRQ, where moderate levels of parent – child relationship quality predict high levels of satisfaction with the MRQ?
Participants of this sample were 20 Black youth between ages 7 and 15. Youth completed measures including Places I Spent Time: Home, measuring parent – child relationship quality and Match Characteristics Questionnaire, measuring satisfaction with the mentoring relationship. Regression analyses were conducted to assess relationships among these variables. Study findings indicate a significantly positive relationship between high parent – child relationship levels and high satisfaction with the MRQ. Unique patterns emerged from curvilinear analyses indicating youth with moderate levels of parent – child relationships actually reported the lowest satisfaction with the MRQ. Study findings overall provide additional evidence for a relationship between parent – child relationship quality and satisfaction with the MRQ. Additional research is needed to better understand the nature of this relationship. Implications of the unexpected findings in this study are discussed in relation to cultural protective factors and environmental risk predictors that must be examined to facilitate the development of mentoring programs serving Black youth
Attention visual
Get PDFThis research presents an innovative approach to improving visual-spatial attention using a research tool based on the web. Recognizing the significant role visual-spatial attention plays in everyday life and cognitive function for humans, this research was undertaken with the aim of developing a user-friendly, accessible web-based tool called Attention Visual (attentionvisual.com) to enhance this crucial cognitive skill. This tool also facilitates data collection, potentially accelerating the pace and enhancing the quality of related research. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were utilized for data collection and analysis. In order to stimulate improvements in visual-spatial attention, the tool’s algorithm was structured to adjust task difficulty according to the user’s performance; heightened performance would yield more challenging tasks, whereas lower performance would result in easier tasks, fostering an adaptive and progressive learning environment. The main hypothesis that underlies this research was that regular use of this tool could result in measurable enhancements in visual-spatial attention. This has potential benefits for various population groups, from athletes to individuals with certain cognitive conditions. The results of the research validate this hypothesis, demonstrating the effectiveness of the webbased tool in enhancing visual-spatial attention and indicating that the design elements of the tool have a positive impact on user performance. The research additionally highlighted a wide range of participant diversity, thanks to the online nature of the tool, enhancing the robustness and generalizability of the data collected. These findings contribute significantly to the fields of cognitive science, neuroplasticity, and digital tool development, offering valuable insights for future research. They demonstrate the effectiveness of web-based tools in cognitive science research and suggest potential avenues for future investigation, such as exploring other aspects of visual cognition or the application of such tools in practical settings like cognitive therapy and rehabilitation
For more dementia-friendly facilities in tourism and hospitality
Get PDFSome tourists – such as seniors, people with disabilities, pregnant women, obese people, people with allergies, etc. – might have physical, sensory, or cognitive disabilities that limit their tourism experiences. These tourists may require access accommodations. Nevertheless, only a small number of hotels and other hospitality facilities have been catering to these needs beyond the legal minimum so far. To address this gap, we recommend the implementation of sustainable practices for enhancing accessibility in hotels and other hospitality facilities that specifically focus on meeting the needs of senior tourists who may be living with dementia. For doing so, the first step would be to deliver staff training in preparation to welcome guests with access and dementia-related needs. The next step would be to make infrastructure more accessible. These simple steps will boost customer satisfaction and loyalty as well as bolster brand image. Moreso, promoting accessibility would create a more inclusive and safer hospitality space for everyone. More practical and specific suggestions on training employees to communicate with people with dementia and their companions are provided in this work. The key focus is to show hospitality managers that the process of becoming dementia friendly doesn’t start from very expensive infrastructure changes, but from sharing understanding and awareness on how to communicate with people with dementia; different approaches and changing attitudes are some of the main barriers concerning accessibility and this can be achieved easily and relatively cost-free
She Was There Too: Enslaved Black Women, Community, and Agency | POSTER
Get PDFRarely are the experiences of enslaved women prioritized in studying the history of enslavement in the United States. This is particularly true in relation to how black women experienced, survived, and carved out agency in the face of sexual violence. Rather than acknowledge the strength demonstrated by these women, contemporary historiography relegates them to the position of victims. This research intervenes in this practice and argues that enslaved women worked hard to create agency for themselves in the face of sexual violence from those that enslaved them. More specifically, it argues that the presence of a community of other enslaved women determined the ways in which a woman was able to demonstrate sexual agency, retaliate against a sexual aggressor, and the way in which moral codes were constructed.
This research is done through a black feminist theoretical framework for the purpose of prioritizing black women’s voices and the centrality of relationships to other black women in navigating oppressive systems. A textual content analysis is utilized to approach the primary texts that are relied on within the research. Phenomenological methodology is utilized within the research in order to capture the reality of black women’s experiences with sexual violence and creating agency
Full Issue: Fall 2023
Get PDFIn DePaul Magazine\u27s fall 2023, President Robert L. Manuel unveils his Designing DePaul road map to position the university for monumental impact. We also highlight an innovative program that merges law and tech, an initiative centering humanities in collaborative, community-based interactions, and the ascendance of soprano Janai Brugger (SOM \u2705) on the international opera stage