Browsing by Subject "Adaptation"

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Adaption to Blur in Myopic and Emmetropic Individuals
(2015-04-22) Luedtke, Daniel, S.
Background: The human eye is known to adapt adequately to a number of different changes in the environment to the point were the perceived blur can lessen noticeably. In this experiment we looked at the respective abilities individuals with myopia (nearsightedness) and emmetropia (normal visual acuity) to adjust to artificially-administered blur. We hypothesized that the myopic participants would be more adept at adapting quickly to changes than their emmetropic counterparts. Methods: We used a computer program in which participants (a total of twelve altogether) evaluated the relative difference in shade between two differently sized dots. When the subject marked that the first circle was lighter it darkened and when he or she marked it as darker it lightened for the next trial.. Then, using prescription lenses added to special glasses, we blurred their vision and had them repeat the process. Conclusions: Comparing the results between the group of nearsighted participants and normal-sighted participants we found that emmetrope seem to be more affected by external blurs than myopes as we hypothesized. We propose this could be due to reoccurring exposure to sudden blurs experienced by the latter group.
The Afterlives of Shakespeare's Tragedies
(2016-06) McHugh, Caitlin
When Charles II reopened London theaters and granted patents to William Davenant and Thomas Killigrew, English theater was at a low. Although players persisted since the official closure of the theaters, they were punished for illegal performances with the destruction of their costumes and playhouses. New innovations, such as changeable scenery, machines, and the like, meant that Davenant and Killigrew were starting from scratch, lacking costumes and playhouses to accommodate their needs. One possible reading of the inclusion of pre-1642 plays in the repertoire is that they offered the opportunity to stage productions quickly and to make simple changes for entertainment’s sake. I question this narrative by examining Shakespeare’s tragedies. I explore how late-seventeenth-century adapters of Shakespeare revitalize his work to speak to the trauma of the English Civil Wars and the potential of the English stage. I argue that the modifications made to Shakespeare’s tragedies did not simply cater to changing technologies and tastes. These works show evidence of a drive to provide less ambiguous versions of Shakespeare’s plays with obvious moral messages, most of which comment on the politics of the Restoration. These plays illustrate the potential of English theater as a space for audience education. I reimagine these adaptations as responses to, and attempts to revitalize, the reputation of English theater. In order to illustrate Shakespearean adaptation as a response to the state of theater, I place four of Shakespeare’s tragedies (Macbeth, King Lear, Hamlet, and Othello) in two different contexts: the instability of Restoration theater and the critical writings of their adapters. The closure of the theaters developed out of a long anti-theatrical prejudice, and the political crises of the late 1670s and early 1680s only increased the difficulty of maintaining the new theater duopoly. In these circumstances, many prominent writers spent time describing criteria for an effective drama. They used prefatory writing to explain their intent and theories. They envisioned a new era for tragedy and drama after the Restoration: one where tragedy took its place on the stage as a finely wrought piece of art and an effective means of moral education.
Change we can believe in? the role and implications of culture and environmental values on climate change perceptions.
(2012-08) Heeren, Alexander
Climate change poses many ecological and social challenges to natural resource agencies. One great challenge that resource managers face is how to manage, or adapt, to climate change in a socially acceptable way. To meet this challenge, it is necessary to understand how public perceptions about climate change are formed and whether the public will support climate change management strategies. This issue was examined at the regional level (northeast Minnesota) using a conceptual framework tested with the results of focus groups and a mail survey. Chapter 1 of this thesis provides an introduction to the framework. The second chapter discusses the results of the focus groups examining how individuals talk about climate change. Chapter 3 tests the conceptual framework quantitatively using the results of a region wide mail survey. Finally, Chapter 4 provides a summary of the project and discusses directions that future research can take.
