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Proceedings Of The 2nd Annual Cuny Games Festival, Robert O. Duncan, Joe Bisz, Francesco Crocco, Carlos Hernandez, Kathleen Offenholley, Maura A. Smale, Deborah Sturm, Cuny Games Network

Publications and Research

Proceedings of the CUNY Games Conference, held from January 16-17, 2015, at the CUNY Graduate Center and Borough of Manhattan Community College.

Health Games - Language and Composition - Design: Classroom Considerations - Games in the Physical Environment - Games and Behavioral Science - Play, Politics & Economics - Gaming Curricula, Disciplines & Programs - Gaming and History - Institutional Programming with Games - Philosophy and Roleplaying - Ed. Game Design: Strategy & Tactics - Repurposing Game Genres - Narrative, Storytelling & Games - Community & Social Justice - Extemporaneity - Personal & Social Transformation - Cognition, Design & Play …

Academic Freedom Isn’T For Me, Aaron Barlow

Publications and Research

Challenging Stanley Fish on the topic of academic freedom, the author is critical of neo-liberal trends in higher education.

Interpersonal Rejection Sensitivity Predicts Burnout: A Prospective Study, Renzo Bianchi, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Eric Laurent

Publications and Research

We examined whether interpersonal rejection sensitivity (IRS)—the hallmark of atypical depression – prospectively predicted burnout, controlling for baseline symptoms, history of depressive disorders, antidepressant intake, gender, age, and length of employment (mean between-assessment duration: 21 months; n = 578; 74% female). IRS was related to a 119% increased risk of burnout at follow-up. Three of four burned out participants reported to be affected by IRS, or 2.5 times the rate observed in participants with no (or subthreshold) burnout symptoms. Our study highlights a dispositional factor in burnout’s etiology also known to be a key component of atypical depression’s etiology. The …

Burnout Does Not Help Predict Depression In French Schoolteachers, Renzo Bianchi, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Eric Laurent

Publications and Research

Objectives: Burnout has been viewed as a phase in the development of depression. However, supportive research is scarce. We examined whether burnout predicted depression among French school teachers.

Methods: We conducted a 2-wave, 21-month study involving 627 teachers (73% female) working in French primary and secondary schools. Burnout was assessed with the Maslach Burnout Inventory and depression with the 9-item depression module of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). The PHQ-9 grades depressive symptom severity and provides a provisional diagnosis of major depression. Depression was treated both as a continuous and categorical variable using linear and logistic regression analyses. We controlled …

Demographics And Education In The Twenty-First Century, Norman Eng

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Re-Conceptualizing Developmental Areas Of Assessment For Screening, Eligibility Determination And Program Planning In Early Intervention, Bonnie Keilty, Patricia M. Blasco, Serra Acar

Publications and Research

Contemporary recommended practices in early childhood assessment strive to gain a holistic picture of child learning and development to inform screening, eligibility, and program planning decisions. These practices have traditionally focused on competencies reflected in developmental domains with limited attention to the approaches-tolearning used to acquire those competencies. In this article, we call for the examination of early childhood constructs that impact a child’s ability to learn and develop, such as executive function (EF), mastery motivation, self-regulation and selfdetermination, specifically in the infant-toddler period. With EF defined as a wide range of central control processes in the brain that link …

Disciplining Yoga: Foucauldian Themes In Sivananda Yoga Practice, Mark E. Eaton

Publications and Research

This paper considers the yoga practices at the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center as “disciplinary” practices. Yoga has a long history of being interpreted as “discipline”; this paper will consider how it is disciplinary and what is being disciplined. To this end, this paper will frame Sivananda yoga as a discipline from two perspectives: Sarah Strauss’ characterization of yoga as an “oasis regime”; and Michel Foucault’s view of discipline as minute “carceral” elaborations of power. These approaches are contrasted and ultimately, following Foucault, yoga disciplines are understood as being constitutive of the subject. The disciplinary character of yoga at the Sivananda …

Literary Translingualism: Multilingual Identity And Creativity, Steven G. Kellman, Natasha Lvovich

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Hathrasi Rasiya: An Intermediate Song Genre Of North India, Peter L. Manuel

Publications and Research

Hathrasi rasiya is a traditional song genre of North India’s Braj region, performed by semi-professional members of music clubs (akhār.ās) and informed by a complex set of prosodic schemes, with secondary melodic aspects. As these schemes involve, however tangentially, a kind of music theory, and the genre is patronized by local elites and enjoyed by connoisseurs, it constitutes a member of the “intermediate sphere” of regional genres that share features of both classical and folk musics. Although currently in a state of decline, Hathrasi rasiya flourished vigorously in the twentieth century. This article surveys its formal features and its place …

Integrating Human Factors Engineering And Information Processing Approaches To Facilitate Evaluations In Criminal Justice Technology Research, Anthony V. Salvemini, Eric L. Piza, Jeremy G. Carter, Eric L. Grommon, Nancy Merritt

Publications and Research

Background: Evaluations are routinely conducted by government agencies and research organizations to assess the effectiveness of technology in criminal justice. Interdisciplinary research methods are salient to this effort. Technology evaluations are faced with a number of challenges including (1) the need to facilitate effective communication between social science researchers, technology specialists, and practitioners, (2) the need to better understand procedural and contextual aspects of a given technology, and (3) the need to generate findings that can be readily used for decision making and policy recommendations.

