Separate cortical stages in amodal completion revealed by functional magnetic resonance adaptation : research article

Background Objects in our environment are often partly occluded, yet we effortlessly perceive them as whole and complete. This phenomenon is called visual amodal completion. Psychophysical investigations suggest that the process of completion starts from a representation of the (visible) physical features of the stimulus and ends with a completed representation of the stimulus. The goal of our study was to investigate both stages of the completion process by localizing both brain regions involved in processing the physical features of the stimulus as well as brain regions representing the completed stimulus. Results Using fMRI adaptation we reveal clearly distinct regions in the visual cortex of humans involved in processing of amodal completion: early visual cortex - presumably V1 - processes the local contour information of the stimulus whereas regions in the inferior temporal cortex represent the completed shape. Furthermore, our data suggest that at the level of inferior temporal cortex information regarding the original local contour information is not preserved but replaced by the representation of the amodally completed percept. Conclusion These findings provide neuroimaging evidence for a multiple step theory of amodal completion and further insights into the neuronal correlates of visual perception

Can an iPad app promote educational team communication and child use of pictures in communication?

Denman Undergraduate Research Forum - Honorable MentionLast year an iPad application named Citra was developed by an interdisciplinary group of students at Ohio State. Citra was designed for persons with severe communication disorders, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or Down syndrome, with the knowledge that such limits in communication greatly impact a person's ability to meet their basic needs. For example, it is estimated that 33 to 55% of children with ASD will never develop effective spoken communication (Cafiero & Meyer, 2008). Although augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) methods have been found to be especially beneficial for individuals with such severe communication disorders, only recently have AAC methods been implemented using widely available technology such as the iPad. As a type of AAC, Citra utilizes visual stimuli to support communication and to connect the child's caregiver team through a notes-sharing feature. The purpose of this research project is to employ two methods to examine the initial acceptance, use, and effectiveness of the Citra iPad application for two children with severe communication disorders. First, each child's family and speech therapist completed four questionnaires across a 9-week interval to examine their perceptions of Citra's usefulness and the child's general experience with Citra. Second, in order to compare effects of digital versus non-digital formats, the researcher observed each child's communication attempts using Citra versus another non-computerized form of AAC across six short snack sessions. The 9-week data collection period is currently underway; data presented in this thesis covers the first four weeks for Child 1 and the first three weeks for Child 2. From this data, preliminary results have been formed and are presented here. So far the study has found no significant difference between digital versus non-digital AAC formats. Once completed, this initial study of Citra's validity will provide a platform for additional validation efforts and make a timely contribution to research in AAC.College of Arts and SciencesDepartment of Social and Behavioral SciencesNo embargoAcademic Major: Speech and Hearing Scienc

Feature-Based Attention Affects Direction-Selective fMRI Adaptation in hMT+

Functional magnetic resonance adaptation has been successfully used to reveal direction-selective responses in the human motion complex (hMT+). Here, we aimed at further investigating direction-selective as well as position-selective responses of hMT+ by looking at how these responses are affected by feature-based attention. We varied motion direction and position of 2 consecutive random-dot stimuli. Participants had to either attend to the direction or the position of the stimuli in separate runs. We show that direction selectivity in hMT+ as measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) adaptation was strongly influenced by task set. Attending to the motion direction of the stimuli lead to stronger direction-selective fMRI adaptation than attending to their position. Position selectivity, on the other hand, was largely unaffected by attentional focus. Interestingly, the change in the direction-selective adaptation profile across tasks could not be explained by inheritance from earlier areas. The response pattern in the early retinotopic cortex was stable across conditions. In conclusion, our results provide further evidence for the flexible coding of direction information in hMT+ depending on task demand

Resilient Turns: Epistrophe, Incrementum, Metonymy

In this essay, we demonstrate how rhetorical analyses of style can maintain their focus on linguistic patterns while simultaneously attending to material ones. Focusing on the trope of metonymy and the figures of incrementum and epistrophe, we show how these devices represent different modes of material-semiotic addressivity, resiliently turning and reconfiguring the rhetorical ecologies they capacitate. Using three case studies—a corpus of news articles about water quality amid extensive wind turbine development in Chatham-Kent, Ontario; traditional and “rogue” pain scales; and scientific literature about CRISPR—we explore the stylistic affordances of epistrophe, incrementum, and metonymy, showing how these “turnings” allow resilient material-semiotic articulations. We conclude by suggesting how our framework may be applied and extended to other topics and how this understanding of tropes and figures may align with other research trajectories in RSTM

