A collaborative approach to the use of archives in information literacy teaching and learning in an arts university

Why do significant parts of our art libraries collections remain undiscovered and unused? Seemingly invisible to students and staff, the university archive strong room creates a barrier, preventing our students and researchers from accessing and browsing materials, as they would with our open shelf collections. What happens when archive materials are freed from their confines, brought out into the studio and explored and used by arts students? Better still, what happens when librarian, archivist and academic collaborate to make this happen, enabling increased awareness of these resources and facilitating information literacy skills learning? Conclude this with an artistic response to this method of teaching and learning and you have the Animation Archive Day at the University for the Creative Arts. The day formed part of a longer term initiative put together by the archivist and librarian to raise awareness among students and staff of the opportunities to utilize archives in their subject specific creative arts learning and education. The project recognizes the importance of allowing students to steer and interact creatively with archive use in a library context

The epigenetic clock is correlated with physical and cognitive fitness in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936

Background: The DNA methylation-based 'epigenetic clock' correlates strongly with chronological age, but it is currently unclear what drives individual differences. We examine cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between the epigenetic clock and four mortality-linked markers of physical and mental fitness: lung function, walking speed, grip strength and cognitive ability. Methods: DNA methylation-based age acceleration (residuals of the epigenetic clock estimate regressed on chronological age) were estimated in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 at ages 70 (n=920), 73 (n=299) and 76 (n=273) years. General cognitive ability, walking speed, lung function and grip strength were measured concurrently. Cross-sectional correlations between age acceleration and the fitness variables were calculated. Longitudinal change in the epigenetic clock estimates and the fitness variables were assessed via linear mixed models and latent growth curves. Epigenetic age acceleration at age 70 was used as a predictor of longitudinal change in fitness. Epigenome-wide association studies (EWASs) were conducted on the four fitness measures. Results: Cross-sectional correlations were significant between greater age acceleration and poorer performance on the lung function, cognition and grip strength measures (r range: -0.07 to -0.05, P range: 9.7 x 10 to 0.024). All of the fitness variables declined over time but age acceleration did not correlate with subsequent change over 6 years. There were no EWAS hits for the fitness traits. Conclusions: Markers of physical and mental fitness are associated with the epigenetic clock (lower abilities associated with age acceleration). However, age acceleration does not associate with decline in these measures, at least over a relatively short follow-up

Examining the relationship between cognitive control and nonsuicidal self-injury

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), the deliberate self-destruction of one’s own body tissue engaged in without associated suicidal intent, is a prevalent behavior among adolescents and young adults. The current study examined whether one aspect of cognitive control, inhibitory control in response to negative emotional stimuli, is associated with repetitive engagement in NSSI. It further sought to examine whether sleep deficiency/irregularity, stress, and reward sensitivity moderate this relationship. A multi-method approach (self-report, behavioral measures, actigraphy) was employed to sensitively probe these relationships among 114 late adolescents with and without a history of repetitive NSSI. Findings suggested no relationship between inhibitory control in response to negative emotional stimuli and NSSI, as measured by a behavioral measure, but a significant positive relationship as measured by self-report. Stress and sleep irregularity, but not sleep deficiency or reward sensitivity, were associated with NSSI group status. Interaction analyses suggested that sleep irregularity and stress moderated the relationship between inhibitory control in response to negative emotional stimuli and NSSI. Results are discussed in terms of conceptual and clinical implications. Findings highlight the necessity of examining the temporal dynamics between the study’s constructs and NSSI by employing an ecologically valid approach.Psycholog

Stakeholder collaboration and heritage management

This article examines a collaborative approach to the relationship between heritage management and tourism development in Luang Prabang, Laos. The purpose is to examine stakeholder collaboration and management roles, heritage tourism development, as well as the interdependence of the heritage conservation and tourism relationship. The research examines a UNESCO/Norwegian government project, which aiming to promote collaboration between heritage conservation and tourism through stakeholder involvement. Five aspects are explored: channels of communication between the heritage and the tourism groups, generating income for heritage conservation and management, involving the local community in decisionmaking, involving the local community in tourism activities, and an assessment of the extent and success of stakeholder collaboration

