Fall 2005 Schedule |
Spring 2006 Schedule |
Results of a Lilly-funded, cross-sectional study indicated
that college students at a private, Lutheran, liberal-arts college (Gustavus)
spontaneously articulated elements of personal identity, civic engagement, and
faith/spirituality when asked about their calling or vocation. Students'
inclusion of the elements of civic engagement and faith increased across year in
school. Surveys quantitatively assessing similar theoretical elements revealed
differences due to year in school, gender, and identity status. For individuals
attempting to develop vocational reflection in college students, gender and year
in college are important factors to take into consideration. Early exposure to
vocational concepts during new student orientation appears to be related to the
proposed three elements of vocational identity, as does participation in
activities related to
diversity, leadership, and self-exploration.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) affects ~16 million people in the United States. The American Lung Association reports that over half of COPD patients indicate their condition limits daily activities. Historically, reductions in exertional capacity have been attributed to decrements in lung function and blood gas perturbations. However, evidence is emerging that suggests alterations in locomotory muscles may contribute to exertional intolerance. Therefore, the purpose of this presentation is to analyze whether locomotory muscle dysfunction results from COPD and what contribution it has on exercise tolerance.
In the 1970s, snowmobiles were banned from most National Parks due to concerns about noise, pollution, and disruptions to both visitors and wildlife. Today, Yellowstone is one of the few Parks that still admits recreational snowmobiles: as many as 750 per day under current regulations. Since 1998 the Park Service has been re-evaluating winter use in Yellowstone, carrying out two full Environmental Impact Statements and an Environmental Assessment, each involving thousands of pages of data, public comments, and analysis. All three studies have concluded that the Park would be significantly better off without snowmobiles, yet the machines seem impossible to banish. In this talk, I analyze some of the rhetoric used by opposing sides in this contentious environmental conflict, and attempt to explain the curious persistence of large numbers of snowmobiles in America's first and most famous national park.
The 1990s has been called the age of apologies due to the escalation of political apologies beginning in this time period. Apologies by governments include the British apology to the Irish and the Maoris, Japan's apology to the Korean comfort women, and the apology of the United States to the native Hawaiians. These apologies are deemed to be part of reconciliation processes for past wrongs. It is notable, however, that official acts of forgiveness rarely accompany these apologies. In fact, forgiveness is not something that nation-states or their representatives seem to do. Why not? What possibilities exist for nation-states to forgive as part of reconciliation processes after wars or atrocities? What would it look like and what meaning would it have? Can and should nations forgive?
Healthy People 2010 declared the reduction of intimate partner violence a national priority. Up to six million women are believed to be beaten in their homes each year. It is the second leading cause of death for women ages 15-24. Although there are numerous studies that explore the effect and incidence of intimate partner violence, there is a dearth of intervention studies. The purpose of this shop talk presentation is to share the results of a qualitative research study that explored the meaning that women with violent partners found in participating in a nurse led cognitive therapy program designed specifically for women to increase self-esteem. Through a two step interview process 10 women told their stories of what it meant to them to participate in INSIGHT. The women had experienced violence at the hands of their partners before or during their participation in INSIGHT. The transcribed data were analyzed using Max van Manen’s approach with interpretative phenomenology. The results indicated that the ongoing meaning of the experience was described as a process of Rescuing Self.
Once every few years, a group of mathematicians, magicians and puzzle designers assemble in honor of Martin Gardner, many of whom were strongly influenced by Martin's writings in all these areas. All participants bring contributions to share with the group. At the Shop Talk, I will present my past contributions which include logic applied to Scrabble puzzles, curious properties of pandigital numbers (numbers made up of the digits 0-9 anagrammed), and some miscellaneous underspecified puzzles.
This work was conducted jointly with Susan Hirshberg.
I will describe a line of research I got into about 8 years ago when a student asked me if I knew anything about a possible relationship between being shy as a child and suffering from asthma as an adult. Since then I’ve been engaged in a retrospective examination of how early temperament issues, such as shyness, affect the development of adult personality. I’ll talk about what I’ve learned about the prevalence of shyness among Gustavus students, the patterns of shyness development throughout the school years, how these patterns of shyness are expressed in measures of adult personality, and the kinds of coping strategies shy students adopt to deal with everyday stress.
In metaethics (and in epistemology too) foundation is the
metaphor around which theory turns. There is massive disagreement about
foundations and the role they play in our lives—is there a foundation for moral
judgment? If yes, then what’s it nature? Is it universally or absolutely binding
on all? How can we know it? If the answers are negative, then how does morality
function in any binding sense? Is it all a colossal error; there really isn’t a
foundation but we just act as if there is one? Within these trenchant
disagreements, the commonality is the assumed coherence of a foundation. The
coherence, under close scrutiny, disappears.
I replace this dominant metaphor of foundations with an architectural
alternative that creates stability with various elements in relationship and
tension with each other. My image is a Rem Koolhaas designed villa in Bordeaux
that is built into the side of cliff. Not only does this house have no
foundation in the typical sense, but it appears to be launching itself off that
cliff. It is only against this stability that we can and do engage in moral
practices.
The Shop Talk coordinator (Paul Saulnier) would like to solicit abstracts for the Shop Talk series. These 20-30 minute presentations allow Gustavus scholars to share their original research/art and enthusiasm. A title, brief abstract (electronic format), and A/V requirements should be sent to Paul (PSAUL@GUSTAVUS.EDU). If the current Shop Talk schedule does not have any vacancies do not hesitate to contact Paul to reserve a future date.