REPETITION: A Study in Visual Form Using Selected Artworks by Edward Hopper

An attempt was made to study the form, function and patterns of repetition as expressed in visual form. A selected series of paintings by the artist Edward Hopper spanning a period of over thirty years served as the data set and was examined using an integrative approach combining both psychoanalytic theory and art criticism. The paper explored firstly, how unconscious fantasies shaped the content of Hopper\u27s selected works, the function of the repetitive form of visual expression, and the possible psychic determinants. It was suggested that early childhood issues remained ongoing areas of conflict that continued to find repeated symbolic expression and influenced his portrayals of women, particularly those in this study, throughout his career. Secondly, the specific patterns of repetition in terms of exact versus variable repetition as expressed in visual form were examined. Linguistic research suggests that exact linguistic repetitions are linked to unrepresented psychic contents and that when a person is able to use a narrative to describe the same event that is rich, imagistic and evocative, and not repetitive, that it marks a shift in psychic change in terms of a higher level of organization and representation of an experience (Halfon & Weinstein, 2013). This work examined whether the same may be applied to visual repetition. The paper concluded that it was possible to identify painterly equivalents of verbal repetition and that visual repetitive patterns may be valid markers for psychic change. Thirdly, this work explored the presence of repetitive affect in the selected paintings and its possible meanings. Hopper\u27s artwork repeatedly evokes universal feelings such as \u27isolation\u27 and \u27loneliness.\u27 In addition, the selected artworks in this study repeatedly elicited dichotomous feelings such as \u27tense\u27 and \u27calm\u27 within the same artwork. It was suggested that differing levels of affect represented constitutional characteristics as well as underlying areas of conflict for the artist as projected repeatedly in visual form. This study indicated that the process of repetition may be studied in visual form in terms of the expression of repetitive unconscious fantasy, visual patterns and affect. The varying forms of repetition could be observed and tracked across selected artworks and may be indicative of internal conflicts and/or psychic change. When working with patients who are artists or those more visually oriented, tracking repeated patterns expressed in their artworks may be clinically helpful in evaluating therapeutic progress

Strengths So White: Interrogating StrengthsQuest Education Through a Critical Whiteness Lens

Many college student leadership programs utilize StrengthsQuest as a tool for individual and group development. Although StrengthsQuest is touted as a universal tool to help all individuals leverage their strengths in varied settings, the authors are critical of both the tool itself and the ways educators utilize StrengthsQuest. This paper employs tenets of critical whiteness theory, including color evasiveness, normalization, and solipsism, to deconstruct StrengthsQuest within the context of leadership education. Additionally, the authors offer possibilities for reimagining StrengthsQuest education in ways that center inclusion and justice. Finally, strategies for critical leadership educators are discussed

Trauma-inducing news coverage and the roles of memorials after school and mass shootings

Almost everyone in the state of Colorado has been affected, or knows someone affected, by the state&rsquo;s notorious and ongoing list of shootings. As a journalism student and Colorado native, I will be examining a handful of the state&rsquo;s previous mass shootings. I am studying the ways journalists have induced trauma on victims of a shooting and may also become traumatized themselves through their reporting practices and how changing the narrative for news media will provide solutions to this ongoing trend.&nbsp; It&rsquo;s important for me to know how journalists can better report on traumatic events to minimize trauma for victims and themselves as well as the impacts reporting has&mdash;or hasn&rsquo;t&mdash;had on the community following local shootings. Additionally, I will be studying the role of memorials and memorial journalism in the aftermath of traumatic events. Examining the ways memorials provide assistance and recovery to victims and survivors, I plan to connect my research with a possible solution on how reporting can better serve the public through an evolved form of news media, the use and implementation of reporting that memorializes the traumatic event. The following is research related to Colorado&rsquo;s history with mass shootings, media frenzies surrounding tragedies and the mental health of journalists and newsroom culture. In addition to this, I examine the role of memorials, both physical structures and as online articles that are spaces of relief for the community following death and pose a solution in journalistic practices to minimize harm for reporters and the community.&nbsp; </p

Students’ perceptions of using Facebook as an interactive learning resource at university

Facebook is a popular platform that may facilitate learning activities at university. In this study, students' perceptions of using 'Facebook pages' within individual university subject offerings were evaluated. Individual 'Facebook pages' were developed for four university courses and used to provide information relevant to the courses and allow opportunities for student interaction. An initial questionnaire administered in the first lecture of semester indicated that nearly all students (n=161, 93.1%) possessed an active Facebook account. Most students (n=135, 78.0%) anticipated that a Facebook page would facilitate their learning, by increased interaction with students and instructors, and notifications for course information. A second questionnaire was completed in the final lecture of semester indicating that 81.9% of students engaged with the course Facebook page at some stage. However, perceptions of the effectiveness of the page as a learning tool were variable, with only 51% of students stating that it was effective. Despite this, the majority of students (n=110, 76.4%) recommended using Facebook in future courses. This preliminary evaluation of Facebook as a learning aid suggests that it has the potential to promote collaborative and cooperative learning, but further research is required, specifically to understand if and how it can enhance learning