Objectives: Process and outcome evaluations of technology can be enhanced by integrating concepts from human …

Youth And Parental Perspectives On The Functional Family Therapy Programme, Katarzyna Celinska, Cherng-Cheng Chia, Nikiesha J. Virgil

Publications and Research

Assessing clients’ satisfaction with family therapy interventions has important practical and theoretical implications. This article presents findings on client satisfaction after participating in functional family therapy (FFT), which addresses youths at risk of delinquency behaviour and communication problems in the family. Qualitative interviews and quantitative research methods are employed to compare programme perceptions with standardized therapeutic outcomes. The data include a parent or guardian interview, a youth interview, a services tracking form and the initial and discharge strengths and needs assessment (SNA). We observed high levels of satisfaction with FFT, yet satisfaction with family therapy and therapists was higher among …

Investigating Differences In How The News Media Views Homosexuality Across Nations: An Analysis Of The United States, South Africa, And Uganda, Amy Adamczyk, Chunyre Kim, Lauren Paradis

Publications and Research

While there is a wealth of information about the extent to which people across the world disapprove of homosexuality, we know a lot less about the lenses through which they view same-sex relations. The aim of this study is to understand better how homosexuality is framed in the public press, and how religion and economic development may combine to shape this discourse. Through an analysis of almost 400 newspaper articles, this study compares how homosexuality is framed in Uganda, South Africa, and the United States. Because these nations have high levels of religious belief, but differ in their level of …

Religiosity And Reactions To Terrorism, Amy Adamczyk, Gary Lafree

Publications and Research

Although many of the world’s most serious outbreaks of conflict and violence center on religion, social science research has had relatively little to say about religion’s unique role in shaping individuals’ attitudes about these events. In this paper we investigate whether Americans’ religious beliefs play a central role in shaping attitudes toward the continuing threat of terrorism and their willingness to assist officials in countering these perceived threats. Our analysis of an original data collection of almost 1600 Americans shows that more religious respondents are more likely to express concerns about terrorism. However, this relationship is mediated by their level …

Feminism, Psychology And Social Justice: A Possible Meeting? An Interview With Michelle Fine, Karla Galvão Adrião

Publications and Research

Michelle Fine is a Feminist Psychologist Researcher and has contributed strongly in the past two decades to the Qualitative and Participatory Methodologies field, with special attention to Critical-Participatory-Action-Research (CPAR). Her research in Social Psychology and Education puts into question the positions of power and privilege, concepts such as social justice/injustice, the intersectional reading of gender, class, race, generation, and the notion of solidarity.

The Use Of Psychological Defense Mechanisms – By Librarians And The Public – In Response To Traditional And Binary Librarian Stereotypes, Beth Posner

Publications and Research

Images of librarians in popular culture include the traditional stereotype - of a mousy spinster who cares more for protecting books than for helping people - as well as several contrasting or binary images - such as librarians who are wild by night (although quiet by day), know-it-alls (rather than know-nothings), or high-tech (instead of old-fashioned.) In response to the anxiety provoked by the more pernicious aspects of these images, both librarians and the public may employ a variety of common unconscious defense mechanisms. This chapter examines some of those used by the public - including stereotyping, and splitting or …

Imperatives In Informal Organizational Resource Exchange In Central Europe, David Jancsics

Publications and Research

This paper challenges the mainstream social scientific approach that emphasizes “moral inferiority” in corruption and bribery in Central and Eastern Europe. We argue that in many cases, people participate in informal organizational resource exchanges not because of immorality or greed but rather because of powerful external forces. By using the case of contemporary Hungary to support this argument, this paper provides a systematic analysis of such imperatives. The findings of 50 in-depth qualitative interviews suggest that two main imperatives can be distinguished; macro-level social and meso-level organizational forces. Macro-level forces may be linked to historical paths, Hungary's socialist and pre- …

A Qualitative Study Of Stress In Individuals Self-Employed In Solo Businesses, Irvin Sam Schonfeld, Joseph J. Mazzola

