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The Comic Counterfactual: Laughter, Affect, And Civic Alternatives, Don Waisanen

Publications and Research

This project contributes the comic counterfactual to the critical lexicon of rhetorical studies. Using a range of examples from political comedy, this paper offers six distinguishing features and several temporal functions of this concept. I argue that the comic counterfactual invites audiences to critically reflect upon the political, social, and performative consequences of historical events by bringing affective, sensory weight to alternative visions, moving unaccountable private interests into public culture, targeting the subtle determinisms that can easily creep into communication, and creating plausible ways to reworld the status quo. I discuss the limitations of the comic counterfactual in the political …

From Departure To Destination. Reminiscences Of The Weissman School Of Arts And Sciences., Aldemaro Romero Jr., Gary Hentzi

Publications and Research

This volume is both a remembrance of the past and a prologue of the bright future to come for the George and Mildred Weissman School of Arts and Sciences (WSAS). As these chapter attest, the Weissman School has grown and evolved significantly, and particularly in the period sine George and Mildred Weissman provided their visionary endowment gift in 1999. Now the School is on the precipice of a new era.

Contents:

"Foreword," Mitchel B. Wallerstein

"Introduction," Katherine Pence

"First Annual Weissman Lecture, 1998," George Weissman

"A Two-Way Street," Carol Berkin

"Baruch and the Liberal Arts," Myrna Chase

"Fertile Ground," Roslyn …

Is It Morally Permissible To Have Children, Awinyandji W. Djebou

Theses and Dissertations

Having children is something that has always been considered morally good. Generations and generations of human beings have been raised with the idea that procreating is part of the natural processes of life. To have a child is often considered an important milestone in a person’s life most societies. In fact, it is expected of any well-rounded adult. However, in recent years, some philosophers have argued against the moral permissibility of having children. In this thesis I aim to end the debate on the morality of procreation. I will argue that it is morally permissible to have children, but only …

A Description Of Nesting Behaviors, Including Factors Impacting Nest Site Selection, In Black‐And‐White Ruffed Lemurs (Varecia Variegata), Andrea L. Baden

Publications and Research

Nest site selection is at once fundamental to reproduction and a poorly understood component of many organisms’ reproductive investment. This study investigates the nesting behaviors of black-and-white ruffed lemurs, Varecia variegata, a litter-bearing primate from the southeastern rainforests of Madagascar. Using a combination of behavioral, geospatial, and demographic data, I test the hypotheses that environmental and social cues influence nest site selection and that these decisions ultimately impact maternal reproductive success. Gestating females built multiple large nests throughout their territories. Of these, females used only a fraction of the originally constructed nests, as well as several parking locations as infants …

Microtubule Imaging Reveals Cytoskeletal Deficit Predisposing The Retinal Ganglion Cell Axons To Atrophy In Dba/2j, Denis Sharoukhov, Festa Bucinca-Cupallari, Hyungsik Lim

Publications and Research

PURPOSE: Glaucoma is characterized by progressive loss of the retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and their axons. Here we test an outstanding notion that microtubules (MTs) within RGC axons degrade before the loss of morphology (‘‘MT hypothesis’’).

METHODS: The integrity of axonal MTs was interrogated by intrinsic second-harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy. Using DBA/2J mice as a model of glaucoma and DBA/2J-Gpnmbþ as a nonglaucomatous control, the relationship between MT disruption and morphology was quantitatively examined as a function of age and sex in the fresh retinal wholemounts.

RESULTS: The mean SHG density (i.e., the mean SHG intensity per thickness) was significantly …

Pitx1 Regulates Cement Gland Development In Xenopus Laevis Through Activation Of Transcriptional Targets And Inhibition Of Bmp Signaling, Ye Jin, Daniel C. Weinstein

Publications and Research

The cement gland in Xenopus laevis has long been used as a model to study the interplay of cell signaling and transcription factors during embryogenesis. It has been shown that an intermediate level of Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP) signaling is essential for cement gland formation. In addition, several transcription factors have been linked to cement gland development. One of these, the homeodomain-containing protein Pitx1, can generate ectopic cement gland formation; however, the mechanisms underlying this process remain obscure. We report here, for the first time, a requirement for Pitx proteins in cement gland formation, in vivo: knockdown of both pitx1 …

