Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is a common autoimmune disorder. Hashimoto’s thyroiditis patients may experience cognitive impairments such as memory problems, even after receiving LT4-monotherapy. This...Show moreHashimoto’s thyroiditis is a common autoimmune disorder. Hashimoto’s thyroiditis patients may experience cognitive impairments such as memory problems, even after receiving LT4-monotherapy. This study investigates the memory performance of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis patients with residual symptoms after receiving LT4 monotherapy, utilizing participants from the T3-4 Hypo Trial. Memory performance was assessed using the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) 15-Word Task and the data were compared to normative data from the Advanced Neuropsychological Diagnostics Infrastructure Norms (ANDI-Norms). Results indicate that Hashimoto’s thyroiditis patients do not significantly perform different to the general population. This study investigated whether age and sex are potential predictors of memory performance. These factors showed no significant results suggesting that they are not related to memory performance. However, this study does highlight limitations such as possible comorbidity, uneven distribution of sex and education levels that need consideration. Future research is advised to better understand the complex relationship between Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and cognitive function. This study contributes to the broader understanding of the relationship between cognitive function and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis and underscores the need for future research to develop effective and/or improve existing clinical management strategies.Show less
Depression is mental disorder characterized by impaired overall functioning as well as diminished cognitive performance. Its cause is associated with an imbalance of neurotransmitter functioning in...Show moreDepression is mental disorder characterized by impaired overall functioning as well as diminished cognitive performance. Its cause is associated with an imbalance of neurotransmitter functioning in affected individuals. Recent studies have demonstrated the ability of L-tyrosine, a natural amino-acid and precursor of the neurotransmitter dopamine, to increase dopamine levels within the brain and subsequently benefit different cognitive functions. Additionally, another field of research has repeatedly shown that exposure to novel stimuli can enhance memory performance in both animals and humans. In our study we investigated whether the intake of tyrosine (administered in a double-blind, betweensubjects design) enhances recall and recognition performance following the exposure to an either novel or familiar virtual reality environment (within-subjects design) in healthy participants. We expected tyrosine and the novelty exposure to result in improved cognitive performance. Furthermore, we hypothesized tyrosine to even out the assumed negative impact of increasing severity of depressive symptoms on the recall and recognition scores. Our sample consisted of 30 individuals aged 18 to 30. The study involved a total of five sessions including three laboratory and two online sessions. The first session included the familiarization to the VR environment as well as the assessment of current depressive symptoms with the patient health questionnaire. The other two laboratory sessions entailed the treatment administration, VR environment exploration as well as immediate memory assessments, while the online sessions consisted of delayed memory assessments. To examine the effects of treatment, novelty, and depressive symptoms on memory performance, our data was analysed with repeated measures analyses of variance. Contrary to our expectations we did not find significant effects of novelty or the tyrosine supplement on recall or recognition scores. While heightened symptoms of depression negatively impacted the cognitive performance in our sample, tyrosine did not have a mitigating effect on the different severity of symptoms. Future research is advised to explore methodological adjustments by making use of more immersive VR methods, alternative dosages of tyrosine, and include clinical samples to better understand these factors' potential impact on memory.Show less
Background. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is one of the most common forms of Acquired Brain Injury (ABI), and has a high incidence rate across the world. Following TBI, many patients experience...Show moreBackground. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is one of the most common forms of Acquired Brain Injury (ABI), and has a high incidence rate across the world. Following TBI, many patients experience cognitive complaints, as well as physical complaints about their health. Their general wellbeing can also be an issue. Fortunately, for most patients these complaints typically improve over time. This study investigates patients’ memory, concentration, energy, as well as general wellbeing, over time. Methods. Patients received questionnaires about their health and wellbeing every three months following hospital release, with the main goal to track their health and wellbeing after TBI. That data was used for this research. Energy, concentration, and memory were all measured by one question in the questionnaire. General wellbeing was measured by taking the average ratings of all questions on the questionnaire. Analyses were done with three and six questionnaires