Comparative analyses identify adaptive genetic variation in crops and crop wild relatives
(2013-12) Fang, Zhou
Comparative population genetic analyses provide a means of identifying adaptive genetic variation. In this dissertation, I apply population genetic approaches to identify putatively adaptive variants in the genomes of crops and crop wild relatives. These approaches have the potential to identify genetic variants that are under selection and thus potentially contributing to local adaptation. As a background to the dissertation, I present in Chapter 1 the state of research in this field at the time I started my PhD and give a brief introduction to the projects described in this dissertation. In Chapter 2, I report a ~50-Mb chromosomal inversion in the wild ancestor of maize - teosinte (Zea mays ssp. parviglumis) and characterized its distribution and abundance in natural populations using population genetic approaches. This is also the first study in plants to apply population genetic approaches to identify chromosomal structural variation. In Chapter 3, I used a population genetic approach to identify genomic regions that contain adaptive mutations resistant to Fusarium head blight in a barley experimental breeding population. The successful application of comparative population genetic approaches in this study suggests this approach can also be used to identify genomic regions that are under selection in other breeding populations. In Chapter 4, I studied the geographic differentiation in wild barley (Hordeum vulgare ssp. spontaneum). I found two genomic regions contribute disproportionately to the population structure in wild barley. These same regions, with reduced evidence of recombination, are strongly associated with environmental variables. Population genetic evidence and previous cytological and genetic studies suggest these two genomic regions may be chromosomal structural rearrangements.
Context-dependent adaptation in the visual system
(2017-12) Mesik, Juraj
The visual system continuously adjusts its sensitivities to various visual features so as to optimize neural processing, a phenomenon known as adaptation. Although this rapid form of plasticity has been extensively studied across numerous sensory modalities, it remains unclear if its dynamics can change with experience. Specifically, the world we live in is composed of many different environments, or contexts, each of which contains its own statistical regularities. For example, forests contain more vertical energy and greenish hues than a desert landscape. Here we investigated the possibility that through experience, the visual system can learn statistical regularities in the visual input, and use this knowledge to adapt more quickly. In two sets of experiments, participants repeatedly adapted to previously unexperienced regularities in orientation statistics over the course of 3-4 sessions. They adapted either to rapidly presented sequences of oriented gratings containing orientation biases, or to natural visual input that was filtered to alter its orientation statistics. We found that experience did increase adaptation rate, but only in the experiments where participants adapted to a single set of altered statistics of natural input. We found no changes in adaptation rate in experiments where participants periodically switched between adapting to different statistical regularities. These results demonstrate that adaptation and experience can interact under some circumstances.
The effects of a mindfulness based intervention on impulsivity, symptoms of depression, anxiety, experiences and quality of life of persons suffering from substance use disorders and traumatic brain injury.
(2012-08) Kristofersson, Gisli Kort
Background: Studies have shown that of the 1.4 million Americans who experience a traumatic brain injury (TBI) each year, many have significant cognitive disabilities as a result of their injuries and up to half suffer from substance use disorders (SUDs). This often leads to significant issues such as increased rates of mental health problems and delay or lack of return to full employment. Aims: The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the effectiveness and impact of an adapted MBSR program on different psychosocial dimensions of persons suffering from a dual diagnosis of SUDs and TBI. Method: Anxiety, depression, quality of life, impulsivity and participants’ and staff persons’ experiences were explored using a mixed methods design to gain a comprehensive picture of the impact of the adapted eight week mindfulness intervention on the participants of the study. The qualitative evaluation focused on the impact that mindfulness meditation practice had on clients’ and staff persons experiences using an adapted grounded theory approach. Descriptive and analytical statistics were used to examine outcomes of quantitative measures Results: The general health perceptions scale of the SF-36 declined over the course of the study in a statistically significant manner. Changes in other measures were mostly in the predicted direction but were not statistically significant. The qualitative interviews revealed numerous perceived benefits reported by participants gleaned from their involvement in the intervention. These included subjective reports of positive effects of the intervention on mood, impulsivity, anxiety and personal relationships. Conclusions: The adapted mindfulness based intervention applied in this study is an inexpensive and safe method that appeared to fit the needs of the participants in this study well according to qualitative interviews. However, the exploratory nature of this study and the paucity of statistically significant results, indicates that future studies with a larger sample size are needed in this field.
