A Q&A with Dark Corners

WRITTEN FOR WRT 42

A product of her body as well as soul : Narrative fullness and the feminine body in the work of Julia Ward Howe

Acclaimed poet of the mid-nineteenth century Julia Ward Howe is currently best known for her civil war poem “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” But more recent research has uncovered manuscripts like The Hermaphrodite, an incomplete prose piece detailing the life of intersexed protagonist Laurence published by Gary Williams, among other more personal poems included in Williams’s biography. Her unpublished manuscript poems and prose suggest a more complex character to Howe’s writing. In particular, The Hermaphrodite manuscript, her 1852 collection Passion-flowers, and her unpublished poetry describe a woman torn between societal expectation and intellectual endeavor, and between body and spirit. Through evaluation of the Poetess figure, the seeming generic convention of nineteenth century women’s poetry, this thesis will argue that Howe’s project in writing these texts is the creation of a textual body that “completes” her seemingly disjointed and incomplete physical existence

A Micro Financing Framework for Rural Water and Sanitation Provisioning in Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper investigates potential issues with regard to water and sanitation. It argues that technological fixes alone are not enough and need to be complemented by other forms of innovation such as local community organization and financial innovation. It provides a micro financing framework that is founded on the Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (RoSCA) arrangements at the village level

Alma oh Alma how might thee help me?

Migrations are never easy, but they can provide great opportunities for growth and positive change. In migrating from Aleph to Alma, the Binghamton University Libraries found that while Aleph did many things, Alma has allowed us to understand how we can integrate existing functionalities that were known in Aleph but not easily taken advantage of. Some of these functionalities have let us automate processes; these include ordering API\u27s with GOBI and Proquest; Invoicing for GOBI, Proquest, EBSCO; and now MARC record delivery with OCLC Cataloging partners. Come hear how three units (Acquisitions, Cataloging, and Systems) collaborated to implement automated functionality that has allowed the Binghamton University Libraries to keep up with a hiring freeze and 3 retirements

Data journeys in popular science: Producing climate change and COVID-19 data visualizations at Scientific American

Vast amounts of (open) data are increasingly used to make arguments about crisis topics such as climate change and global pandemics. Data visualizations are central to bringing these viewpoints to broader publics. However, visualizations often conceal the many contexts involved in their production, ranging from decisions made in research labs about collecting and sharing data to choices made in editorial rooms about which data stories to tell. In this paper, we examine how data visualizations about climate change and COVID-19 are produced in popular science magazines, using Scientific American, an established English-language popular science magazine, as a case study. To do this, we apply the analytical concept of "data journeys" (Leonelli, 2020) in a mixed methods study that centers on interviews with Scientific American staff and is supplemented by a visualization analysis of selected charts. In particular, we discuss the affordances of working with open data, the role of collaborative data practices, and how the magazine works to counter misinformation and increase transparency. This work provides a theoretical contribution by testing and expanding the concept of data journeys as an analytical framework, as well as practical contributions by providing insight into the data (visualization) practices of science communicators.Comment: 44 pages, 4 figures, 3 boxe

Does It All Harm the Same?—An Empirical Exploration of Opportunities to Reduce the Negative Psychological Effects of Phubbing

With ever-increasing smartphone use, phubbing (i.e., paying attention to the smartphone instead of the direct conversation partner) is playing an increasingly important role in our society. Along with this, we encounter challenges of phubbing such as a more negative perception of the conversation partner and their relationship. We suggest that different phubbing behaviors can mitigate these negative effects. To test our hypotheses, we conducted an online study (N = 324) in which phubbing behavior was systematically altered in 5 different experimental conditions. Additionally, we examined the mediating role of the constructs expectancy violation and ostracism and explored effects on future phubbing behavior. Our results suggest that giving an important reason to justify the smartphone use mitigates negative effects compared to phubbing only and that this relationship is mediated by ostracism. Translated into practice, the data suggests that if phubbing is unavoidable, one should at least communicate the (personally) important reason for using the smartphone in order to maintain a positive relationship to the conversation partner

What is the message? Perspectives on Visual Data Communication

Data visualizations are used to communicate messages to diverse audiences. It is unclear whether interpretations of these visualizations match the messages their creators aim to convey. In a mixed-methods study, we investigate how data in the popular science magazine Scientific American are visually communicated and understood. We first analyze visualizations about climate change and pandemics published in the magazine over a fifty-year period. Acting as chart readers, we then interpret visualizations with and without textual elements, identifying takeaway messages and creating field notes. Finally, we compare a sample of our interpreted messages to the intended messages of chart producers, drawing on interviews conducted with magazine staff. These data allow us to explore understanding visualizations through three perspectives: that of the charts, visualization readers, and visualization producers. Building on our findings from a thematic analysis, we present in-depth insights into data visualization sensemaking, particularly regarding the role of messages and textual elements; we propose a message typology, and we consider more broadly how messages can be conceptualized and understood

