The Cartesian revolution : a study of Descartes' Meditations

In this study I focus on Descartes' Meditations and aim to show its revolutionary importance in the history of philosophy. I argue that its significance cannot be understood by abstracting it from its historical context, nor by regarding the pre-Cartesian Christian medieval period as devoid of systematic philosophy or science. To the contrary, Descartes' philosophical strategy cannot be understood except as involving the destruction (and revolutionary reconstruction) of the classical pre-Cartesian philosophical outlook. And, ironically, such was Descartes' success, that the pre-Cartesian period has increasingly (post-Descartes) come to be regarded as a philosophical 'dark age'. Thus have the arguments of Descartes' Meditations been rendered problematic, with the consequence that it has become difficult to see why they should be regarded as philosophically significant. In Chapter One I examine briefly Anglo-American interpretive approaches to the Meditations and indicate something of the way in which Descartes' approach differed from that of his predecessors. I then consider (in Chapters Two - Four) Descartes' use of skeptical argument and show that, construed as an attack on the Thomist and nee-Platonist concepts of sense and intellectual perception, they destroy the realist foundations of classical pre-Cartesian epistemology and science. I argue that the Cartesian reconstruction of philosophyand science begins with the introduction of the notion of a self-defining subject - a knowing subject whose existence is demonstrated, and essence defined, independent of the cosmic order. By this means, Descartes initiated a major 'paradigm shift'. This, inter alia, called for a transformation in the notion of a priori necessity, and resulted in a philosophical shift away from the Christian creature/Creator and Greek Form/matter distinction and their replacement by the characteristically modern mind/body and/or mind-dependent/independent distinction(s). Thus situated, I show that the problem of the so-called Cartesian Circle is dissolved. Moreover, I argue that Descartes' proof of God's existence must be reassessed, firstly, in the light of the recognition that he has available the same response to Hume's attack on the necessity of a cause as that subsequently developed by Kant and, secondly, in the light of the uniquely Christian transformation of the classical Greek conceptions of finitude and infinitude. For this transformation not only underpins the move from the closed world of classical Greek science to the infinite universe of modern science, but provides a genealogy for the concept of God (= the Infinite) employed by Descartes to re-establish a realist foundation for science

Prevalence and factors associated with the use of alternative (folk) medicine practitioners in 8 countries of the former Soviet Union.

BACKGROUND: Research suggests that since the collapse of the Soviet Union there has been a sharp growth in the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in some former Soviet countries. However, as yet, comparatively little is known about the use of CAM in the countries throughout this region. Against this background, the aim of the current study was to determine the prevalence of using alternative (folk) medicine practitioners in eight countries of the former Soviet Union (fSU) and to examine factors associated with their use. METHODS: Data were obtained from the Living Conditions, Lifestyles and Health (LLH) survey undertaken in eight former Soviet countries (Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine) in 2001. In this nationally representative cross-sectional survey, 18428 respondents were asked about how they treated 10 symptoms, with options including the use of alternative (folk) medicine practitioners. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine the factors associated with the treatment of differing symptoms by such practitioners in these countries. RESULTS: The prevalence of using an alternative (folk) medicine practitioner for symptom treatment varied widely between countries, ranging from 3.5% in Armenia to 25.0% in Kyrgyzstan. For nearly every symptom, respondents living in rural locations were more likely to use an alternative (folk) medicine practitioner than urban residents. Greater wealth was also associated with using these practitioners, while distrust of doctors played a role in the treatment of some symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The widespread use of alternative (folk) medicine practitioners in some fSU countries and the growth of this form of health care provision in the post-Soviet period in conditions of variable licensing and regulation, highlights the urgent need for more research on this phenomenon and its potential effects on population health in the countries in this region

“You Can Write Your Own Ending”: Storytelling and Counternarratives in Supernatural Fanfiction

This study examines fanfiction counternarratives written when fans reacted negatively to the Supernatural TV show finale through content analysis of a quota sampling of Supernatural fanfiction tagged Castiel/Dean Winchester published on Archive of Our Own. The sample selected for the top four fanfiction stories based on popularity (kudos) and the writer’s passion (word count). Each story was coded and analyzed for specific story elements that were influenced by the original narrative’s story choices, which were also coded and analyzed. The impacts of this research will be: adding to the literature on counternarratives and fanfiction specifically; further legitimizing fanfiction as a method of storytelling; and through connecting fanfiction to their varied and potential uses in libraries, possibly describing potential changes in collections development.Master of Science in Library Scienc