Determinism And The Problem Of Individual Freedom In Li Zehou’S Thought, Andrew Lambert

Publications and Research

Li Zehou’s work can be understood as an account of a Chinese modernity, a vision for Chinese society that seeks to integrate three distinct philosophical approaches. These are Chinese history and culture, which Li understands as largely Confucian; Marxism, which has exerted such influence on a modernizing China; and Western learning more generally, as expressed by figures such as Immanuel Kant and Sigmund Freud. Li also frequently expresses the hope that a Chinese modernity will be one in which the importance of the individual is recognized, and rights and freedoms upheld (e.g., 2006, p. 182). But this stance raises an …

Electrode And Headgear Design For Accurate Tdcs, Henry Bernstein

Dissertations and Theses

Stimulating the brain with a low current that is focused on specific regions of the brain has been shown to modify brain function and treat various neurological diseases. Transcranial direct current stimulation (TDCS) has been an effective and life changing alternative treatment for a vast range of neurological conditions including depression, epilepsy, stroke rehabilitation, addiction and chronic pain but only if it is administered correctly. During TDCS, a weak constant current is applied to precise locations on the scalp to modulate brain activity. Those locations can be determined by the cumbersome 10-20 EEG measurement system, transcranial magnetic stimulation or neuronavigation. …

Wnt Secretion Proteins Modulate Rankl-Induced Expression Of Aire In Thymic Epithelial Cells, Daniel Pollack

Dissertations and Theses

Thymic epithelial cells (TEC) are essential for a proper adaptive immune response by regulating thymocyte development and establishing central tolerance. In the thymus, TECs differentially express Wnt proteins, which activate canonical and non-canonical Wnt signaling pathways. Wnt signaling is thought to regulate cell survival, proliferation, and development although the direct molecular mechanisms in TECs have yet to be elucidated. The inducible inhibition of canonical Wnt signaling with Dkk1 leads to a rapid loss of TEC progenitors as well as a decline in mature Aire-expressing mTECs. Therefore, we explore the role of Wnt ligands potentially responsible for stimulating and/or regulating Wnt …

From Fear To Reverie: Incidents In Isolation In The American Wilderness, Serhiy Metenko

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis looks at Nineteenth Century American adventure narratives to examine the role of the wilderness. This thesis centers on a motif of isolated characters in the wilderness and analyzes the various techniques nineteenth-century authors use to project the psyche of their characters. The selected Nineteenth Century authors: Washington Irving, Charles Brockden Brown, Edgar Alan Poe, Harriet Spofford, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Herman Melville root America’s identity in the wilderness. They emphasize its power on the human psyche as positive, restorative, inward-looking, and divine. This thesis argues that these authors portray the wilderness as a protagonist that needs to be preserved …

Writing Indigenous Identity In Herman Melville And Joseph Conrad's Polynesian And Malay Archipelago Novels, Catherine L. Black

Dissertations and Theses

The thesis of this paper is that cross-cultural writing can be done with the right methods of communication, such as engaging narrator and education—or simply sensitive, imaginative writing. Herman Melville and Joseph Conrad’s five books set in the Polynesian and Malay Archipelagos—Typee and Omoo and the Malay Trilogy (Almayer’s Folly, An Outcast of the Islands, and The Rescue)— are used as master models of how to write indigenous characters with rich characterization in pivotal roles, even circa 1846 and 1896. The unique perspective and technique by which they did this is explored, a technique and perspective not …

The Famished Road: Oil Dependency And Socioeconomic Underdevelopment In The Niger Delta, Nelson Caban

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis examines the social and political relationships between indigenous communities within the Nigerian Delta region and the Federal government regarding the management of petroleum resources and its implication for the general socioeconomic development of the Nigerian State. It investigates the correlation between the broader issues of sociocultural sovereignty, representation of ethnic minorities in the body politic and infrastructural development of the country. Furthermore, the thesis explores trends such as the development of native-led cultural institutions that foster the continuation of cultural praxis through the theoretical tropes of Globalization and Modernization.

