Neurophysiology of Mental Imagery and Reality Monitoring

People with vivid imaginations are less accurate at identifying whether memories originated from experience or imagination than people with less vivid imaginations. This can be modeled as a similarity between the memory traces created during vivid imagination and perception, which causes source confusion during recall. The role of visual imagery in this process has been well established, but the role of auditory imagery remains unclear. fMRI data collected from an auditory/visual imagination task was analyzed to determine the relationship between imagery ability, subjective ratings of imagery vividness, neurophysiology, and reality monitoring errors. I predicted that individuals with higher scores on measures of mental imagery would have a greater propensity for reality monitoring errors in both sensory domains. The study’s goal was to increase our understanding of the brain areas involved in reality monitoring and how individual differences in imagery ability contribute to misremembering imagined events as having occurred in reality

Prywatne jest polityczne, czyli o publicystyce Ireny Krzywickiej

In 1930s Irena Krzywicka has been writing texts, which content is close to ideological assumptions of cultural feminism. In her work, she fought for the equal rights for women in such areas as erotic custom, divorces and intentional motherhood. On the basis of various I. Krzywicka’s publications: columns, reports, books and theatrical plays reviews, diagnosis and suggestions about social reforms postulated by publicist were described. Due to volume limits, only Krzywicka’s thoughts regarding social meaning of women are presented in this article. Furthermore, it contains genealogy of Krzywicka’s outlook and attempt to review her postulates in XXI century

Influence of Supplemental Food for Striped Skunks on Duck Nest Success in the Prairie Pothole Region of North Dakota

Predation on clutches of upland nesting ducks has been implicated as a major cause of low duck production in the Prairie Pothole Region. Management techniques that reduce predation rates and are socially acceptable are of interest to wildlife managers. This thesis examines differences in nest success of upland nesting ducks in areas where supplemental food was provided (treatment areas) for striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis) compared to areas where supplemental food was not provided (control areas). Differences in nest success between areas occupied by red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and coyotes (Canis latrans) were also examined. The study was conducted from 1993-94 on 24 study areas (Waterfowl Production Areas, North Dakota Game and Fish Wildlife Management Areas, portions of Audubon National Wildlife Refuge and a site on Falkirk Mining Company property) located in North Dakota. Overall nest success (Mayfield estimates) averaged 41% on 12 treatment areas and 29% on 12 control areas. Overall nest success averaged 57% on 6 coyote-dominated areas and 20% on 18 red fox-dominated areas. Average proportion of depredated nests assigned to striped skunks was lower on treatment areas (11%) than on control areas (24%) . Average proportion of depredated nests assigned to red fox was higher on red fox-dominated areas (32%) than on coyote-dominated areas (6%). Average proportions of depredated nests assigned to badger (Taxidea taxus) and red fox were similar between treatment and control areas. Average proportions of depredated nests assigned to striped skunk and badger were similar between red fox-dominated areas and coyote-dominated areas. Assessment of predator activity in the food plots suggested high use by striped skunks and Franklin\u27s ground squirrels (1994 only) and low use by other mammalian predators. No difference was found in the density of residual vegetation between treatment and control areas. Implications of the results of this study for the management of increased duck nest success are discussed

REPACKAGING THE REACH OF DREAMS: NEWS COVERAGE OF DACA RESCINDMENT BY THREE NATIONAL NEWSPAPERS ON TWITTER

This thesis examines the frames used by three news organizations to cover the rescindment of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The rescindment of DACA was a pivotal transition period open to new immigration policy, and frames used in the news coverage of DACA are important as frames influence public opinion and possible future immigration policy. This study uses corpus linguistic methods and Van Gorp’s inductive framing analysis to explore how a complex political decision like DACA rescindment is covered in condensed news stories on Twitter as well as in full-length news articles. The Executive Critique frame, which places blame on President Trump as the problem of DACA rescindment, is the most common frame of both full-length news articles and Tweeted news articles. The Public Resistance frame, showing opposition to DACA rescindment by members of the public, is used more often in Tweeted news articles than in full-length news articles likely because of the salient visuals accompanying Tweeted news stories. Because visuals play a role in framing, journalists should capitalize on the potential of visuals in Tweeted news stories and balance using Human Interest frames and political frames like the Executive Critique frame. Using visuals to show DACA as human issue that promotes common ground, rather than as a divisive political issue, could be more productive in advancing comprehensive immigration reform, which failed in the six-month window President Trump gave to phase-out the DACA program

The New Pulsar Generator (nuPG): compositional practice, digital sound synthesis model and their temporalities

