Anxiety, Movement Kinematics, and Visual Attention in Elite-Level Performers

We tested the predictions of Attentional Control Theory (ACT) by examining the effect of anxiety on attention control and the subsequent influence on both performance effectiveness and performance efficiency within a perceptual-motor context. A sample (N = 16) of elite shotgun shooters was tested under counterbalanced low (practice) and high (competition) anxiety conditions. A head-mounted, corneal reflection system allowed point of gaze to be calculated in relation to the scene, while motion of the gun was evaluated using markers placed on the barrel which were captured by two stationary cameras and analyzed using optical tracking software. The quiet eye (QE) duration and onset were analyzed along with gun barrel displacement and variability; performance outcome scores (successful vs. unsuccessful) were also recorded. QE (Vickers, 1996) is defined as the final fixation or tracking gaze that is located on a specific location/object in the visual display for a minimum of 100 ms. Longer QE durations have been linked to successful performance in previous research involving aiming tasks. Participants demonstrated shorter quiet eye durations, and less efficient gun motion, along with a decreased performance outcome (fewer successful trials) under high compared with low anxiety conditions. The data support the predictions of ACT with anxiety disrupting control processes such that goal-directed attention was compromised, leading to a significant impairment in performance effectiveness

A limited woman : character in question in Buchi Emecheta's novel The joys of motherhood

Buchi Emecheta’s The Joys of Motherhood tells the story of Nnu Ego, a rural Igbo woman. Nnu Ego finds herself in Lagos, the urbanized capitol of Nigeria. Through the feminist lens, patriarchy is frequently considered to be a main factor at play in the oppression of women within both tribal and colonized countries. Similarly, postcolonial theory often focuses on capitalism and how a western sense of superiority wrongly affects the definition of self, particularly for people native to third world countries. Based on these findings, the majority of critics also argue about the extent to which Nnu Ego plays an integral part in her oppression and eventual downfall. However, in regard to The Joys of Motherhood and in the case of Nnu Ego, certain factors are overlooked by such critics. Throughout the novel, Emecheta inserts evident contradictions that blur the lines between opportunity and victimization, making it difficult to judge Nnu Ego’s character. These contradictions are evident in the portrayals of polygamy and economics within Lagos. There are also other criteria to consider. It is obvious that Nnu Ego at times plays a crucial role in her own oppression. Her disjointed reasoning and illogical faith in motherhood cause her to repeatedly make poor decisions. These poor decisions become evident causal factors for her demise. Yet, when her upbringing is taken into account and when other characters also show to be limited, the setting is brought into question as a key factor in her oppression. There are also several operating forces at play within the novel that affect Nnu Ego in a way that make it difficult to critique her character. The degrading work force, World War II and the Christian concept of heaven play major roles in exacerbating her subjugation. These forces along with motherhood and the mentioned contradictions open a window into Emecheta’s intentions in writing such a limited character as Nnu Ego. When her second and somewhat autobiographical novel, Second Class Citizen, is considered, and the main character Adah is juxtaposed with Nnu Ego, a new platform to evaluate the character and Emecheta’s purpose emerges. It becomes evident that Buchi Emecheta is purposely writing Nnu Ego as a limited character that plays a role in her own oppression while simultaneously relinquishing her of blame

Reuniting word and deed : negotiation for real peacemaking and authentic classroom writing

The issue at stake in this dissertation is the relationship between word and deed. The problem it addresses is the way in which categories of discourse undermine that relationship. It argues that discourse taxonomies divide word from deed because they categorize persuasion and deliberation as characteristics of some uses of language but not others. This splitting of word and deed Informs and 1s informed by other divisions—between writer and reader, meaning and consequence, form and content, text and context. As a result, it silences the second part of each of these hierarchies—reader, consequence, content, and context. These divisions, this dissertation illustrates, represent an inaccurate and destructive theory and practice of language. The first chapter discusses differences in a theory of rhetoric as all language use and of rhetoric as one use of language. It argues in favor of Kenneth Burke's dialogical philosophy of language as symbolic action and against dlchotomous theories of rhetoric as a singular category of discourse. The second chapter analyzes the contemporary theory of one category in particular—epideictic—as evidence of the erroneous and debilitating effects of the dichotomy of deliberative/epideictic created by discursive categories