The Effect Of Stress Induced Premature Senescence On The Expression Of Heterogeneous Ribonucleoieoprotein, Yuriy Pechenyy

Dissertations and Theses

The role of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins (hnRNP) in cellular senescence is yet to be defined. Cellular senescence is a terminal growth arrest in somatic cells. It is thought to be the consequence of telomeric shortening that acts as a DNA damage signal. Conversely, cells induced into premature senescence (SIPS) by oxidative stress, is independent of telomere attrition. Premature senescence has been proposed to be physiologically relevant as it can be induced by treatment with chemotherapeutic agents. In particular, we are studying the roles of hnRNP A1 and A2 in the maintenance of the senescence phenotype. hnRNPs are a family of …

Bone Marrow Derived Progenitor Cells And Their Contributions To The Thymic Stroma, Mohammed Hoque

Dissertations and Theses

The thymus serves as the primary lymphoid organ responsible for the development and selection of a self-tolerant T cell repertoire. In paradox to its critical functions for the adaptive immune response, the thymus undergoes a profound age associated decline beginning in early adult life resulting in significant decline in T-cell function.Thymic epithelial cells (TECs) are the most critical component of the thymic microenvironment and undergo rapid turn-over, so understanding the cellular mechanisms responsible for the maintenance of TEC number and organization will be critical in counteracting age associated involution, particularly in cancer patients, due to enhanced degeneration in response to …

Knockdown Of Heparan Sulfate Via Ndst1 Knockout Does Not Inhibit Mouse Aortic Endothelial Cell Alignment In-Vivo, John Diaz De Leon Iii

Dissertations and Theses

Atherosclerotic plaque localizes in predictable areas such as arches and bifurcations which are characterized by disturbed flow patterns and the resulting damage and dysfunction to the endothelium. Endothelial cells (ECs) under sustained laminar flow align in the direction of flow; however, under disturbed flow conditions, ECs sustain damage to their glycocalyx (GCX) which results in unaligned and rounder cells. An investigation into the role of NDST1 sulfation of heparan sulfate (HS), a key component of many proteoglycans which make up the GCX, was conducted. The descending aortas (DAs) of transgenic mice with conditional knockouts (KOs) of NDST1 in vascular ECs …

Collective Chemotaxis Of Retinal Neural Cells From Drosophila Melanogaster In Controlled Microenvironments, Stephanie Zhang

Dissertations and Theses

More than 172 million people are influenced by a retinal disorder that stems from either age-related or developmental causes. Of those, 1.5 million people endure a developmental retinal disorder. In the developing retina, neural cells undergo a series of highly complicated differentiation and migration process. A main cause of these diseases is abnormal collective migration of neural progenitors hindering the retinogenesis process. However, our grasp of collective migration and signaling molecules, critical to the developing retina, is incompletely understood. Understanding the molecular mechanisms, such as the fibroblast growth factor pathway, that regulate glial and neuronal migration provides decisive insights in …

A Web-Based Interactive Tool To Reduce Childhood Obesity Risk In Urban Minority Youth: Usability Testing Study, Sandra Verdaguer, Katrina F. Mateo, Katarzyna Wyka, Tracy A. Dennis, May May Leung

Publications and Research

Background: Childhood obesity is a serious public health issue among minority youth in the United States. Technology-enhanced approaches can be effective for promoting healthy behavior change.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to test the usability of prototypes of a Web-based interactive tool promoting healthy dietary behaviors to reduce childhood obesity risk in urban minority youth. The Web-based tool comprised a manga-style comic with interactive features (eg, sound effects, clickable pop-ups), tailored messaging, and goal setting, and was optimized for use on tablet devices.

