This dissertation looks at ways in which memories of traumatic events are revisited and reshaped by mnemonic communities during the Second Temple period. I focus on the social dimensions of traumatic memory that shape collective identity. I consider ways in which the earlier sites of memories of the exodus, the destruction of the first temple, and the Babylonian exile are reactivated and reshaped by mnemonic communities in constructing exclusive collective identities through discourses of exile, separation, and restoration. Drawing on theoretical frameworks from post-Holocaust thought that I outline in Chapter 1, I argue that the language in Ezra-Nehemiah (Chapter 2), 2 Maccabees (Chapter 3), Daniel (Chapter 4), and Damascus Document and Pesher Habakkuk (Chapter 5) is consistent with processes of identity formation in which trauma is construed as a founding, generative, and integrative identity. In developing themes of collective trauma and memory, I focus on Marianne Hirsch’s work on postmemory and Dominick LaCapra’s theories on founding traumas and the conversion of absence and loss. I apply these theories to the aforementioned Second Temple texts by arguing that notions of purity and impurity are established through the memory and postmemory of catastrophic events, including the destruction of the first temple, Babylonian exile, and the persecution by Antiochus IV Epiphanes in 167-164 B.C.E. The producers of these texts mask structural trauma (i.e., the transhistorical absence represented as the loss of an original identity) in its representation of historical trauma and narrate the process of restoration as the recovery of an original identity and unity, which never existed as it is represented in the texts. Chapter 6 is an analysis of notions of purification, hybrids, and multidirectional memory. Engaging with the work of Bruno Latour, I discuss the production and proliferation of hybrids, which emerge from discourses and practices of separation and purification. I use Latour as a segue into Michael Rothberg’s work on multidirectional memory, which shows that those whom some communities attempt to mnemonically and discursively eliminate or purify often share a collective pasts and/or identities.

The purpose of this study was to explore bizarreness, a type of imagery, as a proposed phenomenon involved in recall by reviewing the salient literature and to empirically investigate whether this mnemonic device did indeed enhance memory. A corollary aim was to gain a greater understanding of the degree and the conditions under which this mnemonic influenced the retrieval and storage of information. No consistent picture has emerged as to the effectiveness of bizarreness as a mnemonic device. Some studies have found claims that bizarreness enhanced recall to be either grossly overestimated or nonexistent, while others have argued for the extensive mnemonic benefits of bizarreness and have supported a "strong version" of the distinctiveness framework. Still yet another group of studies have found mnemonic value from bizarreness, but only under certain conditions. These studies have ranged from acknowledging the "bizarreness context effect" or BCE as minimal and highly conditional to viewing bizarreness as an active agent in increasing recall to a great degree across a variety of conditions. Other investigations have fallen between these two more extreme positions. The vast majority of these studies also have supported the distinctiveness theory for understanding the role of bizarreness in the enhancement of retrieval and storage of information. Specifically, a "restricted version" of this theory has proven especially tenable in accounting for the bulk of empirical findings. Therefore, this present study has addressed the following problems: Does bizarreness really work as a mnemonic device? If so, what conditions facilitate or inhibit a "bizarreness context effect" and to what degree? A sample of sixty high school seniors enrolled in college-bound English classes served as participants. Twelve additional students were selected for a pre and posttest, focusing on free recall of names. Materials consisted of a slide projector and screen, slides of English Romantic Era poets, answer sheets, and distractor task exercises. Participants were presented slides of these poets for instructional, immediate recall, and delayed recall conditions. Two independent variables served to examine the effects of bizarreness on the retrieval and storage of information. These were imagery type (bizarre versus common) and trial condition (immediate and delayed). The dependent measure was the number of English Romantic Era poets recalled by the high school sample. The design used was a mixed list with a minimally cued, noninteracting recall condition. A 2 x 2 repeated measures ANOVA design was utilized to analyze the sample data. Preliminary pre and post free recall tests revealed no statistically significant differences in students' recall of names among poets. The findings also indicated that null hypotheses twoand three were rejected. Statistically significant differences were found for both hypotheses at the .05 level. A simple effects analysis was performed on hypothesis two to clarify the significant group by trial ordinal interaction. A planned comparison was conducted on the statistically significant effect (imagery type) for hypothesis three to further understand these differences. Although no statistically significant group by trial interaction was found for hypothesis one, there was a statistically significant main effect for groups. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