Functionalization of Indoles and Donor-Acceptor Cyclopropanes and their Application Towards the Total Synthesis of Tronocarpine and Dippinine B

The work disclosed in this dissertation outlines novel reactions involving indoles and their applications towards the total synthesis of natural products, tronocarpine and dippinine B. Showcased in Chapter 2 is a novel mode of activation for donor-acceptor cyclopropanes via an external hydrogen bond. The hydrogen bond increases the cyclopropane’s electrophilicity permitting indole nucleophiles to open the ring. The result is 3-postion functionalized indoles. An external hydrogen-bond donor, HFIP (1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoroisopropanol), is used as a solvent to provide the medium necessary for favourable hydrogen-bond interaction with donor-acceptor cyclopropanes. Hydrogen bond activation of donor-acceptor cyclopropanes was successful in generating a multitude of functional indole products in high yields. Chapter 3 outlines the application of single electron transfer agent, Mn(OAc)3, to isolate 1,2-annulated indoles in a one-pot procedure. The products generated in this novel methodology create molecular scaffolding that maps nicely onto natural products tronocarpine and dippinine B. The methodology accesses a variety of 1,2-substituted indoles that tolerated all substituents tested. Chapter 4 explores the progress towards realizing the synthesis of the molecules tronocarpine, and dippinine B. These natural products are desired for their anti-microbial and anti-fungal properties. Paired with their challenging framework, this makes them intriguing targets for synthetic chemists. The focal point of the synthetic pathways in this chapter involves the Mn(OAc)3 radical methodology disclosed in Chapter 3. Lastly, Chapter 5 reports a thermo-controlled, diastereoselective opening of oxime-ether tethered donor-acceptor cyclopropanes to generate bicyclic oxazines. The N-O heterocyclic products can be reductively cleaved to access substituted pyrrolidines with set stereochemistry from the controlled opening of the cyclopropane. This work reports high yields and diastereo-control generating cis/trans selective annulated products. Substituted pyrrolidines are highly sought for pharmaceuticals and natural product synthesis

A sharing platform for Indicators of Compromise

In this paper, we will describe the functionality of a proof of concept sharing platform for sharing cyber threat information. Information is shared in the Structured Threat Information eXpression (STIX) language displayed in HTML. We focus on the sharing of network Indicators of Compromise generated by malware samples. Our work is motivated by the need to provide a platform for exchanging comprehensive network level Indicators. Accordingly we demonstrate the functionality of our proof of concept project. We will discuss how to use some functions of the platform, such as sharing STIX Indicators, navigating around and downloading defense mechanisims. It will be shown how threat information can be converted into different formats to allow them to be used in firewall and Intrusion Detection System (IDS) rules. This is an extension to the sharing platform and makes the creation of network level defense mechanisms efficient. Two API functions of the platform will be successfully tested and are useful because this can allow for the bulk sharing and of threat information

A review of current DNS TTL practices

This paper provides insight into legitimate DNS domain Time to Live (TTL) activity captured over two live caching servers from the period January to June 2014. DNS TTL practices are identified and compared between frequently queried domains, with respect to the caching servers. A breakdown of TTL practices by Resource Record type is also given, as well as an analysis on the TTL choices of the most frequent Top Level Domains. An analysis of anomalous TTL values with respect to the gathered data is also presented

Cohesive Neighborhoods Where Social Expectations Are Shared May Have Positive Impact On Adolescent Mental Health

Adolescent mental health problems are associated with poor health and well-being in adulthood. This study uses data from a birth cohort of children born in large U.S. cities (N=2,264) to examine whether neighborhood collective efficacy (social cohesion and control) is associated with improvements in adolescent mental health. We find that children who grow up in high collective efficacy neighborhoods experience fewer depressive and anxiety symptoms during adolescence than similar children from low collective efficacy neighborhoods. The magnitude of this neighborhood effect is comparable to the effects of depression prevention programs. Findings do not vary by family or neighborhood income, indicating that neighborhood collective efficacy supports adolescent mental health across diverse populations and urban settings. We recommend greater emphasis on neighborhood environments in individual mental health risk assessments and greater investment in community-based initiatives that strengthen neighborhood social cohesion and control

Fourteen Months into the Covid-19 Pandemic: What We Miss the Most

As the U.S. continues to emerge from the deadliest pandemic in over one hundred years, vaccination rates among Americans have steadily risen, and public health guidelines that have been in place for over a year are increasingly relaxed. In short, Americans are readjusting to a “new normal.” But what this “new normal” looks like for many Americans remains unclear. To better understand what Americans are most looking forward to, the National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP) at Columbia University’s Earth Institute partnered with the Marist Institute for Public Opinion to survey Americans and better understand what they are most looking forward to doing – or what getting back to ‘normal’ means to them