A Sequential Mixed Methods Approach to Identifying and Understanding Indigenous Ways of Evaluating Physical Activity Programs

Physical activity has been identified as a strategy for addressing the disproportionate prevalence of diabetes and obesity among American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/AN). Despite the importance of evaluation to improve programs, there is a lack of evaluation among AI/AN physical activity programs. While the absence of evaluation broadly in Indian Country has been attributed to the disconnect between Western and Indigenous ways of knowing and the negative history of research among AI/ANs, barriers to and experiences with evaluation have not been explored in the context of physical activity. To address this gap, this dissertation used an exploratory sequential mixed methods design to explore AI/AN physical activity program evaluation. In-depth interviews were conducted with staff at AI/AN organizations conducting externally funded AI/AN physical activity programs (n=17), transcripts were thematically analyzed, and the findings were used to create and pilot test a survey designed to assess the prevalence of the qualitative findings among the target population. Through the interviews, the following themes emerged regarding barriers to evaluation: (1) measuring desired physical activity related constructs in ways that are scientifically and culturally sound is a challenge; (2) a lack of resources and support prevents AI/AN organizations from evaluating their physical activity programs; (3) collecting evaluation data is challenging due to the unique culture and experiences of AI/ANs and the context of physical activity programs; and (4) the lack of alignment between the evaluation requirements set by the external funding source and the evaluation desired by the AI/AN organization and community being served creates a barrier to meaningful evaluation. The following themes emerged explaining the perception of and interest in Indigenous evaluation: (1) Indigenous approaches to evaluating AI/AN physical activity programs are perceived as narrative and holistic; (2) Indigenous knowledge is used in AI/AN physical activity program decision-making but sometimes is not acknowledged as evaluation; and (3) there is not a universally desired way to evaluate AI/AN physical activity programs. Findings from this study contribute to the knowledge base of physical activity program evaluation in the context of AI/AN programming, and informs the practice of culturally responsive evaluation with AI/AN communities

Inquiries and Analyses of Mass Media Influences on Cross-Cultural Social and Political Perceptions

This thesis investigates the various implications that mass media has on social perceptions and political relations between nations, and the effects that traveling abroad can have cross-cultural relationships. These topics are discussed and compared against current theories and arguments, as well against this study's survey results from over four hundred university students from over 50 countries. The findings suggest that the time a person spends getting the news, as well as the sources, are very influential in how we perceive those not of our home countries. The findings suggest that American media, in particular, is very biased especially in regards to coverage of sensitive current events, like the war in Iraq. Furthermore, the study shows that worthwhile travels abroad are beneficial in breaking-down cross-cultural stereotypes that biased media creates.International Studie

Concert recording 2022-04-22

[Track 1]. Quartet in F, KV 370. I. Allegro ; II. Adagio ; III. Rondeau / Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart -- [Track 2]. Oblivion / Astor Piazzolla -- [Track 3]. Fantaisie-tango for solo oboe d\u27Amore / Mathieu Lussier -- [Track 4]. Poem / Marina Dranishnikova -- [Track 5]. L\u27horloge de flore (Flower clock), IV. 3 Heures, Galant de jour ; V. 5 Heures, Cupidon bleu ; VI. 10 Heures, Cierge à grande fleurs ; VII. 12 Heures, Nyctanthe du Malabar ; VIII. 17 Heures, Belle de nuit ; IX. 19 Heures, Geranium triste ; X. 21 Heures, Silène noctiflore / Jean Françaix

Concert recording 2022-04-22

[Track 1]. Quartet in F, KV 370. I. Allegro ; II. Adagio ; III. Rondeau / Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart -- [Track 2]. Oblivion / Astor Piazzolla -- [Track 3]. Fantaisie-tango for solo oboe d\u27Amore / Mathieu Lussier -- [Track 4]. Poem / Marina Dranishnikova -- [Track 5]. L\u27horloge de flore (Flower clock), IV. 3 Heures, Galant de jour ; V. 5 Heures, Cupidon bleu ; VI. 10 Heures, Cierge à grande fleurs ; VII. 12 Heures, Nyctanthe du Malabar ; VIII. 17 Heures, Belle de nuit ; IX. 19 Heures, Geranium triste ; X. 21 Heures, Silène noctiflore / Jean Françaix

Older Adults' Views on Genetic Testing

https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145710/1/NPHA_Genetic-Testing-Report_092518-FINAL.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145710/2/13_October-2018-Genetic-Testing-Report-Qs_092018.pd

