Towards Improving Learning with Consumer-Grade, Closed-Loop, Electroencephalographic Neurofeedback

Learning is an enigmatic process composed of a multitude of cognitive systems that are functionally and neuroanatomically distinct. Nevertheless, two undeniable pillars which underpin learning are attention and memory; to learn, one must attend, and maintain a representation of, an event. Psychological and neuroscientific technologies that permit researchers to “mind-read” have revealed much about the dynamics of these distinct processes that contribute to learning. This investigation first outlines the cognitive pillars which support learning and the technologies that permit such an understanding. It then employs a novel task—the amSMART paradigm—with the goal of building a real-time, closed-loop, electroencephalographic (EEG) neurofeedback paradigm using consumergrade brain-computer interface (BCI) hardware. Data are presented which indicate the current status of consumer-grade BCI for EEG cognition classification and enhancement, and directions are suggested for the developing world of consumer neurofeedback

Adams on Adams

After more than two hundred years in the shadows of Washington and Jefferson, John Adams enjoys fame as one of our top presidents. Of unprepossessing appearance and feisty temperament, he expressed his personal feelings in copious correspondence and public documents along with two unfinished autobiographies. Paul M. Zall draws from Adams’s own letters, diaries, notes and autobiographies to create a fresh portrait. Adams’s writings, both public and private, trace his rise from country lawyer to the nation\u27s highest office by the sheer force of his personality. Lacking the advantages of money, connections, class, or patronage, Adams used “the severest and most incessant labor” to promote American independence. Zall’s commentary illuminates Adams’s words, focusing on how Adams’s inner strengths—in conflict with a sense of inferiority and an obsession with fame—helped win government under law at home and national respect abroad. Borne along by an irresistible sense of Spartan duty and refusing to compromise high principles for cheap popularity, he sacrificed family, fortune, and even fame. In Adams on Adams we are at last able to hear Adams describe his extraordinary journey in his own words. A delightful read. —John Patrick Diggins, Distinguished Professor of History at the City University of New Yorkhttps://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_political_science_american_politics/1004/thumbnail.jp

Now Is the Time for a New Civic Education. A Book Review of \u3ci\u3eCivic Education in the Age of Mass Migration: Implications for Theory and Practice\u3c/i\u3e

Civic education in an era of hyper-polarization has created multiple tensions for educators looking for ways to counter the pushback against critical inquiry in the classroom. Angela M. Banks tackles this challenge in her 2021 book Civic Education in the Age of Mass Migration: Implications for Theory and Practice by framing questions about truly inclusive civic education within the context of who our students are and what they bring with them to the classroom. Her call for teachers to explicitly critique the idea of citizenship with our students provides us a framework and practice that can shift the meaning of civic engagement and how to truly sustain a democratic practice in the classroom

Mar a chuala mi: remembering and telling Gaelic Stories: a study of Brian Stewart

This thesis is a study of one storyteller, Brian Stewart, and his storytelling. The aim of the project is to understand and elucidate the way in which one storyteller remembers and tells stories. The methods used in the study are the direct questioning of the storyteller about his relationship to storytelling, as well as a detailed comparative analysis of the stories themselves. As such, the thesis is as much concerned with the storyteller's own beliefs about storytelling as with the evidence supplied by the stories.In the Introduction I discuss the aims of the project and explain its genesis and my reasons for choosing the methods employed.In Chapter One I discuss questions about the nature of Gaelic storytelling, and review the scholarly literature related to this study.In Chapter Two I discuss Mr. Stewart's life story, relying heavily on comments and material recorded from the storyteller himself. This discussion concentrates on topics which Mr. Stewart has emphasised in the course of interviews, including boyhood memories of travelling and the travelling life, related activities such as tin-smithing and horse-dealing, and storytelling.In Chapter Three I consider Brian Stewart's development as a storyteller: his knowledge and experience of storytelling, and his own comments on how he learned and remembered stories, how his memory works, and on storytelling practices in general.Chapter Four consists of an analysis of the stories themselves. Here I use close to 40 separate recordings of nine different stories recorded between 1958 and 1995, comparing different recordings of the same stories in terms of their episodic structure, content, and use of language. The aim of the comparison is to discover patterns of variation and similarity between the story versions, and so to identify features of Brian Stewart's storytelling and to better understand his storytelling ethos. The Conclusion summarises the overall findings of the thesis, and points to some possibilities for future scholarly inquiry in this field.Following the main body of the thesis, transcriptions of the recorded story versions discussed in Chapter Four are contained in an appendix, as is other background information on the stories as may be useful to other scholars

