3,096 research outputs found
Predicting mortality from human faces
No full textObjective: To investigate whether and to what extent mortality is predictable from facial photographs of older people. Methods: High-quality facial photographs of 292 members of the Lothian Birth Cohort 1921, taken at the age of about 83 years, were rated in terms of apparent age, health, attractiveness, facial symmetry, intelligence, and well-being by 12 young-adult raters. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to study associations between these ratings and mortality during a 7-year follow-up period. Results: All ratings had adequate reliability. Concurrent validity was found for facial symmetry and intelligence (as determined by correlations with actual measures of fluctuating asymmetry in the faces and Raven Standard Progressive Matrices score, respectively), but not for the other traits. Age as rated from facial photographs, adjusted for sex and chronological age, was a significant predictor of mortality (hazard ratio = 1.36, 95% confidence interval = 1.12-1.65) and remained significant even after controlling for concurrent, objectively measured health and cognitive ability, and the other ratings. Health as rated from facial photographs, adjusted for sex and chronological age, significantly predicted mortality (hazard ratio = 0.81, 95% confidence interval = 0.67-0.99) but not after adjusting for rated age or objectively measured health and cognition. Rated attractiveness, symmetry, intelligence, and well-being were not significantly associated with mortality risk. Conclusions: Rated age of the face is a significant predictor of mortality risk among older people, with predictive value over and above that of objective or rated health status and cognitive ability.</p
Symmetry of the face in old age reflects childhood social status
No full textThe association of socioeconomic status (SES) with a range of lifecourse outcomes is robust, but the causes of these associations are not well understood. Research on the developmental origins of health and disease has led to the hypothesis that early developmental disturbance might permanently affect the lifecourse, accounting for some of the burden of chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease. Here we assessed developmental disturbance using bodily and facial symmetry and examined its association with socioeconomic status (SES) in childhood, and attained status at midlife. Symmetry was measured at ages 83 (facial symmetry) and 87 (bodily symmetry) in a sample of 292 individuals from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1921 (LBC1921). Structural equation models indicated that poorer SES during early development was significantly associated with lower facial symmetry (standardized path coefficient -.25, p=.03). By contrast, midlife SES was not significantly associated with symmetry. The relationship was stronger in men (-.44, p=.03) than in women (-.12, p=.37), and the effect sizes were significantly different in magnitude (p=.004). These findings suggest that SES in early life (but not later in life) is associated with developmental disturbances. Facial symmetry appears to provide an effective record of early perturbations, whereas bodily symmetry seems relatively imperturbable. As bodily and facial symmetries were sensitive to different influences, they should not be treated as interchangeable. However, markers of childhood disturbance remain many decades later, suggesting that early development may account in part for associations between SES and health through the lifecourse. Future research should clarify which elements of the environment cause these perturbations
Fluctuating asymmetry and personality
No full textThe relationship between Fluctuating Asymmetry (FA) and personality can cast light on the fitness con sequences and selective benefits underlying personality However few studies have investigated the topic and these have rendered inconsistent findings Theoretically predicted relationships of FA to personality include linear associations and curvilinear associations (with low FA leading to average-not extreme-personality trait levels) Evidence for no association would suggest that personality has no consequences for general fitness We summarise the findings to date adding two new studies testing each of the hypothesised models with well-validated measures of FA and personality traits No consistent associations were found Though it remains possible that low FA is weakly related to conscientiousness and openness to experience the major personality domains seem unrelated to FA (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved</p
Faithfulness and Reduplicative Identity
No full textThis paper proposes a revised view of faithfulness in Optimality Theory (Prince & Smolensky 1993), relating it to reduplicative identity (McCarthy & Prince 1993). Faithfulness and identity are unified in a theory of Correspondence relations between structures. The theory is investigated by way of a study of over- and underapplication effects in reduplicated structures.The definitive version of this paper was published in Papers in Optimality Theory (1995)McCarthy, J. J., & Prince, A. S. (1995). Faithfulness and reduplicative identity. In J. N. Beckman, L. W. Dickey, & S. Urbanczyk (Eds.) Papers in optimality theory (pp. 249-384). Amherst, MA: GLSA (Graduate Linguistic Student Association), Dept. of Linguistics, University of Massachusetts.This work was supported in part by grant SBR-9420424 from the National Science Foundation and by research funds from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, at New Brunswic
Prosodic Morphology: Constraint Interaction and Satisfaction
No full textProsodic Morphology (McCarthy and Prince 1986 et seq.) is a theory of how morphological and phonological determinants of linguistic form interact with one another in a grammatical system. More specifically, it is a theory of how prosodic structure impinges on templatic and circumscription morphology, such as reduplication and infixation. There are three essential claims:(1) Principles of Prosodic Morphologya. Prosodic Morphology HypothesisTemplates are defined in terms of the authentic units of prosody: mora (μ), syllable (σ), foot (Ft), prosodic word (PrWd).b. Template Satisfaction ConditionSatisfaction of templatic constraints is obligatory and is determined by the principles of prosody, both universal and language-specific.c. Prosodic CircumscriptionThe domain to which morphological operations apply may be circumscribed by prosodic criteria as well as by the more familiar morphological ones.In short, the theory of Prosodic Morphology says that templates and circumscription must be formulated in terms of the vocabulary of prosody and must respect the well-formedness requirements of prosody.But this picture is incomplete in various crucial respects. With most work in contemporary