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Scholarly Works (15 results)

  • Thesis
  • Peer Reviewed
UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations (2012)

"La comunità mutilata: Embodiment, Corporality, and the Reconstruction of the Italian Body Politic in the works of F.T. Marinetti and Gabriele D'Annunzio", is a study in how discourses of technological modernism, nationality, and woundedness operate on the longstanding metaphor of the body politic. It focuses on the writings of two of Italy's most controversial, and influential, figures during and after the First World War. I show how mutilated and prosthetic bodies become powerful political metaphors for both Marinetti and D'Annunzio, which upend and transform the notion of the body politic in posthuman, postliberal and antidemocratic ways. This study is grounded in literary analysis, but draws from political philosophy, art history and rhetoric to examine Marinetti's futurist manifestos, novels, and poetry (1909-1921), and D'Annunzio's political speeches relating to the occupation of the city of Fiume (1919-1920).

In Chapter 1, I analyze Marinetti's manifestos produced between 1909 and 1918 in order to demonstrate how Marinetti inaugurates the post-humanist discourse of cybernetics. In Chapter 2, I provide a reading of two of Marinetti's prose works, L'alcova d'acciaio (1921), and Come si seducono le donne (1917), in order to demonstrate the connection between the representation of prosthesis and the attempt to construct an anti-democratic mode of political subjectivity in Italy. In Chapters 3 and 4, I analyze the speeches and writings of Gabriele D'Annunzio during his occupation of the eastern Adriatic city of Fiume (now Rijeka) as they pertain to the promotion of the concept of Italian irredentism as a means of overcoming the "mutilated victory" of World War One, and the construction of a postliberal form of italianità.

This study takes as its guiding premise the notion that metaphors of corporality act upon the experiences of individual and collective embodiment, and that they provide forms in which the body politic is recognized. I illustrate how the language of nationalism converges with the desire to enhance, extend, and expand the limits of the self to produce a model of Italian national identity that is grounded upon an embrace of the traumatic possibilities of war and technological modernization in the works of these two figures. In doing so, I aim to demonstrate how both F.T. Marinetti's and Gabriele D'Annunzio's texts reflect a transitional moment for the discourse of Italian national identity between the Liberal nation and the Fascist state.

    Cover page: La comunita' mutilata: Embodiment, Corporality, and the Reconstruction of the Italian Body Politic in the Works of F.T. Marinetti and Gabriele D'Annunzio
    • Article
    • Peer Reviewed
    UC Davis Previously Published Works (2022)

    Objectives

    Research has extensively documented the concurrent benefits of being a volunteer (vs a nonvolunteer), but little is known about older adults who once served as a volunteer but then stopped at some point in their lives (i.e., former volunteers). The current study tracked changes in older adults' overall life satisfaction and compared these changes among former volunteers, continuous volunteers, and continuous nonvolunteers. We also examined whether self-perceptions of aging may serve as a long-term psychological buffer and protect former volunteers' life satisfaction after they quit volunteering.

    Method

    Data were from the Health and Retirement Study (2006-2016). A pooled sample of participants aged 50+ (N = 10,441) indicated volunteer behaviors every other year, and we identified volunteering dynamics based on their volunteering history across 4 waves (8 years). Participants reported on self-perceptions of aging and life satisfaction in the Leave Behind Questionnaire once every 4 years.

    Results

    Continuous volunteers reported greater subsequent life satisfaction than former volunteers and continuous nonvolunteers 4 years later, when we adjusted for their baseline life satisfaction. Yet, the difference between continuous volunteers and former volunteers was absent among participants with more positive self-perceptions of aging.

