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Have you ever wondered what exactly is happening in your body when you get triggered? Why do we go into rage, or feel like leaving, or completely shut down? Have you ever experienced conflict and thought something like “If only my body could just CALM DOWN then I might be able to actually resolve this?” - Or have you experienced that moment of getting nowhere in a conversation with your partner because they are triggered?
There’s a reason that we keep coming back to this issue of safety and being triggered - that’s because both your ability to feel safe in the container of your relationship, and your ability to restore safety when, inevitably, you aren’t feeling it is at the heart of your being able to do relationship well - especially once the “honeymoon” stage of your relationship is over. Creating safety with your partner is at the heart of the work of people like John Gottman, Sue Johnson, Harville Hendrix and Helen LaKelly Hunt, and Stan Tatkin - and creating safety within yourself is at the heart of the work of Peter Levine, Dick Schwartz, and Margaret Paul. In other words, we’re diving deep because this understanding is KEY to helping you in almost every aspect of your relationship with others and your relationship with yourself.
Today’s guest is Dr. Steve Porges, creator of The Polyvagal Theory, and a distinguished university scientist at the Kinsey Institute and a Research Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina. For more than 40 years Steve has been working on this theory of how our vagus nerve works and his work has completely transformed our understanding of how we respond to obstacles, adversity, stress, and trauma. How the very same nerve pathways that support our health can also be recruited for defense, and create health problems. If you’ve heard of “fight/flight and FREEZE” - that’s all based on his work - and you have some idea of what I’m talking about. In today’s episode, we’re going to not only get a better understanding of how and why the body does what it does, but also get even more clear on how to come back into balance so that you can be in a state of healthy responsiveness, playfulness, and curiosity - not triggered and just trying to deal.
Developing a neurophysiological understanding of our defense systems. A basic understanding of our autonomic nervous system provides insight into why we react the way we do in conflict and crisis, while also laying the framework for what we can do to help bring ourselves back into a physiological state in which we are available for connection, love, and intimacy. To begin, it is helpful to know that as humans we have developed (through our evolutionary history) two different major autonomic defense circuits:
Sympathetic nervous system: The mobilization defense system is dependent on the activation of our sympathetic nervous system which is responsible the fight or flight response we know so well.
The immobilization response- Our most ancient (meaning we share it with virtually every other vertebrate that has evolved) defense system is that of immobilization and shut down in the face of fear. This physiological state is regulated by the vagus and includes reduced oxygen demands, reduced metabolic demands, and can include dissociation, passing out, and defecation. Immobilizing in the face of fear is an adaptive behavior that allows us to disappear. Those who have experienced, or work with others who have experienced trauma, know this state well.
There is no conscious input in how these systems activate- the concept of consciousness in this context can be very damaging because it suggests a degree of volition that can lead people who experience major trauma like rape, threat, or force, to feel ashamed of how their bodies reacted. Unfortunately our culture sometimes asks questions like “why didn’t you fight?”, or, “why didn’t you leave?” These questions do not respect the implicit and reflexive activity of the body to defend itself by freezing - based on these inherited circuits.
Neuroception- Neuroception the term that Steve Porges created to describe how our body can sense something and react to it without it necessarily entering our conscious awareness. Our nervous system makes decisions and changes our biobehavior without any level of conscious awareness- despite the fact that we are profoundly aware of the impact on our physiology we are rarely aware of the triggers causing these state shifts. If our body detects risk or danger features in the environment we might have a sympathetic excitation (sweat, jumping out of our skin, etc)- we might not be aware of the cues, but our body is informing us!