phonological theory, it underarticulates the role of well-formedness constraints; knowing that they are obeyed is not the same as knowing how they are obeyed and why they may be violated under other conditions. A more local problem, which we will document extensivelybelow, is that the vocabulary and constraints of prosody can be active in morphology that is neither templatic nor circumscriptional, where the principles of Prosodic Morphology are without force. Thus, the standard theory is incomplete in a significant way. Finally, there are cases, also discussed below, where the standard theory is empirically wrong — cases where, for example, templatic constraints are not satisfied obligatorily or infixation cannot be analyzed by the circumscription of prosodic constituents.This document was originally circulated in April 1993 and has been available as Technical Report #3 of the Rutgers University Center for Cognitive Science. The current version is essentially identical to RuCCS-TR-3, with a few minor corrections and with the addition of a preface and bibliography situating it in relation to more recent developments. The most significant themes of this work include correspondence theory, reduplication, alignment, stratal OT, and the theory of templates.McCarthy, J. J., & Prince, A. (2001). Prosodic morphology: constraint interaction and satisfaction. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers Center for Cognitive Science
I remember Seabrook School
No full textIn this "I remember," memoir, J. Alan Woodruff of Bridgeton, New Jersey, recalls his experiences of attending Seabrook schools and living near the Seabrook community. He believes that the influx of diverse students during the war helped distinguish the town's schools for academic and athletic excellence, as well as better prepared the students for succeeding in a multi-cultural world. Alan also remembers that other farms in the area benefitted economically as contractors to Seabrook, since work production dramatically increased. The Seabrook Educational and Cultural Center has been soliciting current and past residents of Seabrook Farms for an "I remember" project. Residents are asked to create narratives regarding their experiences at Seabrook Farms. These memories help preserve the history and multi-cultural heritage of Seabrook Farms
Alan Moore Comics as Performance, Fiction as Scalpel
No full textEclectic British author Alan Moore (b. 1953) is one of the most acclaimed and controversial comics writers to emerge since the late 1970s. He has produced a large number of well-regarded comic books and graphic novels while also making occasional forays into music, poetry, performance, and prose. In Alan Moore: Comics as Performance, Fiction as Scalpel , Annalisa Di Liddo argues that Moore employs the comics form to dissect the literary canon, the tradition of comics, contemporary society, and our understanding of history. The book considers Moore's narrative strategies and pinpoints the main thematic threads in his works: the subversion of genre and pulp fiction, the interrogation of superhero tropes, the manipulation of space and time, the uses of magic and mythology, the instability of gender and ethnic identity, and the accumulation of imagery to create satire that comments on politics and art history. Examining Moore's use of comics to scrutinize contemporary culture, Di Liddo analyzes his best-known works-- Swamp Thing, V for Vendetta, Watchmen, From Hell, Promethea , and Lost Girls . The study also highlights Moore?s lesser-known output, such as Halo Jones, Skizz , and Big Numbers , and his prose novel Voice of the Fire. Alan Moore: Comics as Performance, Fiction as Scalpel reveals Moore to be one of the most significant and distinctly postmodern comics creators of the last quarter-century.Intro -- Contents -- Preface and Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- CHAPTER 1. Formal Considerations on Alan Moore's Writing -- CHAPTER 2. Chronotopes: Outer Space, the Cityscape, and the Space of Comics -- CHAPTER 3. Moore and the Crisis of English Identity -- CHAPTER 4. Finding a Way into Lost Girls -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- ZEclectic British author Alan Moore (b. 1953) is one of the most acclaimed and controversial comics writers to emerge since the late 1970s. He has produced a large number of well-regarded comic books and graphic novels while also making occasional forays into music, poetry, performance, and prose. In Alan Moore: Comics as Performance, Fiction as Scalpel , Annalisa Di Liddo argues that Moore employs the comics form to dissect the literary canon, the tradition of comics, contemporary society, and our understanding of history. The book considers Moore's narrative strategies and pinpoints the main thematic threads in his works: the subversion of genre and pulp fiction, the interrogation of superhero tropes, the manipulation of space and time, the uses of magic and mythology, the instability of gender and ethnic identity, and the accumulation of imagery to create satire that comments on politics and art history. Examining Moore's use of comics to scrutinize contemporary culture, Di Liddo analyzes his best-known works-- Swamp Thing, V for Vendetta, Watchmen, From Hell, Promethea , and Lost Girls . The study also highlights Moore?s lesser-known output, such as Halo Jones, Skizz , and Big Numbers , and his prose novel Voice of the Fire. Alan Moore: Comics as Performance, Fiction as Scalpel reveals Moore to be one of the most significant and distinctly postmodern comics creators of the last quarter-century.Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, YYYY. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries
Structured for Mission, by Alan J. Roxburgh
Full text linkSTRUCTURED FOR MISSION. By Alan J. Roxburgh Downers Grove, iL: Intervarsity Press (2015) Paperback, 181 pages
Ultimately the author reveals the solution to the problem of our existing structural decline: regain our biblical imagination, allow room for experimentation, and allow the Spirit to lead outside our comfort zone. he relates these factors to leadership by explaining how leaders allow this process to take place when a problem arises
Interview with Alan Pisarski, January 2015
No full textThis document contains the content of an oral history interview and is part of a series of interviews conducted by the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center (VTC). These interviews are personal, experiential, and interpretative, reflecting the memories and associations of individuals. All reasonable attempts are made to ensure accuracy, but statements should not be interpreted as facts endorsed by Rutgers University, the Edward J. Bloustein School, or VTC. The associated website also contains links to other resources, but does not endorse or guarantee their content
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