Beyond the Domestic Sphere: Home Economics and the Education of Women at Maryland State College

My paper, Beyond the Domestic Sphere: Home Economics and the Education of Women at Maryland State College, encompasses an exploration of the history of women's education at what is now University of Maryland, College Park. I argue that the language surrounding women's education at Maryland affirmed the need for a scientific education for women while reinforcing stereotypical gender boundaries. I assess the similarities and differences between the women's Home Economics course curriculum and that of other traditional scientific disciplines, including engineering, agriculture, and more to recognize the true "science" required to earn a degree in domestic science.In addition, I draw connections between the history of co-education at Maryland and the passage of the Morrill and Smith-Lever Acts, which made public education possible and eventually brought the first few, privileged women students to Maryland

Exclusion from Refugee Status: Terrorism and the UK's Interpretation and Application of Article 1F of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees

PhDThis thesis examines whether and in what ways ‘terrorism’ has featured in the UK’s interpretation of Article 1F, the ‘exclusion clause’ of the 1951 Refugee Convention, and how the provision is applied to suspected terrorists in the practice of decision makers. This research draws on a number of sources, including Freedom of Information requests, questionnaires and interviews conducted with immigration judges, the Home Office’s exclusion unit and legal practitioners. All reported UK cases concerning Article 1F were analysed, as were the Home Office’s asylum guidance documents, primary and secondary UK legislation and international legal sources pertaining to exclusion from refugee status. This research therefore provides an unprecedented and thorough analysis of whether and how terrorism is being employed in the interpretation and application of each of the individual limbs of Article 1F. Although there has been a clear governmental and political drive to ensure that refugee status is not granted to terrorists, this research reveals that the predominant practice of both courts and tribunals in the UK and the Home Office’s exclusion unit has not been to focus on whether an individual is a ‘terrorist’, but instead whether they have committed a serious crime within the meaning of Article 1F. Where the term ‘terrorism’ has been employed, courts and tribunals have looked to international rather than domestic definitions of the term in order to arrive at an ‘autonomous meaning’. While there has been an increase in the application of Article 1F in the UK over the last decade, in practice the use of the provision has remained exceptional and appears to be subject to a fair degree of rigour. Nevertheless, a number of recommendations are made by which the quality of decision making could be improved and a greater degree of fairness added to the exclusion process in the UK.Queen Mary, University of London Research Studentship Modern Law Revie

Exclusion from refugee status: asylum seekers and terrorism in the UK

Recent legal and political discourse on terrorism within the United Nations (UN) has presented refugee status as a means by which terrorists can seek entry to a country to perpetrate terrorist acts, or evade prosecution for their crimes. For example, UN Security Council Resolution 1373 of 2001 urges states to ‘ensure ... that refugee status is not abused by the perpetrators, organisers or facilitators of terrorist acts’. The drive to deny the benefits of refugee status to suspected terrorists has led to a radical reinterpretation of the exclusion clause of the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, both at national and international levels, so as to bring terrorism within the ambit of this provision. An asylum-seeker will now be excluded from refugee status if he or she has committed or prepared for an act of ’terrorism’, or has encouraged or induced someone else to do so. However, ‘terrorism’ is not a legal label, but an undefined political term: there is at present no internationally agreed definition of ‘terrorism’, nor an internationally agreed list of ‘terrorist organisations’. The discretion inherent in the undefined nature of the term ‘terrorism’ therefore leaves the Refugee Convention’s exclusion clause open to abuse by Member States seeking to exclude genuine asylum seekers from refugee status. In this paper it will be argued that, in light of the serious consequences of exclusion from refugee status, there is a need for a principled approach to the application of the Refugee Convention’s exclusion clause which is not served by the undefined political term ‘terrorism’. Furthermore, since fleeing persecution for political opinion is an archetypal reason for seeking asylum, injecting subjective political notions of ‘terrorism’ into refugee exclusion has the potential toundermine the very foundations of the international refugee protection framework