    Discussion

    This study reveals a potential discontinuity in the benefits of volunteering as older adults transition out of their volunteer activities. Findings, however, also reveal individual differences by self-perceptions of aging, offering suggestive evidence that may refine interventions to prolong the benefits of volunteering.
      Cover page: Volunteering Dynamics and Life Satisfaction: Self-Perceptions of Aging as a Buffer.
      • Article
      • Peer Reviewed
      UC Davis Previously Published Works (2022)
      A burgeoning literature links being married to better cognitive health, but less attention has been paid to how couples view their marital relationships. Couples do not always concur in their assessments, and such discrepancies affect both partners' health. We present a dyadic study on whether and how overall and discrepant views of marital quality predicted (a) dementia onset and (b) changes in older adults' depressive symptoms with spousal dementia. A pooled sample of couples aged 50+ (dyad N = 3,936) from the Health and Retirement Study rated positive and negative marital quality at baseline (2006/2008). Each participant reported whether they had been told of having dementia and their depressive symptoms once every other year (2006/2008-2014/2016). Cox proportional hazards regression revealed that older adults who rated their marriages either more positively or more negatively than their spouses were more likely to develop dementia. We applied multiphase growth curve modeling to older adults whose spouses developed dementia, finding that those in marriages that were more negative overall reported more depressive symptoms but exhibited a smaller increase in these symptoms in response to spousal dementia. This study adds to the literature by showing how discrepant marital assessments shape cognitive aging and offers new insights into identifying older adults with greater dementia risk. Findings also revealed the impact of overall negative marital quality on older adults' psychological adjustment to spousal dementia, which could inform interventions intended to help couples better cope with early-stage dementia from a relational perspective.
        Cover page: The Impact of Marital Quality as Older Couples Adjust to Dementia Onset.
        • Article
        • Peer Reviewed
        UC Irvine Previously Published Works (2023)
        Forensic feature-comparison examiners compare-or "match"-evidence samples (e.g., fingerprints) to provide judgments about the source of the evidence. Research demonstrates that examiners in select disciplines possess expertise in this task by outperforming novices-yet the psychological mechanisms underpinning this expertise are unclear. This article investigates one implicated mechanism: statistical learning, the ability to learn how often things occur in the environment. This ability is likely important in forensic decision-making as samples sharing rarer statistical information are more likely to come from the same source than those sharing more common information. We investigated 46 fingerprint examiners' and 52 novices' statistical learning of fingerprint categories and application of this knowledge in a source-likelihood judgment task. Participants completed four measures of their statistical learning (frequency discrimination judgments, bounded and unbounded frequency estimates, and source-likelihood judgments) before and after familiarization to the "ground-truth" category frequencies. Compared to novices, fingerprint examiners had superior domain-specific statistical learning across all measures-both before and after familiarization. This suggests that fingerprint expertise facilitates domain-specific statistical learning-something that has important theoretical and applied implications for the development of training programs and statistical databases in forensic science. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).
          Cover page: Finding the Perfect Match: Fingerprint Expertise Facilitates Statistical Learning and Visual Comparison Decision-Making
          • Article
          • Peer Reviewed
          UC Davis Previously Published Works (2022)

          Objectives

          Prior research suggests that midlife adults in Black and non-Hispanic White families differ in support patterns to aging parents. It is unclear whether such racial differences exist in young adulthood. We examined Black and White young adults' support to their midlife parents and underlying mechanisms to explain within-racial group, family-level differences.

          Method

          Young adults (aged 18-30; Black n = 107 and White n = 351) from the Family Exchanges Study 2 reported how often they provided tangible (practical) and intangible (emotional support and advice) support to each parent. Participants also reported beliefs about obligation to support parents, rewards from helping, and parental needs.

          Results

          On average, Black young adults provided more tangible and intangible support than White young adults. Feelings of reward predicted why young adults in some Black and White families gave more support than those in other families. Parental needs explained tangible support in Black families and intangible support in White families. Within families, rewards and parental needs drove Black offspring to give more intangible support than their siblings, while obligation motivated White offspring.

          Discussion

          Consistent with support patterns evident in older adulthood, Black young adults gave more tangible and intangible support to their midlife parents compared to White young adults. Within-race support patterns were explained by different factors informed by the Multidimensional Intergenerational Support Model. Findings suggest psychological factors contribute to between- and within-racial patterns of exchanges.
            Cover page: Black and White Young Adults' Support to Midlife Parents.
            • Article
            • Peer Reviewed
            UC Davis Previously Published Works (2021)

            Objectives

            Research has demonstrated sense of purpose predicts better health in older adulthood. However, work is limited with respect to understanding how experiencing a health event or illness diagnosis impacts older adults' sense of purpose.

            Method

            The current study employed a propensity score matching approach to compare older adults who did or did not experience an adverse health event on changes in sense of purpose across 3 waves of the Health and Retirement Study. Sense of purpose was assessed at each wave, and changes were compared between people who did versus did not experience one of 7 diagnoses and health events.

            Results

            When propensity score matching was employed, no differences in trajectories of change for sense of purpose were found with respect to all 7 events. Individual differences in trajectories, however, were evidenced across groups.

            Discussion

            The current findings suggest that even when health events impact older adults' physical functioning or place limitations on their activity, they may hold little ramifications for their sense of purpose. Future research should consider this potential for resilience, focusing on how adults compensate for losses.
              Cover page: Maintaining Sense of Purpose Following Health Adversity in Older Adulthood: A Propensity Score Matching Examination.
              • Article
              • Peer Reviewed
              UC Davis Previously Published Works (2021)

              Objectives

              Disability in late life has been associated with increases in receiving care and loss of autonomy. The Disablement Process Model suggests that physical impairments lead to functional limitations that contribute to disabilities in managing household, job, or other demands. Yet, we know surprisingly little about how functional limitations are related to activities throughout the day among community-dwelling adults or the possible moderating role of social integration on these associations.

              Methods

              Community-dwelling adults (N = 313) aged 65 and older completed a baseline interview assessing their functional limitations, social ties, and background characteristics. Over 5-6 days, they answered questions about daily activities and encounters with social partners every 3 h on handheld Android devices.

