La debilitación de los medios

La distinció entre els termes medium i media que proposa l'obra de Marshall McLuhan es pren com a punt de partida per a desenvolupar una teoria materialista dels mitjans. Es considera que els media són «tècniques culturals» debilitades per les contingències materials del medium, que constitueix un canal indiferent per al contingut simbòlic. Aquest procés de debilitament revela que el medium és una matèria afectiva i influent. El potencial afectiu i el ressorgiment ocasional del medium com a substrat material s'explora en l'obra de tres artistes: Will Schrimshaw, Martin Howse i Jonathan Kemp.A distinction between the terms medium and media, as can be found in the work of Marshall McLuhan, is taken as the starting point for developing a materialist theory of media. Media, as 'cultural techniques', are understood to be undermined by the material contingencies of the medium which constitutes an indifferent channel for symbolic content. This process of undermining reveals something of the medium itself as an affective and influential matter. The affective potential and occasional surfacing of the medium as material substrate is explored through the work of three artists: Will Schrimshaw, Martin Howse and Jonathan Kemp.La distinción entre los términos medium y media que propone la obra de Marshall McLuhan se toma como punto de partida para desarrollar una teoría materialista de los medios. Se considera que los media son «técnicas culturales» debilitadas por las contingencias materiales del médium, que constituye un canal indiferente para el contenido simbólico. Este proceso de debilitamiento revela que el medium es una materia afectiva e influyente. El potencial afectivo y el resurgimiento ocasional del medium como sustrato material se explora en la obra de tres artistas: Will Schrimshaw, Martin Howse y Jonathan Kemp

A sound takes place : noise, difference and sonorous individuation after Deleuze

This thesis traces an idea of auditory influence or sonorous individuation through three distinct areas of sound-art practice. These three areas are discussed according to a kind of spatial contraction, passing from the idea of auditory influence in acoustic ecology and field recording practices, to its expression in work happening at the intersection of soundart and architecture, and finally towards headphonic space and the interior of the body. Through these diverse fields and divergent practices a common idea pertaining to the influence of the auditory upon listening subjects is revealed, which itself brings up questions concerning the constitution of a specifically auditory subjectivity in relation to the subject ‘as a whole’. Towards the expression of a theory of sonorous individuation appropriate to practices approaching sonorous matters in the mode of a sonic materialism, the philosophical work of Gilles Deleuze is called upon as a critical framework. This philosophical framework is adopted as it clearly expresses a spatio-temporally contingent theory of individuation. This particular contingency becomes necessary in exploring works wherein the production of acoustic space is understood as being indissociable from a subjective ‘modulation’ or process of sonorous individuation, in which auditory individuals or listening subjects are bound within and influenced by acoustic spaces in which a sound takes place and a self takes shape.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Correlates of COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake Among U.S. College Students

Hesitance toward COVID-19 vaccination has greatly decreased over the course of the pandemic in the U.S. However, some populations have lower vaccination rates than the general population. This study was conducted to identify correlates of being fully vaccinated (i.e., having received all doses required to be fully vaccinated) among college students using students’ responses to the 2022 Spring American College Health Association—National College Health Assessment. The surveys were administered in March of 2022. The sample (n=617) included 18-to-30-year-old students. Firth logistic regression models were performed that controlled for age, sex assigned at birth, and food security (at a 5% significance level). The model-assisted results indicated that being a member of sexual and gender minority communities, being a graduate student, and being concerned about someone close getting COVID-19 were positively associated with being fully vaccinated, while current use of any tobacco product and current use of e-cigarettes were negatively associated with being fully vaccinated (all p-values\u3c0.05). In addition, the percentage of fully vaccinated students was higher among transgender/gender non-binary students (95%) than among cisgender men and women (85-87%), and among sexual minority groups (93-97%) than among heterosexual/straight students (82%). Among the racial/ethnic groups considered, the percentage of fully vaccinated students was lowest among non-Hispanic Black/African American students (77%), but the racial/ethnic differences were not statistically significant (at 5% level). The study points to a critical need for development and implementation of tailored vaccination campaigns to help students from diverse communities, including tobacco users, make informed decisions and become fully vaccinated

Negative impact of chronic pandemic-specific financial stress on food security among college students

Since the pandemic started, food insecurity has become a more serious issue for U.S. college students. The study goals were to evaluate whether pandemic-specific stress contributes to current food insecurity (as of February–March of 2022) and to determine which student characteristics are associated with food insecurity. We used the 2022 Spring American College Health Association— National College Health Assessment data (n = 620) collected at a public university. We estimated two multiple logistic regression models. The odds of having very low food security (OR = 8.65, 95% CI = 4.84:15.43) and low food security (OR = 2.87, 95% CI = 1.66:4.96) were significantly higher among students whose financial situation had become a lot more stressful as a result of the pandemic (relative to the other students). Sexual and gender minority, relationship, and current tobacco use statuses were associated with very low food security. There is a need for continued efforts to decrease the negative impact of the pandemic on students’ food security

Disclosure of Maternal HIV Status to Children: To Tell or Not To Tell . . . That Is the Question

HIV-infected mothers face the challenging decision of whether to disclose their serostatus to their children. From the perspective of both mother and child, we explored the process of disclosure, providing descriptive information and examining the relationships among disclosure, demographic variables, and child adjustment. Participants were 23 mothers and one of their noninfected children (9 to 16 years of age). Sixty-one percent of mothers disclosed. Consistent with previous research, disclosure was not related to child functioning. However, children sworn to secrecy demonstrated lower social competence and more externalizing problems. Differential disclosure, which occurred in one-third of the families, was associated with higher levels of depressive and anxiety symptoms. Finally, knowing more than mothers had themselves disclosed was related to child maladjustment across multiple domains. Clinical implications and the need for future research are considered

