My Life's Journey as Researcher

In this narrative of my life as a researcher, I have presented my understanding of research practice, basing it of course on a sample of size one--myself, nonetheless observed carefully for over four decades now. Therefore, the readers may take it as a trigger to clarify their own self-understanding as researchers. In my life’s journey as a researcher, I have followed my passions and charted new territory, sometimes inadvertently. Research has been for me a life-long journey of discovery--of who I am, of the world around me, and the meaning of life. This has driven me beyond the boundaries of received tradition, often into uncharted territory. Over the years I have put together my own tool kit, sharpening my intellectual skills as needed for the problem at hand. The focus of my research has been myth and image in their cultural context. My research on the miniature paintings of India, and their organic links with certain texts and cultural modes of being, have transformed me in fundamental ways. I have come to regard my own experience of being a woman as central to my experience of the world. In the more recent years, I have been inquiring into the religion of the Mother Goddess. This has brought me to Orissa for fieldwork in a living tradition--that of the village goddess. I have reached so far in my journey of research by continuously expanding my intellectual boundaries as well as pushing the edges of my discipline into new frontiers

Nietzsche’s Doctrine of Eternal Return

In Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Friedrich Nietzsche challenges the reader to imagine that every moment of his or her life, every joy and every sorrow, every smile and every tear, will be repeated in exactly the same way from beginning to end. He asks us to envision these things recurring, not one more time, but for all infinity into the past and future alike. Amongst the many revolutionary and profound concepts put forward by the witty and vitriolic Nietzsche, there is none as inscrutable and seemingly inapproachable as this doctrine of eternal return of the same. In just three of his published texts, The Gay Science, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, and Beyond Good and Evil, Nietzsche sets the stage for what has become his most profoundly challenging concept. How to understand its merit philosophically has been an ongoing task since its original release into printed form. In researching my thesis, I have studied the most influential and eloquent philosophers to elucidate this enigmatic doctrine. Supplementing the primary texts with the corresponding works of thinkers like Martin Heidegger, Karl Löwith, Joan Stambaugh, Gilles Deleuze, and David Wood, has given me a clearer perspective of the kinds of conceptions and misconceptions that can arise through various interpretations of the theory. In my own critical analysis of eternal return, I have elaborated on the errors and insights found in a number of contemporary writings to clarify my own view of Nietzsche’s pervasively challenging thought. Placing always the existential imperative of the doctrine above the metaphysical proof, I have attempted to refute the emphasis of some scholars without ignoring the importance of their claims. In my contention, it is the burdensome weight of this guaranteed repetition ad infinitum that imbues every decision with an absolute, undeniable importance which cannot be easily dismissed through dissection of possible metaphysical difficulties

The relationship between usual alcohol consumption and the content of association memory in young and mature social drinkers

The results from this study indicated that the accessibility of negative alcohol memory associations was higher in alcohol contexts as participants generated more alcohol-related responses to the negative alcohol-related behavioural outcomes. As no effect of context was observed for positive alcohol memory associations, it was postulated that this type of memory association might become activated prior to or during decisions to consume alcohol. In addition, the results indicated that activated negative memory associations might not exert an influential role over decisions to consume alcohol. The results form this study provided further support for the Alcohol-Related Association Memory model of alcohol use. The findings from the series of studies provided support for the Alcohol-Related Association Memory model of alcohol use. In addition to replicating previous research findings, concerning the relationship between alcohol use and positive outcomes of this behaviour, the research findings showed that a relationship between alcohol use and negative outcomes of this behaviour is evident when an appropriate assessment tool is used. In addition to demonstrating that alcohol memory associations are strengthened in relation to current alcohol consumption level, the results from Study 3 showed that the length of an alcohol consumption history relates to the strength and subsequent accessibility of positive and negative alcohol memory associations. It was also indicated that activated negative alcohol memory associations might not exert an influential role over behavioural decisions. Alcohol association memory research, conducted thus far, has shown that there is a relationship between alcohol consumption experience and strength of alcohol memory associations. However, the effect that activated memory associations have on actual alcohol consumption, has not yet been established. Therefore, future research suggestions address this issue

Physicians’ Experiences and Opinions Regarding Strategies to Improve Care for Minority Patients

Objective: To assess the views and experiences of a select group of physicians interested in minority health issues regarding promising strategies to improve minority care. Methods: Physicians were asked to respond to a 17-item survey assessing the level of agreement, frequency of implementation of and interest in learning more about 7 promising strategies for alleviating disparities. Results: Most physicians (75-95%) agreed that the 7 proposed strategies could be useful to improve the quality of care provided to minority patients, but only 40-66% of physicians had implemented the strategies sometimes or often in their practices. Between 22 and 29% of physicians were interested in learning more about 6 of the 7 strategies, preferably by CME, seminars and newsletters. Conclusion: Physicians concerned with minority health issues agree that commonly suggested strategies for eliminating racial and ethnic disparities in health care could be useful, but have difficulty implementing such approaches

Identification and management of prodromal symptoms in bipolar affective disorder: the role of individual, disorder, and treatment-related factors.

