language, class, and assimilation in American literature

Elektronische Version der gedr. Ausg. 199

Conservative Clothing Effects on Body Composition Assessment by Air Displacement Plethysmography

International Journal of Exercise Science 14(4): 687-695, 2021. Form-fitting spandex swimsuits or single-layer compression shorts are recommended during BOD POD® testing to ensure accurate results. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of various outfit types on body composition measurements using the BOD POD®, and self-reported comfort level wearing each outfit. Twenty-one participants, 8 females and 13 males, (age 31.6 ± 9.8 years) wore a spandex swim cap and three different outfits during BOD POD® testing (manufacturer-recommended form-fitting spandex swimsuit, short sleeve spandex, long sleeve spandex). Measured variables include body mass, body fat percentage, body volume, and self-reported comfort level wearing each outfit. Calculated variables include BMI and body density. Mean body density when wearing the control outfit was 0.004 g/cm3 lower than both short (p \u3c 0.001) and long sleeve (p = 0.001) alternatives. Short and long sleeve outfits resulted in body fat percentage underestimations of 2.0% and 2.1%, respectively (p \u3c 0.001). The short sleeve outfit had the highest mean comfort rating followed by the long sleeve outfit, and the lowest was the control swimsuits. The short sleeve outfit and control outfit had the largest differences in reported comfort levels (p \u3c 0.05). Wearing short and long sleeve spandex outfits instead of recommended form-fitting swimsuits resulted in body density increases and body fat percentage underestimations. Participants should follow manufacturer recommendations by wearing spandex swimsuits. Participants had higher self-reported comfort levels when wearing short or long sleeve outfits

Linguistic Shifts: Examining the Effects of `Distanced Self-Talk' and `Generic-You' on the Construction of Meaning

This dissertation examines how subtle shifts in language can affect how people construct meaning from their experiences. I present evidence from eight experiments (N’s range from 49 - 193) that focus on two related, but distinct, linguistic mechanisms that allow individuals to adopt a broader, more distanced perspective: distanced self-talk (i.e., using one’s own name or second or third person pronouns to refer to the self; e.g., “Ariana, you can do this”) and generic-you (i.e., ‘you’ that refers to people in general; e.g., “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”). Chapter 1 provides a brief review of the existing literature on distanced self-talk and generic-you, highlighting their functionality for promoting psychological distance and emotion regulation. Chapter 2 consists of two experiments illustrating that distanced self-talk promotes emotion regulation when people reflect on intense, personal experiences, and among individuals who score high on trait-like measures of anxiety, brooding and depressive symptoms. The third chapter presents one study demonstrating that young children spontaneously use generic-you to express generalizations about negative experiences, suggesting that this may be a foundational meaning-making mechanism. Chapter 4 examines whether generic-you is functional for the addressee, focusing on how it operates in normative contexts. I present five experiments demonstrating that people endorse unfamiliar behaviors as more normative when they are expressed with generic-you (vs. I). This effect persists even when participants are told that the individuals providing the information are highly knowledgeable, and information expressed with “I” should be equally valid. In the final chapter, I propose that both of the linguistic shifts reviewed in the previously mentioned chapters may operate relatively effortlessly, which has implications regarding when and for whom linguistic routes to emotion regulation may be adaptive. Specifically, it suggests that distanced self-talk and generic-you should be effective even when individuals are experiencing high levels of distress, and among populations whose cognitive control capacities are less efficient (i.e., those with depression or anxiety) or still developing (i.e., children).PHDPsychologyUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149849/1/aorvell_1.pd

The Sarcophagus and the City: Reflections on Chernobyl and the Dystopian Imagination

