116 research outputs found
Calum Colvin: The Magic Box
No full textArtist Calum Colvin introduces his new exhibition, The Magic Box, which is an archaeology of his practice from the last 25 years. The exhibition will feature image transparencies from the early 1980s, new prints created at Edinburgh Printmakers, and an installation of Colvin's photography studio, which will be in use when Colvin photographs Scottish author Janice Galloway.The Magic Box is on at Edinburgh Printmakers, until the 6th September 2014. Find out more at edinburghprintmakers.co.uk
Fortissat Science Alliance podcast: Calum McAndrew
No full textCalum McAndrew is a public engagement professional at the University of St Andrews. He took part in the Fortissat Science Alliance podcast recordings in March 2021.What is the Fortissat Science Alliance?The Fortissat Science Alliance is a Wellcome Trust & Children In Need "Curiosity" project. This scheme provided informal STEM learning opportunities for young people who attended the community centre Getting Better Together Shotts (GBT Shotts) between 2019 and 2023. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, deliveries had to pivot online so the podcast was founded. These recordings were made via Zoom with warm-up STEM activities sent to every young person in advance, along with a profile page for each researcher, so that they were relaxed and able to ask excellent questions.Link to episode on Spotify.Depending on the broadcast date, podcast deliveries were co-sponsored by Glasgow Science Festival, EXPLORATHON 2021, or EXPLORATHON 2022/23.For the duration of the project, it was supported jointly by Children in Need and the Wellcome Trust. In 2021, EXPLORATHON episodes were supported by the European Commission [grant agreement ID 101036101]. In 2022-23, EXPLORATHON episodes were supported by the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council [grant number EP/X020894/1].Author contributions to contentCalum McAndrew was the guest featured on this episode. Rebecca Hay was the youth worker coordinating the young people who conducted the interviews as well as co-editing and broadcasting the recordings. Iain Hamilton co-edited the episodes. Kirsty Ross was the STEM consultant for the project and uploaded completed episodes to Figshare. </p
The RESIST study: examining cognitive change in rheumatoid arthritis patients with mild cognitive impairment being treated with a TNF-inhibitor compared to a conventional synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug
No full textBackground: evidence suggests that TNF inhibitors (TNFi) used to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may protect against Alzheimer’s disease progression by reducing inflammation.Objective: to investigate whether RA patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) being treated with a TNFi show slower cognitive decline than those being treated with a conventional synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (csDMARD).Methods: 251 participants with RA and MCI taking either a csDMARD (N = 157) or a TNFi (N = 94) completed cognitive assessments at baseline and 6-month intervals for 18 months. It was hypothesized that those taking TNFis would show less decline on the primary outcome of Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test with Immediate Recall (FCSRT-IR) and the secondary outcome of Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA).Results: no significant changes in FCSRT-IR scores were observed in either treatment group. There was no significant difference in FCSRT-IR between treatment groups at 18 months after adjusting for baseline (mean difference = 0.5, 95% CI = –1.3, 2.3). There was also no difference in MoCA score (mean difference = 0.4, 95% CI = –0.4, 1.3).Conclusions: there was no cognitive decline in participants with MCI being treated with TNFis and csDMARDs, raising the possibility both classes of drug may be protective. Future studies should consider whether controlling inflammatory diseases using any approach is more important than a specific therapeutic intervention
Portrait of Hugh MacDiarmid
No full textA commissioned installation/portrait as one of the programme of public events at the National Galleries of Scotland/Royal Scottish Academy collaborative opus Ages of Wonder: Scotland’s Art 1540 to Now exhibition at the RSA. I was invited to ‘bring my studio’ into the building and create an artwork during the run of the exhibition in public view. The finished installation was marked with a public event in the Gallery with Calum Colvin and author James Robertson on 1/1/18. Subsequently the printed and framed photographic portrait was debuted at the RSA Annual Exhibition 2018, which was convened and curated by Colvin and included a number of guest artists who were invited to explore the links between poetry and visual art. This included a programme of public artist/poet talks. The portrait subsequently won the City of Glasgow College Purchase Prize
Smelt and Mary Scotland: Nicknaming in Frank Macdonald’s A Forest for Calum
No full textFrank Macdonald’s novel A Forest for Calum (2005, Sydney, NS: Cape Breton University Press) illustrates a variety of nicknames and explores their social functions and naming practices. The novel is set in Shean, itself a nickname for the town of Inverness on the west side of Cape Breton Island. Macdonald celebrates the culture, traditions and customs of rural Cape Breton while at the same time recording the inevitable changes resulting from the closure of town’s coal mine. Nicknaming, one of these prominent customs, is explored from the point of view of young Rod Gillies as he matures as a person and an artist. Although nicknames of adults occur in the novel, the author has a particular interest in the naming patterns of the younger characters. For instance, the protagonist is named Smelt as a result of a fishing accident, and his girlfriend, Mary Scotland, receives her nickname from an elementary teacher because she is one of three Mary Camerons in the class and her father has an interest