Appropriating the Didjeridu and the Sweat Lodge: New Age Baddies and Indigenous Victims?

The article focuses upon the New Age and new age Pagan appropriation of the Aboriginal Australian didjeridu and the American Indian sweat lodge tradition. Against a background of colonialism, it addresses the issues that surround the dissemination of information concerning indigenous culture and knowledge among individuals involved in the New Age and new age Pagan movements via academia, Western fiction, and the Internet. Further, by looking at the representation of the 'Other' by the West, it explores the effects of such portrayal upon Western perceptions of indigeneity and upon indigenous people's perception of themselves. Issues, such as indigenous agency, inter- and intra-cultural appropriation, the lack of New Age and new age Pagan involvement in indigenous politics, and the arguments that surround the question who should teach indigenous knowledge and to whom, are also addressed.     

Why do pitched horizontal lines have such a small effect on visually perceived eye level?

In two experiments, visually perceived eye level (VPEL) was measured while subjects viewed two-dimensional displays that were either upright or pitched 20 degrees top-toward or 20 degrees top-away from them. In Experiment 1, it was demonstrated that binocular exposure to a pair of pitched vertical lines or to a pitched random dot pattern caused a substantial upward VPEL shift for the top-toward pitched array and a similarly large downward shift for the top-away array. On the other hand, the same pitches of a pair of horizontal lines (viewed binocularly or monocularly) produced much smaller VPEL shifts. Because the perceived pitch of the pitched horizontal line display was nearly the same as the perceived pitch of the pitched vertical line and dot array, the relatively small influence of pitched horizontal lines on VPEL cannot be attributed simply to an underestimation of their pitch. In Experiment 2, the effects of pitched vertical lines, dots, and horizontal lines on VPEL were again measured, together with their effects on resting gaze direction (in the vertical dimension). As in Experiment 1, vertical lines and dots caused much larger VPEL shifts than did horizontal lines. The effects of the displays on resting gaze direction were highly similar to their effects on VPEL. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that VPEL shifts caused by pitched visual arrays are due to the direct influence of these arrays on the oculomotor system and are not mediated by perceived pitch.     

Visually perceived eye level with reversible pitch stimuli: implications for the great circle and implicit surface models

Visually perceived eye level (VPEL) and perceived pitch were measured while subjects viewed two sets of stimuli that were either upright or pitched top-toward or top-away from them. The first set of stimuli, a pair of vertical lines viewed at various angles of pitch, caused systematic changes in perceived pitch and upward and downward VPEL shifts for the top-toward and top-away pitches, respectively. Neither the perceived pitch nor the VPEL measures with these stimuli differed between monocular and binocular viewing. The second set of stimuli was constructed so that, when viewed at the appropriate pitch angle, the projected orientations of the lines in the retinal image of each stimulus were similar to those generated by a pair of vertical lines pitched by a lesser amount in the opposite direction. When viewed monocularly, these stimuli appeared pitched in the direction opposite their physical pitch, yet produced VPEL shifts consistent with the direction of their physical pitch. These results clearly demonstrate a dissociation between perceived pitch and VPEL. The same stimuli, when viewed binocularly, appeared pitched in the direction of their physical pitch and caused VPEL shifts indistinguishable from those obtained monocularly. The retinal image orientations of these stimuli, however, corresponded to those of vertical line stimuli pitched in the opposite direction. This finding is therefore consistent with the hypothesis that VPEL and perceived pitch are processed independently, but inconsistent with the specific version of this hypothesis which states that differences in VPEL are determined solely on the basis of the orientation of lines in the retinal image.     

Effects of gravitational and optical stimulation on the perception of target elevation

To examine the combined effects of gravitational and optical stimulation on perceived target elevation, we independently altered gravitational-inertial force and both the orientation and the structure of a background visual array. While being exposed to 1.0, 1.5, or 2.0 Gz in the human centrifuge at NASA Ames Research Center, observers attempted to set a target to the apparent horizon. The target was viewed against the far wall of a box that was pitched at various angles. The box was brightly illuminated, had only its interior edges dimly illuminated, or was kept dark. Observers lowered their target settings as Gz was increased; this effect was weakened when the box was illuminated. Also, when the box was visible, settings were displaced in the same direction as that in which the box was pitched. We attribute our results to the combined influence of otolith-oculomotor mechanisms that underlie the elevator illusion and visual-oculomotor mechanisms (optostatic responses) that underlie the perceptual effects of viewing pitched visual arrays.     