Associations between Brief Resilience Scale scores and ageing-related domains in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936

It is unclear how scores on self-report resilience scales relate to key ageing-related domains in older age, and if they truly measure resilience. We examined antecedents and outcomes of age-76 Brief Resilience Scale scores in participants of the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 (n = 655). We found bivariate associations between age-76 BRS scores and ageing-relevant antecedent variables measured at least 3 years earlier, from domains of cognitive ability, physical fitness, and wellbeing, and, additionally, sociodemographics and personality (absolute r’s from .082 to .49). Biological health variables were associated with BRS scores. Age-73 cognitive ability (largest β = 0.14), physical fitness (largest β = 0.084), and wellbeing variables (largest β = 0.26) made positive independent contributions to age-76 BRS scores in multivariate models. In a conservative model including all variables as covariates, corrected for multiple comparisons, only emotional stability (neuroticism) significantly independently contributed to BRS score (β = 0.33). An exploratory backwards elimination model indicated more wellbeing and personality associates of BRS scores (βs from .087 to .32). We used latent difference score modelling to assess outcomes of BRS scores; we examined associations between age-76 BRS and change in latent factors of age-related domains between age 76 and 79. Whereas BRS scores were related cross-sectionally to levels of latent cognitive ability (r = .19), physical fitness (r = .20), and wellbeing (r = .60) factors, they were not related to declines in these domains. The independence of the BRS construct from established wellbeing and personality factors is unclear

Towards Standardization of Quantitative Retinal Vascular Parameters:Comparison of SIVA and VAMPIRE Measurements in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936

Purpose: Semiautomated software applications derive quantitative retinal vascular parameters from fundus camera images. However, the extent of agreement between measurements from different applications is unclear. We evaluate the agreement between retinal measures from two software applications, the Singapore "I" Vessel Assessment (SIVA) and the Vessel Assessment and Measurement Platform for Images of the Retina (VAMPIRE), and examine respective associations between retinal and systemic outcomes.Method: Fundus camera images from 665 Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 participants were analyzed with SIVA and VAMPIRE. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and Bland-Altman plots assessed agreement between retinal parameters: measurements of vessel width, fractal dimension, and tortuosity. Retinal-systemic variable associations were assessed with Pearson's correlation, and intersoftware correlation magnitude differences were examined with Williams's test.Results: ICC values indicated poor to limited agreement for all retinal parameters (0.159-0.410). Bland-Altman plots revealed proportional bias in the majority, and systematic bias in all measurements. SIVA and VAMPIRE measurements were associated most consistently with systemic variables relating to blood pressure (SIVAr's from -0.122 to -0.183; VAMPIREr's from -0.078 to -0.177). Williams's tests indicated significant differences in the magnitude of association between retinal and systemic variables for 7 of 77 comparisons (P&lt; 0.05).Conclusions: Agreement between two common software applications was poor. Further studies are required to determine whether associations with systemic variables are software-dependent.Translational Relevance: Standardization of the measurement of retinal vascular parameters is warranted to ensure that they are reliable and application-independent. This would be an important step towards realizing the potential of the retina as a source of imaging-derived biomarkers that are clinically useful.</p

What works for wellbeing in culture and sport? Report of a DELPHI process to support coproduction and establish principles and parameters of an evidence review