in Scotland. Macdonald presents a realistic treatment of nicknames as demonstrated by comparison with the research on nicknames in general and on Cape Breton Island.Le roman de Frank Macdonald intitulé A Forest for Calum (une forêt pour Calum) (2005, Sydney, NS: Cape Breton University Press) illustre une variété de surnoms et explore leurs fonctions sociales et les pratiques de désignation des personnages. Le roman se déroule à Shean, une localité qui porte elle-même un surnom de la ville d'Inverness située du côté ouest de l'île du Cap-Breton. Macdonald célèbre la culture, les traditions et les coutumes des régions rurales du Cap-Breton, tout en enregistrant certains changements inévitables qui ont résulté de la fermeture de la mine de charbon de la ville. L'emploi de surnoms, l'une des coutumes bien implantées, est exploré du point de vue du jeune Rod Gillies, au moment où il devient adulte et artiste. Bien que les surnoms soient surtout le fait des adultes dans le roman, l'auteur manifeste un intérêt particulier pour le mode de désignation des plus jeunes personnages. Par exemple, le protagoniste est nommé Smelt (éperlan) à la suite d'un accident de pêche, et sa petite amie, Mary Scotland, reçoit ce surnom d'un enseignant du primaire parce qu'elle est l'une des trois Mary Camerons dans la classe, et son père a un intérêt pour l'Écosse. Macdonald offre un traitement réaliste des surnoms comme le démontre son ouvrage comparativement à la recherche sur les surnoms en général et sur l'île du Cap-Breton
Personality and Cognitive Ability in Older Age: Investigating the Mediating Role of an Active and Healthy Lifestyle
No full textR analysis code for the manuscript 'Personality and Cognitive Ability in Older Age: Investigating the Mediating Role of an Active and Healthy Lifestyle
Supplemental materials for preprint: Measuring Activity Engagement in Old Age: An Exploratory Factor Analysis
No full textThe moral roots of British politics: Using Moral Foundations, Intelligence and Personality to explain opposing attitudes towards divisive political issues
No full textWho uses it and who loses it? Personality, activity engagement and cognitive health in old age
Get PDFIdentifying strategies to promote cognitive health in older age is a key research priority
as older adults continue to make up a growing proportion of the global population. The
‘use it or lose it’ theory proposes that leading a more active, engaged lifestyle can be
cognitively protective. Cross-sectional studies provide support for this, with evidence
suggesting that older adults who are mentally, physically, socially and creatively active
in their everyday lives may also have higher levels of cognitive ability and experience
lower levels of cognitive decline. Intervention studies can provide further insight, going
beyond cross-sectional associations to explore causality by testing the effect of
increased engagement in an experimental paradigm. It is essential that such
interventions consider the importance of individual differences; in particular, evidence
suggests that individual differences in personality might predict activity engagement,
and in turn cognitive health. It is therefore possible that individual differences in
personality might influence engagement level within an intervention, and in turn the
degree of benefit received. The PhD research reported in the present thesis examined
these possibilities using data collected from a large-scale, activity-based intervention
study known as The Intervention Factory. This study tested the cognitive benefits of
activity engagement in a more real-world environment by using existing, community based classes and groups. A sample of 336 adults aged 65 and over without any
diagnosed cognitive impairments were recruited and completed baseline assessments.
Cross-sectional data at baseline were used to examine whether lifestyle variables such
as activity engagement mediated any associations between Big Five personality traits
and cognitive ability across several domains. Higher Openness to Experience and lower
Neuroticism and Extraversion predicted higher levels of cognitive performance, but
there was no evidence to suggest these associations were mediated by activity
engagement. The PhD research then examined whether personality might influence
activity engagement and cognitive change within the context of an intervention. A
systematic review of the literature found ten studies that had previously explored this
question; there was some evidence that higher Openness to Experience was linked to
greater cognitive gains when studies used novel intervention methods. This theory was
then tested within the context of The Intervention Factory specifically. Participants were
pseudo-randomly allocated to one of five activity groups (computer classes,
dance/exercise/sport classes, social/bingo groups, language classes or
handicraft/woodcraft classes) or a no-contact control group and attended their activity
for around ten weeks. None of the activity groups showed evidence of significantly
greater cognitive improvements compared to the control group over the course of the
intervention. There was also no reliable evidence that individual personality traits
predicted adherence or moderated intervention-related cognitive change. While these
results did not support the efficacy of real-world activities to promote cognitive health,
several challenges were identified that will inform and encourage future research in this
area. These challenges included issues arising from non-random group allocation,
difficulty recruiting an effective control group and variability in intervention delivery
when translated to a more real-world setting. Addressing these challenges in future
studies will provide further opportunities to explore the potential cognitive benefits of
real world activities, and whether any benefits vary at the individual level
Supplemental materials for preprint: Personality and Cognitive Ability in Older Age: Investigating the Mediating Role of an Active and Healthy Lifestyle
No full text- …