Shape memory alloy (SMA) wires are becoming increasingly popular as actuators in automotive applications due to properties such as large recovery strain, low weight, and silent actuation. The length change and thus actuation in SMA wires occur when the wire is heated, usually by passing a direct current through them. One of the difficulties in controlling electrically-heated SMAs occurs in monitoring their temperature, which is done to control the transformation and hence, actuation and avoid possibly permanent damage due to overheating. The temperature of a SMA wire is usually calculated theoretically based on the wire???s natural convection heat transfer coefficient(h).First-order convective heating models are typically used to calculate the natural convection heat transfer coefficient for SMA wires, but there is often significant uncertainty in these calculations due to a lack of existing correlations for thin cylinders, where curvature effects are significant. The purpose of this investigation is to develop models for SMA wires that may be used to predict the temperature of a current-carrying SMA wire without using direct temperature measurement methods. The models were developed based on experimental results for 0.5 mm diameter NiTi SMA wire. First the effect of various parameters such as wire inclination angle, wire length, ambient pressure, phase transformation time rate and applied external stress were investigated on the SMA wire???s electrical resistance. The electrical resistance of the SMA wire was monitored during one complete heating and cooling cycle. Later, based on the experimental results, a resistance model was developed for the current-carrying SMA wires that can be used to predict the wires??? temperature based on electrical resistance. Second, a natural convection heat transfer correlation was developed for NiTi SMA wire, in the range 2.6E-8??? RaD ??? 6E-1, which is appropriate for modeling natural convection in most practical applications at ambient conditions. A pressure variation method was used to obtain a range of Rayleigh number for a heated SMA wire. The ambient pressure was controlled within a vacuum chamber, from 1 atm to 2E-4 atm (0.1 MPa to 2E-5 MPa). Data were collected for the wire at various angles under both 100 MPa and stress-free conditions between horizontal to vertical at each set pressure. The new correlation can be used to determine the convective heat transfer coefficient of an SMA wire of known diameter and inclination angle. The convection coefficient (h) is determined using the correlation along with the Prandtl number (Pr), air dynamic viscosity (??), air compressibility factor (Z), air thermal conductivity (k), and gas constant (Rc). The wire temperature can then be determined by substituting this coefficient into the convective heat transfer equation.

A dual-task paradigm was used to infer the processes critical for episodic memory retrieval by measuring susceptibility to memory interference from different distracting tasks. Research suggests that retrieval interference occurs due to material-specific overlap between concurrent tasks. I tested whether interference could instead arise from processing-specific overlap. In Experiment 1, I took advantage of individual differences in how verbal materials could be represented in those with different language backgrounds. I compared recognition of studied information in English and Chinese speakers under full attention (FA) or under one of two different divided attention (DA) conditions. Participants viewed simplified Chinese characters or English words, and later completed recognition while simultaneously performing distracting tasks requiring phonological (DAP) or visuospatial (DAV) processing of auditorily presented letters. I found an interaction such that Chinese speakers were more susceptible to interference from the visuospatial than phonological distracting task, whereas the reverse pattern was shown in English speakers. These results suggest that interference with memory retrieval is processing-, not material-, specific, as both distracting tasks used the same materials. Next I sought to determine whether processing-specific interference could be observed within the visuo-spatial domain. Accordingly, in Experiments 2 and 3, I examined whether face recognition would be disrupted more by a distracting task requiring configural than featural processing. In Experiment 2, participants studied faces under FA and subsequently performed a recognition task under either FA or each of two different DA conditions in which a distracting face was presented alongside, requiring either a featural (DAF) or configural (DAC) decision. In line with a material-specific account of interference, face memory accuracy was disrupted in both DA conditions relative to the FA condition, although no processing-specific differences in interference were found between the DA conditions, likely because both distracting tasks engaged configural processing. To better isolate the different processing streams in Experiment 3, some faces were inverted to offset configural processing and to engage featural processing. I compared patterns of memory interference when target faces were presented upright (configural) or inverted (featural). I found a crossover interaction: memory for upright faces was worse in the DAC than in the DAF condition, whereas the reverse was true for inverted target faces, supporting a processing-specific account of memory interference. In Experiment 