Thesis (M.S.)--Central Connecticut State University, 2003. / Thesis advisor: Jane Fried. " ... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Student Development in Higher Education." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 82-83). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

This thesis investigates the intersection of physical and non-physical choreographic practices, culminating in a performed solo dance work titled Lilith. In a world increasingly consumed by virtual technology, the investigation is increasingly relevant to explore both in our personal lives and in the field of dance and choreography. This thesis examines the relationship between embodied and disembodied experiences while exploring the affect of these experiences on the mind cognitively and emotionally. In this thesis I investigate performances and written work about other choreographers’ investigations into computer-mediated methods of disembodying dance, laying the foundation for my own solo performance. Through experiential research into computer mediated-methods of altering choreography, I have explored the effect of non-physicalized ways of generating choreographic movement. I have equally investigated how a physically impulse driven movement has influenced the choreographic process. In the end, this work explores the tensional forces that lie between the physical and non-physical in a creative, choreographic process and attempts to find ways to create balance between the two. / text

Introduction: Cognitive impairment (CI) in older adults refers to impairment in cognition function beyond normal aging. Previous studies have reported the effect of dietary antioxidants, especially flavonoids on cognitive function in older adults, suggesting that high dietary flavonoids intake may reduce the risk of cognitive impairment. However, most of these studies were reported in Caucasian older populations in Western countries. Moreover, some studies were positive, which others were negative studies. There was no previous study regarding dietary flavonoids and cognitive impairment among Chinese older adults. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to explore the association between dietary intake flavonoids and the risk of cognitive impairment in Chinese older adults, and to identify the independent factors associated with the risk of cognitive impairment in Chinese older adults. Method: This study was a retrospective cross-sectional study, 200 patients who fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria and gave written informed consent were recruited from the Geriatric clinics in Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong, from 11th July to 31st October 2011. All recruited subjects were invited to attend face-to-face interviews. Brief cognitive assessments by the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) were done for all subjects. Every subject also answered a detailed questionnaire on socio-demographic, type and frequency of diet items (food frequency questionnaire) and co-morbid diseases. Main outcome measure: The primary outcome measure was cognitive function, using an education-adjusted MMSE cut-off s to categorize the subjects into two groups (i.e. normal cognitive group and cognitively impaired group). Results: 200 subjects were recruited, 104 participants (37 males and 67 females) were in the normal cognitive group and 96 subjects (22 males and 74 females) were in the cognitively impaired group. The mean amount of dietary flavonoids intake of the cognitively normal group was higher than that of the cognitively impaired group (i.e. 291.84 grams/day and 240.92 grams/day respectively; p=0.006 Mann-Whitney U test). Other common dietary nutrients were also compared between the two groups. The dietary carbohydrate (p<0.001), total sugar (p<0.001), vitamin C (p=0.001) and folic acid (p<0.001) intakes were significantly related to cognitive impairment (using chi-square statistics). After adjustment for age, gender, education, exercise pattern, the dietary flavonoids intake was not independently associated with cognitive impairment. However, after adjustment for age, education level, exercise pattern and BMI, the higher to highest quartile of dietary carbohydrate intake (184.184-1176.703g/d), high total sugar intake (0.166-35.102g/d), highest quartile of vitamin C intake (139.803-900.952mg/d), the third and fourth quartiles of folic acid intake (208.899-1544.418mcg/d) were significantly associated with reduced risks of cognitive impairment. Older adults who had regular exercise (both less and more than 30 minutes per day) had lower risk of cognitive impairment than those who never did exercise (OR= 0.361, 95% confidence interval=0.167-0.784 for less than 30 minutes/d; OR=0.137, 95% confidence interval=0.048-0.396 for more than 30 minutes/d). We also found high BMI was associated with a reduced risk of cognitive impairment with an OR of 0.897 (95% confidence interval=0.816-0.987). Besides, the increasing age was also associated with cognitive impairment (OR=1.059, 95% confidence interval=1.007-1.115). Conclusion: In summary, the present study demonstrated that the dietary flavonoids intake was not significantly associated with the risk of cognitive impairment in Chinese older adults in Hong Kong. / published_or_final_version / Medicine / Master / Master of Medical Sciences

abstract / Psychology / Master / Master of Philosophy

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This study investigated the influence of age, processing speed, working memory,and associative processes on the acquisition of contingency information. Young and older adults completed positive (+.65) and negative (-.65) contingency tasks that measured their ability to discover the relationship between a symptom (e.g., FEVER) and a fictional disease (e.g., OLYALGIA). Both d' scores, i.e., contingency learning, and contingency estimates, i.e., contingency judgment, were examined. Participants were also asked to complete cognitive tasks that measure the constructs of processing speed, working memory resources, associative memory, and associative learning. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the direct and indirect relationships between processing speed, working memory resources, associative memory, associative learning, and positive and negative contingency learning and judgment for young and older adult groups. Young adults outperformed older adults on the cognitive tasks and on contingency learning and judgment tasks. However, age differences were smaller for the positive contingency than for negative contingency. A comparison of the structural equation models for young and older adults showed no relationship between any cognitive construct and negative contingency learning. However, young adults' judgment for the negative contingency was directly influenced by associative learning, while their learning and judgment for the positive contingency was directly influenced by associative memory. For older adults, working memory executive function directly influenced their judgment for the negative contingency and their learning and judgment for the positive contingency. Processing speed had an indirect effect on older adults' contingency learning and judgment that was mediated by working memory executive functioning. The differences in the young adults' models as well as the difference between the young and older adults' models for positive and negative contingencies suggest that while associative processing is important, it may not account for all of the variation in contingency learning and judgment. The young adults' models for the negative contingency task indicates that higher level processes, such as inductive reasoning, maybe involved in negative contingency judgment because the associative learning task required some level of hypothesis testing. In contrast, positive contingency learning and judgment could rely primarily on more basic associative processes. The present findings therefore suggest that an overall model of contingency learning must include both associative processes and inductive reasoning processes. Older adults' general contingency performance was most directly related to their working memory executive functioning, suggesting that the decline in their working memory has the strongest effect on their ability to acquire and use information about contingencies. In fact, the age related decline in working memory seems to affect older adults' ability to acquire both positive and negative contingencies. The similarities across the older adult models for positive and negative contingencies indicate that the underlying deficit in older adults' working memory executive functioning that affects their overall contingency learning and judgment performance. This basic working memory executive functioning deficit for older adults also explains why their models for positive and negative contingency did not exhibit direct relationships between associative tasks and contingency learning as observed for the young adult models.

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