Pendekatan terapeutik dan pencegahan relaps di antara penagih separa pulih kolektivisme dan keluarga mereka di Malaysia

Recovering addicts are those who struggling to give up drug but risk relapsing. Establishing therapeutic alliance between RAs and their family can help overcome many problems, resulting from continuous conflicts between them, and also help in RAs’ recovery process. This study examined the readiness of RAs and their families to establish and maintain therapeutic alliance and to study RAs and their families’ abilities to prevent relapse two years after treatment completion. This research also identified indicators for RAs and their families’ readiness to establish and maintain therapeutic alliance, as well as to explore the suitability of Collective Family Therapy (CFT) module in the treatment of Malay RAs. Four open-orientation groups consisted of four RAs and 32 family members were used in eight treatment sessions. The CFT mentioned was used as a treatment couple with pre and post test. After the treatment, group members were given two years to practice CFT skills before follow up test were conducted. Data analysis collected using qualitative methods showed there is a high readiness to establish and to maintain therapeutic among the RAs and their families’ members. The follow-up test showed that three out of four RAs had successfully prevented relapse and enjoying a drug-free living. The CFT module was found suitable to create an environment that is conducive to treat Malay collectivist RAs. Family identity was identified as the indicator for RAs and their families’ readiness to establish therapeutic alliance, whilst faithfulness is the indicator for the maintenance of therapeutic alliance. The abilities of RAs and their families to establish and maintain therapeutic alliance had successfully created the environment required to empower the Malay collectivist values that help preventing relapse. Collectivist value-based CFT’s module is appropriate to be used as an important ingredient in a therapeutic approach to prevent relapse for other collectivist communitie

Washington on Washington

For most Americans, George Washington is more of a legend than a man—a face on our currency or an austere figure standing in a rowboat crossing the icy Delaware River. He was equally revered in his own time. At the helm of a country born of idealism and revolution, Washington reluctantly played the role of demigod that the new nation required—a role reconciling the rhetoric of democracy with the ritual of monarchy. Washington quickly understood that every decision he made as president would be analyzed, criticized, and emulated. “There is scarcely any part of my conduct which may not hereafter be drawn into precedent,” he said. In his own words, Washington describes himself as a poor orator and an uncomfortable leader, a man more at ease in his private gardens than at the center of America’s trust and adoration. Plagued by doubts about his education and abilities, Washington developed self-discipline that to others seemed superhuman. Washington on Washington offers a fresh and human perspective on this enigmatic figure in American history. Drawing on diary entries, journals, letters, and authentic interviews, Paul M. Zall presents the autobiography that Washington never lived to write, revealing new insights into his character, both personal and political. Paul M. Zall (1922-2010), Emeritus Professor of English at California State University at Los Angeles, was a research scholar at the Huntington Library. He is the author of many books including Lincoln on Lincoln, Jefferson on Jefferson, and Franklin on Franklin. Refreshing, scholarly, and entertaining. A wonderful introduction to Washington. —Dorothy Twohig, former editor-in-chief of the Washington Papers at the Universit Through an illuminating introductory essay and craftsmanlike editing, Paul Zall provides an intimate look at Washington. . . . Washington on Washington offers a compelling look at Washington’s life told in his own words, an inside view of what motivated him and how he thought, and a rare glimpse of how he saw himself and wanted to be seen. —John Ferling, author of The First of Men: A Life of George Washington and Set Zall enables readers to see Washington as he saw himself. —McCormick (SC) Messenger Provides a useful introduction to George Washington. —Register of the Kentucky Historical Society From Washington’s voluminous writings, Zall has painstakingly compiled much more than a biography in Washington’s own words, he has given us the autobiography that our preeminent Founding Father himself never wrote. —Stuart Leibiger, author of Founding Friendshiphttps://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_united_states_history/1107/thumbnail.jp