What is the vagus nerve? The vagus nerve (a major component of our parasympathetic nervous system) is a large nerve in our body that originates in our brain stem and goes to nearly every organ in our body. If you are interested in the mind-body connection, then you are interested in the vagus nerve. Amazingly, 80% of the fibers of the vagus are used to bring information from the organs to the brainstem, the other 20% is for information being sent from brain to the body. This means that our organs really carry the majority of our bodily information. The vagus has two branches- an older branch that can be recruited for defense as it goes to the organs below the diaphragm and elicits immobilization behaviors, and another newer more evolved branch that, when functioning, keeps “fight/flight/freeze” in check, and supports our health, growth, and restoration! It is the part of our autonomic nervous system that is responsible for allowing us to connect, self-soothe, be playful, and be in relationship. This newer vagal circuit is linked to the features of the face (ears, eyes, mouth), enabling us to express our bodily state in our facial expression, in our voice, and to detect the intonation of other people's voices to screen for safety. This newer system has myelinated nerves which respond to voice intonation, smiling faces, playfulness, social referencing, and reciprocity.
Hierarchy of defense systems: We use our three phylogenetically evolved systems of regulation in a hierarchical pattern. In an effort to create safety, we first use our most newly developed system (the myelinated vagus) to connect, when this fails we go into sympathetic mobilization (fight or flight), and if this fails we head into our most ancient defense system of parasympathetic immobilization. Our entire autonomic nervous system (ANS) is built to support health, growth, and restoration. The key way that we ensure that we are using our ANS in this way is through the vagal brake. Our newer myelinated vagus has the potential to inhibit the defensive structures of the other autonomic nervous system (ANS) pathways. This means that when we know how to recruit our vagus we can prevent ourselves from being hijacked by the more reactive and destructive patterns of either full mobilization or immobilization.
Survival through cooperation: While being a mammal is a pretty great deal, there are a few things that we do not do very well. Namely we are not wired to deal well being by ourselves, and any extended or intensive isolation is not good. Mammals evolved to co-regulate - meaning that we help each other regulate our states through caregiving and reciprocity. It is important to remember that Darwin’s theory of survival of the fittest has been long misinterpreted, and that we survived due to cooperation, and not through aggression.
Observations that may indicate that your system, or your partner’s system, is being recruited for defense: Is there reciprocity in facial expressivity? Eye gaze? Intonation of voice? Also ask whether the vocalization patterns lends themselves to reciprocal dialogue or are you stepping on each other’s words? Our culture is so focused on syntax and words that we have forgotten that one of the most important ways we detect safety is through prosody (varieties in tone/timbre/rhythm) in voice. It can be incredibly helpful to keep this in mind in your relationship and interactions.
Every relationship has some minor to severe level of arguments - meaning people feel some semblance of danger and they get angry or scared. When this happens the neural tone of the muscles in the face is reduced which changes the tone of the middle ear - and literally people will have difficulty hearing you. In arguments with partners or children, it is likely the other person is having difficulty understanding you, because they are actually having difficulty hearing you!
While communicating with your partner, regularly check in with not just what you are saying, but how you are saying it - what is your tone? What is your body communicating? And is your partner is a physiological state in which they are open to engage and hear you?
It is the experience and not the event. Trauma leads to a lack of feeling, or difficulty feeling, one’s own body. Trauma histories have very little to do with the actual events that occurred, and more to do with the physiological responses that occurred. When considering your, or someone else’s trauma history, focus less on the objective events or facts of the experience, and become curious and become witness to their subjective experience. This will lead to an understanding of how and why the body is reacting in certain ways.
If we don’t feel our own body - we have difficulty related to other people’s bodies. A feature of trauma histories is the lack of feeling one’s own body. In order to get a sense of how present you, or your partner is in their body, it is helpful to look at how well are you/they playing? Does the person have the ability to be spontaneous, reciprocal, and spontaneous in the interaction? Are they responding to cues?
In addition to the question of how well you are playing, the other important question is how well are you pooping? This is important because the whole area below the diaphragm holds and reflects the effects of trauma on our bodies. Trauma is linked with IBS, constipation, and furthermore, the nerves that regulate this area also regulate the genitals. When we bottle up feelings in the subdiaphragmatic area, our sexuality is also impacted. Highly anxious or tightly wrapped individuals will have digestive systems that reflect this, and likely their sexual responses to intimacy will reflect these features as well.
Our autonomic nervous system is there to support health, growth, and restoration! It is only when it is used chronically for defense that we begin to have dysfunctions and disorders manifest in our organs.