Aims: There is a growing recognition of the ways in which culture and sport can contribute to wellbeing. A strong evidence base is needed to support innovative service development and a 3-year research programme is being undertaken to capture best evidence of wellbeing impacts and outcomes of cultural and sporting activities in order to inform UK policy and practice. This article provides an overview of methods and findings from an initial coproduction process with key stakeholders that sought to explore and agree principles and parameters of the evidence review for culture, sport and wellbeing (CSW). Methods: A two-stage DELPHI process was conducted with a purposeful sample of 57 stakeholders between August and December 2015. Participants were drawn from a range of culture and sport organisations and included commissioners and managers, policy makers, representatives of service delivery organisations (SDOs) and scholars. The DELPHI 1 questionnaire was developed from extensive consultation in July and August 2015. It explored definitions of wellbeing, the role of evidence, quality assessment, and the culture and sport populations, settings and interventions that are most likely to deliver wellbeing outcomes. Following further consultation, the results, presented as a series of ranked statements, were sent back to participants (DELPHI 2), which allowed them to reflect on and, if they wished, express agreement or disagreement with the emerging consensus. Results: A total of 40 stakeholders (70.02%) responded to the DELPHI questionnaires. DELPHI 1 mapped areas of agreement and disagreement, confirmed in DELPHI 2. The exercise drew together the key priorities for the CSW evidence review. Conclusion: The DELPHI process, in combination with face-to-face deliberation, enabled stakeholders to engage in complex discussion and express nuanced priorities while also allowing the group to come to an overall consensus and agree outcomes. The results will inform the CSW evidence review programme until its completion in March 2018

On the Dialectics of Charisma in Marina Abramović’s The Artist is Present

While ‘charisma’ can be found in dramatic and theatrical parlance, the term enjoys only minimal critical attention in theatre and performance studies, with scholarly work on presence and actor training methods taking the lead in defining charisma’s supposed ‘undefinable’ quality. Within this context, the article examines the appearance of the term ‘charismatic space’ in relation to Marina Abramovic’s retrospective The Artist is Present at New York’s Museum of Modern Art in 2010. Here Abramovic uses this term to describe the shared space in which performer and spectator connect bodily, psychically, and spiritually through a shared sense of presence and energy in the moment of performance. Yet this is a space arguably constituted through a number of dialectical tensions and contradictions which, in dialogue with existing theatre scholarship on charisma, can be further understood by drawing on insights into charismatic leaders and charismatic authority in leadership studies. By examining the performance and its documentary traces in terms of dialectics we consider the political and ethical implications for how we think about power relations between artist/spectator in a neoliberal, market-driven art context. Here an alternative approach to conceiving of and facilitating a charismatic space is proposed which instead foregrounds what Bracha L. Ettinger calls a ‘matrixial encounter-event’: A relation of coexistence and compassion rather than dominance of self over other; performer over spectator; leader over follower. By illustrating the dialectical tensions in The Artist is Present, we consider the potential of the charismatic space not as generated through the seductive power or charm of an individual whose authority is tied to his/her ‘presence’, but as something co-produced within an ethical and relational space of trans-subjectivity

Retinal microvascular network geometry and cognitive abilities in community-dwelling older people:The Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 study

Aim: To examine the relationship between retinal vascular morphology and cognitive abilities in a narrow-age cohort of community-dwelling older people.Methods: Digital retinal images taken at age ∼73 years from 683 participants of the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 (LBC1936) were analysed with Singapore I Vessel Assessment (SIVA) software. Multiple regression models were applied to determine cross-sectional associations between retinal vascular parameters and general cognitive ability (g), memory, processing speed, visuospatial ability, crystallised cognitive ability and change in IQ from childhood to older age.Results: After adjustment for cognitive ability at age 11 years and cardiovascular risk factors, venular length-to-diameter ratio was nominally significantly associated with processing speed (β=−0.116, p=0.01) and g (β=−0.079, p=0.04). Arteriolar length-to-diameter ratio was associated with visuospatial ability (β=0.092, p=0.04). Decreased arteriolar junctional exponent deviation and increased arteriolar branching coefficient values were associated with less relative decline in IQ between childhood and older age (arteriolar junctional exponent deviation: β=−0.101, p=0.02; arteriolar branching coefficient: β=0.089, p=0.04). Data are presented as standardised β coefficients (β) reflecting change in cognitive domain score associated with an increase of 1 SD unit in retinal parameter. None of these nominally significant associations remained significant after correction for multiple statistical testing.Conclusions: Retinal parameters contributed &lt;1% of the variance in the majority of associations observed. Whereas retinal analysis may have potential for early detection of some types of age-related cognitive decline and dementia, our results present little evidence that retinal vascular features are associated with non-pathological cognitive ageing