over time, using repeated measures ANOVAs. Descriptive statistics were used from the first questionnaire. Results. This study found that while patients rated all these measures on average positively, they still did not feel the same as before the injury, and most experienced hindrances in daily life. When looking at the ANOVAs with three questionnaires, there was a significant improvement on concentration, energy, as well as general wellbeing over time. For all of these, most improvement took place between the first and the second questionnaires. Memory did not change significantly over time. None of the ANOVAs with six questionnaires had any significant changes over time. Conclusion. This study shows that patients may suffer from long-lasting effects of TBI. It questions whether more should be done for these patients following hospital release, to alleviate symptoms. This study has limitations concerning selection bias and drop out.Show less
In the Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz a group of selected prisoners were forced to operate on a daily basis the gas chambers and crematoria of the camp: the members of the Sonderkommando were...Show moreIn the Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz a group of selected prisoners were forced to operate on a daily basis the gas chambers and crematoria of the camp: the members of the Sonderkommando were prisoners forced to kill and cremate other fellow inmates. In 1944 some members of the current Sonderkommando unit managed to secretly shoot four photographs showing their daily duties and smuggle them outside of the camp, in order to show to the rest of the world the hell on Earth that was the life inside of Auschwitz. This essay analyses these four images as essential elements in the context of the collective memory of the victims of the Holocaust. The focus is posed on the importance of exhibiting these photographs despite their characteristic of being “violence images”, and how crucial it is to exhibit them while maintaining their original narrative without compromising it or omitting some aspects.Show less
In her photographic project Traces, Weronika Gęsicka appropriates American stock photographs from the ’50s and ’60s, modifying their features and transforming the effects from wholesome to uncanny,...Show moreIn her photographic project Traces, Weronika Gęsicka appropriates American stock photographs from the ’50s and ’60s, modifying their features and transforming the effects from wholesome to uncanny, with the aim of cracking false memories of the past that reinforce oppressive ideals and stereotypes to this day. In Traces, one is confronted with weird and unsettling individuals, a result of digital modification and the incorporation of different strategies that could be considered iconoclastic. This thesis will examine the artwork with respect to the topic of iconoclasm and the condemnation of memory, identifying nuanced, contemporary forms of iconoclastic tactics that reach beyond the traditional. Specifically, this research illustrates how Gęsicka utilizes uncanniness to evoke psychoanalytical processes in the viewer and how she employs the concept of cutting as a destabilizing tool.Show less
This thesis aims to critically analyse how power relations in victimhood discourse have changed within the framework of five decades of Colombian armed conflict and how this affected the discourse...Show moreThis thesis aims to critically analyse how power relations in victimhood discourse have changed within the framework of five decades of Colombian armed conflict and how this affected the discourse of child soldiers. By analysing two case studies, the El Caguán – and the Havana peace process, this thesis aims to answer the main research question: How did power relations behind the victim change due the implementation of transitional justice during the Colombian peace processes and how has this affected demobilised child soldiers? Critical discourse analysis is used to understand which power relations determine the recognition of the victim, which will also provide an understanding of how victims and especially child soldiers have been referred to throughout the armed conflict. This thesis aims to contribute to studies of childhood, studies of transitional justice and the implementation of such justice regarding former child soldiers and victims of war conflicts.Show less
O presente trabalho trata do tema feminismo negro no Brasil e compara a obra de uma artista literária e de uma artista visual utilizando o conceito ‘lugar de fala’ da intelectual, ativista e...Show moreO presente trabalho trata do tema feminismo negro no Brasil e compara a obra de uma artista literária e de uma artista visual utilizando o conceito ‘lugar de fala’ da intelectual, ativista e escritora Djamila Ribeiro (1980, Santos). Apesar de avanços significativos no ativismo afro-brasileiro e feminista, a questão do lugar social da mulher afro-brasileira fica sendo um ponto atual e pertinente. Conceição Evaristo, escritora afro-brasileira, e Rosana Paulino, artista brasileira contemporânea, conseguiram uma visibilidade, inclusive internacional, usando um discurso feminista negro, apesar de viverem numa sociedade extremamente autoritária, racista e patriarcal. Para estudar o ativismo artístico que ambas produzem, a presente pesquisa se enfoca na obra literária Poemas da recordação e outros movimentos (2008) e na exposição A costura da memória (2018). Ambas obras, de maneira crítica, questionam o lugar da mulher negra na sociedade brasileira. Conceição Evaristo é conhecida pelas publicações em Cadernos Negros e da escrevivência. Rosana Paulino é artista visual e se enfoca nas questões sociais, étnicas e de gênero (Paulino). O estudo de caso é original, pois, acrescenta ao debate o uso do conceito lugar de fala, proposto por Djamila Ribeiro. Além disso, o estudo é altamente atual: a situação política no Brasil exige a importância de entender essas vozes. Portanto, o objetivo desse estudo é analisar como ambas artistas através do uso do conceito da memória se apropriam de um ‘lugar de fala’ para o sujeito feminino negro e criticamente questionam estruturas de poder existentes.Show less
