89 research outputs found
Places we don't belong: Essays
No full textPlaces We Don’t Belong is an essay collection about gender, sexuality, labor, shame, environment, American identity, and travel. It is, at its heart, a collection that circles around questions of belonging. What does it mean to be a queer woman in America? What does it mean to be an American abroad? A Jewish-American looking for her point of origin? A woman working on an all-male construction site? An environmentalist cutting down trees? The essays are arranged in three parts. “Part One: Men, Women, & Beasts” discusses gender, sexuality and shame. “Part Two: Places We Don’t Belong” explores ideas about labor, domesticity, and the intersection of environment and identity. “Part Three: America and Other Lies We Tell Ourselves” examines the author’s origins and ancestry as well as the concept of American identity more broadly. Together, the essays form a narrative that follows the author’s pursuit of belonging and illuminates the ways our identities intersect and are often in conflict with the places we move through
Population and disease dynamics of the amphibian chytrid fungus in the stream-associated frog Litoria rheocola
No full textInfectious diseases pose a major threat to global biodiversity. Chytridiomycosis is an amphibian disease that is caused by the pathogenic chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). Bd has caused declines in hundreds of species of amphibians and extinctions of dozens. Some species that suffered local extinctions when the disease first emerged have reappeared and seem to be coexisting with the disease. Multiple processes can regulate changes in infection dynamics of a disease including physical and chemical characteristics of the environment and interactions among intra- and interspecific individuals. For example, the infection dynamics of Bd is heavily influenced by season and elevation and Bd can infect multiple hosts. Some hosts act as reservoirs, which are less susceptible to the pathogen, and enable the pathogen to persist in populations even when host populations are small. To fully understand the effects of a disease on a population, it is important to consider the interactions between multiple hosts, as well as the influences of environmental factors such as season and elevation.
Chytridiomycosis has many reservoir hosts including animals that are not amphibians, and adult and larval amphibians. The interactions between infection dynamics of Bd in adult amphibians and their larval life stage are poorly understood. To better understand infection dynamics of Bd, I examined six populations (adult and tadpole) of Litoria rheocola, the common mistfrog, in northern Queensland, Australia. I studied changes in prevalence of infection over time in adults and tadpoles and determined how prevalence of Bd was affected by season and elevation. To quantify elevational influences of infection I surveyed populations of adult and tadpole L. rheocola at three site types: 1) high elevation (> 400 m above sea level (ASL)), 2) low elevation (< 400 ASL) sites connected by stream flow to high elevations (i.e., contiguous low elevation sites), and 3) low elevation sites that lacked connectivity to high elevations (i.e., non-contiguous low elevations). I tested all frogs and tadpoles captured to determine if they were infected with Bd. I marked adult frogs with visible implant elastomer tags to quantify population dynamics of frogs. I determined the probability of survival and recapture, and compared these estimates among seasons and site type.
Infection dynamics of Bd in contiguous low elevation sites could be influenced by two, non-exclusive processes: (i) the flow of cool water from higher elevations maintaining cooler water temperatures, making the site more hospitable to Bd, and (ii) downstream transport of Bd zoospores from high elevation.
Prevalence of Bd in tadpoles fluctuated seasonally, and was high in winter and low in summer. Prevalence of Bd was also influenced by site type: L. rheocola tadpoles at all low elevation sites had lower maximum prevalences than those at high elevation sites. There was a significant interaction between the effects of season and site type on the prevalence of Bd in tadpoles. Seasonal changes were more prominent at high elevation sites than at low elevation sites, and the patterns of seasonal change differed among site types. It is possible that being connected to a high elevation site greatly influenced the infection dynamics of Bd at contiguous low elevation sites due to the flow of cool water from high elevations and/or the flow of Bd zoospores downstream.
In adult L. rheocola populations, both season and site type influenced prevalence of Bd. Prevalence of Bd was highest in winter and lowest in summer. One population, each at both the contiguous and non-contiguous low elevation sites, had prevalences of zero in summer; however, infections reappeared in autumn, strongly suggesting that reservoirs maintain Bd in these sites. In comparison, infection persisted throughout summer and winter in populations at high elevations. In adult frogs, contiguous and non-contiguous low elevation populations had similar Bd infection dynamics, suggesting that connectivity to high elevation sites did not have a direct effect on infection dynamics of Bd in adults. This contrasts with the effect of site type on the dynamics of Bd in tadpole populations, where site type had a strong influence on dynamics. With high prevalence of Bd in summer, tadpoles seem to be maintaining disease in adult populations at contiguous low elevation sites. In comparison, tadpoles at the non-contiguous low elevation site were not infected with Bd in summer. Therefore, tadpoles may not be an important reservoir for Bd at non-contiguous low elevation sites. Other species may be more effective reservoirs in these non-contiguous populations, as the disease persists in these areas, in spite of occasional apparent complete disappearance of Bd in adults.