Methods: Latino and black/African American children ages 9 to 13 years were recruited to participate …

Single Olfactory Receptors Set Odor Detection Thresholds, Adam Dewan, Annika Cichy, Jingji Zhang, Kayla Miguel, Paul Feinstein, Dmitry Rinberg, Thomas Bozza

Publications and Research

In many species, survival depends on olfaction, yet the mechanisms that underlie olfactory sensitivity are not well understood. Here we examine how a conserved subset of olfactory receptors, the trace amine-associated receptors (TAARs), determine odor detection thresholds of mice to amines. We find that deleting all TAARs, or even single TAARs, results in significant odor detection deficits. This finding is not limited to TAARs, as the deletion of a canonical odorant receptor reduced behavioral sensitivity to its preferred ligand. Remarkably, behavioral threshold is set solely by the most sensitive receptor, with no contribution from other highly sensitive receptors. In addition, …

Online Communication Settings And The Qualitative Research Process: Acclimating Students And Novice Researchers, Katherine Gregory

Publications and Research

In the last 20 years, qualitative research scholars have begun to interrogate methodological and analytic issues concerning online research settings as both data sources and instruments for digital methods. This article examines the adaptation of parts of a qualitative research curriculum for understanding online communication settings. I propose methodological best practices for researchers and educators that I developed while teaching research methods to undergraduate and graduate students across disciplinary departments and discuss obstacles faced during my own research while gathering data from online sources. This article confronts issues concerning the disembodied aspects of applying what in practice should be rooted …

Finding Influential Nodes For Integration In Brain Networks Using Optimal Percolation Theory, Gino Del Ferraro, Andrea Moreno, Byungjoon Min, Flaviano Morone, Úrsula Pérez-Ramírez, Laura Pérez-Cervera, Lucas C. Parra, Andrei Holodny, Santiago Canals, Hernán A. Makse

Publications and Research

Global integration of information in the brain results from complex interactions of segregated brain networks. Identifying the most influential neuronal populations that efficiently bind these networks is a fundamental problem of systems neuroscience. Here, we apply optimal percolation theory and pharmacogenetic interventions in vivo to predict and subsequently target nodes that are essential for global integration of a memory network in rodents. The theory predicts that integration in the memory network is mediated by a set of low-degree nodes located in the nucleus accumbens. This result is confirmed with pharmacogenetic inactivation of the nucleus accumbens, which eliminates the formation of …

Very Long Engagements: The Persistent Authority Of Bridewealth In A Post-Apartheid South African Community, Michael W. Yarbrough

Publications and Research

This article examines the persistent authority of the customary practice for forming recognized marriages in many South African communities, centered on bridewealth and called “lobola.” Marriage rates have sharply fallen in South Africa, and many South Africans blame this on the difficulty of completing lobola amid intense economic strife. Using in-depth qualitative research from a village in KwaZulu-Natal, where lobola demands are the country’s highest and marriage rates its lowest, I argue that lobola’s authority survives because lay actors, and especially women, have innovated new repertoires of lobola behavior that allow them to pursue emerging needs and desires for marriage …

Play Time: Why Video Games Are Essential To Urban Academic Libraries, Christina Boyle

Urban Library Journal

Although there is still some hesitance to accept video games as valuable materials for academic library collections, there is a growing body of research which proves that they are highly beneficial to these institutions. The current conversation indicates that video games are useful to academic libraries, but there are no discussions of their essential role within urban library collections. In this paper, it is my contention that video games are not only advantageous to urban academic libraries, but are indisputably necessary as well. Video games are both effective community builders and catalysts for increased awareness and usage of library sources …

The Politics Of Twilights: Notes On The Semiotics Of Horizon Photography, Michael W. Raphael

Publications and Research

Visual sociology is crucial for exploring the indexical meanings that thick description cannot capture within a cultural setting. This paper explores how such meanings are created within a subset of the domain of photography. Using data gathered over several years, I constructed the semiotic code ‘horizon’ photographers use when ‘in the field’ for photographing periods of twilight. This code explains the relevance of subject matter to the photograph’s aesthetics. Specifically, I detail how ‘the horizon’ communicates the potential for the photographer to ‘capture’ the index of a symbol that later permits the photographer to culturally mark scenes with ‘light’. In …