The analysis of enrollment patterns and student profile characteristics at a small rural New England university 1978-1988

The purpose of this study in support of a concept of academic planning was to review the overall enrollment patterns and to compare and contrast the profile characteristics of students who completed various formal programs of study at the University of Maine at Presque Isle for the years 1978-1988. A data-base was developed by hand searching and reviewing the files of all students who entered the university as either a degree seeking student or non-degree seeking student between 1978 and 1984 (N = 5115) and who left either successfully or unsuccessfully between 1978 and 1988. Twenty-one variables related to admission to the university, attendance at the university, and departure from the university were identified. The 21 variables became the basis for the development of the five profiles used in analysis, interpretation, and discussion of the data

Queer possibilities: disidentification and queer spectatorship in Black Swan and The Kids Are All Right

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the opportunities that the process of disidentification offers to queer spectators of two specific films, Black Swan (2010) and The Kids Are All Right (2010). Through the interrogation of these particular representations of female sexuality, deeper questions concerning queer failure and queer negativity are uncovered. Queer failure is explored in the two films and then the ideas are applied to broader social issues

An analysis of the use of height in the prose fiction of Albert Camus

In Le Mythe de Sisyphe (1941), Camus introduced the metaphor which most aptly and succinctly expressed his view of the human condition. Both his thought and his art can be at least partially measured through his use and refinement of the Sisyphus metaphor which unites all his work. Within this basic image of ascent, height, and descent, Camus incorporates the romantic elements of the solitary figure, height, and the landscape to symbolize the dilemma of modern man. In fact, his adoption of these basic patterns, postures, and themes invites a comparison with romanticism. Camus' use of the height motif reveals the development of his philosophy and indicates his departure from romanticism. In the early work, L'Etranger, the height motif is incomplete and somewhat inconclusive. But by the time of La Peste, La Chute, and L'Exil et le royaume, the Sisyphus metaphor is in the foreground and the structure of his fiction is centered around it. Moreover, in the early fiction, most notably La Peste, height assumes a positive significance when it becomes not only the occasion for the confrontation with the absurd but also the occasion for the critical moment of friendship between Rieux and Tarrou. As Camus develops his philosophical response to the absurd, it becomes unquestionably clear that high places no longer suffice

A multivariate study of religious commitment among a sample of United Methodist adults

The primary purpose of this study was to analyze the nature of religious commitment among a specific age and religious group, that is, adults of the United Methodist faith. A secondary purpose was the designing of a questionnaire (Religiosity Inventory) for the collecting of the data. Research questions included inquiries into the basic characteristics of the religious commitment of the group as a whole, into the inter-relationships of the five theoretical dimensions of religiosity utilized in the study, and into the possibility of actual factors of religious commitment for this group. The Religiosity Inventory was developed from an initial pool of 100 questions selected by the researcher and organized around five dimensions of religiosity, including feeling, activity, belief, knowledge, and effect. The instrument, refined with the assistance of three judges, resulted in a 90-item questionnaire. The instrument was then administered to 459 adults, ages 20-79, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Three hundred and twenty-six questionnaires were returned (71 percent), and after necessary deletions 304 were retained for analysis

Anxiety symptom interpretation and performance expectations in high-anxious, low-anxious, defensive high-anxious and repressor individuals