The probability of survival of adult frogs, estimated using program MARK, was not influenced by chytrid infection, but did differ among seasons and site type. Recapture probabilities were influenced by site type only. Rates of incidence of infection were influenced by season. Recovery rate remained constant at 80.3% across all site types: high, contiguous low, and non-contiguous low elevations. These results suggest that instances of individual mortality caused by Bd do not translate into overall low survival probabilities at the population level; thus it appears that in the populations I studied, disease-induced mortality is compensatory rather than additive. Even high elevation L. rheocola populations are now coexisting with Bd, despite strong evidence that the fungus caused local extirpations in the past. The coexistence of L. rheocola and Bd suggests that either L. rheocola populations have evolved increased resistance to chytridiomycosis or that recent environmental conditions (or other factors operating more recently, e.g., population density) have not favoured the development of outbreaks of fatal disease.
I found that site type (elevation and contiguity with infected upland sites) influences disease dynamics of Bd, especially in tadpoles. In addition, my research strongly suggests that infection dynamics of tadpoles are influencing infection dynamics of Bd in co-occurring adult amphibian populations. My data on re-established populations suggests that the host-pathogen relationship has changed, either temporarily or more permanently, to favour the host. My study emphasizes the importance of simultaneously investigating multiple processes that could affect infection dynamics of a disease (e.g., transmission among multiple hosts and environmental characteristics, such as topography and season). By looking at the effects of season, elevation, and multiple hosts I get a better understanding of disease dynamics and the effects of disease on populations; looking at multiple processes will become important in future studies in order to fully understand disease dynamics
First report of generalized face processing difficulties in möbius sequence.
No full textReverse simulation models of facial expression recognition suggest that we recognize the emotions of others by running implicit motor programmes responsible for the production of that expression. Previous work has tested this theory by examining facial expression recognition in participants with Möbius sequence, a condition characterized by congenital bilateral facial paralysis. However, a mixed pattern of findings has emerged, and it has not yet been tested whether these individuals can imagine facial expressions, a process also hypothesized to be underpinned by proprioceptive feedback from the face. We investigated this issue by examining expression recognition and imagery in six participants with Möbius sequence, and also carried out tests assessing facial identity and object recognition, as well as basic visual processing. While five of the six participants presented with expression recognition impairments, only one was impaired at the imagery of facial expressions. Further, five participants presented with other difficulties in the recognition of facial identity or objects, or in lower-level visual processing. We discuss the implications of our findings for the reverse simulation model, and suggest that facial identity recognition impairments may be more severe in the condition than has previously been noted
Food and eating in fiction since 1950 with particular reference to the writing of Angela Carter, Doris Lessing, Michele Roberts and Alice Thomas Ellis.
No full textPhDEating is a fundamental activity. What people eat, how and with whom, what
they feel about food, what they do or do not want to eat and why - even who
they eat - are of crucial significance in any reading of human behaviour.
In this thesis, I consider the diverse and complex uses of food and eating
in fiction since 1950, especially that written by women. I argue both that food
and eating carry much of the meaning of a novel or story and that the acts of
cooking, feeding and eating depicted are inseparable from issues of power and
control: individually, interpersonally, culturally, politically.
My discussion centres on the writing of Angela Carter, Doris Lessing,
Michele Roberts and Alice Thomas Ellis. Drawing on psychoanalytic theory,
sociology, anthropology, Foucault, Bakhtin and others, the thesis aims to
construct an interdisciplinary perspective which both resists reductive
interpretations and emphasises the centrality, complexity and diversity of food
and eating in literature in our culture.
I begin with an examination of the ambiguities of maternal feeding and
nurturing, moving on to explore the links between appetite, eating and sexuality.
I explore cannibalism and vampirism as manifestations of oppression, but also as
indicating insatiable emptiness and transgressive appetite. The body itself is
crucial, and my argument considers the paradox of not eating as
control/enslavement, also tracing self-starvation as a positive route towards
wholeness and connection. The last part of my argument focuses on social
eating, examining conventions, rituals and food itself in connection with power
relations, and finally considers how we might truly speak of food and eating in
the context of society as a whole
Top-down modulation of the perception of other people in schizophrenia and autism
No full textAccurately and efficiently perceiving social cues such as body movements and facial expressions is important in social interaction. Accurate social perception of this kind does not solely rely on “bottom-up” visual processing but is also subject to modulation by “top-down” signals. For example, if instructed to look for signs of happiness rather than fear, participants are more likely to categorize facial expressions as happy—this prior expectation biases subsequent perception. Top-down modulation is also important in our reactions to others. For example, top-down control over imitation plays an important role in the development of smooth and harmonious social interactions. This paper highlights the importance of top-down modulation in our perception of, and reactions to, others. We discuss evidence that top-down modulation of social perception and imitation is atypical in Autism Spectrum Conditions and in schizophrenia, and we consider the effect this may have on the development of social interactions for individuals with these developmental disorders
Unaffected perceptual thresholds for biological and non-biological form-from-motion perception in autism spectrum conditions