Exporting Othello: Shakespeare, Race, and Adaptation in America (2008-2018)
(2020-05) Bolis, Amy
“Exporting Othello: Shakespeare, Race and Adaptation in America (2008-2018)” focuses on Othello’s cultural afterlife in the United States over a ten-year period, from 2008-2018. Using three case studies as the basis for my analysis, I explore such questions as: What does Othello mean to Americans today? Why has it had such a long performance history in the United States? And what are the ways in which Othello is currently being mobilized in the service of the political efforts of Americans of color and of American women? The case studies that I have selected are loosely considered as dramatic adaptations of Othello, or, in other words, plays that were inspired by both the characters and the plot of Othello. They are Desdemona (2011) by Toni Morrison, Othello: The Remix (2012) by The Q Brothers, and American Moor (2013) by Keith Hamilton Cobb, all American authors. Through these adaptations, I also examine what it means to stage adaptations of Othello that tour, require a live audience and actors, and force people to confront uncomfortable social commentaries on race and gender inequality. In this dissertation, I argue that, by attempting to adapt Othello in a manner that conforms to contemporary sensibilities regarding social justice and political correctness, American authors foreground an unresolvable tension regarding the characterization of Othello and Desdemona within the play itself, as well as its subsequent adaptations. It is ostensibly impossible to stage Othello, or to write an adaptation of it, that both conforms to the plot and champions the agendas of women and people of color simultaneously, due to the fact that Desdemona dies at Othello’s hands. The form of toxic masculinity that Othello falls prey to in Shakespeare’s version means that he will forever be confined to the stereotype of the angry black man, unless an adaptation flips the script and avoids the play’s tragic ending altogether. However, based on the retellings of Othello in America today, there appears to be a general consensus that the Othello story requires this tragic ending in order for the production to be Othello. Therefore, the authors of my three case studies were forced to choose between championing Othello’s cause or Desdemona’s; between dismantling misconceptions regarding black masculinity or promoting female autonomy and an end to domestic violence. These authors attempted to create protagonists who were equally sympathetic and likable; however, none of them succeeded in upholding the causes of both Othello and Desdemona equitably.
Genomic provenance and genetic providence in domesticated barley
(2015-08) Poets, Ana
In the context of plant improvement, it is important to identify the sources of genetic diversity that are available for use, and to understand how current genetic diversity is being utilized. Comparative population genetic analyses provide a means of identifying new sources of genetic variation as well as changes in allele frequencies governed by selection or demographic processes. Considering the broad geographic distribution of both wild and cultivated barley, it is likely that many traits have multiple origins. Thus, the identification of the source population that contributed to a specific chromosomal region in landraces can help identify genetic variants that contribute to agronomic traits. In Chapter 1, I use genotyping data for a set of 803 barley landrace and 277 wild barley accessions to address two primary questions (i) Do specific wild populations contribute disproportionately to barley landraces?, (ii) does the genetic contribution of wild populations to landraces vary across the genome or across the broad geographical range of landrace cultivation? I find that multiple wild populations contributed to the genetic composition of the landraces. Their contribution differs across the genome and across the geographic range. We rule out recent introgression, suggesting that these contributions are ancient. The over-representation of genomic segments from local wild populations suggests that wild populations contributed locally adaptive variation to landraces. Barley was introduced to North America (NA) by early European colonist as early as 1602. Adaptation to diverse environments has involved many generations of selection towards ideal phenotypes. In Chapter 2, I analyze a data set comprised of 3,613 barley accessions representative of NA barley breeding programs. I aim to determine: (i) the patterns of recents and long-term selection, (ii) assess the effects of drift and linked selection, and (iii) identify the extent of gene flow among barley breeding programs. I identify loci known to be controlling major traits and a series of loci putatively involved in recent and older bouts of selection. There is clear evidence of genetic drift and linked selection acting in these populations. There is evidence of possible gene flow among populations with similar growth habit and inflorescence type.
