Inland Emperors:Sexuality at the End of the Suburbs

Tongson&#8217;s talk explores the tangled histories of empire and queer sexuality in Southern California&#8217;s aptly named Inland Empire (I.E.) &#8211; a place once described as ‘the Garden of Eden’. From the Cold War-era military bases and defense industries that once resided there, to the re-creations of Spanish missionary culture in its old downtowns, to the genteel, citrus-era Victorianism still discernible in its oldest houses and civic landmarks, Tongson argues that surveying the empire&#8217;s stubborn monuments today affirms that the I.E. was never just a homogeneous assortment of little boxes, but truly the crossroads of empire and sexuality. The talk also features a discussion about a certain utopianism in a methodology of suburban cultural studies, since Tongson’s work on the Inland Empire combines history, critical geography, queer theory, literature, popular music and memoir. Excerpted from her book Relocations: Queer Suburban Imaginaries (NYU Press, 2010).Karen Tongson is Associate Professor of English and Gender Studies at the University of Southern California. Her book on race, sexuality, popular culture and the suburbs, &#8216;Relocations: Queer Suburban Imaginaries&#8216; (New York), was published in 2011. She is co-series editor for Postmillennial Pop, and is also co-editor-in-chief of The Journal of Popular Music Studies.Karen Tongson, ‘Inland Emperors: Sexuality at the End of the Suburbs’, lecture presented at the symposium Utopia: Wreckage, ICI Berlin, 16 June 2011, part 1, mp4, 17:03 <https://doi.org/10.25620/e110616-1

The Nether World of Neither World: Hybridization in the Literature of Wendy Rose

THE VIEW FROM THE EDGE: A PERSONAL INTRODUCTION What seest thou else in the dark backward and abysm of time? If thou rememb’rest aught ere thou camest here How thou camest here thou mayst. --Prospero in The Tempest (I.ii. 59-64) Conjuring up William Shakespeare to assist in my project of challenging the academic cognoscenti is indeed an ironic gesture coming from a colonized individual. Yet in the context of my upbringing as a Pilipina operating in the circles of academia, this selective borrowing is all too appropriate. As Jessica Hagedorn observes, ”The Philippines spent four hundred years in a convent and fifty years in Hollywood. . . . I was taught that Filipinos are inherently lazy, shiftless and undependable. Our only talent, it seems, is for mimicry". In this introduction to ”dual” perception in the work of liminal artists, an act of appropriation, of mimicry, seems to be in order. It is a nod to my education-a reflex of good scholastic behavior in an attempt to substantiate the assertions cultivated by my colonizers’ gift of learning

The Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Consumer Usage Intention of Electronic Wallets in the Philippines

Digital wallets have revolutionized consumers’ shopping experience by giving another convenient money transfer option. The adoption of electronic wallets (e-wallets) is significantly and positively affected by customer perception of electronic payment transactions. This paper attempts to study and examine the consumers' perception of using e-wallets in the National Capital Region during the peak of COVID-19 using the technology acceptance model (TAM) and unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model. The present study examines consumers’ level of trust, security, ease of use, and usefulness and then investigates the relationship to consumers’ perception of e-wallets usage. The study employed a quantitative design using a descriptive-correlational research approach to assess the relationship between variables. The purposive sampling method was used to select the 201 respondents. The results revealed that consumers who perceived online trust, security, ease of use, and usefulness are more likely to use e-wallets during the pandemic. Practical managerial implications are addressed for enhancing digital transactions to increase consumer trust and security in online commerce

Differentiation of Subjective Cognitive Decline, Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Dementia Using qEEG/ERP-Based Cognitive Testing and Volumetric MRI in an Outpatient Specialty Memory Clinic.

BACKGROUND: Distinguishing between subjective cognitive decline (SCD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and dementia in a scalable, accessible way is important to promote earlier detection and intervention. OBJECTIVE: We investigated diagnostic categorization using an FDA-cleared quantitative electroencephalographic/event-related potential (qEEG/ERP)-based cognitive testing system (eVox® by Evoke Neuroscience) combined with an automated volumetric magnetic resonance imaging (vMRI) tool (Neuroreader® by Brainreader). METHODS: Patients who self-presented with memory complaints were assigned to a diagnostic category by dementia specialists based on clinical history, neurologic exam, neuropsychological testing, and laboratory results. In addition, qEEG/ERP (n = 161) and quantitative vMRI (n = 111) data were obtained. A multinomial logistic regression model was used to determine significant predictors of cognitive diagnostic category (SCD, MCI, or dementia) using all available qEEG/ERP features and MRI volumes as the independent variables and controlling for demographic variables. Area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic curve (AUC) was used to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the prediction models. RESULTS: The qEEG/ERP measures of Reaction Time, Commission Errors, and P300b Amplitude were significant predictors (AUC = 0.79) of cognitive category. Diagnostic accuracy increased when volumetric MRI measures, specifically left temporal lobe volume, were added to the model (AUC = 0.87). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the potential of a primarily physiological diagnostic model for differentiating SCD, MCI, and dementia using qEEG/ERP-based cognitive testing, especially when combined with volumetric brain MRI. The accessibility of qEEG/ERP and vMRI means that these tools can be used as adjuncts to clinical assessments to help increase the diagnostic certainty of SCD, MCI, and dementia

Handgrip Strength Is Related to Hippocampal and Lobar Brain Volumes in a Cohort of Cognitively Impaired Older Adults with Confirmed Amyloid Burden.

BACKGROUND: Strength and mobility are essential for activities of daily living. With aging, weaker handgrip strength, mobility, and asymmetry predict poorer cognition. We therefore sought to quantify the relationship between handgrip metrics and volumes quantified on brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). OBJECTIVE: To model the relationships between handgrip strength, mobility, and MRI volumetry. METHODS: We selected 38 participants with Alzheimer\u27s disease dementia: biomarker evidence of amyloidosis and impaired cognition. Handgrip strength on dominant and non-dominant hands was measured with a hand dynamometer. Handgrip asymmetry was calculated. Two-minute walk test (2MWT) mobility evaluation was combined with handgrip strength to identify non-frail versus frail persons. Brain MRI volumes were quantified with Neuroreader. Multiple regression adjusting for age, sex, education, handedness, body mass index, and head size modeled handgrip strength, asymmetry and 2MWT with brain volumes. We modeled non-frail versus frail status relationships with brain structures by analysis of covariance. RESULTS: Higher non-dominant handgrip strength was associated with larger volumes in the hippocampus (p = 0.02). Dominant handgrip strength was related to higher frontal lobe volumes (p = 0.02). Higher 2MWT scores were associated with larger hippocampal (p = 0.04), frontal (p = 0.01), temporal (p = 0.03), parietal (p = 0.009), and occipital lobe (p = 0.005) volumes. Frailty was associated with reduced frontal, temporal, and parietal lobe volumes. CONCLUSION: Greater handgrip strength and mobility were related to larger hippocampal and lobar brain volumes. Interventions focused on improving handgrip strength and mobility may seek to include quantified brain volumes on MR imaging as endpoints