A Plebeian Lexicon of Capitalism (and Socialism)

It is by no means exaggeration to suggest that society finds itself increasingly ill equipped in the art of civil discourse.  In particular, the realm of political debate has polarized at partisan extremes, arguably fueled by gross economic inequality.  And as is typical when advocates’ hearts are aflame, logic can give way to passion, whether for lack of empathy or failures in communication.  With skirmish lines firmly drawn seeming eons ago, the opposing forces calcify in their trenches, rarely daring set foot on the field of battle, choosing instead to lob poorly calculated mortars at their “enemy,” not in honest attempt to “win” the war, but merely hoping to quiet the shells raining down, even if but temporarily.  Before we can broker peace, it is crucial we mend the broken lines of communication, starting with the most basic building blocks of language.  Of late, our (un)civil discourse has been rife with talking at each other and past each other, without pause to consider the foundational definitions of the words we lob.  We have weaponized our very means of intellectual connection, to the point that what remains is a toxic stew of defensive reactions.  Into this fray author beckons reader, with lofty goals of both deconstructing and then intentionally framing a lay person’s lexicon with useful definitions for capitalism, capitalist, and capital, each considered as relative to socialism.

Behavioral Observation Procedures and Tests to Characterize the Suitability of Sows for Loose-Housed Farrowing Systems

The objective of the study was to evaluate behavioral observation procedures and tests to characterize sows’ behavior for their suitability for free farrowing systems. Nest building activity (NB), lying-down behavior (LDB), and position after lying down (PLD) were assessed. Four tests were designed to characterize the reaction of sows to a novel object and an unexpected situation (Towel Test, TT), behavior towards humans (Dummy Arm Test, DAT; Trough Cleaning Test, TCT), and behavior towards piglets (Reunion Test, RT). The study was performed on a nucleus farm in 37 batches including 771 purebred landrace sows housed in farrowing pens with short-term fixation. The assessment of NB started 2 days before the expected date of the farrowing. In 56.2% of the observations, the sows showed increased chewing activity on gunnysacks. The LDB and PLD were assessed on days 3 and 19 post partum (p.p.). In 49.1% of the observations, sows showed careful lying-down behavior. In 50.1% of cases, sows preferred the stomach-teats-position when lying down. With the DAT on day 4 p.p., in 89.3% of observations, no or only slight reactions of the sow were documented. The TT and TCT were performed on days 3 and 10 p.p. Strong defensive reactions of animals towards humans were recorded in 4.5% of the observations in the TT, and in 4.0% of the observations in the TCT. In the RT on day 3 p.p., in 61.8%, a joyful response of the sows to the reunion with their piglets was observed. This study showed that the behavioral observation procedures and designed tests are suitable to characterize sows’ behavior towards humans and piglets with regard to traits that are particularly important in systems without fixation.

Napalm Colonization: Native Peoples in Brazil's Aeronautical Frontiers

This article investigates how aviation shaped Brazilian frontier colonization beginning in the 1940s and how Indigenous peoples came to use aviation for their own purposes. Backed by a technocratic ideology, the Getúlio Vargas regime saw aeronautics as a fix for the state's lack of control over the frontiers. Beginning with its March to the West program, the government used aviation to quickly explore and colonize vast territories previously out of its reach. The military radically transformed this method in the 1960s, using napalm and paratroopers to quickly create outposts and settlements. This article introduces the term aeronautical frontier to define unique regions where flying was the primary mode of transportation. While much of the discourse on Indigenous peoples and aviation has focused on defensive reactions to the incoming airplanes, this article shows how Native Brazilians appropriated the technology for their own means, mastering it for their own use in aeronautical frontiers.

Measuring Privileged Identity in Educational Environments: Development and Validation of the Privileged Identify Exploration Scale

The present study describes the development and validation of an instrument to measure defensive reactions individuals display in difficult dialogues while exploring privileged identities and interacting across difference. The increased focus on difficult dialogues when exploring privileged social identities in educational environments points to a need for the Privileged Identity Exploration Scale (PIE-S). The Privileged Identity Exploration Model (PIE) (Watt, College Student Affairs Journal., 2007, 26, 114–126; Watt et al., Counselor Education and Supervision., 2009, 49, 86–105) identifies eight defensive reactions. Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, we identified and confirmed four constructs of privileged identity exploration that students exhibit when interacting across social differences, the PIE Scale (PIE-S). We provide a brief overview of the development of the PIE-S, as well as future directions for research and applications to training and facilitation in various educational settings.

Close is better

The neuroscientific approach to peripersonal space (PPS) stems directly from electrophysiological studies assessing the response properties of multisensory neurons in behaving non-human primates. This multisensory context fostered frameworks which i) stress the PPS role in actions (including defensive reactions) and affordances, which are optimally performed through multiple sensory convergence; and ii) largely make use of tasks that are multisensory in nature. Concurrently, however, studies on spatial attention reported proximity-related advantages in purely unisensory tasks. These advantages appear to share some key PPS features. Activations in brain areas reported to be multisensory, indeed, can also be found using unimodal (visual) paradigms. Overall, these findings point to the possibility that closer objects may benefit from being processed as events occurring in PPS. The dominant multisensory view of PPS should therefore be expanded accordingly, as perceptual advantages in PPS may be broader than previously thought.

First Person: H_NGM_N: What one says, and doesn’t say, to white educators

Native American author Lois Beardslee discusses how she has experienced the power differentials that arise from the lack of significant racial integration in the field of education. Beardslee describes how a white teacher reacted when she, while serving as a substitute teacher’s aide, suggested finding a substitute for the game hangman, a game reminiscent of the violent lynchings and executions by hanging experienced within communities of color. Beardslee explores how the pervasive whiteness of education and the defensive reactions of white educators when questioned makes it difficult for teachers and children of color to speak out.

Detecting and Preventing Defensive Reactions Toward Persuasive Information on Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Using Induced Eye Movements

Objective: Persuasive messages regarding fruit and vegetable consumption often meet defensive reactions from recipients, which may lower message effectiveness. Individual differences in emotion regulation and gender are expected to predict these reactions. In the working memory account of persuasion, inducing voluntary eye movements during the processing of the auditory persuasive information might prevent defensiveness and thereby increase message effectiveness.Methods: Participants in two independently recruited samples from the general population (n = 118 and n = 99) listened to a negatively framed auditory persuasive message advocating fruit and vegetable consumption. Half of them were asked to keep following a regularly moving stimulus on their screen with their eyes. At pretest, the individual differences of cognitive self-affirmation inclination (CSAI) and gender were assessed to predict defensive reactions.Results: In Study 1, induced eye movements significantly increased self-reported consumption after 2 weeks when CSAI was low, but only in males, as indicated by a significant three-way interaction (p < 0.001). With negative self-evaluative emotions as dependent variable, this three-way interaction was also significant (p < 0.05), suggesting that induced eye movements prevented defensiveness in low CSAI males. Study 2 did not assess consumption but replicated the latter three-way interaction (p < 0.05).Conclusion: The studies replicated our earlier findings regarding the moderating effects of individual differences in emotion regulation (i.e., CSAI) on persuasion, but they also revealed gender differences in persuasion that are related to the working memory. The working memory account of persuasion provides new theoretical as well as practical angles on persuasion to target individuals in persuasion to increase fruit and vegetable consumption.