Somatics, creativity, and choreography: creative cognition in somatics-based contemporary dance

This doctoral thesis will comprise an in-depth, multidisciplinary and mixed methods research project examining creativity in Somatics-based choreographic practices. The project draws on methodologies from phenomenology, ethnography, close reading, grounded theory, and thematic analysis. It involved data collected from three well-known Somatics practitioners who embody a professional hybridity as artists, authors, and Somatic Movement Educators—Sandra Reeve, Andrea Olsen, and Miranda Tufnell—and who each use their somatic practice as instrumental in their choreography. Each practitioner utilises different Somatics modalities (Move into Life, Authentic Movement, Embodied Anatomy, Alexander Technique, among others) in various settings (higher education, community arts, professional practice, etc.), which provides an international (US and UK) and cross modality scope to examine shared ideologies within Somatics. Data was collected in a semi-structured, open-ended interview process, participant observation of workshops and intensives delivered by the artists, and a close reading of their published texts. It was analysed for emergent shared themes. I posit that these themes identify connections between the identification, definition, and facilitation of creativity within Somatics-based choreographic practice and cognitive psychological theories of creativity. I identify shared elements of the pedagogical environment and argue that they facilitate the development of a refined perceptual ability. This perceptual expertise is presented as a change-agent in facilitating both novelty in movement generation and the generation of meaning, allowing for a discerning, selective retention of this movement material in giving form to that meaning choreographically. Situating the processes within the Interacting Cognitive Subsystems model and theories of embodied cognition, I then propose a philosophical audit-trace of the ways in which this meaning and expertise is developed cognitively in somatic practices, and how that expertise may allow for novelty and creativity in choreography. The research closes with a discussion of implications of my proposal, how understanding these pathways might be instrumental in shaping dance pedagogy to facilitate dancers’ creativity, and what directions this theory produces for future research

Reducing Levels of Maladaptive Perfectionism in Gifted and Talented Youth Through a Mindfulness Intervention

This study examined the impact of a mindfulness program on 42 middle school students who had been identified as Gifted and Talented. Participants completed a six-week intervention designed to teach mindfulness. Before starting the group, students completed the Child and Adolescent Perfectionism Scale (CAPS; Flett et al., 2016) which provides a measure of self (i.e., setting excessively high goals and standards for self) as well as socially-prescribed (i.e., perception that others are holding individual to unrealistic standards) perfectionism. Additionally, participants’ use of mindfulness was measured. All measures were completed at pre-, post-intervention, and at follow up to determine whether the intervention decreased perfectionism and increased the practice of mindfulness. Three Bonferroni-adjusted, one-way, repeated measures MANOVAs were performed on each of the scales to ascertain whether results were impacted by the intervention. Results included a significant change in Self-Oriented Perfectionism and mindfulness was found at the end of group as well as at follow up. In both cases, there were significant differences between pre- and post-tests and between pre- and follow-up tests. Results indicate that mindfulness may be an appropriate intervention to reduce selfimposed forms of perfectionism on middle school students who are in Gifted and Talented programming

Early Childhood Special Education in a Refugee Resettlement Community: Challenges and Innovative Practices

There has been a significant increase in the number of children who are culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) who qualify for early childhood special education (ECSE) services (Banerjee & Guiberson, 2012). The current study investigates the challenges and innovative practices in the evaluation and (ECSE) services for preschool aged children who are refugees. Twenty-eight early childhood educators who work in a small refugee resettlement community participated in a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews resulting in themes regarding challenges and innovative practices. Challenges include: lack of validated assessments, wait time for evaluations, different cultural perspectives and family advocacy. Innovative practices include: assessing skills not dependent on language and including caregivers in evaluations. Implications for future research and teacher preparation are discussed