Improving Predictions Of Biological Invasions With Multidisciplinary Approaches
(2023-09) Lake, Thomas
Biological invasions, a prevailing consequence of global change, have produced remarkable insights into the mechanisms of species spread. Despite improvements in managing the economic and ecological impacts of invasive species, accurate predictions of their geographic distribution and potential for range expansion into new habitats remains an ongoing challenge. Inaccurate predictions can distort our perception of economic and ecological risks and mislead management strategies. Recent advances in statistical models and forecasting algorithms show promise in estimating invasion risk; however, these models often deviate from key ecological and evolutionary assumptions, limiting their predictive accuracy and biological relevance. As such, exploring multidisciplinary approaches that integrate ecological and evolutionary principles with predictive modeling can significantly enhance our understanding of spread mechanisms, evolutionary dynamics, and ecological impacts.In the following four chapters, I examine leafy spurge (Euphorbia virgata), among the most pernicious invasive plant species in North America, to address persisting challenges linked to the prediction of biological invasions. In Chapter I, I analyze the use of species distribution models (SDMs) to forecast potential range expansion of invasive plant species. I focus on several invasive plant species in North America and examine alternative methods of spatial bias correction and multiple methods for model evaluation. Models developed without bias correction are often overly complex and do not transfer well to expanding range fronts. On the other hand, models that employ bias correction measures tend to be less complex and project into incipient areas more effectively. Invasion history was associated with the effectiveness of bias correction techniques. These findings highlight the importance of considering model fit and complexity in building biologically realistic SDMs for invasive species. Using multiple metrics for model evaluation can improve a users’ confidence in predictions of potential invasion risk. In Chapter II, I explore the use of remote sensing techniques, specifically satellite imagery, to detect leafy spurge across a heterogeneous landscape in Minnesota, USA. I compare two types of satellite imagery: Worldview-2 with high spatial and spectral resolution but limited availability, and Planetscope with lower resolution but daily imaging coverage. Using convolutional neural networks (CNNs), the Worldview-2 imagery model achieved an accuracy of 96.1% in detecting leafy spurge, while the Planetscope model achieved 89.9% accuracy. To enhance the Planetscope model, I incorporate a time series of images using long short-term memory networks (LSTMs) to capture phenological information. This modified model achieved a detection accuracy of 96.3%, on par with the high-resolution Worldview-2 model. I find that early and mid-season phenological periods in the Planetscope time series, as well as specific spectral bands (green, red-edge, and near-infrared), are crucial for accurate detection of leafy spurge. These results demonstrate the potential of modest resolution satellite imagery to accurately identify individual invasive species over complex landscapes if a temporal series of images is incorporated. This research highlights the use of remote sensing and deep learning techniques for invasive plant detection, particularly in large-scale, remote, and data-sparse areas. In Chapter III, I address key challenges related to forecasting biological invasions: the prevalence of spatial bias in species occurrence data and the inclusion of population dynamics. Precise predictions rely on unbiased data and may benefit from including how populations respond to their environment. To examine bias, I expand the remote sensing analyses to nine states in the U.S., providing a comprehensive record of leafy spurge occurrences. I predict the probability of leafy spurge occurrence across nearly 2.2 million square kilometers using Landsat satellite scenes from 2000 to 2020 and temporal convolutional neural networks (TempCNNs). Compared to the remotely-sensed occurrences, community science records often contained substantial spatial biases. To examine how bias interacts with data on population dynamics, I develop demographic models to estimate changes in the probability of occurrence over time, which provides insights into regions experiencing population growth, stability, or decline. I then construct SDMs in a factorial manner, considering community science versus remotely-sensed occurrences and including/excluding information on population growth/decline. The results demonstrate that reducing spatial bias and incorporating population dynamics leads to expanded predictions of suitable habitat, which likely reflects a more accurate understanding of the potential for range expansion of invasive species over time. By accounting for population dynamics, the models effectively capture environmental variation underlying invasion rates and provide more reliable predictions of suitable habitat. These findings also provide valuable insights to land managers to identify regions with a high potential for rapid expansion. In Chapter IV, I investigate the role of rapid evolution in the range expansion of invasive species. I examine the consequences of range expansion on population genomic diversity, niche breadth, and the evolution of germination behavior in leafy spurge. I find limited evidence for population structure in one historically well-documented introduction into southern Minnesota, with other populations sampled throughout northern Minnesota, the Dakotas, and Iowa being largely panmictic. Counter to expectations, range expansion from southern to northern Minnesota resulted in only low losses in sequence diversity, with isolated populations at the northern range edge retaining similar levels of diversity. However, the climatic niche expanded during range expansion, with populations at the leading edge occupying cooler climates. Guided by these findings, I test for differences in germination behavior over the time course of range expansion using a common garden experiment and temperature manipulations. Germination behavior diverged during range expansion, with populations from later phases having higher dormancy at lower temperatures. While the biological mechanism explaining this trait divergence may be a topic for future research, these findings highlight the importance of considering rapid evolution in invasion dynamics and suggest that distribution models may underestimate invasion potential if populations are assumed to be homogeneous and evolution is not considered.