Is There “Hope For Every Addicted American”? The New U.S. War On Drugs, B Stone

Publications and Research

The U.S. has been waging a War on Drugs for the last forty years. But in the mid-2010s, a series of reforms have rejected this militant approach. How did these policies manage to break through a gridlocked Congress? What is the nature of these reforms, and what are their political implications? Using critical discourse analysis, I demonstrate that a new policy framework of “addiction recovery” defines the political crises of the opioid epidemic, the failure of the War on Drugs, and mass incarceration in terms of disease, attributing Drug War injustices to prejudice against “addiction,” rather than a constellation of …

Queer Solidarities: New Activisms Erupting At The Intersection Of Structural Precarity And Radical Misrecognition, Michelle Fine, María Elena Torre, David M. Frost, Allison L. Cabana

Publications and Research

This article investigates the relationship between exposure to structural injustice, experiences of social discrimination, psychological well being, physical health, and engagement in activist solidarities for a large, racially diverse and inclusive sample of 5,860 LGBTQ/Gender Expansive youth in the United States. Through a participatory action research design and a national survey created by an intergenerational research collective, the “What’s Your Issue?” survey data are used to explore the relationships between injustice, discrimination and activism; to develop an analysis of how race and gender affect young people’s vulnerabilities to State violence (in housing, schools and by the police), and their trajectories …

Proceedings Of The Cuny Games Conference 4.0: The Interactive Course, Robert O. Duncan, Joe Bisz, Julie Cassidy, Kathleen Offenholley, Maura A. Smale, Carolyn Stallard, Deborah Sturm, Anders A. Wallace, Cuny Games Network

Publications and Research

Proceedings of the CUNY Games Conference, held from January 22-23, 2018, at the CUNY Graduate Center and Borough of Manhattan Community College.

Critical Play with History (Panel) - Composition & Storytelling - Health & Cognitive Sciences - Gaming Anthropology: Teaching Culture and Power Through Games and Design (Panel) - Twine & Writing Games - Easy Ideas II - STEM Games - Global Games for Change Catalog (Panel) - Comics & Active Learning - Fact Checking & Research - Computer Science & Game Design - SimGlobal: Building a Serious Roleplay Course for the Social Sciences (Panel) - Role Playing Games, Narrative, …

High Fructose Corn Syrup Induces Metabolic Dysregulation And Altered Dopamine Signaling In The Absence Of Obesity, Allison M. Meyers, Devry Mourra, Jeff A. Beeler

Publications and Research

The contribution of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) to metabolic disorder and obesity, independent of high fat, energy-rich diets, is controversial. While high-fat diets are widely accepted as a rodent model of diet-induced obesity (DIO) and metabolic disorder, the value of HFCS alone as a rodent model of DIO is unclear. Impaired dopamine function is associated with obesity and high fat diet, but the effect of HFCS on the dopamine system has not been investigated. The objective of this study was to test the effect of HFCS on weight gain, glucose regulation, and evoked dopamine release using fast-scan cyclic voltammetry. …

Materialism Without Matter: Deleuze, Steven Swarbrick

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Evaluating Behavioral Responses Of Nesting Lesser Snow Geese To Unmanned Aircraft Surveys, Andrew Barnas, Robert Newman, Christopher J. Felege, Michael P. Corcoran, Samuel D. Hervey, Tanner J. Stechmann, Robert F. Rockwell, Susan N. Ellis-Felege

Publications and Research

Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) are relatively new technologies gaining popularity among wildlife biologists. As with any new tool in wildlife science, operating protocols must be developed through rigorous protocol testing. Few studies have been conducted that quantify the impacts UAS may have on unhabituated individuals in the wild using standard aerial survey protocols. We evaluated impacts of unmanned surveys by measuring UAS-induced behavioral responses during the nesting phase of lesser snow geese (Anser caerulescens caerulescens) in Wapusk National Park, Manitoba, Canada. We conducted surveys with a fixed-wing Trimble UX5 and monitored behavioral changes via discreet surveillance cameras at 25 nests. …

Sexual Assault, Mrs. Claus--And Mrs. Trump, Marleen S. Barr

Publications and Research

This articles argues that iconic cultural images of women acting as appendages to men need to be changed.