4, I sought to rule out task difficulty as an alternative explanation for the pattern of interference effects. I measured whether each distracting task produced similar slowing, which provides an indirect assessment of resource requirements of a task, on a simultaneously performed auditory tone discrimination task. Results showed that my distracting tasks were not differentially attention demanding, as indexed by similar accuracy rates for tone classification and response times on the tone discrimination task when performed concurrently with each distracting task. Findings suggest that the magnitude of memory interference under DA conditions at retrieval is influenced by material-specificity but that, critically, it also depends on the extent to which the processing demands of the distracting and retrieval tasks overlap. I have shown here that retrieval is not automatic or obligatory as others have suggested, but instead is subject to disruption. This thesis specifies that retrieval interference can occur due to competition for a limited pool of common processing resources across target and distracting tasks. Thus, when trying to recall studied information, one should avoid distracting conditions, especially those that overlap significantly not only with the type of materials tested but also with the mental processes required to retrieve that target information.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a neurodegenerative disorder initially characterized by mild memory impairments, progresses to global cognitive deficits and eventually death. AD pathological hallmarks are plaques and tangles. Acute and chronic effects of familial Alzheimer’s disease (FAD) genes were examined in WT and transgenic mice respectively. We used viral vectors to acutely express FAD genes encoding the Swedish, Indiana, and Swedish and Indiana double mutation, of amyloid precursor protein (APP) in the hippocampal CA1 region (which exhibits early AD pathology) in mice. Acute expression of FAD genes produced deficits in the formation but not retreival of spatial memory. We next examined spine density as changes are thought to affect synaptic plasticity. Acute expression of FAD genes did not affect the structure (dendritic length, intersections and nodes), but decreased spine density in infected CA1 neurons. Amyloid beta (Aβ) binds to excitatory synapses, particularly to GluA2-AMPA receptors (AMPAR) leading to endocytosis. Therefore,, acute CA1 expression of FAD genes produced spatial memory formation deficits mediated by impairments in dendritic spine plasticity and transmission via AMPAR endocytosis. Additionally, infusing GluA2-3Y, a peptide that prevents Aβ induced AMPAR endocytosis in acute and chronic (TgCRND8) AD mouse models expressing double mutated APP genes, was similarly able to rescue the spatial memory and spine density deficits. Since the transcription factor CREB is critical for normal memory formation across species, we investigated its role in TgCRND8 mice. We observed additional deficits in the dorsal hippocampus of TgCRND8 mice, including 1) biochemistry (CREB activation), 2) neuronal structure, and 3) neuronal network activity. Moreover, locally and acutely increasing CREB function in the CA1 region of TgCRND8 mice was sufficient to restore function in each domain independent of plaque load or aggregated Aβ levels. Together, these studies indicate that targeting GluA2 or CREB may be useful therapeutic strategies in treating AD.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a neurodegenerative disorder initially characterized by mild memory impairments, progresses to global cognitive deficits and eventually death. AD pathological hallmarks are plaques and tangles. Acute and chronic effects of familial Alzheimer’s disease (FAD) genes were examined in WT and transgenic mice respectively. We used viral vectors to acutely express FAD genes encoding the Swedish, Indiana, and Swedish and Indiana double mutation, of amyloid precursor protein (APP) in the hippocampal CA1 region (which exhibits early AD pathology) in mice. Acute expression of FAD genes produced deficits in the formation but not retreival of spatial memory. We next examined spine density as changes are thought to affect synaptic plasticity. Acute expression of FAD genes did not affect the structure (dendritic length, intersections and nodes), but decreased spine density in infected CA1 neurons. Amyloid beta (Aβ) binds to excitatory synapses, particularly to GluA2-AMPA receptors (AMPAR) leading to endocytosis. Therefore,, acute CA1 expression of FAD genes produced spatial memory formation deficits mediated by impairments in dendritic spine plasticity and transmission via AMPAR endocytosis. Additionally, infusing GluA2-3Y, a peptide that prevents Aβ induced AMPAR endocytosis in acute and chronic (TgCRND8) AD mouse models expressing double mutated APP genes, was similarly able to rescue the spatial memory and spine density deficits. Since the transcription factor CREB is critical for normal memory formation across species, we investigated its role in TgCRND8 mice. We observed additional deficits in the dorsal hippocampus of TgCRND8 mice, including 1) biochemistry (CREB activation), 2) neuronal structure, and 3) neuronal network activity. Moreover, locally and acutely increasing CREB function in the CA1 region of TgCRND8 mice was sufficient to restore function in each domain independent of plaque load or aggregated Aβ levels. Together, these studies indicate that targeting GluA2 or CREB may be useful therapeutic strategies in treating AD.

