In the Absence of Peace

Today, the Monday after the attack, all of the flags were at half mast. Everything continued as normal, as if nothing had happened. Yet there was an intensity in the air. I didn’t notice the increased police, but it was easy to feel the increased security. [excerpt

On White Guilt.

I didn’t always realize what white guilt was, only that it existed. It’s not as cut-and-dry as it seems. It actually took me years to understand it, which is why I was not surprised when at the Town Hall Meeting back in January, one person asked a question about how to be an ally. Specifically, I found myself reflecting on her concerns regarding “white guilt” (44:01 – 45:25). I wanted to respond, but from the audience it felt out of place, and as it is, my response took two months of putting my thoughts together. [excerpt

The cerebellum and motor dysfunction in neuropsychiatric disorders

The cerebellum is densely interconnected with sensory-motor areas of the cerebral cortex, and in man, the great expansion of the association areas of cerebral cortex is also paralleled by an expansion of the lateral cerebellar hemispheres. It is therefore likely that these circuits contribute to non-motor cognitive functions, but this is still a controversial issue. One approach is to examine evidence from neuropsychiatric disorders of cerebellar involvement. In this review, we narrow this search to test whether there is evidence of motor dysfunction associated with neuropsychiatric disorders consistent with disruption of cerebellar motor function. While we do find such evidence, especially in autism, schizophrenia and dyslexia, we caution that the restricted set of motor symptoms does not suggest global cerebellar dysfunction. Moreover, these symptoms may also reflect involvement of other, extra-cerebellar circuits and detailed examination of specific sub groups of individuals within each disorder may help to relate such motor symptoms to cerebellar morphology

Drawing cartoon faces - a functional imaging study of the cognitive neuroscience of drawing

We report a functional imaging study of drawing cartoon faces. Normal, untrained participants were scanned while viewing simple black and white cartoon line-drawings of human faces, retaining them for a short memory interval, and then drawing them without vision of their hand or the paper. Specific encoding and retention of information about the faces was tested for by contrasting these two stages (with display of cartoon faces) against the exploration and retention of random dot stimuli. Drawing was contrasted between conditions in which only memory of a previously viewed face was available versus a condition in which both memory and simultaneous viewing of the cartoon was possible, and versus drawing of a new, previously unseen, face. We show that the encoding of cartoon faces powerfully activates the face sensitive areas of the lateral occipital cortex and the fusiform gyrus, but there is no significant activation in these areas during the retention interval. Activity in both areas was also high when drawing the displayed cartoons. Drawing from memory activates areas in posterior parietal cortex and frontal areas. This activity is consistent with the encoding and retention of the spatial information about the face to be drawn as a visuo-motor action plan, either representing a series of targets for ocular fixation or as spatial targets for the drawing actio

Research into practice : collaboration for leadership in applied health research and care (CLAHRC) for Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire (NDL)

To address the problem of translation from research-based evidence to routine healthcare practice, the Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care for Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, and Lincolnshire (CLAHRC-NDL) was funded by the National Institute for Health Research as one of nine CLAHRCs across England. This paper outlines the underlying theory and its application that CLAHRC-NDL has adopted, as a case example that might be generalised to practice outside the CLAHRC, in comparison to alternative models of implementation

Y’all Means All: The Southern Queer Experience and Grassroots Archives as Places of Remembrance

While the burgeoning field of queer history grows in academic prominence and scholarship, southern queer identities and histories are left in the gaps of this trailblazing research. As a segment of a larger senior honors thesis on gay press in Kentucky and the broader American South, this brief research report will specifically examine queer rurality, visibility, and space in the archive. This report also aims to highlight the political and sociological importance of remembering, studying, and teaching queer heritage, especially in the rural American South. This report argues that the complexities of southern queer histories are especially felt in the Women-In-Print Movement and in the methodologies of early queer historians in the mid-twentieth century, and that these waves of intellectual change should be included in narratives of national queer history. While many assume gay identities and southern identities to be mutually exclusive, the histories and peoples weaved throughout this research report prove that there is a vibrant culture that is both proudly southern and proudly queer in Kentucky and the American South

Are the Mediterranean countries competitive in fresh fruit and vegetable exports?

The Barcelona Agreement was signed in 1995, setting forth a structure with bilateral agreements between the EU and twelve Mediterranean countries. The agreement also foresaw the creation of a free trade area in the Euro-Mediterranean region by 2010. For many of the countries surrounding the Mediterranean sea, fruit and vegetables are very important products. In light of the increasing trade liberalization and thus increasing competition between countries, this paper aims to investigate further the competitiveness of Mediterranean countries with respect to fresh fruit and vegetables. The results generally show that the competitiveness of the investigated countries has deteriorated over the period. In only two cases, there is an increase in competitiveness.International Relations/Trade,