Land-use transport models for climate change mitigation and adaptation planning
(Journal of Transport and Land Use, 2018) Ford, Alistair; Dawson, Richard; Blythe, Phil; Barr, Stuart
The adoption of the Paris Agreement has committed the world to limiting anthropogenic climate change to 2°C above preindustrial levels, adapting to climate risks, and fostering climate resilience. Given the high proportion of global emissions released by cities and the concentration of people living in urban areas, this will require an unprecedented reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and transformation of the built environment on a yet unparalleled timescale. This poses substantial challenges for urban land-use and transport planning and for the use of land-use transport models (LUTM), which have historically been developed to test incremental changes rather than the rapid transformations implied by the Paris Agreement. This paper sets out the need for a new generation of tools to support the planning of a transition toward a low-carbon and resilient future, arguing that land-use and transport modeling tools are crucial to support this process. Recent developments in urban integrated assessment that link models of land-use and transport with other environmental models of greenhouse gas emissions and climate hazards show promise as platforms to assess the potential of urban policies in achieving the goals set out in the Paris Agreement. The paper concludes by defining challenges for the LUTM community if it is to achieve these goals. Crucial will be the adoption of new modeling approaches to better represent rapid social and technological change and to concurrently assess the resilience and sustainability implications of different land-use and transport policies. Simple models to explore multiple scenarios of change must be integrated with more sophisticated models for detailed design. Collaborative approaches will be necessary to allow multiple stakeholders to use these tools to explore urban futures and design radical urban transitions across multiple and interdependent urban sectors.
Personal, social, and institutional factors influencing college transition and adaptation experiences for students with psychiatric disabilities.
(2009-12) Kampsen, Amy
The number of students with psychiatric disabilities attending institutions of higher education is on the rise. The increase in the number of students reporting psychiatric disabilities poses many challenges for college administrators in attempting to serve these students as they transition and adapt to college. The developmental processes typical of individuals transitioning and adapting to college may be disrupted for students with psychiatric disabilities due to the effects of their disability, which may impair or delay social and emotional development at a time when significant changes typically occur. The purpose of the study was to explore the personal, social, and institutional factors influencing the college transition and adaptation experiences for students with psychiatric disabilities. A qualitative interview approach was used to explore the factors in depth through data gathered from interviews with 9 students with psychiatric disabilities, interviews with 4 university staff members, and the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ). A conceptual model that emerged from the literature was modified and used as a guide for describing the factors associated with the college transition and adaptation experiences of the student participants. The study concluded with implications for administrators and service providers to consider, and recommendations for future research.
