The Value of Stimulated Dissatisfaction

“I’m not saying it’s a good quality to have, but my observation is that good designers are never happy, they’re never satisfied, never content” (Adrian Stokes, quoted in Spencer, 2008, p. 145). It seems self-evident that designers, whose raison d’être is to initiate change in man-made things (Jones, 1970), devising courses of action aimed at changing existing situations into preferred ones (Simon, 1969), will be dissatisfied, at some level, with the way they experience the material world. However, recent research (Spencer, 2008) suggests that expert designers deliberately enhance the pressure and stress of the design situation – stimulating dissatisfaction. By stimulating the experience of dissatisfaction their imaginative and investigative action is given urgency, focus and purpose as they pursue excellence and attempt to unfold from their own view of the world to empathise with a broad project community. This discursive paper highlights the need for a developed understanding of the reflective practitioner model to inform the post-rationalist generation of design methods. This paper: reviews critical literature about the experience of designing; discusses the role of dissatisfaction within the practise of design; and presents a research project that aims to evaluate the value of stimulated dissatisfaction for the purpose of supporting practitioners’ empathic appreciation in early design direction generation. This paper argues that the reflective practitioner model of the designer must address the stimulation of dissatisfaction as a condition of creative and explorative design practice

The Functional Consequences of Cortical Circuit Abnormalities on Gamma Oscillations in Schizophrenia: Insights from Computational Modeling

Schizophrenia is characterized by cortical circuit abnormalities, which might be reflected in γ-frequency (30–100 Hz) oscillations in the electroencephalogram. Here we used a computational model of cortical circuitry to examine the effects that neural circuit abnormalities might have on γ generation and network excitability. The model network consisted of 1000 leaky integrate-and-fire neurons with realistic connectivity patterns and proportions of neuron types [pyramidal cells (PCs), regular-spiking inhibitory interneurons, and fast-spiking interneurons (FSIs)]. The network produced a γ oscillation when driven by noise input. We simulated reductions in: (1) recurrent excitatory inputs to PCs; (2) both excitatory and inhibitory inputs to PCs; (3) all possible connections between cells; (4) reduced inhibitory output from FSIs; and (5) reduced NMDA input to FSIs. Reducing all types of synaptic connectivity sharply reduced γ power and phase synchrony. Network excitability was reduced when recurrent excitatory connections were deleted, but the network showed disinhibition effects when inhibitory connections were deleted. Reducing FSI output impaired γ generation to a lesser degree than reducing synaptic connectivity, and increased network excitability. Reducing FSI NMDA input also increased network excitability, but increased γ power. The results of this study suggest that a multimodal approach, combining non-invasive neurophysiological and structural measures, might be able to distinguish between different neural circuit abnormalities in schizophrenia patients. Computational modeling may help to bridge the gaps between post-mortem studies, animal models, and experimental data in humans, and facilitate the development of new therapies for schizophrenia and neuropsychiatric disorders in general

Stratigraphy, Lithology, and Depositional Environment of the Black Prince Formation Southeastern Arizona and Southwestern New Mexico

The Black Prince Formation (new manuscript name) of southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico is subdivided into four lithologic facies representing four environments of deposition. The first lithofacies consists of the basal member of the type section of the Black Prince Limestone and is a result of erosion and reworking of the underlying Escabrosa Limestone. The three limestone lithofacies suggest deposition on a shallow shelf under supratidal, intertidal and subtidal conditions. Cyclic fluctuations in sea level are seen in the rock record in the vertical alternation of lithofacies. Six unconformities are recognized and these are traceable throughout the region. The microfauna of the Black Prince Formation is correlative with faunas described elsewhere in North America and indicates that the Black Prince Formation was deposited during late Chesterian (Mississippian) and Morrowan (Pennsylvanian) time. The end of Black Prince deposition is marked by the abrupt appearance of advanced species of Profusulinella suggesting that a major hiatus is present between the Black Prince Formation and overlying rocks

Can I Lend a Hand? Investigating the Promotion of Student Resiliency in a University Setting

The mental health needs among postsecondary students have been observed to be increasing. Fostering resiliency in the campus environment has been identified as central to improving student mental health. The present study investigated student perceptions of how resiliency is supported in a university setting and what gets in the way of supporting student resiliency. Data was collected via campus-wide emails that explored student perceptions of mental health and resiliency at an institutional level. Through a thematic analysis, six main themes were produced that addressed common experiences of mental health support on campus: mental health awareness and education, student wellness resources, social support, difficulty accessing services, poor quality of support services, and negative student experience. The data highlights the range of campus systems that contribute to student perceptions of resiliency and the demand placed on campus services. Implications for supporting postsecondary student resiliency at an institutional level are discussed