“Chernobyl” has become synonymous with the deathly dangers of radiation, a word evoking fear and horror that continues to color the meaning of the ruined remains at the center of the exploded reactor n° 4 in the so-called “Zone of Exclusion.”   At the same time, over the past dozen years—until the war in Ukraine in 2022—the site has been a magnet attracting a steady stream of “dark tourism” and “stalkers” who want to get as close as possible to what they imagine Chernobyl represents. Using photographic representation and other visual media, along with historical sources, this article explores Chernobyl (the old Sarcophagus, the New Arch, and the ruins of Pripyat) as a composite cultural symbol embodying the contradictions of utopia and dystopia and as a monument to the failures of authoritarian epistemology.Le nom de "Tchernobyl" est devenu synonyme du danger mortel des radiations et évoque la peur et l'horreur que représentent les vestiges laissés par l’explosion au centre du réacteur n° 4, au sein de ce que l’on appelle la "zone d'exclusion". Parallèlement, au cours des douze dernières années, - jusqu'à la guerre en Ukraine en 2022 - le site a attiré un flux constant de "thanatouristes" et d’individus animés par une fascination morbide pour ce qu’ils imaginent de la catastrophe de Tchernobyl. Sur la base de représentations photographiques et d'autres médias visuels, ainsi que de sources historiques, cet article explore le site de Tchernobyl (l'ancien sarcophage, la nouvelle arche et les ruines de Pripyat) comme un symbole culturel composite incarnant les contradictions de l'utopie et de la dystopie et comme un monument aux échecs de l'épistémologie autoritaire

How Spanish speakers express norms using generic person markers

Language is one powerful vehicle for transmitting norms—a universal feature of society. In English, people use “you” generically (e.g., “You win some you lose some”) to express and interpret norms. Here, we examine how norms are conveyed and interpreted in Spanish, a language that—unlike English—has two forms of you (i.e., formal, informal), distinct generic person markers, and pro-drop, allowing for an examination of underlying conceptual tendencies in how the structure of language facilitates the transmission of norms. In Study 1a-b (N = 838) Spanish speakers used informal generic-you and the generic person marker “se” (but not formal-you) to express norms (vs. preferences). In Study 2 (N = 300), formal you, informal you, and impersonal “se” had persuasive force over personal endorsements (e.g., “I”), informing Spanish speaker’s interpretation of unfamiliar norms. Our findings add to a growing literature on how subtle linguistic shifts reflect and influence cognitive processes

Characterization of morbilliviruses isolated from dolphins and porpoises in Europe.

A previously unidentified morbillivirus was isolated from two harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) that had died in the Dutch Waddensea (North Sea) in 1990. This porpoise morbillivirus (PMV) and a dolphin morbillivirus (DMV), which had recently caused a heavy mortality in Mediterranean striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba), were compared antigenically with other members of the genus Morbillivirus, including the newly recognized phocine distemper virus type 1. DMV and PMV proved to be similar but distinct morbilliviruses, closely related to rinderpest virus and peste-des-petits-ruminants virus. Cell cultures of cetacean, pinniped, ruminant and canine origin showed a different pattern of susceptibility to DMV and PMV infection. Ruminants and dogs proved to be susceptible to experimental infection with DMV and PMV, which both caused a transient leukopenia most pronounced in the ruminants. Pre-exposure of dogs to DMV and PMV protected them from developing CDV viraemia and clinical signs upon challenge infection with virulent CDV. A serological survey among stranded animals of different cetacean species in Europe indicated that infections with DMV- and PMV-like morbilliviruses are not uncommon among these aquatic mammals

The Distance between the 'Self' and the 'Other' in Children's Digital Books

This conceptual paper contributes towards our understanding of the underlying mechanisms in children’s understanding of self and the other with media. We synthesise diverse bodies of literature, concerned with children’s reading with digital and traditional (print) books, to explicate the parameters that may, in part, explain positive learning outcomes and further illuminate the patterns across various measures. We propose the “Distance Model”, which suggests that a child’s interest in a reading activity depends on its proximity to the child’s funds of identity (Esteban-Guitart & Moll, 2014). The closer the proximity, the more salient the impact on the child’s cognitive understanding and sense of belonging. The familiarity of the reading content and the relevance of the reading medium for a child’s personal life can be evoked through a number of reading strategies and design techniques, which we discuss in relation to children’s literature and the contemporary design of children’s interactive e-books. We conclude with some suggestions regarding future applications of the Distance Model in children’s media research

The thing about replicas - why historic replicas matter

Reproduction of archaeological material was a significant and serious enterprise for antiquarians and museums in the long nineteenth century. Embedding many stories and embodying considerable past human energy, behind their creation, circulation, use and after-life lies a series of specific social networks and relationships that determined why, when and in what circumstances they were valued, or not. Summarising the context of their production, circulation and changing fortunes, this paper introduces the ways in which they are important and the specific benefits and aspects of a biographical approach to their study. Beyond the evidential, the study of existing replicas provides a historical and contemporary laboratory in which to explore the concepts of value and authenticity, and their application in cultural heritage and collections management, offering us a richer insight into the history of ourselves as archaeologists and curators