Formative: the influence of memory encoded in late childhood on artistic practice in middle adulthood

This research project explores the significant influence that memory, as formed during late childhood, can exert on artistic practice in middle adulthood. Situated within the field of contemporary drawing, it employs a repetitive hatched mark making process through which memory is accessed and demonstrates how memory retrieved in this way can be harnessed as an agent of creativity in studio-based practice. Intersecting with the fields of neuroscience and memory studies, the efficacy of this approach is tested via two distinct bodies of work, both of which engage with stimulus-response modes of remembrance being triggers to involuntary memory: one an auditory trigger and the other, a place. The research is framed around autobiographical memories encoded during a 15-month period from the age of 9 through to 10 years, a time that represents the onset of puberty and the beginning of the phenomenon known within memory research as the reminiscence bump. Throughout the thesis an autoethnographic methodology is employed through which I interrogate my practice and reflexively engage in memory work. Writings on memory work by Annette Kuhn, Rosalind Krauss, Ian Farr, and Michael Rossington and Anne Whitehead are discussed in relation to memory’s phenomenological and ontological presentations. Neuroscientific research on memory, including by Martin Conway, Eric Kandel, Norman Doidge and others, is also discussed in relation to the neurobiological processes in play when memory is being encoded and retrieved. The studio research is placed in dialogue with artists, both historical and contemporary, for whom autobiographical memory is their primary subject. It illustrates how childhood memory presents in Louise Bourgeois’ practice and how the immediacy of drawing facilitates this, while Australian artists such as Katthy Cavaliere and Jenny Watson provide a national context. The contribution of this research to the field of contemporary art lies in its articulation of the ways in which new knowledge in the fields of memory research and neuroscience can aid visual artists in gaining deeper insights into their own intuitive motivations and methods of artmaking

Parrots and Palms: Analyzing Data to Determine Best Management Strategies and Sustainable Harvest Levels

This exercise1 presents a scenario and raw data on a realistic conflict between parrot conservation and palm tree harvest. It requires that students analyze data very comparable to what would be gathered in the field, to: 1) construct a life tables for the palm and parrot, 2) extract vital statistics about both the palm and parrot population from the life tables, 3) estimate maximum sustainable yield for both species, and 4) make a decision about the sustainability of harvest intensity. It illustrates the importance of data analysis skills for conservation

Using Performance Assessments to Connect Fractions and Rational Expressions: Noyce Scholars as Mentors to Pre-Service Elementary Teachers

At Georgia Southern University, Noyce scholars are not only being mentored, but they are also serving as mentors to preservice elementary teachers. One topic that proves to be problematic for many students is the conceptual understanding of fractions and rational expressions. Since our Noyce scholars with mathematics degrees will be teaching algebra, it is important that they are fluent with the arithmetic to algebra connection. In addition, it is crucial that these mathematics majors become stakeholders in mathematics education at the elementary school level. Performance assessments can provide the structure necessary for assisting pre-service elementary teachers in firmly establishing the arithmetic to algebra connection. This session showcases a performance assessment where students are not only required to connect concrete models with standard fraction algorithms, but are also required to explain these connections. In this performance assessment, fraction bars are used with the number line in order to establish the arithmetic to algebra connection. Noyce scholars assist by helping and evaluating these pre-service teachers. By participating, not only do Noyce scholars support elementary teachers, but they also gain strategies and resources needed to teach fractions in a way that leads to conceptual understanding

Faculty and student perceptions of post-exam attendance

This project investigated differences between faculty and student perceptions of student attendance in courses for the class period after an exam, including factors thought to influence student attendance. Participants from a single university completed a mixed-methods on-line questionnaire. Quantitative analyses revealed significant differences between faculty and student perceptions on all but one project variable. Qualitative analyses reinforced those findings and suggested that faculty misunderstand what factors actually influence student attendance. Taken together, the results suggest a substantial disconnect between faculty and student perceptions of the importance of class attendance and highlight areas for faculty to influence student attendance

The impact of immediate breast reconstruction on the time to delivery of adjuvant therapy: the iBRA-2 study

Background: Immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) is routinely offered to improve quality-of-life for women requiring mastectomy, but there are concerns that more complex surgery may delay adjuvant oncological treatments and compromise long-term outcomes. High-quality evidence is lacking. The iBRA-2 study aimed to investigate the impact of IBR on time to adjuvant therapy. Methods: Consecutive women undergoing mastectomy ± IBR for breast cancer July–December, 2016 were included. Patient demographics, operative, oncological and complication data were collected. Time from last definitive cancer surgery to first adjuvant treatment for patients undergoing mastectomy ± IBR were compared and risk factors associated with delays explored. Results: A total of 2540 patients were recruited from 76 centres; 1008 (39.7%) underwent IBR (implant-only [n = 675, 26.6%]; pedicled flaps [n = 105,4.1%] and free-flaps [n = 228, 8.9%]). Complications requiring re-admission or re-operation were significantly more common in patients undergoing IBR than those receiving mastectomy. Adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy was required by 1235 (48.6%) patients. No clinically significant differences were seen in time to adjuvant therapy between patient groups but major complications irrespective of surgery received were significantly associated with treatment delays. Conclusions: IBR does not result in clinically significant delays to adjuvant therapy, but post-operative complications are associated with treatment delays. Strategies to minimise complications, including careful patient selection, are required to improve outcomes for patients

Using Vertebrates to Provide a Framework for Sustainable Biodiversity on the Georgia Southern Campus

Using Vertebrates to Provide a Framework for Sustainable Biodiversity on the Georgia Southern Campus Drs. J. Michelle Cawthorn, C. Ray Chandler, Lance McBrayer, James H. Roberts, Department of Biology ($30,20.89) Their study provides a comprehensive inventory of the vertebrate biodiversity on the Georgia Southern campus (phase 1). They also made this data available to members of the campus community, and the general public, via a website (Phase 2