Walking versus biofeedback: a comparison of acute interventions for stressed students

Background: High rates of stress-related problems in college students and low utilization of treatment options demonstrate the need for effective stress-reducing interventions that can be self-regulated. This study compared the effect of brief paced-breathing with biofeedback and exercise interventions on heart rate variability, state anxiety and affect. Methods: Students (n?=?32) with high levels of perceived stress completed three 10-min interventions on separate days: paced-breathing with biofeedback (Biofeedback), a self-paced walk (Exercise), and an attention control condition of quiet studying (Quiet Study). Anxiety and affect were measured before (Pre), immediately after (Post0) and 15 mins after (Post15) the intervention. Heart rate variability was measured pre- and post-intervention using electrocardiogram. Results: Biofeedback reduced anxiety more than the exercise condition (Pre to Post0: Biofeedback d?=??0.48, Exercise d?=??0.13). Secondly, Exercise temporarily increased energy (Pre to Post0: d?=?0.67), whereas Biofeedback temporarily increased calmness (Pre to Post0: d?=?0.51). All conditions significantly increased total heart rate variability (p?Conclusions: Biofeedback and Exercise interventions improved emotional states in high-stress college students, but the type of change observed (i.e. energizing, calming or anxiety reducing) depended upon the condition.     

The Undecidability of Propositional Adaptive Logic

We investigate and classify the notion of final derivability of two basic inconsistency-adaptive logics. Specifically, the maximal complexity of the set of final consequences of decidable sets of premises formulated in the language of propositional logic is described. Our results show that taking the consequences of a decidable propositional theory is a complicated operation. The set of final consequences according to either the Reliability Calculus or the Minimal Abnormality Calculus of a decidable propositional premise set is in general undecidable, and can be -complete. These classifications are exact. For first order theories even finite sets of premises can generate such consequence sets in either calculus.     

Cultural differences in the impact of social support on psychological and biological stress responses

Social support is believed to be a universally valuable resource for combating stress, yet Asians and Asian Americans report that social support is not helpful to them, resist seeking it, and are underrepresented among recipients of supportive services. We distinguish between explicit social support (seeking and using advice and emotional solace) and implicit social support (focusing on valued social groups) and show that Asians and Asian Americans are psychologically and biologically benefited more by implicit social support than by explicit social support; the reverse is true for European Americans. Our discussion focuses on cultural differences in the construal of relationships and their implications for social support and delivery of support services.     

Associations between narrative transportation,risk perception and behaviour intentions following narrative messages about skin cancer

Objective: Narrative messages may be an effective strategy to increase risk perceptions and motivate preventive behaviours related to cancer. The aim of this research was to examine associations between narrative transportation (i.e. psychological absorption into a narrative), risk perceptions, and intentions following narrative messages about skin cancer.

Design: In two studies, women who reported indoor tanning read first-person narrative messages about skin cancer. We examined associations between narrative transportation and the women’s responses to the narratives, including risk perceptions for skin cancer and behaviour intentions to reduce risk. Associations between transportation, knowledge and worry were also examined.

Results: Greater transportation was associated with higher intentions to perform skin self-examination, talk to one’s doctor about skin cancer, and look for more information. Greater transportation was also associated with higher gut feelings of risk and higher worry about skin cancer, but not deliberative risk perceptions or knowledge from the message. Additional analyses showed that after controlling for risk perception and worry, transportation had unique associations with some behaviour intentions.

Conclusion: Findings suggest that narrative transportation may be an important component to the persuasion of cancer narratives. Future research should explore ideas such as the role of the experiential system in narratives’ influence.