The Problem of Wasting Useful Life in Modern Buildings
(2021-09) Stephenson, Matthew
This thesis investigates the current practice around how buildings are handled when their end of use time comes and the disparity between building life utilization vs building life usefulness in modern buildings. The purpose is 1) to explore the ecological impacts that the current building cycle has on the surrounding environment through greenhouse emissions and define areas which can be improved, 2) to define and explore financial impacts of current building utilization as well as what role finances play in occupants decision making, and 3) to evaluate different ideologies on how buildings useful life can be more sustainably utilized. A secondary purpose of this thesis is to determine and recommend emerging and original design practices, construction practices, and occupancy use plans that can aid in the ongoing effort to make buildings more sustainable. A building's end of usefulness compared to its end of use exposes the disparity between the two and the faults in current building use practices. As a building's life cycle is generally designed for one function, a major fault in lack of adaptability becomes clear within sustainable construction. Current design and construction practices have limited how long a structure is useful to its occupants by limiting that building's ability to adapt for future uses. When a building gains the ability to adapt through pre-planning on the design end of its life cycle, future functions can be planned for in a way that greatly increases the chances a building can be utilized while still being ecological and economic friendly. Through the explained framework, a clear path forward on how construction can change buildings that have been historically unsustainable to buildings that can adapt and grow as occupants' needs grow while remaining economically and financially viable.
Rapid dynamic assessment of expertise: A comparison of performance and mental efficiency measures in accordance with cognitive load theory.
(2007-11) Johnson, David Lloyd
The purpose of this study was to determine whether the use of performance measures for instructional adaptation were more effective and efficient than the use of mental efficiency measures. Fifty-three undergraduate accounting students were randomly assigned to a performance group, a mental efficiency group, and a non-adapted control group. Participants were administered an initial diagnostic test, were placed in a training session about accounting cost-volume-profit analysis, and were administered a final diagnostic test, similar to the initial diagnostic test, and a mental effort rating of the training session. Performance group participants were placed in the training session and allowed to skip certain training session stages based on the results of rapid verification tests administered during the initial diagnostic test. Mental efficiency group participants were placed in the training session and allowed to skip certain training session stages based on the results of rapid verification tests and mental effort ratings administered during the initial diagnostic test. The non-adapted control group participants were placed in the training session at the beginning and did not skip any stages. The training session consisted of four difficulty levels, each with five stages. At each stage a faded worked example and a faded completion problem were provided and a rapid verification test and a mental effort rating were administered. Performance group participants advanced to the next stage or repeated the current stage based on the results of the rapid verification test. Mental efficiency group participants advanced to the next stage or repeated the stage based on the results of the rapid verification test and mental effort ratings. The non-adapted control group did not repeat any training session stages. The study produced no significant differences between any treatment groups for instructional time, final diagnostic test score, mental effort rating of the training session, or instructional efficiency (final diagnostic test score divided by mental effort rating of the training session). The author speculated that the non-significant results of the study were attributable to either an insufficient training session length or to the use of faded completion problems rather than conventional problems.
The Real World Represented": Identity Politics and Diverse Representation in Shakespeare and Young Adult Lit"
(2021-06) Johnson, Melissa
“The Real World Represented”: Identity Politics and Diverse Representation in Shakespeare and Young Adult Lit examines how YA authors of the twenty-first century use fan practices to explore identity and expand diverse representation in their adaptations of Shakespeare for adolescent raders. The first chapter of “The Real World Represented” examines novels and short stories that adapt Hamlet and Macbeth to feature adolescent female lead characters. Questions of masculine identity dominate both Hamlet and Macbeth, which are also both among the most frequently taught plays in high school English classes. Through female focused adaptations, YA authors provide their young readers the opportunity to experience and understand the events of each play from young, female perspectives, as well as affirm that these perspectives are just as valuable as those of male characters. My analysis of a variety of novels, including Caroline B Cooney’s Enter Three Witches (2007), Lisa Klein’s Ophelia (2006) and Lady Macbeth’s Daughter (2009), and Robin Talley’s As I Descended (2016) demonstrates the many ways YA authors respond to the problematic aspects of female representation within Shakespeare’s works and empower young