402 research outputs found
Great Mirror of Motherly Love: Maternal Fantasy, Mystic Mothers, and Reflected Selves in Modern and Contemporary Japanese Fiction
Fantasy and mysticism often serve as key elements in escapist literature—constructing stories that move protagonists beyond the furthest reaches of the real, the familiar and the human. Yet, the otherworldly can also bring the protagonist within reach of the familiar if we consider the representations of mothering in the following Japanese narratives: Tanizaki Jun’ichirō’s “Longing for Mother” (1919), Izumi Kyōka’s “The Holy Man of Mount Kōya” (1900), Takahashi Takako’s “Doll Love” (1976), and Ono Masatsugu’s “Prayers from Nine Years Ago” (2014). Through their depictions based on supernatural and spiritual tropes, mystical-mother figures become metaphorical mirrors meant to reflect the protagonists’ ambivalent desires to escape and also to rejoin the social order. To illustrate this dynamic, this study highlights the non-rational motifs and themes that cast the maternal figures as both ideal and deviant in the above-mentioned narratives. This study also considers these stories in relation to the Meiji-era discourse on the ryōsai kenbo (“good wife, wise mother”), pointing out the past and ongoing role that ideal motherhood has been assigned in forging the connections between individuals and society. These works demonstrate consistency across modern and contemporary representations of ideal motherhood, but they also expand the range of depictions, such that the category of “wise mother” becomes a less restrictive one
Linearizing nonlinear optics
In the framework of linear optics, light fields do not interact with each
other in a medium. Yet, when their field amplitude becomes comparable to the
electron binding energies of matter, the nonlinear motion of these electrons
emits new dipole radiation whose amplitude, frequency and phase differ from the
incoming fields. Such high fields are typically achieved with ultra-short,
femtosecond (1fs = 10-15 sec.) laser pulses containing very broad frequency
spectra. Here, the matter not only couples incoming and outgoing fields but
also causes different spectral components to interact and mix through a
convolution process. In this contribution, we describe how frequency domain
nonlinear optics overcomes the shortcomings arising from this convolution in
conventional time domain nonlinear optics1. We generate light fields with
previously inaccessible properties because the uncontrolled coupling of
amplitudes and phases is turned off. For example, arbitrary phase functions are
transferred linearly to the second harmonic frequency while maintaining the
exact shape of the input power spectrum squared.
This nonlinear control over output amplitudes and phases opens up new avenues
for applications based on manipulation of coherent light fields. One could
investigate c.f. the effect of tailored nonlinear perturbations on the
evolution of discrete eigenmodes in Anderson localization2. Our approach might
also open a new chapter for controlling electronic and vibrational couplings in
2D-spectroscopy3 by the geometrical optical arrangement
Anthropomorphizing Science: How Does It Affect the Development of Evolutionary Concepts?
Despite the ubiquitous use of anthropomorphic language to describe biological change in both educational settings and popular science, little is known about how anthropomorphic language influences children’s understanding of evolutionary concepts. In an experimental study, we assessed whether the language used to convey evolutionary concepts influences children’s (5- to 12-year-olds; N = 88) understanding of evolutionary change. Language was manipulated by using three types of narrative, each describing animals’ biological change: (a) need-based narratives, which referenced animals’ basic survival needs; (b) desire-based or anthropomorphic narratives, which referenced animals’ mental states; and (c) scientifically accurate natural selection narratives. Results indicate that the language used to describe evolutionary change influenced children’s endorsement of and use of evolutionary concepts when interpreting that change. Narratives using anthropomorphic language were least likely to facilitate a scientifically accurate interpretation. In contrast, need-based and natural selection language had similar and positive effects, which suggests that need-based reasoning might provide a conceptual scaffold to an evolutionary explanation of biological origins. In sum, the language used to teach evolutionary change impacts conceptual understanding in children and has important pedagogical implications for science education
Cognitive flexibility supports the development of cumulative cultural learning in children
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Development and evaluation of a patient decision aid for young people and parents considering fixed orthodontic appliances
OBJECTIVES: To develop and evaluate a child-centred patient decision aid for young people, and their parents, supporting shared decision making about fixed orthodontic appliance treatment with dental health professionals, namely the Fixed Appliance Decision Aid (FADA). METHODS: The studies were undertaken in a UK teaching dental hospital orthodontic department in 2013-2014. The development phase involved an interview study with: (a) 10 patients (12-16 years old), and their parents, receiving orthodontic care to investigate treatment decision making and inform the content of the FADA and (b) 23 stakeholders critiquing the draft decision aid's content, structure and utility. The evaluation phase employed a pre-/post-test study design, with 30 patients (12-16 years old) and 30 parents. Outcomes included the Decisional Conflict Scale; measures of orthodontic treatment expectations and knowledge. RESULTS: Qualitative analysis identified two informational needs: effectiveness of treatment on orthodontic outcomes and treatment consequences for patients' lives. Quantitative analysis found decisional conflict reduced in both patients (mean difference -12.3, SD 15.3, 95% CI 6.6-17.9; p < 0.001) and parents (mean difference - 8.6, SD 16.6, 95% CI 2.5-14.8; p = 0.002); knowledge about duration and frequency of orthodontic treatment increased; expectations about care were unchanged. CONCLUSIONS: Using the FADA may enable dental professionals to support patients and their parents, decisions about fixed appliance treatments more effectively, ensuring young people's preferences are integrated into care planning
Foreign-language effects in cross-cultural behavioral research: Evidence from the Tanzanian Hadza
Behavioral research in traditional subsistence populations is often conducted in a non-native language. Recent studies show that non-native language-use systematically influences behavior, including in widely used methodologies. However, such studies are largely conducted in rich, industrialized societies, using at least one European language. This study expands sample diversity. We presented four standard tasks—a “dictator” game, two sacrificial dilemmas, a wager task, and five Likert-risk tolerance measures—to 129 Hadza participants. We randomly varied study languages—Hadzane and Kiswahili—between participants. We report a moderate impact of study language on wager decisions, alongside a substantial effect on dilemma decisions and responses to Likert-assessments of risk. As expected, non-native languages fostered utilitarian choices in sacrificial dilemmas. Unlike previous studies, non-native-language-use decreased risk preference in wager and Likert-tasks. We consider alternative explanatory mechanisms to account for this reversal, including linguistic relativity and cultural context. Given the strength of the effects reported here, we recommend, where possible, that future cross-cultural research should be conducted in participants’ first language
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