Baseline gamma power during auditory steady-state stimulation in schizophrenia

Several studies have reported deficits in γ oscillatory activity elicited by sensory stimulation or cognitive processes in schizophrenia patients (SZ) compared to healthy control subjects (HC). However, the evidence for cortical hyperexcitability and reduced function of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) on parvalbumin-expressing inhibitory interneurons in schizophrenia leads to the prediction that γ activity should rather be increased in SZ, but data supporting this hypothesis have been lacking. One possibility is that baseline induced γ power is increased, an effect that might have gone unnoticed in studies of stimulus-locked oscillations. Here we addressed this question by re-analyzing the data from a previously published study on the 40 Hz auditory steady-state response (ASSR) in schizophrenia in which dipole source localization was used to examine γ responses in the left and right auditory cortices. Subjects were 16 HC and 18 chronic SZ, who listened to trains of clicks presented at 40 Hz during electroencephalogram recording. Independent component analysis was used to remove ocular artifacts. Power spectra were computed for the pre-stimulus baseline period. We found that baseline power was higher in SZ than HC at 40 Hz in the left auditory cortex. Baseline 40 Hz power in the left auditory cortex was also correlated with ASSR evoked power in SZ. Thus, γ oscillation abnormalities in schizophrenia may include abnormal increases in baseline power as well as deficits in evoked oscillations. These baseline increases could be the sign of NMDAR hypofunction on parvalbumin-expressing inhibitory interneurons, which would be consistent with acute NMDAR antagonism and genetic ablation models of schizophrenia

A Pilot Study: Magic Tricks in the ELL Classroom Increasing Verbal Communication Initiative and Self-Efficacy

Instructional practices for English language Learners (ELLs) are multifaceted. They must address everything from communication skills to learner motivation. As a means of tapping student curiosity, learning to perform simple magic tricks is a creative task-based language teaching approach that promotes student self-confidence and engages them in interactionally authentic language. The learning of a magic trick becomes the means of helping students to use the linguistic knowledge they already have as well as a source for new linguistic knowledge. Teaching ELLs simple magic tricks is one approach that increases student communication and produces improvement in academics, self-confidence, resiliency, and social skills

Topological Chaos in a Three-Dimensional Spherical Fluid Vortex

In chaotic deterministic systems, seemingly stochastic behavior is generated by relatively simple, though hidden, organizing rules and structures. Prominent among the tools used to characterize this complexity in 1D and 2D systems are techniques which exploit the topology of dynamically invariant structures. However, the path to extending many such topological techniques to three dimensions is filled with roadblocks that prevent their application to a wider variety of physical systems. Here, we overcome these roadblocks and successfully analyze a realistic model of 3D fluid advection, by extending the homotopic lobe dynamics (HLD) technique, previously developed for 2D area-preserving dynamics, to 3D volume-preserving dynamics. We start with numerically-generated finite-time chaotic-scattering data for particles entrained in a spherical fluid vortex, and use this data to build a symbolic representation of the dynamics. We then use this symbolic representation to explain and predict the self-similar fractal structure of the scattering data, to compute bounds on the topological entropy, a fundamental measure of mixing, and to discover two different mixing mechanisms, which stretch 2D material surfaces and 1D material curves in distinct ways.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figure

Oscillatory dynamics of Gestalt perception in schizophrenia revisited

Background: Abnormalities in γ oscillations (30–100 Hz) in the scalp-recorded electroencephalogram (EEG) have been proposed to reflect neural circuitry abnormalities in schizophrenia. Oscillations in the γ band are thought to play an important role in visual perception, mediating the binding of visual features into coherent objects. However, there is relatively little evidence to date of deficits in γ-mediated processes associated with Gestalt perception in schizophrenia. Methods: Fourteen healthy control subjects (HC) and 17 chronic schizophrenia patients (SZ) discriminated between illusory Kanisza Squares and No-Square control stimuli, indicating their judgment with a manual button press. Time-frequency decomposition of the EEG was computed with the Morlet wavelet transform. Time-frequency maps of phase locking factor (PLF) values were calculated for stimulus- and response-locked oscillations. Results: HC and SZ did not differ in reaction time, error rate, an early ERP effect associated with Gestalt processing, nor an early visual-evoked γ oscillation. Two response-locked high γ effects had greater PLF for Square than No-Square stimuli in HC, and the reverse pattern in SZ. One of these effects was correlated with thought disorder symptom ratings in SZ. Conclusions: SZ demonstrated abnormalities in γ oscillations associated with the perception of Gestalt objects, while their early visual-evoked γ activity was mostly normal, contrary to previous results. This study supports the hypothesis that high-frequency oscillations are sensitive to aspects of psychosis