The thesis examines compositional methods emerging from within design and creative engagement with the New Pulsar Generator (nuPG) program. Following a hybrid methodology joining sound composition and media archaeology, it provides a systematic look into the creative practice with historically inherited computational and artistic materials. To do so, it charts a trajectory of the compositional process, sound theoretical model, programming paradigm, and associated formalisms in the computer program’s operative realm. The thesis has three broad goals: to outline an integrative approach to compositional practice which incorporates engagement with digital materials, their design, genealogy, and creative application; to examine and contextualise a portfolio of new compositions; and to introduce a new computer program for sound synthesis, the New Pulsar Generator (nuPG). The project thus combines and interweaves a compositional practice, media archaeology and computer program design. The relations and overlaps across these areas are emphasised throughout the thesis text, and connections among them are foregrounded. The project’s overarching aim is to mobilise such exchanges and to establish them as an operative concern of contemporary computer music practice

Influence of unevenness of airport pavements on technical condition and safety of air operations

Abstract: The publication presents the requirements for airport pavements for the assessment of the evenness of airport pavements, including the methodology of testing unevenness. On the basis of the selected aircraft type, the impact of unevenness on the dynamic interaction of the plane - pavement was determined, and the vertical displacements occurring at the edges of concrete slabs were taken for analysis. The paper presents the influence of operational procedures in the form of pavement grooving and local surface repairs on the results of unevenness measurements and improvement of the technical condition of the pavement, as well as on the safety of air operations. Keywords: Pavement unevenness; Evaluation criteria; Dynamic action plane - surface; Grooving pavement; Maintenance treatments; The functional element of the airpor

Ischemic stroke in children in course of moyamoya disease : case report

Background: Progressive stenosis of the supraclinoid segments of the internal carotid arteries, followed by formation of characteristic collateral brain circulation is typical for moyamoya disease. This illness, with unknown pathogenesis, is often diagnosed in Asiatic population. In Poland it can be a rare cause of ischemic infarcts in children. Case report: Two cases of cerebral ischemic infarct due to moyamoya disease in girls aged 7 and 12 are presented. The final diagnosis was established after MR exams and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) of the cerebral arteries. Conclusions: In spite of rare incidence, the moyamoya disease should be considered as the potential cause of cerebral ischemic infarctions in children. Despite the main role of the DSA in establishment of the final diagnosis, noninvasive neuroradiological examinations become more and more important in diagnostic schedule of moyamoya disease. MR and MR angiography visualize characteristic radiological symptoms, enabling preliminary diagnosis and are the method of choice in control examinations

Listener-centred Sonification Practice as Transdisciplinary Experimental Artistic Engagement

Project RADICAL presents sonification research and practice as a listener-centred, transdisciplinary activity. In this chapter, authors discuss sonification from perspectives of artistic and musical practice. Particular emphasis is placed on spatial listening, embodied experience, environmental interaction, and communication, resulting in an interroga- tion of methodology, objects and foundations often assumed for sonifica- tion. The reader is invited to apply an ethnographic ear to a roundtable presentation investigating new sonic and musical practices that converge upon a reframing of sonification as engaged aesthetic activity productive of and carrying new technical and epistemic knowledge

A Radical New Interdisciplinary Space for Sonification

RADICAL is a new three-year project with the ambitious goal of developing a fundamental understanding of the relationship between sonification design and the listener and to stimulate a revitalised agenda for sonification research and practice. Understanding of the role of embodied perception, spatial considerations, and aesthetics in our listening to, and perception of, sonification remains limited. This interdisciplinary project draws together experts in computer science, sonification, listening and perception, ethnography, music composition, and aesthetics to derive a fundamentally new understanding from which to derive concrete guidelines for better and more successful sonification design. The act of listening involves embodied perception, that is, making sense of and responding to sound involves not just our ears but is shaped by aspects of our entire physical body as well as our interactions with the space in which listening takes place. We are conducting a comprehensive study of sonification making and listening to better understand the relationships between sonifications, their designers, and their listeners. From this we will develop a new theory of sonification listening and derive an aesthetics of sonification which, up till now, has no accepted definition. These outcomes will be important in formulating a new framework for successful sonification design.https://projectRadical.github.i

Sonification of Solar Corona Data

For solar physicists, perceptualization of data is of vital interest; in current practice, this is almost exclusively approached by visual means. Project Radical (a sonification research initiative between Northumbria and Newcastle Universities) is building on an established collaboration with solar physicists to address key research questions:How does sonification complement observation and numerical representation, and how might solar physicists involve listening in their work? What new conceptual and technological approaches are suggested by the design constraints specific to solar physics? In addressing these questions, we are developing flexible tools for fluid integration within solar physics data analysis.Our project draws on research-through-design methodologies centred on interdisciplinary collaboration. Our working method consists in an iterative alternation between analytical sessions in which solar physicists, designers, and programmers meet in small groups, and prototyping periods during which new software is created and tested. This methodology assures that designs are tested during development, and that physicists have access to functional prototypes for experimental integration into their everyday workflow. While this addresses the specific aim of our project, a desired outcome is a sonification toolset that, while conceived within the domain of solar physics, demonstrates viability for wider scientific application and further development.https://projectRadical.github.i