 |
 Pathways to Knowledge: A Lecture Series for Undergraduates
Spring 2000
February 29, 2000
The Aesthetic Appreciation of Imperceptible Properties
Robert S. Fudge
Ph.D. Candidate
Department of ??
|
When we have an aesthetic appreciation of something, our appreciation is of some perceptible property of the object. Is it possible to have an aesthetic appreciation of properties we cannot perceive? I suggest that a property counts as aesthetic when it becomes the object of aesthetic experience.
My main concern is with giving an account of aesthetic experience (and especially with the roles that imagination and other cognitive processes play in such an experience), which can explain how we can have an aesthetic appreciation of imperceptible properties.
|
March 21, 2000
Red-Green Color Vision in Mammals
Bernhard Radlwimmer
Ph.D. Candidate
Department of Biology
|
Color vision is essential to the survival of animals, allowing them to forage efficiently, find mates, and avoid predators. In order to understand how animal color vision has adapted to these specific needs, we need to identify the molecular mechanisms that underly variation in this trait. Color vision is mediated by light-sensitive molecules, called visual pigments, present in the cone photoreceptors of the retina.
My research uses molecular biology to rigorously study the mechanisms of visual pigment function in the laboratory in order to understand human color vision and its defects, such as red-green color blindness.
|
April 11, 2000
An Ethnography of a Chronic Female Offender and Drug Addict
Henia D. Johnson
Ph.D. Candidate
Department of Sociology
|
This study attempts to qualitatively capture the life of one woman, whose childhood years were spent in the juvenile justice system, and adult years were spent in the criminal justice system. She was incarcerated more than five times and has a lifelong history of chronic drug abuse. Today, at age 63, she has been out of prison and off parole for nine years, and has rebuilt her life.
This in-depth scientific investigation into the life of a chronic female offender will provide academics and service providers with a much-needed knowledge base. Moreover, her life history will afford scientists the opportunity to put a face on the statistics and give voice to this faceless and voiceless ever-increasing population of women.
|
April 25, 2000
The Story of Otoacoustic Emissions
Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?
Tracy S. Fitzgerald
Ph.D. Candidate
Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders
|
We all realize that our ears serve to process the sounds we hear, but most people are unaware that their ears are also capable of producing sounds. These sounds call Otoacoustic emissions, are very soft and can be measured using a sensitive microphone placed at the opening of the ear canal.
This presentation will address the origin of these sounds and how they can be used to detect for hearing loss, particularly in populations that are difficult to test, such as infants and small children. My research is aimed at finding ways to improve the accuracy with which we can detect hearing loss using otoacoustic emissions.
|
|
|
|
Back to Top
Printable Version
Email to Friend