Improvised power: finding an authentic acting aesthetic in an adaption of Mowatt\u27s fashion.

This thesis elaborates on how my process, which I call Mindsets, was developed and utilized to play Count Jolimaitre in the Spring 2021 UofL Department of Theatre Arts online production of [Re]Fashion, an adaptation of Anna Cora Mowatt’s Fashion by Dr. J. Ariadne Calvano, Dr. Janna Segal, and Blair Potter. I used improvisatory acting techniques to develop this character from Mowatt’s mid-19th-century play, as crafted and produced during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this thesis, I explore how continuous physical exploration enabled me to navigate a new rehearsal process. I will explain how I attempted to create a character that was stylistically realistic, yet rooted in the original era of Fashion. This thesis is a resource for other actors, who can use Mindsets to authentically develop characters from canonized non-contemporary plays

Almost surely consistent nonparametric regression from recursive partitioning schemes

AbstractPresented here are results on almost sure convergence of estimators of regression functions subject to certain moment restrictions. Two somewhat different notions of almost sure convergence are studied: unconditional and conditional given a training sample. The estimators are local means derived from certain recursive partitioning schemes

Attention distribution and cognitive load in a subtitled academic lecture: L1 vs. L2

In multilingual classrooms, subtitling can be used to address the language needs of students from different linguistic backgrounds. The way students distribute their visual and cognitive resources during a lecture is important in educational design. Students have to shift their attention between sources of information of varying density and relevance. If there is redundancy between these sources, there will be competition and possible cognitive overload. This paper compares visual attention distribution between subtitles and other sources of information through eye tracking and relates this to academic comprehension and cognitive load as measured through self-report questionnaires and EEG. The study provides promising results for the use of both first and second language subtitles in academic contexts

Guilt, persecution and atonement : moral responsibility in Loewald and Levinas

This thesis examines the question, what does it mean to be responsible for choices that we did not make? The theme of moral responsibility is traced through feminist and postmodern discourses, and through the thought of psychoanalyst Hans Loewald and philosopher Emmanuel Levinas. An examination of feminist ethics and the so-called caring perspective situates the (gendered) self within an interpersonal web of competing caring commitments. Postmodern analysis deconstructs the self and, like the feminist critique, inquires into the transpersonal, historical and institutional discourses that give rise to our experiences of interiority and individualism. This placing-in-perspective of the autonomous self undermines all moral systems that are founded upon a conception of the reason-centered "1" that conceal the influence of the realm of affect and the (so-called) irrational. The primacy of this affective realm is taken up in the developmental psychoanalytic account of Hans Loewald, who elaborates the central and ongoing role of guilt and atonement in the formation of a responsible self. Guilt and atonement are also central to the conception of subjectivity advanced by Emmanuel Levinas. Levinas's critique of the reason-centered "1" is every bit as radical as the de-centered postmodern self, and yet he posits an alternative conception that cannot but be ethical. This self is summoned to a (limitless) responsibility through proximity to the other, and this obligation is only mitigated by the presence of the third (i.e. a plurality of others). As in Loewald's account, the ego is torn asunder via an experience of trauma. However, whereas Loewald (following Freud) seeks to identify the ultimate causes of this trauma, Levinas traces (literally, as they only exist as traces) their unfolding and assigns their origins to that which is always directed away from the self and can never be formalized in a system. In reading Loewald with and against Levinas, the themes of guilt, persecution and atonement are thus identified as salient to our understanding of what it means to be morally responsible

Comparative Analysis of Antimicrobial Resistance of Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase Producers and Non-Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase Producers among Bacterial Isolates in Accra, Ghana

Antibiotic resistance may occur naturally but misuse of antibiotics in humans and animals is accelerating the process. One of the modes of resistant mechanism is the production of extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) by the bacteria. ESBLs are plasmid-mediated beta-lactamases that are capable of hydrolysing penicillins, cephalosporin and several non-beta-lactam antibiotics. This laboratory-based study sought to compare the rate of antimicrobial resistance between ESBL and non-ESBL-producers in Accra. Four hundred K. pneumoniae and E. coli isolates were collected at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital and screened for ESBL and non-ESBL-producers using the combined disk method and Vitek 2 system. The minimal inhibition concentrations (MICs) for 17 commonly used antibiotics were determined using Vitek 2 System. The results indicated significant difference (P<0.05) between the antimicrobial resistance of ESBL-producers and non-ESBL producers except for amikacin and imipenem. The 198 non-ESBL phenotypes recorded relatively low antimicrobial resistance to cefotaxime 4(2%), ceftazidime 4(2%), nitrofurantoin 6(3%), amoxicillin/clavulanic acid 27(13.6%), gentamicin 34(17.2%) and ciprofloxacin 78(39.4%). In contrast, the 202 ESBL producers registered high antibiotic resistance to cefotaxime 197(97.5%), ceftazidime 175(86.6%), nitrofurantoin 94(46.5%), amoxicillin/clavulanic acid 64(31.7%), gentamicin 166(82.2%) and ciprofloxacin 161(79.7%). Cephalosporins and nitrofurantoin are suitable for the treatment of non-ESBL producers while imipenem and amikacin is the drug of choice for treating ESBL-producing infections. Evidence based antibiotic usage will help to control the spread of resistance by ESBL producers in Accra, Ghana. Also, there is the need to intensify research in the use of natural products to treat ESBL infections. Keywords: Extended spectrum beta-lactamase, Resistance, Bacteria, Antibiotic