The Message Design Logics of Responses to HIV Disclosures

This article uses the theory of message design logics to investigate the relative sophistication of responses to disclosure of HIV status. In Study 1, 548 college students imagined a sibling revealing an HIV-positive diagnosis. Their responses to the HIV disclosures were coded as expressive (n= 174), conventional (n= 298), or rhetorical (n= 66). Type of message produced was associated with gender and HIV aversion. In Study 2, 459 individuals living with HIV rated response messages that were taken verbatim from Study 1. Expressive messages were rated lowest in quality, and rhetorical messages were rated highest. The discussion focuses on the utility of message design logics for understanding responses to HIV disclosures and the implications for message design logics

Are online support groups always beneficial? A qualitative exploration of the empowering and disempowering processes of participation within HIV/AIDS-related online support groups

BACKGROUND: Human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is one of the leading concerns in healthcare. Individuals living with HIV/AIDS are often confronted with tremendous physical and psychosocial challenges. Online support groups can provide a valuable source of information, advice and support, and a medium through which individuals living with HIV/AIDS can interact with each other and share their experiences. However, very little is known about how online support group might promote empowerment and the potential disadvantages associated with online support group use among individuals living with HIV/AIDS. OBJECTIVES: The present study explored the potential empowering and disempowering processes, and empowering outcomes of online support group use among individuals with HIV/AIDS. DESIGN, SETTINGS, PARTICIPANTS: A total of 115 HIV-positive online support group members were recruited from HIV-related online support groups. They completed an online survey exploring their experiences of online support group use. RESULTS: Thematic analysis revealed six empowering processes arising from use of online support groups: exchanging information, sharing experiences, connecting to others, encountering emotional support, finding recognition and understanding, and helping others. Six empowering outcomes were identified: increased optimism, emotional well-being, social well-being, being better informed, improved disease management, and feeling confident in the relationship with physicians. Potentially disempowering processes were also identified which included: being unable to connect physically, inappropriate behaviour online, declining real life relationships, and information overload and misinformation. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest ways through which individuals with HIV/AIDS may be empowered although some problematic features specific to the online context may also be present

Putting episodic disability into context: a qualitative study exploring factors that influence disability experienced by adults living with HIV/AIDS

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>An increasing number of individuals may be living with the health-related consequences of HIV and its associated treatments, a concept we term disability. However, the context in which disability is experienced from the HIV perspective is not well understood. The purpose of this paper is to describe the contextual factors that influence the experiences of disability from the perspective of adults living with HIV.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted four focus groups and 15 face-to-face interviews with 38 men and women living with HIV. We asked participants to describe their health-related challenges, the physical, social and psychological areas of their life affected, and the impact of these challenges on their overall health. We also conducted two validity check focus groups with seven returning participants. We analyzed data using grounded theory techniques to develop a conceptual framework of disability for adults living with HIV, called the Episodic Disability Framework.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Contextual factors that influenced disability were integral to participants' experiences and emerged as a key component of the framework. Extrinsic contextual factors included social support (support from friends, family, partners, pets and community, support from health care services and personnel, and programme and policy support) and stigma. Intrinsic contextual factors included living strategies (seeking social interaction with others, maintaining a sense of control over life and the illness, "blocking HIV out of the mind", and adopting attitudes and beliefs to help manage living with HIV) and personal attributes (gender and aging). These factors may exacerbate or alleviate dimensions of HIV disability.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This framework is the first to consider the contextual factors that influence experiences of disability from the perspective of adults living with HIV. Extrinsic factors (level of social support and stigma) and intrinsic factors (living strategies and personal attributes) may exacerbate or alleviate episodes of HIV-related disability. These factors offer a broader understanding of the disability experience and may suggest ways to prevent or reduce disability for adults living with HIV.</p

Chronic kidney disease and use of dental services in a united states public healthcare system: a retrospective cohort study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>As several studies have shown an association between periodontal disease and chronic kidney disease (CKD), regular dental care may be an important strategy for reducing the burden of CKD. Access to dental care may be limited in the US public health system.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this retrospective cohort study of 6,498 adult patients with (n = 2,235) and without (n = 4,263) CKD and at least 12 months of follow-up within the San Francisco Department of Public Health Community Health Network clinical databases, we examined the likelihood of having a dental visit within the observation period (2005-2010) using Cox proportional hazards models. To determine whether dental visits reflected a uniform approach to preventive service use in this setting, we similarly examined the likelihood of having an eye visit among those with diabetes, for whom regular retinopathy screening is recommended. We defined CKD status by average estimated glomerular filtration rate based on two or more creatinine measurements ≥ 3 months apart (no CKD, ≥ 60 ml/min/1.73 m²; CKD, < 60 ml/min/1.73 m²).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Only 11.0% and 17.4% of patients with and without CKD, respectively, had at least one dental visit. Those with CKD had a 25% lower likelihood of having a dental visit [HR = 0.75, 95% CI (0.64-0.88)] than those without CKD after adjustment for confounders. Among the subgroup of patients with diabetes, 11.8% vs. 17.2% of those with and without CKD had a dental visit, while 58.8% vs. 57.8% had an eye visit.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Dental visits, but not eye visits, in a US public healthcare setting are extremely low, particularly among patients with CKD. Given the emerging association between oral health and CKD, addressing factors that impede dental access may be important for reducing the disparate burden of CKD in this population.</p