This study investigated the most efficacious means of providing feedback to students on multiple-choice test items. Subjects were 135 undergraduate students enrolled at a mid-western university. Immediate feedback, defined as knowledge of correct results presented after the completion of the entire test, and delayed feedback, defined as knowledge of correct results presented 24 hours after the completion of the test, were examined. The presence or absence of an immediate retention test was also examined. The performance on the initial test, the students' verbal ability, and the amount of time spent with feedback were used as covariates. Also investigated was the relationship of the level of the test item (recall or complex) to the students' ability to profit from immediate or delayed feedback. The interference perseveration hypothesis was examined as a possible explanation of the delayed retention effect (DRE).Two analyses of the data were performed to test the DRE. The first was a univariate analysis of covariance of the four treatment conditions, utilizing the students' performance on the initial test, verbal ability and time spent with feedback as covariates. The results of this analysis were not significant. The second was a univariate analysis of covariance of the four treatment groups and the control group with the initial test score and the students' verbal ability covaried.The analysis yielded a significant treatment effect when the control group was compared to the four treatment conditions.The reliability correlation coefficients which were computed for the recall and complex test items were not adequate to be used in the analysis. Therefore the interaction between the level of the test items and the feedback condition was not tested.All of the students were asked to complete a pre- and postquestionnaire to assess their feedback preference and to determine if this preference changed over time. Results indicated the majority of students preferred to receive immediate feedback and little change was observed in their feedback preference.An item analysis was conducted in order to investigate the interference-perseveration hypothesis. The data did not support this theory.Conclusions were drawn and implications for further research were discussed.

The Canadian-descendent Old Colony Mennonites first arrived in Bolivia from Mexico in 1967. Their collective identity has been shaped by a series of migrations through several countries, including Russia, Canada and Mexico. In this thesis I look at which memories are retold and how they are used to define their identity as an anti-modern people, and vice versa, how this identity filters their memories. I also look to see what it is that the Old Colony Mennonites recall of their migration history: the years before arriving in Bolivia in the 1960s, the pioneer years and succeeding decades of life in Bolivia. In addition, I examine how they have used their history to define their worlds and how their views on technology, language, and clothing are articulated by historical accounts.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurologically debilitating disease that is plaguing our elderly population. Transgenic mice with Alzheimer’s disease mutations are used to study signal pathways, potential drug targets and mechanism of disease. However, studies of the effects of different AD mutations on behavior and neuropathological progression in mice have been inconsistent when comparing different genetic backgrounds. The aim of this study was to compare two commonly used TgCRND8 backgrounds, the 129SvEvtac/C57F1 and C3H/C57F1 strains, for memory function in the Morris water maze (MWM), and to determine differences in plaque burden. We found deficits in multiple parameters of the MWM in the 129SvEvtac/C57F1 strain. Similarly, this background strain showed significantly more amyloid beta (Aβ) plaque burden than the C3H/C57F1 strain. This supports the hypothesis that strain specific differences are apparent in spatial memory testing and neuropathologic progression of AD. It leads us to believe that epigenetics are key to understanding AD risk assessment and development.

This thesis is aimed at addressing a lacuna in previous scholarship on the development of the martyr cult in the pivotal fourth century. Recent work on the martyr cult has avoided a diachronic approach to the topic. Consequently through their synchronic approach, issues of the early fifth century have been conflated and presented alongside those from the early fourth, with little discussion of the development of the martyr cult during the intervening decades. One aim of this work is to address the progression of the martyr cult from its pre-Christian origins through its adaptations in the fourth and early fifth century. Through a discussion of power dynamics with a critical eye towards the political situation of various influential figures in the fourth and early fifth centuries, this thesis demonstrates the ways in which Constantine, Damasus, Ambrose, Augustine, and others sought to craft cultural memory around the martyr shrine. Many of them did this through the erection of structures over pre-existing graves. Others made deliberate choices as to which martyrs to commemorate. Some utilized the dissemination of the saints’ relics as a means to expanding their own influence. Finally several sought to govern which behaviours were acceptable at the martyrs’ feasts. In nearly every instance these choices these men advanced their own agendas. In many cases the martyr cult was a decisive tool for the augmentation and solidification of civil and religious authority. Despite their goals these men were unable to create the uniformity they desired within the martyr cult. The meaning associated with the graves of the saints could never be determined unidirectionally. Meaning and the power to influence others through the martyr cult was the product of a dialogue. That dialogue included the leaders and the laity in the Christian community as well as a new group: pilgrims. Pilgrimage created a network within Christianity which ultimately led to a catholic Christian cultural memory surrounding the martyrs’ graves. This homogenized understanding of the martyr cult enabled it to become one of the most identifiable features of Christianity in subsequent centuries.