Repair- We have violations of expectations ALL the time! However, when you have a violation it creates an opportunity for a repair. It is important to remember that it is not the words of an apology that matter as much as it is how the apology is said: the gestures, the words, and the intonation of voice. Your partner will only respond to a valid apology when the nonverbals are in concert with the intention. It is not the words! Culturally we function so much on syntax in our culture and not enough on the intonation of the words - in your relationship shift your attention to how you are interacting and how your body, and your partner’s body is responding to intonation. Remember to ask - how am I creating safety in this interaction? Am I speaking with prosody in my voice that will create comfort for my partner?
Be more playful! Using gestures of engagement, and more playfulness, helps to regulate each other’s physiological state. The notion of connectedness is a biological imperative. The goal as mammals, and as good spouses, is to interact in a way that regulates each other’s physiology. It is a responsibility for individuals to interact to make each other feel safe. It is not just healing, and enjoyable, but it has great impact on our mental and physical health because it supports the circuits of health, growth, and restoration!
Somatic experiencing: In efforts to recover from trauma, it is critical that we learn how to separate physiology from events. This occurs when we have the opportunity to be in the same physiological state in which we experienced the trauma, however in a way in which we have the control we did not have when we were in original event. It will not happen by telling someone to not get upset or not worry when they are triggered, but instead letting them experience their body reacting, but this time in a safe context. Doing this begins to take power away from the implicit body memories.
Change your breathing pattern: Have you noticed how when you are upset with your partner, you begin to huff and puff? This is your body physically preparing to mobilize for a fight or to run. Can can change your physiological state towards social engagement through shifting your breathing. Long inhalations removes what is called the vagal brake and it allows us to get more mobilized. In an effort to slow down, we need to have long exhalations. Try extending your exhalations through intentional breathing and through singing. Singing is wonderful because it uses muscles of social engagement system. Another way to play with voice in your relationship is to improvise songs, and use gibberish in moments of tension to help change your intonation and move the focus away from the meaning of words, and towards how the voice can help build repair and closeness.
Escalation is not coregulation! In most relationship conflicts, both individuals feel like victims - in order to de-escalate a situation and move in the direction of play and connection, one person must step up and take charge of noticing the pattern, and changing the way of engagement. This means meeting your partner on their level - often through touch, gentleness, and a prosodic voice. Hug your partner - not in an effort to fix, but rather in an effort to connect and bring back safety.
Be respectful of your physiological state: Respect your body’s behaviors without judgement, and without justifying or making personal narratives. Our bodies are constantly sending us information about the world - be respectful of your body shifts, even in moments when your body is reacting in a way that feels exaggerated or maladaptive. Also be respectful of how your body state shifts affect those around you - knowing they are going to react to your shifts, whether you intended for that or not. Taking responsibility for your physiological state is not only about learning how to downregulate your system, but it is about communicating your state to those around you. We are human, and are not always going to be able to perfectly respond in a situation that triggers us, but what we can learn to do is to verbalize what is happening in our body to others! If you are angry about something that happened, or feel the signs of being triggered, share this out loud. This will help your family, your spouse, your partner be able to not take the visual and bodily cues you are sending personally. This will SAVE your relationship!
Last bits of advice: Remember to change the prosody of your voice, bring in gentle touch, and see yourself as a vehicle for healing and safety for you and your partner! Before you react, listen! Don’t use the physiological state you are in as the motivator for behavior, just pause for a moment and get a better evaluation of the context. Add in a few long exhalations, and you will be more able to stay present and get back to a physiological state that allows you to be responsive, engaged, and connecting with your partner and those in your life!
Resources
Visit Stephen’s website for more information, a list of public speaking events, and links to previous interviews!
If you want to gain an in depth understanding of Polyvagal Theory, read Stephen’s book The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-regulation
www.neilsattin.com/safety Visit to download the show guide, or text “PASSION” to 33444 and follow the instructions to download the show guide to this episode.
