Manipulating the Hype: contemporary art's response to media cliches

Manipulating the Hype addresses art’s reaction to the barrage of signs produced by the media. The paper researches contemporary art’s response to clichéd media stereotypes and elucidates artists’ multifaceted perspective on overtly obvious yet widely embraced paradigms marketed by the media. Contemporary art’s strategic reconfiguration of media stereotypes is a valuable introspection upon the superficiality and impracticability of advertising and entertainment industry constructs. By reconsidering the mediated image, art has the ability to inspire reevaluation of cultural values. The thesis additionally attempts to ascertain the reinterpretation of media stereotypes as a common thread linking principal art movements and historically significant artworks from around the world since 1960. How does contemporary art respond to the extensive cultural influence of the media? Is a reaction to mass media a thematic commonality linking contemporary artists in the age of globalization? Manipulating the Hype is a dual outcome investigation comprised of written thesis and studio practice. The written thesis combines experience from a lengthy professional practice with historical and theoretical research. The visual thesis consists of twelve photographic works taken at on the Big Island of Hawaii. The images juxtapose artificial icons of power from popular culture with the natural force of the active lava flow. The process of research discloses how the advertising and entertainment industries capitalize upon innate human desires through the manipulative proliferation of archetypal imagery. Furthermore, the thesis establishes the widespread retort to media clichés as a palpable commonality in studio practices worldwide. The findings in the research make evident that although contemporary art does not have sufficient influence to reform the media, it can heighten public awareness of media tactics

bipolar disorder: Bipolar disorder functioning questionnaire

Objective: Even though quality of life and functioning are topics that are point of interest, they are not assessed adequately in mood disorders. In this study, it is aimed to develop a functioning assessment scale in bipolar disorder.Method: Bipolar Disorder Functioning Questionnaire (BDFQ) is developed by the Scientific Section for Mood Disorders of the Psychiatric Association of Turkey. The questionnaire contains 58 items, and consists of eleven subscales: emotional functioning, intellectual functioning, sexual functioning, feelings of stigmatization, social withdrawal household relations, relations with friends, participation to social activities, daily activities and hobbies, taking initiative and self sufficiency, and occupation.Results: In this study, 252 remitted bipolar patients from 15 centers were included. In addition, thirty subjects without any lifetime psychiatric, neurological or physical disease were recruited. The mean age of the patients was 38.6 +/- 12.1 and 56% (n=141) were female. The mean duration of the bipolar disorder was 11.9 +/- 9.2 years, and 91.3% of the patients were diagnosed to have bipolar I disorder. In the reliability analyses, after the exclusion of six items with low reliability coefficients, The Cronbach alpha coefficient was calculated to be 0.91. The item-total scale correlations were between 0.22-0.86. In test-retest reliability, the correlation between the two ratings was high (r=0.82, p<0.0001). In validity analyses, 13 factors were obtained representing 65.1% of the total variance in exploratory factor analysis. In confirmatory factor analysis, 11 domains fit the model with a RMSEA of 0.061. BDFQ significantly correlated with GAF (r=0.428, p<.0001). BDFQ also showed significantly negative correlation with HAM-D (r=-0.541, p<0.0001) and YMRS (r=-0.365, p<0.0001). It discriminated the patients (mean score=111.8 +/- 15.2) from the healthy subjects (mean score=121.4 +/- 10.4) well (t=-2.300, p=0.038).Conclusion: With the six items excluded, it is suggested that the 52-item BDFQ is a reliable and valid instrument in the assessment of functioning in bipolar disorder.C1 [Aydemir, Oemer] Celal Bayar Psikiyatri AD, Manisa, Turkey.[Eren, Ibrahim] Suleyman Demirel Psikiyatri AD, Isparta, Turkey.[Savas, Haluk] Gaziantep Psikiyatri AD, Gaziantep, Turkey.[Oguzhanoglu, Nalan Kalkan] Pamukkale Psikiyatri AD, Denizli, Turkey.[Kocal, Nesrin; Oral, Timucin] Bakirkoy Ruh Sagligi Ve Sinir Hastaliklan Egitim, Istanbul, Turkey.[Oezgueven, Halise Devrimci] Ankara Psikiyatri AD, Ankara, Turkey.[Akkaya, Cengiz] Uludag Psikiyatri AD, Bursa, Turkey.[Basterzi, Ayse Devrim] Mersin Psikiyatri AD, Mersin, Turkey.[Karlidag, Rifat] Inonu Psikiyatri AD, Malatya, Turkey.[Yenilmez, Cinar] Osmangazi Psikiyatri AD, Eskisehir, Turkey.[Oezerdem, Ayseguel] Dokuz Eylul Psikiyatri AD, Izmir, Turkey.[Kora, Kaan] Marmara Psikiyatri AD, Istanbul, Turkey.[Tamam, Lut] Cukurova Psikiyatri AD, Adana, Turkey.[Guelseren, Seref] Psikiyatri B, Ataturk Egitim Arastirma Hastanesi, Izmir, Turkey.[Vahip, Simavi] Psikiyatri AD, Ege Tip Fak, Izmir, Turkey

