In Conversation with Vicki Kirby: Deconstruction, Critique, and Human Exceptionalism in the Anthropocene

In this interview Marc Higgins invites Vicki Kirby to dilate on the themes that have exercised her attention over the last thirty years. His questions address the received assumptions that shape political and ethical debate and the suggestion that their terms of reference require a radical shake-up. Kirby’s counter-intuitive treatment of familiar and accepted ways of thinking pays special attention to the nature/culture division and its myriad reconfigurations (body versus mind; primitive, or first, versus complex, or second; illiteracy versus literacy). She interrogates the routine and almost automatic logic that segregates what is deemed abstract and ideational from the pragmatic gravitas and political urgency that we tend to secure in empirical, “on the ground” evidence. For Kirby, this notion of material evidence and the weight of its truth claims, together with the corollary belief that the ideational and abstract are entirely other to physical and material reality, promote an insidious political agenda that sustains misogyny, racism, and ecological degradation as inevitable. By underlining the implicated ecologies of life whose dynamic cross-overs and impurities are also manifest in our thought structures, we are challenged to work with/in a sense of corruption that is irreducible and not simply negative.

Effects of Post-Activation Potentiation (PAP) Warm-up on Vertical Jump Performance among Volleyball Players

This study aims to examine the effects of resistance versus complex exercise with the retention of post-activation potentiation (PAP) on vertical jump among volleyball players. A total of 30 volleyball players (mean age = 16.5 ± 1.106 years old) were recruited as participants of this study. The participants were requested to attend two different testing sessions, with two days between each session. Each session had a different exercise routine, namely, resistance and complex. A one-way repeated measure was used to analyse the performance of the vertical jump, while a pairwise comparison was applied to compare the retention of PAP between the resistance and complex exercises. The findings show that there is a significant interaction for both warm-up exercises; [(F(1,29)=1275.57, p=0.000] for resistance exercise and [(F(1,29) = 1456.83, p= 0.000] for complex exercise. The retention analysis for PAP effect also indicates that there is a significant difference between the two warm-up activities in vertical jump performance. In conclusion, this study reveals that both exercises managed to increase PAP among volleyball players. However, complex exercise is suggested to be combined with the warm-up method as it can maintain a longer retention than resistance exercise.

Morphological Awareness and Word Complexity in an EFL Context

This study examined the relationship between morphological awareness and word complexity (simple versus complex words) in an EFL context. The participants in this study were 100 fourth-year secondary school Arts students in Tunisia. Students’ morphological awareness was measured by the Morphological Awareness Test. Vocabulary size was tested using an adapted version of Nation’s (2001) Vocabulary Levels Test as a receptive measure of vocabulary size. Half of the vocabulary test items were made complex to check the participants’ performance on simple and complex words. The informants’ scores were high on the overall morphological awareness task, and the best performance was on inflectional morphemes. This could be very useful for teachers to build on, improve, and construct better future teaching practices. Finally, morphological awareness differentiated between students’ performance on simple versus complex words.

Dazzling Descriptions and Tantalizing Titles: How Simple Versus Complex Course Information Influences Course Selection

Research exploring a student’s “path to purchase” when considering course selection has revealed a number of influential factors including course content, reputation, and professor style. To date, little is known about the direct (or indirect) influence that course titles and course descriptions have on student interest and enrollment in courses, or how easy-sounding (simple) versus difficult-sounding (complex) information is inferred and interpreted as it relates to various enrollment markers. Using ideas from metacognition research, this research explores the impact of subjective assessment of simple versus complex course titles and course descriptions on general interest in a course and enrollment intentions. Findings indicate that not only does an easy versus complex course description affect enrollment intention, but it also affects subjective interpretations of course interest, expected workload, and learning outcomes, whereas course title has few meaningful effects. Application of these ideas for specific students and future research opportunities are discussed.

Implementation of the new multimodal imaging-based classification of central serous chorioretinopathy

Purpose: To study the implementation of the new multimodal imaging-based classification system of central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR). Methods: Ninety-three eyes with CSCR with available fundus autofluorescence (FAF), optical coherence tomography (OCT), and OCT angiography at presentation were included in this study. An anonymous data set was classified by two masked graders. Each case was classified as per presence of (i) simple versus complex (< or >2 disc diameters of retinal pigment epithelium abnormality) CSCR; (ii) primary versus recurrent versus resolved CSCR; (iii) persistent (presence of subretinal fluid >6 months) or not; (iv) outer retinal atrophy (ORA); (v) foveal involvement; and (vi) macular neovascularization (MNV). Agreement between the graders was calculated. Results: Kappa value was 0.91 (95% CI 0.8–1.0) for the entire classification; 0.84 (95% CI 0.73–0.95) for simple versus complex; 1.0 (95% CI 1.0–1.0) for primary versus recurrent versus resolved CSCR; 1.0 (95% CI 1.0–1.0) for persistent or not; 0.9 (95% CI 0.81–0.99) for ORA or not; 0.95 (95% CI 0.84–1.0) for presence or absence of MNV; 1.0 (95% CI 1.0–1.0) for presence or absence of foveal involvement. Conclusion: The new multimodal imaging based CSCR classification showed “near perfect” agreement between two retinal experts.

The predictive utility of word familiarity for online engagements and funding

Metacognitive frameworks such as processing fluency often suggest people respond more favorably to simple and common language versus complex and technical language. It is easier for people to process information that is simple and nontechnical compared to complex information, therefore leading to more engagement with targets. In two studies covering 12 field samples (total n = 1,064,533), we establish and replicate this simpler-is-better phenomenon by demonstrating people engage more with nontechnical language when giving their time and attention (e.g., simple online language tends to receive more social engagements). However, people respond to complex language when giving their money (e.g., complex language within charitable giving campaigns and grant abstracts tend to receive more money). This evidence suggests people engage with the heuristic of complex language differently depending on a time or money target. These results underscore language as a lens into social and psychological processes and computational methods to measure text patterns at scale.