Higher Quality at Lower Cost: Community Health Worker Interventions in the Health Care Innovation Awards

Background: Published evidence regarding cost savings, reduced utilization, and improved quality associated with employing community health workers (CHWs) is largely lacking. This paper presents findings from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Health Care Innovation Awards (HCIA), with a focus on six diverse programs that employ CHWs. We examine outcomes associated with programs incorporating CHWs into care teams for a broad age range of patients with various health issues such as cancer, asthma, and complex conditions. Methods: This mixed-methods study used data from claims and site visits to assess the effectiveness of CHW programs. In difference-in-differences analyses of Medicare fee-for-service and Medicaid claims, we compared utilization and spending for beneficiaries participating in each CHW program with propensity score matched non-participant beneficiaries for baseline (2010 – 2012) and post-intervention (2013 – 2016). We adjusted for geographic area, prior utilization, and clinical and sociodemographic characteristics. We assessed changes in care quality through beneficiary focus groups and interviews with program leadership and staff. Results: Five of the six programs saw a significant reduction in utilization and/or spending relative to a comparison group, and all programs had positive qualitative findings regarding quality of care. In three of the six programs, the adjusted total cost of care was significantly reduced (-$143 to -$2,044 per beneficiary quarter). We hypothesize that some reductions in spending can be attributed to CHWs’ provision of enhanced access outside of regular clinic hours, which facilitated patient adherence to evidence-based treatment pathways and averted unnecessary ED visits and hospitalizations. Culturally competent CHW encounters engaged patients in health care decisions, generated confidence in their decisions, encouraged adherence to treatment pathways, and mitigated social barriers to care. Conclusions: Programs were associated with improved quality and reductions in health care utilization and spending up to $20,000 per patient over the three-year period. Findings suggest a strong business case for the use of CHWs as part of interdisciplinary teams as CHW programs can provide a significant return on investment for payers. Reimbursement policies that do not account for the services of non-clinical staff such as CHWs impede the sustainability and spread of these interventions, despite mounting evidence of CHWs’ effectiveness. Organizations looking to integrate CHWs into care delivery may conduct feasibility assessments of available workforce and the capacity for clinical oversight, physician buy-in, and funding sustainability. Established programs could be leveraged for mentorship

The Empowerment Paradox: Rhetorics of Lyme Disease and the Future of Chronic Illness

In the current age, patients and their healthcare providers must navigate the digital deluge of contradictory claims about sickness, health, and healing in print and online. Some would argue that access to more data is better, whether it is generated by clinical trials or online discussion boards. However, for those who deal with chronic and contested health conditions like Lyme Disease, the most common and rapidly spreading tick-borne infection in the United States, more data means more problems. My dissertation, The Empowerment Paradox: Rhetorics of Lyme Disease and the Future of Chronic Illness, argues that patient empowerment efforts do not merely help patients to access reliable health information nor find compassionate healthcare providers. Instead, corporations, clinicians, and other stakeholders use empowerment rhetoric unethically to persuade patients to share their health data, seek out specialists who charge astronomical fees, and perform extensive labor in a quest to find the “right” healthcare information. These underhanded persuasive efforts lead to a problem I call the empowerment paradox: widely accepted rhetorical moves often considered empowering—such as teaching patients to research their medical conditions online, prompting patients to share information about their illnesses on social media networks, and using digital platforms to advocate for patient-centered healthcare practices—may be disempowering and harmful. In the broadest sense, my dissertation reveals how patients are subjected to the empowerment paradox, which means that they must navigate the conflicting, unofficial, and unauthoritative data circulating in our digital information economy, in search of a cure. There is much at stake. Patients are desperate to help themselves, and they do gain significant rhetorical and health literacy, yet their expertise does not lead to better health outcomes. Worse yet, chronically ill people are being used and abused for their money and health data. Using Lyme Disease as a case study, each dissertation chapter illustrates how devastating the empowerment paradox can be for patients. To show how the empowerment paradox works, I rhetorically analyze online sites of patient empowerment and interviews with twenty-three Lyme Disease patients.Doctor of Philosoph

Scaling Assessment with Adaptive Comparative Judgement

No abstract available