No full textBackground: Perception of biological motion is linked to the action perception system in the human brain, abnormalities within which have been suggested to underlie impairments in social domains observed in autism spectrum conditions (ASC). However, the literature on biological motion perception in ASC is heterogeneous and it is unclear whether deficits are specific to biological motion, or might generalize to form-from-motion perception. Methodology and Principal Findings: We compared psychophysical thresholds for both biological and non-biological form-from-motion perception in adults with ASC and controls. Participants viewed point-light displays depicting a walking person (Biological Motion), a translating rectangle (Structured Object) or a translating unfamiliar shape (Unstructured Object). The figures were embedded in noise dots that moved similarly and the task was to determine direction of movement. The number of noise dots varied on each trial and perceptual thresholds were estimated adaptively. We found no evidence for an impairment in biological or non-biological object motion perception in individuals with ASC. Perceptual thresholds in the three conditions were almost identical between the ASC and control groups. Discussion and Conclusions: Impairments in biological motion and non-biological form-from-motion perception are not across the board in ASC, and are only found for some stimuli and tasks. We discuss our results in relation to other findings in the literature, the heterogeneity of which likely relates to the different tasks performed. It appears that individuals with ASC are unaffected in perceptual processing of form-from-motion, but may exhibit impairments in higher order judgments such as emotion processing. It is important to identify more specifically which processes of motion perception are impacted in ASC before a link can be made between perceptual deficits and the higher-level features of the disorder
Unaffected Perceptual Thresholds for Biological and Non-Biological Form-from-Motion Perception in Autism Spectrum Conditions
No full textRecommended from our members
Dynamic modulation of human motor activity when observing actions
No full textPrevious studies have demonstrated that when we observe somebody else executing an action many areas of our own motor systems are active. It has been argued that these motor activations are evidence that we motorically simulate observed actions; this motoric simulation may support various functions such as imitation and action understanding. However, whether motoric simulation is indeed the function of motor activations during action observation is controversial, due to inconsistency in findings. Previous studies have demonstrated dynamic modulations in motor activity when we execute actions. Therefore, if we do motorically simulate observed actions, our motor systems should also be modulated dynamically, and in a corresponding fashion, during action observation. Using magnetoencephalography (MEG), we recorded the cortical activity of human participants while they observed actions performed by another person. Here, we show that activity in the human motor system is indeed modulated dynamically during action observation. The finding that activity in the motor system is modulated dynamically when observing actions can explain why studies of action observation using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have reported conflicting results, and is consistent with the hypothesis that we motorically simulate observed actions
Never Secret Enough
No full textThe Multiple Genre Argument
Research in progress for ENGL 1301: Composition I
Faculty Mentor: W. Scott Cheney, Ph.D.
The following paper represents exceptional research completed by a student in English 1301, the first course in the two-semester composition sequence at Collin College. Students in ENGL 1301 are introduced to the concept of academic research by learning to ask research-focused questions and then use library databases to find sources that provide answers. Because traditional research writing tends to emphasize sources over context, the following assignment works to disrupt the automatic methods that students have learned and asks them to think creatively about how research exists in the world.
In what follows, the student has written a research-based essay called the Multiple Genre Argument (MGA). In the MGA, the author uses research to creatively envision a possible group of documents that might surround an issue or conflict. In other words, the student imaginatively writes a collection of genres that constitutes the paper trail surrounding their specific issue. During this process, the author becomes familiar with various stakeholders’ responses to the problem, and this imaginative engagement leads the writer to choose the most convincing side of the argument. Though an MGA includes some traditional academic forms, the point of the project is to invent a tangible setting with genres that communicate a nuanced perspective of the controversy.
In Multiple Genres, Multiple Voices, Cheryl Johnson and Jayne Moneysmith explain: In a [Multiple Genre Argument], writers create an argument that explores alternative perspectives by using multiple genres written from different points of view. Genres might include a letter, a dialogue, a report, or even a poem—in addition to the traditional essay. Students bolster their argument with research that is reflected within these genres, creating an “organic” whole, though the “whole” may not be linear. By combining an array of voices, with the rigor of scholarship, the [MGA] offers a fresh and powerful approach to research and argument. (2)
Their idea of “combining an array of voices, with the rigor of scholarship” sums up the purpose of the MGA. To say it another way, the assignment pushes students to conceptualize and create various positions through research, moving them closer to the issues and helping them identify the most convincing arguments. In this paper, for example, the student skillfully presents different arguments by inventing journalists, FBI agents, researchers, and ordinary citizens.
Works Cited
Johnson, Cheryl and Jayne Moneysmith. Multiple Genres, Multiple Voices. Boynton/Cook, 2005
Performance on (A) the CFPT, (B) the CFMT and (C) a famous faces test.
No full text<p>‘CFPT’ refers to the Cambridge Face Perception Test <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0062656#pone.0062656-Duchaine1" target="_blank">[38]</a> and ‘CFMT’ to the Cambridge Face Memory Test <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0062656#pone.0062656-Duchaine2" target="_blank">[48]</a>. ‘Higher IQ’ refers to Möbius participants and aged-matched controls with IQs within the higher range; ‘Older Low-IQ’ refers to the control group matched to MB2 according to age, IQ and gender; and ‘Younger Low-IQ’ refers to the control group matched to MB5 on the same measures.</p
- …
