Dee-jay drop that deadbeat : hip-hop's remix of fatherhood narratives

Dr. Anand Prahlad, Dissertation Supervisor.Field of Study: English."May 2018."This dissertation examines hip-hop fatherhood narratives from 2010-2015 influenced by drug addiction, mass incarceration, underground economies, trauma, and dysfunctional co-parenting. Explicitly, the paper explores how marginalized, urban African American dads are imagined as protectors, providers, and/or surrogates in hip-hop lyricism. Additionally, the research pays attention to hip-hop artists' depiction of identity orchestration and identity formation of black adolescents and patriarchs by utilizing David Wall's theories on identity stasis. Moreover, the dissertation critically analyzes hip-hop lyrics that reflect different concepts of maleness such as hyper-masculine, the complex cool, biblical, heroic, and hegemonic masculinities. In sum, the paper examines rap lyrics use of mimicry calling into question representative black male engagement with American patriarchy.Includes bibliographical references (pages 234-242)

Mind your step: the effects of mobile phone use on gaze behavior in stair climbing

Stair walking is a hazardous activity and a common cause of fatal and non-fatal falls. Previous studies have assessed the role of eye movements in stair walking by asking people to repeatedly go up and down stairs in quiet and controlled conditions, while the role of peripheral vision was examined by giving participants specific fixation instructions or working memory tasks. We here extend this research to stair walking in a natural environment with other people present on the stairs and a now common secondary task: Using one's mobile phone. Results show that using the mobile phone strongly draws one's attention away from the stairs, but that the distribution of gaze locations away from the phone is little influenced by using one's phone. Phone use also increased the time needed to walk the stairs, but handrail use remained low. These results indicate that limited foveal vision suffices for adequate stair walking in normal environments, but that mobile phone use has a strong influence on attention, which may pose problems when unexpected obstacles are encountered

Extensive cross-disciplinary analysis of biological and chemical control of Calanus finmarchicus reproduction during an aldehyde forming diatom bloom in mesocosms

Egg and faecal pellet production and egg hatching success of the calanoid copepod Calanus finmarchicus were monitored over a period of 14 days (14-28 April, 2008) while fed water from 4 differently treated mesocosms and ambient water. Two of the mesocosms used were inoculated with the polyunsaturated aldehyde (PUA)-producing diatom Skeletonema marinoi, while 2 received only nutrient additions with or without silica. The mesocosms developed blooms of S. marinoi, mixed diatoms or the haptophyte Phaeocystis pouchetii, respectively. Faecal pellet production of C. finmarchicus increased with increasing food availability. Egg production increased with time in all mesocosms to a maximum single female production of 232 eggs female(-1) day(-1) (average of 90 eggs female(-1) day(-1)) and followed the development of ciliates and P. pouchetii, but was not affected by the observed high (up to 15 nmol L(-1)) PUA production potential of the phytoplankton. The hatching success of the eggs produced on the mesocosm diets was high (78-96%) and was not affected by either aldehydes in the maternal diet or exposure to the dissolved aldehydes in the water

Perceptual modification of the built environment to influence behaviour associated with physical activity: Quasi-experimental field studies of a stair banister illusion

Re-engineering the built environment to influence behaviours associated with physical activity potentially provides an opportunity to promote healthier lifestyles at a population level. Here we present evidence from two quasi-experimental field studies in which we tested a novel, yet deceptively simple, intervention designed to alter perception of, and walking behaviour associated with, stairs in an urban area. Objectives. To examine whether stair banister adjustment has an influence on perceptions of stair steepness or on walking behaviour when approaching the stairs. Methods. In Study 1, we asked participants (n=143) to visually estimate the steepness of a set of stairs viewed from the top, when the stair banister was adjusted so that it converged with or diverged from the stairs (±1.91º) or remained neutral (±0º). In Study 2, the walking behaviour of participants (n=36) was filmed as they approached the stairs to descend, unaware that the banister converged, diverged or was neutral. Results. In Study 1, participants estimated the stairs to be steeper if the banister diverged from rather than converged with the stairs. The effect was greater when participants were unaware of the adjustment. In Study 2, walking speed was significantly slower when the banister diverged from rather than converged with the stairs. Conclusions. These findings encourage us to speculate about the potential to economically re-engineer features of the built environment in order to provide opportunities for action (affordances) that invite physical activity behaviour or even promote safer navigation of the environment

A model for homeopathic remedy effects: low dose nanoparticles, allostatic cross-adaptation, and time-dependent sensitization in a complex adaptive system

BACKGROUND: This paper proposes a novel model for homeopathic remedy action on living systems. Research indicates that homeopathic remedies (a) contain measurable source and silica nanoparticles heterogeneously dispersed in colloidal solution; (b) act by modulating biological function of the allostatic stress response network (c) evoke biphasic actions on living systems via organism-dependent adaptive and endogenously amplified effects; (d) improve systemic resilience. DISCUSSION: The proposed active components of homeopathic remedies are nanoparticles of source substance in water-based colloidal solution, not bulk-form drugs. Nanoparticles have unique biological and physico-chemical properties, including increased catalytic reactivity, protein and DNA adsorption, bioavailability, dose-sparing, electromagnetic, and quantum effects different from bulk-form materials. Trituration and/or liquid succussions during classical remedy preparation create “top-down” nanostructures. Plants can biosynthesize remedy-templated silica nanostructures. Nanoparticles stimulate hormesis, a beneficial low-dose adaptive response. Homeopathic remedies prescribed in low doses spaced intermittently over time act as biological signals that stimulate the organism’s allostatic biological stress response network, evoking nonlinear modulatory, self-organizing change. Potential mechanisms include time-dependent sensitization (TDS), a type of adaptive plasticity/metaplasticity involving progressive amplification of host responses, which reverse direction and oscillate at physiological limits. To mobilize hormesis and TDS, the remedy must be appraised as a salient, but low level, novel threat, stressor, or homeostatic disruption for the whole organism. Silica nanoparticles adsorb remedy source and amplify effects. Properly-timed remedy dosing elicits disease-primed compensatory reversal in direction of maladaptive dynamics of the allostatic network, thus promoting resilience and recovery from disease. SUMMARY: Homeopathic remedies are proposed as source nanoparticles that mobilize hormesis and time-dependent sensitization via non-pharmacological effects on specific biological adaptive and amplification mechanisms. The nanoparticle nature of remedies would distinguish them from conventional bulk drugs in structure, morphology, and functional properties. Outcomes would depend upon the ability of the organism to respond to the remedy as a novel stressor or heterotypic biological threat, initiating reversals of cumulative, cross-adapted biological maladaptations underlying disease in the allostatic stress response network. Systemic resilience would improve. This model provides a foundation for theory-driven research on the role of nanomaterials in living systems, mechanisms of homeopathic remedy actions and translational uses in nanomedicine

Dee-jay drop that deadbeat : hip-hop's remix of fatherhood narratives

This dissertation examines hip-hop fatherhood narratives from 2010-2015 influenced by drug addiction, mass incarceration, underground economies, trauma, and dysfunctional co-parenting. Explicitly, the paper explores how marginalized, urban African American dads are imagined as protectors, providers, and/or surrogates in hip-hop lyricism. Additionally, the research pays attention to hip-hop artists' depiction of identity orchestration and identity formation of black adolescents and patriarchs by utilizing David Wall's theories on identity stasis. Moreover, the dissertation critically analyzes hip-hop lyrics that reflect different concepts of maleness such as hyper-masculine, the complex cool, biblical, heroic, and hegemonic masculinities. In sum, the paper examines rap lyrics use of mimicry calling into question representative black male engagement with American patriarchy.</jats:p