Facilitated Orienting Underlies Fearful Face Enhanced Gaze Cueing of Spatial Location

Faces provide a platform for non-verbal communication through emotional expression and eye gaze. Fearful facial expressions are salient indicators of potential threat within the environment, which automatically capture observers’ attention. However, the degree to which fearful facial expressions facilitate attention to others’ gaze is unresolved. Given that fearful gaze indicates the location of potential threat, it was hypothesized that fearful gaze facilitates location processing. To test this hypothesis, a gaze cueing study with fearful and neutral faces assessing target localization was conducted. The task consisted of leftward, rightward, and forward/straight gaze trials. The inclusion of forward gaze trials allowed for the isolation of orienting and disengagement components of gaze-directed attention. The results suggest that both neutral and fearful gaze modulates attention through orienting and disengagement components. Fearful gaze, however, resulted in quicker orienting than neutral gaze. Thus, fearful faces enhance gaze cueing of spatial location through facilitated orienting

The Garage of the Ivory Tower: The Importance of the 21st Century Education Doctorate

Making decisions about how to prepare students and teachers for the 21st century is a complex endeavor, and preparing the leaders of America’s schools – those responsible for leading the some 15,000 school districts, three million public education teachers, and 50 million public education students – is perhaps most complex of all. Educational administrators, like teachers, juggle competing interests and negotiate with multiple stakeholders simultaneously. Generating sustained school change often necessitates implementing policies that are rarely able to account for the varied and potentially competing issues that are situated locally. Therefore, preparing school leaders means providing them with the necessary tools to evaluate the impact of national and state policies as well as plan strategically about how to improve conditions at their schools locally

Money and Issue Voting in Missouri: 1990 - 1994

Powerpoint presentation concerning money and issues voting in the Missouri General Assembly from the years 1990 to 1994. Data is represented in text and tables

Pulmonary Recovery Positions Increase EMG Activity in Accessory Respiratory Muscles

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the third leading cause of death in the United States and is predicted to be the third leading cause of death worldwide between 2020 and 2030. Smoking continues to be the primary cause of this disease, which is associated with about 80% of all COPD deaths. Signs and symptoms of COPD can be debilitating; however pulmonary recovery positions may be taught to improve breathing capabilities in impaired individuals. Literature suggests techniques for pulmonary recovery may involve supporting the upper extremities, supporting the head, and leaning forward. The purpose of the current study was to examine the effects of pulmonary recovery positions on EMG activation of accessory muscles of respiration. The goal was to clarify which recovery positions have the greatest activation of the accessory muscles, Eleven healthy adults over the age of eighteen were recruited for this study. Unilateral EMG surface electrodes were placed on the accessory muscles of breathing which included upper trapezius (UT), sternocleidomastoid (SCM), pectoralis major (clavicular head) (PM), serratus anterior (SA), and latissimus dorsi (LD). The subjects were randomly assigned a series of four experimental positions which included: a control position with hands at the sides (Position 1), standing with hands resting overhead (Position 2), leaning forward with hands on knees (Position 3), and sitting with forearms and hands supported by a table (Position 4). In each position, EMG activity was collected during three separate trials of maximal inspiration and maximal expiration, as well as minute ventilation (MV). Results indicated a significant increase in unilateral EMG activity while in Positions 2 and 3. Results found an increase in MV in Positions 2 and 3 though these findings were not significant. Positions 2 and 3 have the greatest possibility to recruit the accessory muscles of ventilation, therefore improving air exchange with patients who suffer from COPD