Most Serbs hold strong opinions on Kosovo: they see Kosovo as a mythical cradle of the Serbian nation and, more recently, a place of mythical Serbian suffering. While these beliefs have reinforced...Show moreMost Serbs hold strong opinions on Kosovo: they see Kosovo as a mythical cradle of the Serbian nation and, more recently, a place of mythical Serbian suffering. While these beliefs have reinforced the Serbian nation, they also fuelled the Serbia-Kosovo conflict. Historiography has helped create and reinforce these myths and has as such played an important role in the conflict. This thesis researches myth-forming on Kosovo through the eyes of one Serb historian: Dusan T. Batakovic (1957-2017).Show less
This thesis aims to analyse how the commemoration of the battle of Berlin (1945) changed in the post-war Soviet Union and later, the Russian Federation. This analysis is made by examining specific...Show moreThis thesis aims to analyse how the commemoration of the battle of Berlin (1945) changed in the post-war Soviet Union and later, the Russian Federation. This analysis is made by examining specific monuments and other sites of commemoration, such as museums and parks. This thesis adds to pre-existing research into memory culture in the Soviet Union and the early years of the Russian Federation.Show less
Ever since the Republic of Indonesia had gained its independence, Dutch society and various political Governments have been in debate with each other on how to memorise the period of the...Show moreEver since the Republic of Indonesia had gained its independence, Dutch society and various political Governments have been in debate with each other on how to memorise the period of the Netherlands as coloniser of the East Indies. This has resulted in a wide range of perspectives on this part of the Dutch history by scientists. Although, there are many references to the Dutch East Indies within the contemporary society of the Netherlands, people tend to know more about the Holocaust rather than the heritage of the Dutch East Indies. This has resulted in the aim to examine why the heritage of World War II in the Dutch East Indies became a forgotten war for Dutch society. The study will be done by trying to verify three hypotheses surrounding the following themes: concealment, lack of public attention and memory.Show less
Very few events resonate with the American psyche quite like the Vietnam War. Countless films and songs serve to keep the memory of the Vietnam experience alive, even in those who were not alive to...Show moreVery few events resonate with the American psyche quite like the Vietnam War. Countless films and songs serve to keep the memory of the Vietnam experience alive, even in those who were not alive to witness it firsthand. It is often remembered as the only “real” war fought by the United States during the Cold War period, but this is not an accurate statement. The first “real” conflict of the Cold War began right as the battle-lines were drawn in 1950, when North Korea crossed the 38th parallel and invaded the South attempting to unify the peninsula on their terms. he Korean War represented the first physical clash between the two ideologies that would dominate the latter half of the 20th century, but its memory and media portrayal do not carry the same impact as that of Vietnam. The primary concern of this thesis is to explore the disparity in representation of the two wars through the medium of school textbooks, and what role the education system plays in emphasizing one over the other.Show less
At times of both authoritarian and democratic rule, Latin American cities have witnessed the outpouring of unconventional artistic expressions. Therefore, the thesis is positioned in an area...Show moreAt times of both authoritarian and democratic rule, Latin American cities have witnessed the outpouring of unconventional artistic expressions. Therefore, the thesis is positioned in an area overlooked by academic work: the region’s multifaceted history of political defiance. Specifically, it explores the political impact of urban artistic practices in the popular struggle to end the impunity in the Argentina of the 80s and 90s. The thesis argues these practices have the potential to problematize the institutional narrative regarding what truth should be told about the last military dictatorship. As such, the thesis presents the close reading analysis of “silueteadas” and “señales viales”. These are two different modes of street art that were developed in Buenos Aires urban landscape during the last year of the dictatorship and the post dictatorship period, respectively. After providing the necessary historical background as well as the theoretical overview in relation to the intersection of arts and politics, I explore the ways in which the “silueteadas” and “señales viales” succeeded to publicly punish the perpetrators of state-supported terrorism.Show less
