Questioning Author(ity): Collaboration and Gender in the Work of Elisabeth Hauptmann and Bertolt Brecht

Bertolt Brecht is a legendary figure, and the mythology surrounding him is staggering, but most of the works that carry his name alone were actually a combined effort with multiple lesser-known collaborators. Elisabeth Hauptmann was one such close collaborator of Brecht’s, beginning when they met in Berlin in the early 1920s. Her ability to read and translate English texts would be essential to a number of his works, including the one which has become the most popular, Die Dreigroschenoper. In this paper I establish the role that Hauptmann had as a translator, co-author, and dramaturge in her work with Brecht, through primary and secondary literature. The collectivism of their creative efforts represents an important possibility for artistic production, one which offered both freedoms and difficulties for women and is not properly represented in current theories of authorship. I extend my analysis of the role of women in artistic and political contexts from the process to the product itself, by analyzing the representation of women in Die Dreigroschenoper. I find that there are several important parallels between the women in the play and the real women involved in its production: namely, their representation is at once subversive concerning their roles as independent women and reductive with regards to their identity as individuals. I look more closely at the prostitute characters in the play; their roles became less prominent as the play was revised but they maintain a stunning awareness of their material limitations and opportunities

Gender Identity and Gender Incongruence in Children: A Review of Measurement and Data Collection Practices

It is common for children to experience gender incongruence–a misalignment of sex assigned at birth and gender identity–through many stages of their identity development. Sometimes, gender incongruence elicits discomfort or distress known as gender dysphoria, which may occur as early as ages 2 and 3. Gender dysphoria may develop from sex differentiation disorders like Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome, or from a multitude of psychological factors like changes in environment, awareness of others’ identities or due to developmental processes. In order to study gender incongruence in children, researchers typically pick participants who are already enrolled in gender clinics or schools in the area. Often, gender identity in children is measured through interviews or questionnaires. It is evident from the literature that sometimes, the participants, whether they are the parents of children experiencing gender incongruence or the children themselves, are tasked with answering questions through various measurement practices. Although these practices have been used continuously, gendered language and outdated sources have caused inconsistencies in measurement, which may influence participants’ responses. Recommendations for future research include researchers justifying their measurement practices and re-writing interview questions and questionnaires to better align with definitions and concepts of gender that are prominent in the language of today

The Physics of Speech Production & the Vocal Tract

The human vocal tract is integral to the production of spoken language, and understanding its working principles has been essential to the field of speech synthesis. Sound is a travelling lon- gitudinal pressure wave„ and pulmonic sounds involve the conversion of some of the mechanical energy of the air flow during exhalation into a pressure wave that propagates up and out of the vocal tract with the air. The Source-Filter model takes the first site of constriction to the airflow to be the sound source, based on the linear path followed by the air through the lungs, trachea, larynx, throat, and oral and/or nasal cavities. Then, the remainder of the vocal tract downstream of it acts as a linear filter that amplifies specific frequencies within the pressure wave. This paper explores the Source-Filter model and its history with the goal of introducing an undergraduate physics audience to the field of Speech Acoustic

A Jaguar Eats a Human Eats a Mushroom (& That\u27s Okay With Me)

Humanity—at least the humans who are engaged with Western society and thought—has a conceptual problem regarding nature. It has profound effects on the Earth, some of which are harmful to nonhumans, landscapes, and ourselves. The changes and devastation—namely climate-change induced humanitarian crises and species extinction—that the anthropocene has created can be partially attributed to a perception of the world that much of humanity holds as true: that we stand outside of nature, and are dominant over it. I propose that this thinking has limited humanity’s perceptions of truth. I am offering an alternative understanding of reality, such that humans are within nature, entangled and attached as a member of a greater web of relations, and further, that humans are not dominant over this web

Gender Affirmed: A Systematic Review of Gender Dysphoria & Mental Health in Transgender People

Transgender individuals, including non-binary people, face a disproportionately high rate of psychological and mental health challenges. This systematic review explores comparative psychological distress among transgender individuals and, in the same vein, non-binary individuals, evaluating research aimed at understanding the mental health of transgender people. Using the PsycINFO database, this review evaluates 10 open-access and peer-reviewed studies published in English between 2014 and 2024, focusing on transgender adolescents and adults. Findings reveal an increased mental health risk in suicidality, depression, and non-suicidal self-injury, exacerbated by minority stress, gender dysphoria, and limited access to gender-affirming care. Although gender-affirming interventions, such as hormone therapy, show potential for symptom alleviation, the scope of this review primarily discusses burgeoning mental health themes like minority stress and gender euphoria, and mental health interventions, like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) interventions focused on combating internalized transphobia, reducing minority stress, body image, and gender dysphoria

Perpetuation of Pelvic Pain Shame through Clinical and Social Spheres: A Case Study in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Worldwide, chronic pelvic and genital pain conditions (CPGPCs) pose a serious public health challenge. The complex nature of pelvic pain makes it clinically challenging to diagnose and highly stigmatized. Stigma affects women at the individual, social, and clinical levels. Notably, stigma intersects with cultural norms that suppress dialogue about pelvic health, fostering silence and reinforcing barriers to care. This is particularly pronounced in Ethiopia, where cultural gender norms further curtail women’s autonomy and authority. In clinical spheres, healthcare providers may express skepticism and accuse women of exaggeration, which erodes trust and discourages them from seeking care. Misdiagnosis and delayed treatment further marginalize women with CPGPCs. To determine the mechanisms of stigma perpetuation, I conducted an interview-based analysis in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. I found that close-knit social circles normalize pain from an early age and promote home-based care for CPGPCs. I analyzed stigma within the healthcare system by probing women’s provider gender preference. Two-thirds of interviewees preferred female clinicians for their empathy and shared anatomy, while one-third favored male providers, arguing that female clinicians overemphasize empathy to assume understanding rather than actively listening to patient concerns. I posit that this paradoxical finding may be explained by the subordination of women within Ethiopia’s patriarchal society. These findings may inform future public health initiatives aimed at reducing stigma, fostering supportive clinician-patient relationships, and improving health access and outcomes for women with CPGPCs

Operational Definitions and Validity in Expert versus Novice Differences in Athlete Decision-Making

Expert athletes are a population that can be used to study fast, automatic decision-making. Expert athletes make frequent, rapid decisions based on their experience and sport-specific decision-making skills. Methodology and operationalization differ across studies of expert decision-making in athletes. In particular, this review considers how researchers operationalize expertise across studies. Often expert groups are defined through years of experience or competition level but do not consider all facets of expertise. Researchers often do not justify their categorization of experts and novices. The review also compares the differences in assessments of decision-making throughout empirical research because of concerns with construct validity, internal validity, and external validity. Few studies use the same measurement of decision-making, and many use other cognitive processes as proxies to evaluate the decision-making of their participants. Future research could consider a framework for operationalizing and justifying definitions of expertise. As a research area, future studies should adopt open science practices like preregistration and make efforts to replicate previous findings