To date, no research has investigated score predictions and anxiety interpretation in high-anxious, low-anxious, defensive high-anxious and repressor individuals. This study examined Eysenck’s (1997) predictions for cognitive biases on future performance expectations in all four groups. This study was conducted in an ecologically-valid sporting environment. Competitive shooters completed the Marlowe–Crowne Social Desirability Scale and the Sport Anxiety Scale prior to a major competition. Percentile splits identified the four defensiveness/anxiety groups. The modified Competitive Sport Anxiety Inventory-2 was used to assess the intensity and direction of anxiety prior to competition. Participants predicted their expected shooting score. The hypothesis that repressors would interpret their anxiety as more facilitative to performance compared to low-anxious individuals was partially supported. Repressors were more optimistic in their performance prediction in contrast to defensive high-anxious performers who, in turn, were more pessimistic compared to the other two groupings. High-anxious performers, contrary to predictions, demonstrated optimism in their future performance. The findings of this study corroborate the theoretical predictions and the evidence from previous studies with sport performers. Future research should continue to investigate the influence of cognitive biases on performance predictions in sporting environments using Weinberger et al.’s classifications

A Descriptive Study of Middle School Teachers' Current Perspectives On and Teaching Practices For Integrating Music in Public School Curricula

The purpose of this study was to investigate middle school teachers' current perspectives on and teaching practices for integrating music into their respective curricula. Two research questions guided the study. What are teachers' current practices for integrating music into their curricula? What music-related resources and support systems do teachers feel are necessary to integrate music into their curricula? A 35-item questionnaire was distributed to 138 middle school teachers in a rural public school system in Eastern North Carolina. The questionnaire was divided into three sections: (a) current teaching practices for integrating music and other arts areas into the general curriculum as related to the use of Bresler's (1995) integration styles and Wiggins' (2001) teaching connections, (b) availability of music-related resources such as musical training and adequate planning time and support systems for integrating music into the general curriculum, and (c) demographic information. Two open-ended questionnaire items required respondents to explain their reasons for or for not integrating music into their curricula. Descriptive statistical procedures were used to analyze the questionnaire data. Results of the present study revealed most middle school teachers did not integrate music or other arts areas into their general curricula. Of the respondents who indicated a practice of integrating music, Bresler's (1995) affective integration style and Wiggins' (2001) teaching tools connections were the techniques most frequently used. Of the respondents who indicated a practice of integrating other arts areas, Bresler's (1995) subservient approach and Wiggins' (2001) teaching tools connections were the techniques most frequently used. Most respondents indicated that they did not have appropriate musical training, adequate planning time, and available music-related resources to integrate music into their curricula; though, respondents agreed they had support to integrate music into their curricula from their colleagues and administrators. Respondents primarily integrated music in the general curriculum for the purpose of teaching subject area content. The primary reasons given by respondents for not integrating music in the general curriculum were lack of time and musical knowledge. Additional research on investigating the integration of music at the middle school level is needed; though, results from this study suggest that teachers may benefit from access to music-related resources to teach music-integrated lessons. Additionally, teachers may benefit from professional development for the purpose of creating music-integrated lessons that promote young adolescents' critical thinking and problem solving skills through the integration techniques that engage students' higher-level processing skills

Promoting Diversity to Add Value to the LIS Profession

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to discuss the impact the University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s (UNCG) Library and Information Studies Academic and Cultural Enrichment (ACE) Scholars Program has had on promoting diversity and adding value to the library and information studies profession.Design/methodology/approachThis article is presented as a case study in which three iterations of the ACE Scholars Program are discussed, including program design and suggested impact the program has had on educating and engaging diverse individuals for careers in the library and information studies professions.FindingsNearly 50 ACE Scholars program participants, representing ethnically, racially, and socioeconomically diverse backgrounds, have graduated from UNCG with their MLIS degrees since 2011. In the five years since the first ACE cohort graduated, Scholar alums continue to impact the LIS profession through their professional roles as well as through their community engagement, professional association memberships and leadership roles, professional presentations, and numerous publications.Originality/valueThis article presents a model that has helped to promote diversity in the LIS field in way that can be adapted by other graduate programs that are preparing individuals for successful and engaged careers as library and information studies professionals