Publications and Research

This qualitative study involved 54 individuals who were self-employed in a variety of solo businesses. All participants were administered a semistructured interview that inquired into various aspects of their work experience with the data subject to reliability and validity checks. The study identified stressful incidents, coping strategies, and emotional strains arising from those stressful incidents. Uncertainty about income was a common background stressor. Recent specific stressors included dramatic slowdowns in business, reputational threat, betrayal, unreasonable customers, and medical problems. Commonly occurring strains included apprehension/anxiety, frustration, anger, and sadness/depression. The self-employed used problem-focused coping much more often than emotion-focused coping. We …

Exploring Social Networking Technologies As Tools For Hiv Prevention For Men Who Have Sex With Men, Jorge Ramallo, Thomas Kidder, Tashuna Albritton, Gary Blick, John Pachankis, Valen Grandeleski, Trace Kershaw

Publications and Research

Social networking technologies are influential among men who have sex with men (MSM) and may be an important strategy for HIV prevention. We conducted focus groups with HIV positive and negative participants. Almost all participants used social networking sites to meet new friends and sexual partners. The main obstacle to effective HIV prevention campaigns in social networking platforms was stigmatization based on homosexuality as well as HIV status. Persistent stigma associated with HIV status and disclosure was cited as a top reason for avoiding HIV-related conversations while meeting new partners using social technologies. Further, social networking sites have different social …

Promoting Colorectal Cancer Screening Among Haitian Americans, Steven S. Coughlin, Erica I. Lubetkin, Jennifer L. Hay, Renald Raphael, Selina A. Smith

Publications and Research

Background

Few studies have examined colorectal cancer screening among Haitian Americans, although striking disparities in colorectal cancer screening and mortality are well-documented among U.S. Blacks. Race, socioeconomic status, and place of birth are factors associated with colorectal cancer incidence and mortality patterns.

Methods

In this article, we summarize published studies on colorectal cancer screening among Haitian Americans, identified through bibliographic searches in PubMed and CINAHL through August 2015, and offer recommendations for further research.

Results

Only one qualitative study and three quantitative surveys have examined colorectal cancer screening among Haitian Americans. A qualitative study found important differences in perceptions of …

Role Of Home Environment, Parental Care, Parents’ Personality And Their Relationship To Adolescent Mental Health, Sibnath Deb, Kevin Mcgirr, Banhisikah Bhattacharya, Jiandong Sun

Publications and Research

The study examined relationships among home environment, parents’ personality and mental health of adolescents with a focus on adjustment, anxiety, self-concept and self-confidence. A group of 370 adolescents were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire and three psychological tests; subjects were selected following a two-stage sampling technique. Participation of the adolescent students in the study was voluntary. Results indicate that parental care was associated with high self-confidence while parental pressure associated with high anxiety. Fathers’ “friendliness” associated with low emotional adjustment and high self-concept while mothers’ short-temper associated with high anxiety. Disturbed families contributed to adolescent anxiety, inability to share personal …

Methamphetamine-Induced Short-Term Increase And Long-Term Decrease In Spatial Working Memory Affects Protein Kinase M Zeta (Pkmζ), Dopamine, And Glutamate Receptors, Stephen H. Braren, Damian Drapala, Ingrid K. Tulloch, Peter A. Serrano

Publications and Research

Methamphetamine (MA) is a toxic, addictive drug shown to modulate learning and memory, yet the neural mechanisms are not fully understood. We investigated the effects of 2 weekly injections of MA (30 mg/kg) on working memory using the radial 8-arm maze (RAM) across 5 weeks in adolescent-age mice. MA-treated mice show a significant improvement in working memory performance 1 week following the first MA injection compared to saline-injected controls. Following 5 weeks of MA abstinence mice were re-trained on a reference and working memory version of the RAM to assess cognitive flexibility. MA-treated mice show significantly more working memory errors …

Consciousness Doesn't Overflow Cognition, Richard Brown

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Facilitating Of Emotions In Sales Interactions May Hinder Performance, Selma Kadić -Maglajlić, Adriana Espinosa

Publications and Research

This article analyzes the relationship between facilitating of emotions, a branch of emotional intelligence, and salesperson performance. We employ an ability-based measure of facilitating of emotions on a sample of salespeople from Croatia (N = 245), and use structural equation modelling to test a linear versus non-linear relationship. We find that facilitating of emotions and salesperson performance share a relation that is modeled by a downward turning parabola. These findings contradict a linear relationship assumed in the conventional literature, and suggest that too little or too much facilitating of emotions may be detrimental to salesperson performance. These results provide new …

Voys Lessons: Whirling Words In Chaucer’S “House Of Rumour", Nicola Blake

Publications and Research

“Voys Lessons: Whirling Words in Chaucer’s ‘House of Rumour’” examines the lability of sound and its use in the dissemination, transposition, and authorship of stories within The House of Fame, a text exemplifying the mobility and flexibility of misused or unhinged words, as expressed through sound as opposed to text. By engaging the use and interpretation of sound in contrast to words, this new reading concentrates on the idea of narrative as material artifact with limited stasis. Geffrey’s pseudo-authorship, through his voyeuristic stance, engages the textuality of sounds and shows the related subtlety, elasticity, and democratic sociohistorical aspect of …