A different point of view: the evaluation of motor imagery perspectives in patients with sensorimotor impairments in a longitudinal study

BACKGROUND: Motor imagery (MI) has been successfully applied in neurological rehabilitation. Little is known about the spontaneous selection of the MI perspectives in patients with sensorimotor impairments. What perspective is selected: internal (first-person view), or external (third-person view)? The aim was to evaluate the MI perspective preference in patients with sensorimotor impairments. METHODS: In a longitudinal study including four measurement sessions, 55 patients (25 stroke, 25 multiple sclerosis, 5 Parkinson’s disease; 25 females; mean age 58 ± 14 years) were included. MI ability and perspective preference in both visual and kinaesthetic imagery modalities were assessed using the Kinaesthetic and Visual Imagery Questionnaire-20 (KVIQ-20), the body rotation task (BRT), and mental chronometry (MC). Additionally, patients’ activity level was assessed. Descriptive analyses were performed regarding different age- ( 64), activity levels (inactive, partially active, active), and KVIQ-20 movement classifications (axial, proximal, distal, upper and lower limb). A mixed-effects model was used to investiage the relationship between the primary outcome (MI perspective: internal, external) with the explanatory variables age, MI modality (visual, kinaesthetic), movement type (axial, proximal, distal), activity levels and the different assessments (KVIQ-20, BRT, MC). RESULTS: Imagery modality was not a significant predictor of perspective preference. Over the four measurement sessions, patients tended to become more consistent in their perspective selection, however, time point was not a significant predictor. Movement type was a significant predictor: imagination of distal vs. axial and proximal vs. axial movements were both associated with preference for external perspective. Patients with increased physical activity level tend to use internal imagery, however, this effect was borderline not statistically significant. Age was neither a significant precictor. Regarding the MI assessments, the KVIQ- 20 score was a significant predictor. The patients with higher test scores tend to use the external perspective. CONCLUSION: It is recommended to evaluate the spontaneous MI perspective selection to design patient-specific MI training interventions. Distal movements (foot, finger) may be an indicator when evaluating the consistency of the MI perspective in patients with sensorimotor impairments. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12883-021-02266-w

Harnessing smart technology for private well risk assessment and communication

Unregulated, privately owned water supplies, including groundwater wells, are relied upon extensively, particularly in rural and remote regions. While adequate stewardship behaviors (water testing, treatment, and maintenance) have been shown to decrease the incidence and frequency of faecal indicator organism (FIO) presence and, by extension, the risk of pathogenic ingress, contaminated private water supplies continue to constitute a significant public health risk. Recognizing that innovative approaches are needed to bolster well stewardship, this paper identifies and assesses 35 tools (smartphone and web-based applications) to better understand components, functionality, strengths, and weaknesses. Applications for both data collection and risk communication were identified; however, none adequately assess(ed) risk using space-, time- or source-specific inputs (local hydrogeology, climate, groundwater reliance). Well designed applications integrated with crowd-sourced data, environmental data, and models of risk provide an opportunity for enhanced stewardship of private well water resources

Maternal sensitivity and intrusiveness in early childhood as predictors of children's weight at school age

Background While previous research indicates that low maternal sensitivity in mother-child interactions puts children at risk of overweight and obesity, maternal intrusiveness has rarely been investigated in association with children's weight. We investigated whether maternal sensitivity and intrusiveness in early childhood predict children's increased body mass index standard deviation scores (BMI-SDS) at school age. BMI-SDS are standardized for age and gender with respect to a reference standard. Methods At baseline (t1), we assessed maternal sensitivity and (non-)intrusiveness of 116 mothers with their children (48.3% female) aged 5–47 months (M = 24.00, SD = 11.36) using the emotional availability scales. We obtained anthropometric data for mothers at t1 by measuring height and weight in the laboratory and for children at birth assessed by medical staff. Six years later (t2) we obtained anthropometric data for children in the laboratory or based on parental report. Linear regression analyses were run with child BMI-SDS at t2 as outcome and sensitivity and (non-)intrusiveness as predictors, adjusting for confounders and exploring child age and gender as moderators. Results Maternal sensitivity only negatively predicted children's BMI-SDS in girls, while maternal intrusiveness predicted higher child BMI-SDS at school age regardless of child gender. The effect of maternal non-intrusiveness remained significant when controlling for confounders. Conclusion Maternal intrusiveness in early childhood seems to represent a risk factor for increased BMI-SDS in children, while lower maternal sensitivity tends to be a risk factor for increased BMI-SDS in girls. This may have implications for prevention or intervention programmes