              Results

              Multilevel logistic models revealed that functional limitations are associated with an increased likelihood of activities associated with poor health (e.g., TV watching, medical appointments) and reduced likelihood of social activities, or physical activities, chores, or leaving the home. Most moderation analyses were not significant; family and friends did not mitigate associations between functional limitations and daily activities, with the exception of medical appointments. Individuals with functional limitations were more likely to attend medical appointments when with their social partners than when alone.

              Discussion

              This study provided a modest indication that functional limitations in community-dwelling older adults are associated with patterns of activity that may lead to further limitations, disability, or loss of autonomy. Findings warrant longitudinal follow-up to establish subsequent patterns of decline or stability.
                Cover page: Functional Limitations, Social Integration, and Daily Activities in Late Life
                • Article
                • Peer Reviewed
                UC San Francisco Previously Published Works (2011)
                Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying voltage-dependent gating in voltage-gated ion channels (VGICs) has been a major effort over the last decades. In recent years, changes in the gating process have emerged as common denominators for several genetically determined channelopathies affecting heart rhythm (arrhythmias), neuronal excitability (epilepsy, pain), or skeletal muscle contraction (periodic paralysis). Moreover, gating changes appear as the main molecular mechanism by which several natural toxins from a variety of species affect ion channel function. In this work, we describe the pathophysiological and pharmacological relevance of the gating process in voltage-gated K(+) channels encoded by the K(v)7 gene family. After reviewing the current knowledge on the molecular mechanisms and on the structural models of voltage-dependent gating in VGICs, we describe the physiological relevance of these channels, with particular emphasis on those formed by K(v)7.2-K(v)7.5 subunits having a well-established role in controlling neuronal excitability in humans. In fact, genetically determined alterations in K(v)7.2 and K(v)7.3 genes are responsible for benign familial neonatal convulsions, a rare seizure disorder affecting newborns, and the pharmacological activation of K(v)7.2/3 channels can exert antiepileptic activity in humans. Both mutation-triggered channel dysfunction and drug-induced channel activation can occur by impeding or facilitating, respectively, channel sensitivity to membrane voltage and can affect overlapping molecular sites within the voltage-sensing domain of these channels. Thus, understanding the molecular steps involved in voltage-sensing in K(v)7 channels will allow to better define the pathogenesis of rare human epilepsy, and to design innovative pharmacological strategies for the treatment of epilepsies and, possibly, other human diseases characterized by neuronal hyperexcitability.
                  Cover page: The Voltage-Sensing Domain of Kv7.2 Channels as a Molecular Target for Epilepsy-Causing Mutations and Anticonvulsants
                  • Article
                  • Peer Reviewed
                  UC Irvine Previously Published Works (2006)
                  The ability of CB(1) receptors to regulate the release of glutamate in the striatum, together with the finding that, in experimental models of Huntington disease (HD), both endocannabinoid levels and CB(1) receptor densities are reduced, has prompted the investigation on the neuroprotective role of the cannabinoids in HD. Quinolinic acid (QA) is an excitotoxin that, when injected in the rat striatum reproduces many features of HD and that acts by stimulating glutamate outflow. The aim of the present study was to test the ability of the cannabinoid receptor agonist WIN 55,212-2 to prevent the effects induced by QA in the rat striatum. In microdialysis experiments, probe perfusion with WIN 55,212-2 significantly and dose-dependently prevented the increase in extracellular glutamate induced by QA. In electrophysiological recordings in corticostriatal slices, the application of WIN 55,212-2 prevented QA-induced reduction of the field potential amplitude. Both effects of WIN 55,212-2 were prevented by the CB(1) receptor antagonist AM 251. In in vivo experiments, intrastriatal WIN 55,212-2 significantly attenuated the striatal damage induced by QA, although no significant effects were observed on a behavioural ground. These data demonstrate that the stimulation of CB(1) receptors might lead to neuroprotective effects against excitotoxic striatal toxicity.
                    Cover page: The cannabinoid receptor agonist WIN 55,212-2 attenuates the effects induced by quinolinic acid in the rat striatumCreative Commons 'BY' version 4.0 license
                    • Article
                    • Peer Reviewed
                    UCLA Previously Published Works (2021)

                    Objectives

                    Beliefs about aging can contribute to health and well-being in older adults. Feeling generative, or that one is caring for and contributing to the well-being of others, can also impact health and well-being. In this study, we hypothesized that those with more positive expectations regarding aging (ERA) in the mental health domain would report greater levels of perceived social support (PSS) and lower levels of loneliness in response to a generativity intervention (vs control condition).

                    Method

                    Participants in this study (n = 73, 100% female) were randomly assigned to a 6-week generativity condition, which involved writing about life experiences and sharing advice with others, or to a control condition, which involved writing about neutral topics. Pre- and postintervention, PSS, and feelings of loneliness were measured.

                    Results

                    Those in the generativity condition with more positive ERA in the mental health domain reported greater PSS and lower loneliness postintervention.

                    Discussion

                    These results highlight the importance of psychological factors, such as ERA, in moderating the efficacy of interventions to promote social well-being in older adults.
                      Cover page: Generativity and Social Well-Being in Older Women: Expectations Regarding Aging Matter
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