Die Regulation der Glycodelin-Expression im Nicht-kleinzelligen Lungenkarzinom

Glycodelin (Genname: progesterone associated endometrial protein, PAEP) wurde initial als ein Immunsystemsuppressor während der Implantation des Embryos und in der Schwangerschaft beschrieben. Heute ist dessen Expression ebenfalls in unterschiedlichen Tumorerkrankungen wie unter anderem dem nicht-kleinzelligen Lungenkarzinom (non-small cell lung cancer, NSCLC), einer Form des Lungenkarzinoms, bekannt. In dieser Karzinomart wurde Glycodelin nicht nur als ein möglicher Verlaufsmarker beschrieben, sondern auch als potentielles Zielmolekül zukünftiger Immuntherapien. Signalwege, welche die PAEP/Glycodelin-Expression in Tumorerkrankungen regulieren, sind bislang weitestgehend unbekannt. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurde der Einfluss einiger Signalweginduktoren, nachgeschalteter Signalwege und Transkriptionsfaktoren auf die Regulation der PAEP/Glycodelin-Expression untersucht. Als Modell hierfür wurde eine Adenokarzinom (adenocarcinoma, ADC)- sowie eine Plattenepithelkarzinom (squamous cell carcinoma, SQCC)-Zelllinie verwendet und anschließend die Ergebnisse in NSCLC-Patientengeweben validiert. Die Expression von PAEP/Glycodelin wurde hauptsächlich durch die kanonische TGF-β-Signalkaskade in SQCC-Zellen sowie durch den PKC-Signalweg in beiden Zelllinien induziert. Eine etwas schwächere Stimulation der PAEP/Glycodelin-Expression wurde mit dem MEK/ERK-Signalweg assoziiert. Die Aktivierung der Transkriptionsfaktoren JUNB und STAT3 folgte auf eine Stimulation der PKC- und MEK/ERK-Signalkaskade, während NFκB ausschließlich durch eine starke Induktion der PKC stimuliert wurde. Der PI3K/AKT-Signalweg inhibierte die Expression von PAEP/Glycodelin in ADC-Zellen mit aktivierenden EGFR- sowie PIK3CA-Mutationen und lässt diesbezüglich einen antagonistischen Einfluss gegenüber den anderen untersuchten Signalwegen folgern. Die Validierung dieser Ergebnisse in NSCLC-Patientenproben ergab eine hohe Übereinstimmung mit den in vitro Daten. Verschiedene zugelassene oder in aktuellen Studien verwendete NSCLC-Medikamente hemmen den MEK/ERK- sowie den PI3K/AKT-Signalweg. Die Ergebnisse dieser Arbeit lassen darauf schließen, dass die Inhibierung spezifischer Signalwege in NSCLC-Patienten die Expression von Glycodelin und damit dessen immunsuppressive Wirkung mutationsbedingt beeinflusst. Darüber hinaus ermöglichen Kenntnisse über die Regulation der PAEP/Glycodelin-Expression weitere therapeutische Strategien, um die Immunabwehr von NSCLC-Tumoren zu schwächen

La caída, de Beatriz Guido: representaciones de la infancia bajo el peronismo

[ES] ¿Un libro sobre mujeres escrito por mujeres? En Femenino singular. Revisiones del canon literario iberoamericano contemporáneo, doce autoras y un autor de distintos continentes diseccionan, con perspectiva de género, la obra de otras tantas escritoras españolas e hispanoamericanas relativamente actuales, aunque también, en dos ocasiones, textos y personajes femeninos creados por sendos escritores varones, tan diferentes entre ellos como lo son Antonio Gala y Pablo Simonetti. Entre las escritoras analizadas, se incluyen algunas emergentes, que están alcanzando prestigio en los últimos años, junto con otras que ya consolidaron renombre internacional en el siglo xx o en lo que llevamos del xxi: María Zambrano, Esther Tusquets, Alfonsina Storni, Montserrat Roig, Elena Poniatowska, Rosa Montero, Ana Merino, Carmen Martín Gaite, Rebeca Lane, Beatriz Guido, Rosario Castellanos, Nellie Campobello y Odette Alonso son las poetas, novelistas y ensayistas —algunas también dramaturgas, cuentistas, filósofas e, incluso, cantautoras— a las que se dedican los capítulos. Concretamente, las tres secciones en que se divide el volumen abordan las relaciones entre la identidad y lo otro en sus obras, aspectos como la vivencia del espacio, el cuerpo, la sexualidad, la maternidad y la infancia, así como el compromiso y la amplitud del sujeto. Esta renovada revisión del canon pretende contribuir a la educación literaria aportando una nueva mirada sobre la literatura desde el punto de vista de la identidad femenina, sin renunciar a aceptar sus singularidades