Development of a questionnaire to assess inter-episode functioning in bipolar disorder: Bipolar disorder functioning questionnaire

Objective: Even though quality of life and functioning are topics that are point of interest, they are not assessed adequately in mood disorders. In this study, it is aimed to develop a functioning assessment scale in bipolar disorder.Method: Bipolar Disorder Functioning Questionnaire (BDFQ) is developed by the Scientific Section for Mood Disorders of the Psychiatric Association of Turkey. The questionnaire contains 58 items, and consists of eleven subscales: emotional functioning, intellectual functioning, sexual functioning, feelings of stigmatization, social withdrawal household relations, relations with friends, participation to social activities, daily activities and hobbies, taking initiative and self sufficiency, and occupation.Results: In this study, 252 remitted bipolar patients from 15 centers were included. In addition, thirty subjects without any lifetime psychiatric, neurological or physical disease were recruited. The mean age of the patients was 38.6 +/- 12.1 and 56% (n=141) were female. The mean duration of the bipolar disorder was 11.9 +/- 9.2 years, and 91.3% of the patients were diagnosed to have bipolar I disorder. In the reliability analyses, after the exclusion of six items with low reliability coefficients, The Cronbach alpha coefficient was calculated to be 0.91. The item-total scale correlations were between 0.22-0.86. In test-retest reliability, the correlation between the two ratings was high (r=0.82, p<0.0001). In validity analyses, 13 factors were obtained representing 65.1% of the total variance in exploratory factor analysis. In confirmatory factor analysis, 11 domains fit the model with a RMSEA of 0.061. BDFQ significantly correlated with GAF (r=0.428, p<.0001). BDFQ also showed significantly negative correlation with HAM-D (r=-0.541, p<0.0001) and YMRS (r=-0.365, p<0.0001). It discriminated the patients (mean score=111.8 +/- 15.2) from the healthy subjects (mean score=121.4 +/- 10.4) well (t=-2.300, p=0.038).Conclusion: With the six items excluded, it is suggested that the 52-item BDFQ is a reliable and valid instrument in the assessment of functioning in bipolar disorder

Proposal of a new tDCS safety screening tool TSST (Transcranial direct current stimulation Safety Screening Tool)

Recent evidence supports ‘the neurotrophin hypothesis of depression' in its prediction that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is involved in depression. However, some key questions remain unanswered, including whether abnormalities in BDNF persist beyond the clinical state of depression, whether BDNF levels are related to the clinical features of depression and whether distinct antidepressants affect BDNF levels equally. We addressed these questions and investigated serum BDNF levels in 962 depressed patients, 700 fully remitted persons (⩾6 months) and 382 healthy controls. We found serum BDNF levels to be low in antidepressant-free depressed patients relative to controls (P=0.007) and to depressed patients who were treated with an antidepressant (P=0.001). BDNF levels of fully remitted persons (whether unmedicated or treated with an antidepressant) were comparable to those of controls. Analyzing the sample of antidepressant-free depressed patients showed that BDNF levels were unrelated to the core clinical features of depression such as its severity or first versus a recurrent episode. The antidepressant associated upregulation of serum BDNF in depressed patients was confined to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) (P=0.003) and St John's wort (P=0.03). Our results suggest that low serum levels of BDNF are a state abnormality that is evident during depression and normalizes during remission. Increases in serum levels of BDNF during antidepressant treatment appear to be confined to some antidepressants and do not parallel clinical characteristics, such as the severity of depressive symptoms