Driving Simulator Performance Across the Lifespan: A Preliminary Study

OBJECTIVES Normal aging is associated with decline in abilities that may put an individual at increased riskfor a crash. Older individuals may have slowed processing speed and motor responses, a reduceduseful field of view (Ball et al., 1988), and greater difficulty with mental rotation (Armstrong etal., 1998). Although collision rates increase with age (Transportation Research Board, 1988), ithas been argued that specific age-related functional impairments, and not age itself, put one atrisk (Ball & Owsley, 2003). The goal of this study was to examine the relationship betweenaging and performance on driving simulations assessing specific components of driving—accident avoidance, divided attention, and navigation—and the degree to which they predict onroaddriving performance.METHODSForty control drivers (age 22 to 84; \u3c 50 yo, n = 14; 50-70 yo, n = 13; and \u3e 70 yo, n = 13)completed 3 simulations and an on-road driving evaluation. Exclusion criteria includedneurologic confounds, substance use and psychiatric disorders, as well as abnormalneuropsychological performance (based upon demographically-corrected norms). Thesimulations were presented on a Pentium III PC computer using a 17” monitor at 1280 x 1024resolution, and running STISIM Drive version 2.0 software (Systems Technology, Inc.;Hawthorne, CA). Hardware included a steering wheel, turn signal, and brake/accelerator pedals.The simulations consisted of 1) Advanced Routine and Emergency Driving (ARED), a 15-minute route simulating city/country driving, in which drivers must obey traffic signs, pass cars,and respond to high-risk crash scenarios; 2) Virtual City (VC), in which drivers must navigate toand from a location in a 5 x 5 block simulated city, and 3) Divided Attention, in which driversare to maintain a constant speed and lane position while responding to divided attention tasks inthe corner of the monitor. Participants also completed a 35-minute on-road assessment. Lastly,participants were assessed on a battery of neuropsychological tests. Earlier versions of thesimulations were predictive of on-road driving performance in an HIV-infected cohort (Marcotteet al., 2004). RESULTSThe three groups performed similarly on ARED (crashes, speeding tickets), as well as on the VCtask when the map was oriented to the same direction as the participant. On the other hand, olderparticipants had significantly more difficulty navigating when their orientation on the map wasreversed (e.g., the \u3c 50 group took 1.2 blocks beyond optimum to return from the destination; the50-70 and \u3e 70 years old groups took approximately 7.5 blocks). The three groups performedsimilarly with respect to lane deviation on the Divided Attention task, but the older groups hadincreased variability in speed maintenance, and the oldest group failed to respond to a greaternumber of divided attention stimuli (\u3c 50 yo = .3 (.83), 50-70 yo = 1.0 (1.3), \u3e 70 yo = 3.6 (2.7)).Although only one participant failed the on-road drive (50-70 yo), the percent of driversconsidered marginal or worse increased with age (7% vs. 25% vs. 55%). In a logistic regression,the simulator variables that best discriminated safe vs. marginal on-road came from the DividedAttention task: the number of missed stimuli and speed deviation, both of which require an intactuseful field of view and the shifting of gaze away from the roadway. Age did not enter into amodel that included these variables.CONCLUSIONSIn this study of normal, healthy controls, older participants drove similarly to young-to-middleaged participants on a simulation that most closely approximated real driving. Consistent withcognitive declines seen in normal aging, older participants had greater difficulty on a taskrequiring navigating when map orientation was reversed (perhaps indicative of impairedegocentric spatial abilities), as well as on a measure of driving-related divided attention, witholder participants appearing to allocate more attention to the roadway at the cost of attending andresponding to peripheral cues. Although older drivers had more difficulty during the on-road test,these difficulties were a function of deficits in the ability to divide attention efficiently, ratherthan aging per se.REFERENCESArmstrong, C.L., & Cloud, B. (1998). The emergence of spatial rotation deficits in dementia andnormal aging. Neuropsychology, 12(2), 208-217.Ball, K.K., Beard, B.L., Roenker, D.L., Miller, R.L., & Griggs, D.S. (1988). Age and visualsearch: Expanding the useful field of view. J Opt Soc Am A, 5(12), 2210-2219.Ball, K., & Owsley, C. (2003). Driving competence: It\u27s not a matter of age. J Am Geriatr Soc,51(10), 1499-1501.Marcotte, T.D., Wolfson, T., Rosenthal, T.J., Heaton, R.K., Gonzalez, R., Ellis, R.J., et al.(2004). A multimodal assessment of driving performance in HIV infection. Neurology, 63(8),1417-1422.Transportation Research Board. (1988). Transportation in an Aging Society, Vol 1. Washington,D.C.: National Research Council