female readers by including their voices in some of his most well-known and frequently encountered plays. The second chapter explores the element of romantic love in YA adaptations of Shakespeare. Several YA adaptations of Romeo and Juliet, such as Jenny Trout’s Such Sweet Sorrow (2014) and Melinda Taub’s Still Star-Crossed (2013) take inspiration from Shakespeare’s characterization of the young couple as “star-crossed” and present romantic love as a powerful and inevitable force for their young characters. Within the last few years, authors of these adaptations, including Rachel Caine (Prince of Shadows, 2014) and Barbara Dee (Star-Crossed, 2017) have used this idea of love to equate the romantic experiences of LGBTQ+ teens with those of their heterosexual peers in terms of legitimacy and importance. Romeo and Juliet holds a place of high regard in our cultural consciousness as a work that epitomizes romantic love, and adapting this play through the perspectives of LGBTQ+ characters sends the message that love is not dependent upon gender or sexual orientation, thus validating the relationships of teens who identify this way. The third chapter of “The Real World Represented” analyzes YA adaptations of Shakespeare that address the issue of race. Similarly to adaptations surveyed in previous chapters, Grace Tiffany’s (2005) novels, Ariel and The Turquoise Ring, McKelle George’s Speak Easy, Speak Love, and Cat Winterson’s 2016 novel The Steep and Thorny Way use several different approaches to retell Shakespeare’s The Tempest, The Merchant of Venice, Much Ado About Nothing, and Hamlet, respectively, from the points of view of racial or ethnic minority characters. These adaptations bring racial injustices to the forefront and include them in the many important struggles that shape human experience through their connection to Shakespeare. These Shakespearean works are, in turn, rejuvenated through their demonstrated relevance to multiple racial and ethnic identities and diversified to reflect our modern society as it actually exists. The final two chapters of my dissertation shift focus slightly onto the formats that encourage more active participation from young adult readers and audiences, including webcomics and social media sites that thrive on reader and user participation, “choose-your-own-adventure” style comic books that invite readers to select what happens next from multiple options throughout the book, and fanfiction, or retellings of Shakespeare’s works created by fans and shared for fun and community rather than profit. Chapter four examines sequential art adaptations of Shakespeare, including the comic book series Kill Shakespeare and No Holds Bard, which break from the realistic picture that scholars have given us of who Shakespeare was and present imaginative characterizations of him and the context in which he wrote his famous plays and poems. These series remove the rigid constructs often placed around how we think of Shakespeare and allow for young adult readers to expand their impressions of him and by extension, his works. This chapter also considers “choose-your-own-adventure” style comic books that invite readers to select what happens next from multiple options throughout the book, and the web comic Good Tickle Brain, which adapts Shakespeare’s plays in humorous and irreverent ways and serves to mitigate some of the intimidation young adults often feel when faced with reading and understanding Shakespeare. Chapter five engages with fanfiction, and the ways in which authors of fanfiction, many of them young adults, use the medium to shape Shakespeare to question and challenge aspects of his works that they find problematic and reflect their own needs, desires, and identities. Overall, these Shakespearean adaptations use forms of media outside of novels and short stories to open pathways to more creative interpretation of and even active engagement with Shakespeare’s works, providing a sense of empowerment through autonomy for young adults.
Representation of Human Body Stimuli within the Human Visual System
(2021-03) Bratch, Alexander
The human body is a unique and complex visual stimulus, the accurate representation of which is critical for social interaction/communication, acquisition of complex skills, and even basic survival. In a series of studies, using behavioral and neuroimaging techniques, the visual representation of some of the basic features of body perception (e.g., individual parts and their relationships) were explored. First, using a behavioral adaptation paradigm, sensitivity to the relative proportions between limbs was explored. We found that human observers were highly sensitive to relative limb proportion and further demonstrated that this effect appears to depend on body and limb specific mechanisms. Second, an fMRI experiment was used to assess the sensitivity of body-selective cortical areas to the spatial configuration of pairs of limb parts. We found that activity in body-selective areas systematically varies with the typicality of their spatial configuration. Finally, advanced sub-millimeter fMRI techniques were used investigate whether body-selective cortex contained subordinate representations of body stimuli (e.g., their individual parts). We found that the body-selective area of the right extrastriate cortex yields the highest responses to hands above all other stimuli. Furthermore, advanced spatial mapping techniques revealed that this cortical area contains spatially consistent clusters of voxels which preferentially respond to hands. Taken together, these results help to clarify how individual body parts and the relationships between them are represented within the human visual system.

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