Activity-Based Therapies For Repair Of The Corticospinal System Injured During Development, Kathleen M. Friel, Preston T. J. A. Williams, Najet Serradj, Samit Chakrabarty, John H. Martin

Publications and Research

This review presents the mechanistic underpinnings of corticospinal tract (CST) development, derived from animal models, and applies what has been learned to inform neural activity-based strategies for CST repair.We first discuss that, in normal development, early bilateral CST projections are later refined into a dense crossed CST projection, with maintenance of sparse ipsilateral projections. Using a novel mouse genetic model, we show that promoting the ipsilateral CST projection produces mirror movements, common in hemiplegic cerebral palsy (CP), suggesting that ipsilateral CST projections become maladaptive when they become abnormally dense and strong.We next discuss howanimal studies support a developmental “competition rule” …

Braincheck - A Very Brief Tool To Detect Incipient Cognitive Decline: Optimized Case-Finding Combining Patient- And Informant-Based Data, Michael M. Ehrensperger, Kirstein I. Taylor, Manfred Berres, Nancy S. Foldi, Myriam Dellenbach, Irene Bopp, Gabriel Gold, Armin Von Gunten, Daniel Inglin, René Müri, Reto W. Kressig, Andreas U. Monsch

Publications and Research

Introduction Optimal identification of subtle cognitive impairment in the primary care setting requires a very brief tool combining (a) patients- subjective impairments, (b) cognitive testing, and (c) information from informants. The present study developed a new, very quick and easily administered case-finding tool combining these assessments ('BrainCheck') and tested the feasibility and validity of this instrument in two independent studies.

Methods We developed a case-finding tool comprised of patient-directed (a) questions about memory and depression and (b) clock drawing, and (c) the informant-directed 7-item version of the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE). Feasibility study: 52 general …

The Effects Of Sleep Loss On Capacity And Effort, Mindy Engle-Friedman

Publications and Research

Sleep loss appears to affect the capacity for performance and access to energetic resources. This paper reviews research examining the physical substrates referred to as resource capacity, the role of sleep in protecting that capacity and the reaction of the system as it attempts to respond with effort to overcome the limitations on capacity caused by sleep loss. Effort is the extent to which an organism will exert itself beyond basic levels of functioning or attempt alternative strategies to maintain performance. The purpose of this review is to bring together research across sleep disciplines to clarify the substrates that constitute …

Long-Distance Retinoid Signaling In The Zebra Finch Brain, Tina C. Roeske, Constance Scharff, Christopher R. Olson, Arpik Nshdejan, Claudio V. Mello

Publications and Research

All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), the main active metabolite of vitamin A, is a powerful signaling molecule that regulates large-scale morphogenetic processes during vertebrate embryonic development, but is also involved post-natally in regulating neural plasticity and cognition. In songbirds, it plays an important role in the maturation of learned song. The distribution of the ATRA-synthesizing enzyme, zRalDH, and of ATRA receptors (RARs) have been described, but information on the distribution of other components of the retinoid signaling pathway is still lacking. To address this gap, we have determined the expression patterns of two obligatory RAR co-receptors, the retinoid X receptors (RXR) …

Music Education, Aesthetics, And The Measure Of Academic Achievement, Karl Madden, David Orenstein, Alexei Oulanov, Yelena Novitskaya, Ida Bazan, Thomas Ostrowski, Min Hyung Ahn

Publications and Research

Grades and test scores are the traditional measurement of academic achievement. Quantitative improvements on standardized scores in Math/Science/Language are highly-coveted outcomes for meeting accreditation standards required for institutional program funding. Music and the Fine Arts, difficult to assess by traditional academic achievement measurement, and often devalued as so-called “luxury” subjects, struggle for necessary funding. Showing measureable collateral value to other academic subjects—such as math—in order to justify music program funding is dubious. To objectify the purpose of music education in terms of its influence on other subjects is to overlook aesthetic value. The scholarly literature recognizes an historical tendency to …

Gestural And Symbolic Development Among Apes And Humans: Support For A Multimodal Theory Of Language Evolution, Kristen Gillespie-Lynch, Patricia M. Greenfield, Heidi Lyn, Sue Savage-Rumbaugh

Publications and Research

What are the implications of similarities and differences in the gestural and symbolic development of apes and humans?This focused review uses as a starting point our recent study that provided evidence that gesture supported the symbolic development of a chimpanzee, a bonobo, and a human child reared in language-enriched environments at comparable stages of communicative development. These three species constitute a complete clade, species possessing a common immediate ancestor. Communicative behaviors observed among all species in a clade are likely to have been present in the common ancestor. Similarities in the form and function of many gestures produced by the …