Background: Traditional psychosocial treatments have been adapted for use with individuals with bipolar affective disorders due to the limited prophylactic nature of pharmacotherapy and the recognition of the role of psychosocial factors in the course of this disorder. Psychosocial interventions that include a prodromal monitoring and management component have been empirically shown to be an effective adjunct to medication for the treatment of bipolar disorder. Aims: There is a deficit of quantitative research that examines the impact of individualrelated (e.g. age, self-efficacy), disorder-related (e.g. time since diagnosis, experience of prodromal symptoms) and treatment-related (e.g. level of psychosocial input) factors on individuals’ ability to manage this disorder via the use of prodromal monitoring. The current research aimed to investigate factors that are associated with the identification and management of prodromal symptoms. Method: Participants completed five self-report measures in order to provide information on their experience of prodromal symptoms, current mood state, general self-efficacy, view of social support from significant others, and demographic and clinical-related variables. The data were collected from 101 participants, 58 of whom were female. The sample consisted of individuals with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder type I and II. Results: Univariate and bivariate analyses were used to explore the relationship between individual, disorder, and treatment-related variables associated with participants’ experience of bipolar disorder. Variables that were significantly associated with participants’ perception of their ability to identify and manage prodromes were further investigated using ordinal logistic regression analyses. The results indicated that general self-efficacy and prodromal-specific help from significant others were associated with an increase in participants’ perception of their ability to identify manic and depressive prodromal symptoms. General self-efficacy was also associated with participants’ view of their ability to manage cognitive and behavioural prodromes. Experience of prodromal symptoms (e.g. consistency of symptoms experienced, type of prodrome experienced) was associated the participants’ perception of their ability to identify and manage prodromes. In general, disorder-related variables (e.g. time since diagnosis, mood state, diagnosis type, and number of episodes experienced) were not significantly associated with the participants’ view of their ability to identify and manage prodromal symptoms. Individual-related variables such as gender and age, however, were associated with prodromal identification. Conclusion: The results indicated the need to consider constructs such as general selfefficacy and experience of prodromal symptoms (e.g. consistency of symptoms, types of prodromes experienced, and ability to recognise prodromes when they first present) when helping patients to learn how to identify and manage prodromal symptoms. In addition gender differences and the role of help from significant others were highlighted as variables that should be considered when using prodromal monitoring approaches with patients with bipolar disorder. Limitations of the research are reviewed in relation to the methodology used. Clinical implications and directions for future research are considered

A novel beer fining agent extracted from hops

On a shelf or in a bar, beers are intended to be served clear, bright and free from visible haze. Industrialization and novel brewing technologies have pushed brewers to develop beers that have the required shelf-life in terms of product quality, flavour, and appearance. During beer brewing, clarification post-fermentation is an important step to remove the majority of haze material prior to further steps such as filtration and bottling. Fining agents are used to accelerate sedimentation of yeast and haze particles within beer, in order to reduce the time required for this haze material to settle. The focus of this study was towards the development of a novel fining agent extracted from spent hops. Spent hops contain significant amounts of polyphenols. Because of the high affinity of some phenolics with haze active proteins, they represent a good candidate for the flocculation of beer haze particles. As it is also sourced from hops, this product has great potential to replace other animal-based products such as isinglass finings. The extraction procedure was firstly assessed in order to define the optimal protocol to extract the active component from the plant material. Extraction using 70% acetone(aq.) yielded the highest amount of proanthocyanidin polyphenols and also produced the best performance in beer fining. Then, the application of this extract to a broad variety of beers from laboratory to brewery scale was investigated. The hop extract has been found to effectively fine beers produced with a range of yeast strains and was able to remove efficiently haze from ales and lager beers when introduced at the individually determined optimal dose range. Beneficial impacts in fining performance were observed when using the hop extract in combination with silicate auxiliary finings. An opposite effect was found when using the novel finings with stout beers, as haze was created during the fining reaction. Post-fining laboratory filtration trials using cellulose filters showed that the hop extract, when combined with auxiliary finings, improved the filterability of finished beer relative to isinglass fined beer. The characterisation of the active material was then conducted, with a particular focus on the molecular weight and size range. Earlier research by Linforth and colleagues demonstrated the presence of polyphenolic material, more specifically proanthocyanidins. These compounds can be present as small monomers and dimers or as long polymeric assemblies of catechin and epicatechin. The lack of reference standards and the complexity of the molecular distribution present analytical challenges to define the structure and the molecular weight of these compounds. A novel method was developed using Analytical Ultracentrifugation to identify the molecular weight distribution of hop proanthocyanidins in the active fining fractions. Sedimentation velocity experiments revealed a heterogeneous fraction with discontinuous peaks. Sedimentation equilibrium experiments allowed the assignments of molecular weights, with compounds found in the hop extracts, up to 100 kDa. Major differences were observed comparing hop extracts from different varieties in both proanthocyanidin content and beer fining efficiency. The presence of high molecular weight polymers was shown to strongly correlate with superior fining activity (assessed in terms of beer haze removal and sediment formation). Impacts of the hop finings addition on finished beer parameters were also investigated. No major differences were identified using hop extract finings compared to other fining strategies when observing the beer volatile profile through gas chromatography after an accelerated ageing study. Significant reduction (p < 0.05) in iron concentrations was found when using the hop extract in lager beers compared to isinglass treated beer and an unfined control. Improved oxidative stability was assessed by electron spin resonance spectroscopy for lager beers treated with the hop extract. Introducing this fining agent during the brewing process may thus also benefit the brewer for desirable aspects such as shelf-life and quality