Cadherin-26 (CDH26) regulates airway epithelial cell cytoskeletal structure and polarity.

Polarization of the airway epithelial cells (AECs) in the airway lumen is critical to the proper function of the mucociliary escalator and maintenance of lung health, but the cellular requirements for polarization of AECs are poorly understood. Using human AECs and cell lines, we demonstrate that cadherin-26 (CDH26) is abundantly expressed in differentiated AECs, localizes to the cell apices near ciliary membranes, and has functional cadherin domains with homotypic binding. We find a unique and non-redundant role for CDH26, previously uncharacterized in AECs, in regulation of cell-cell contact and cell integrity through maintaining cytoskeletal structures. Overexpression of CDH26 in cells with a fibroblastoid phenotype increases contact inhibition and promotes monolayer formation and cortical actin structures. CDH26 expression is also important for localization of planar cell polarity proteins. Knockdown of CDH26 in AECs results in loss of cortical actin and disruption of CRB3 and other proteins associated with apical polarity. Together, our findings uncover previously unrecognized functions for CDH26 in the maintenance of actin cytoskeleton and apicobasal polarity of AECs

Developing a Curriculum for the Nuisance Wildlife Control Industry in New York

The nuisance wildlife control industry continues to expand in New York State. Each year during the past 5 years, approximately 1,200-1 ,400 private Nuisance Wildlife Control Operators (NWCOs) were given authority to handle wildlife conflicts by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). These NWCOs were required to complete a trapper education course, and a personal interview or exam prior to obtaining a permit. The education and experience requirements for NWCOs varied by region in New York. The goals of this project were to: (1) develop a core curriculum for individuals who desired to handle nuisance wildlife and charge a fee for service, (2) standardize license requirements across the state, (3) enhance professionalism and training of individuals involved in the NWCO industry, and (4) develop a test bank of questions for administration of an examination. Existing educational programs from throughout the United States were reviewed for content and suitability in New York State. A core educational manual was developed by staff with Cornell University and a DEC review team. The curriculum will be piloted during 2003 in conjunction with legislative changes that mandate training for NWCOs in New York State

Meta-critical thinking, paradox, and probabilities

There is as much lack of clarity concerning what “critical thinking” involves, even among those charged with teaching it, as there is consensus that we need more emphasis on it in both academia and society. There is an apparent need to think critically about critical thinking, an exercise that might be called meta-critical thinking. It involves emphasizing a practice in terms of which “critical thinking” is helpfully carried out and clarifying one or more of the concepts in terms of which “critical thinking” is usually defined. The practice is distinction making and the concept that of evidence. Science advances by constructing models that explain real-world processes. Once multiple potential models have been distinguished, there remains the task of identifying which models match the real-world process better than others. Since statistical inference has in large part to do with showing how data provide support, i.e., furnish evidence, that the model/hypothesis is more or less likely while still uncertain, we turn to it to help make the concept more precise and thereby useful. In fact, two of the leading methodological paradigms—Bayesian and likelihood—can be taken to provide answers to the questions of the extent to which as well as how data provide evidence for conclusions. Examining these answers in some detail is a highly promising way to make progress. We do so by way of the analysis of three well-known statistical paradoxes—the Lottery, the Old Evidence, and Humphreys’—and the identification of distinctions on the basis of which their plausible resolutions depend. These distinctions, among others between belief and evidence and different concepts of probability, in turn have more general applications. They are applied here to two highly contested public policy issues—the efficacy of COVID vaccinations and the fossil fuel cause of climate change. Our aim is to provide some tools, they might be called “healthy habits of mind,” with which to assess statistical arguments, in particular with respect to the nature and extent of the evidence they furnish, and to illustrate their use in well-defined ways