Text and original publication: https://relationshipalive.libsyn.com/34-the-science-of-safety-with-stephen-porges#1z8b0HZBdYOzR2mP.99
It is an interesting time in the libraries for metadata. We have a lot of things described and described well, but is it feasible to keep all of that description in a useful way moving forward? And how do we offer up a ton of items all at once for online access?
Whether it's cataloging records or other descriptive metadata, we seem to now be in transition in the libraries. New systems require that we move metadata into new formats. New massive digital collections require description at a scale previously not encountered. We know the metadata we're going to have after these moves and massive description efforts take place will not be complete or perfect and will probably not be the exact metadata we had before. We have to strategize about what information is going to be the most important for search and discovery and aim to have that information available as accurately as possible, regardless of the transition or the scale.
Join us for a look at the systems and approaches we are taking to manage these messy metadata scenarios. We'll discuss the Libraries' move from Fedora 3 to Fedora 4 and the metadata transition happening there, the Media Digitization and Preservation Initiative's influx of items requiring mass description and the ramifications and methods being employed, and the future of cataloging records as all libraries look to transition to systems using BIBFRAME. The strategies we employ this time around will inform future metadata moves and mass description efforts.
The manufacture of protective enclosures is part of routine work in many libraries and museums. This presentation summarizes a novel collaboration of 3-D scanning and modeling technology provided by digital technology available on campus with automated box making services internal to Library Preservation. A custom-fitted enclosure for a painting on wood panel within the Lilly Library collections was the net result. This developmental method holds promise for specialized storage and shipping protection of library, scientific research and museum collections.
This webinar will review how to use FSSE with NSSE results to compare student and faculty perspectives, to search for reasons for high or low student results, and to develop strategies to increase student engagement.
A note from College Audition Preparation: Adventures in Brass is a project by the College Audition Preparation (CAP) of the Jacobs School of Music. The project was prompted by a lack of brass repertoire appropriate for collegiate auditions. CAP brass faculty thus commissioned renowned composer Anthony Plog to write a set of six new works for trumpet, trombone, horn, tuba, euphonium, and bass trombone. Dee Stewart and CAP assembled a roster of world-class performers and pedagogues to premiere these six compositions. In addition to recordings of the premieres, Adventures in Brass contains interviews with these faculty in which they provide technical, artistic, and practical guidance to young brass players preparing to apply to college. These videos were captured by and are shared with the help of Tony Tadey and the MITS Video production team of the Jacobs School of Music. We hope that the videos can be an inspirational and motivational force in your own adventures in brass.
Audiovisual archivists agree that media holdings must be transferred to the digital domain as soon as possible in order to survive. Because this work requires significant resources, it must be conducted as efficiently as possible. One place to realize efficiencies is in the management of the digitization process. This presentation will explore managing effective and efficient 1:1 as well as parallel transfer media digitization workflows. Using the Indiana University Media Digitization and Preservation Initiative project as a case study, Mike Casey will discuss applying the theory of constraints and adapting software development methodologies to efficiently manage 1:1 digitization workflows. This will include a look at working with bottlenecks, scrum methodology, and the daily standup. Andrew Dapuzzo from Memnon Archiving Services will address issues in regulating parallel transfer workflows including the role of workflow management software, the importance of both human and machine quality assurance in each step of the process, the difficulty in maintaining obsolete machines, overall system design and Total Quality Management. The more efficient the digitization workflow, the more we are able to preserve with scarce resources.
A short, concise presentation for NSSE campus contacts detailing NSSE survey preparations. This is a great overview for new campus contacts, and for those simply needing a refresher.
Annunciation is a video object operating within the aesthetic of painting. Each panel's background cycles through images sampled from an original digital abstract composition. One sees this composition in fragments across time controlled by an algorithm derived from 12-tone musical composition in which no fragment is repeated until all are shown. The motion background plays against and through the static black/white paired elements in the foreground, making them appear somewhat unstable. In the audio a noise sound floor supports a repeated claves + voice pair mirroring the motion + static structure of the video. The composition chases György Ligeti’s idea of using time to hold on to time, suspending its disappearance, confining it in the always present moment. –Michael Lasater
As the need to manage and provide access to collections of digital content grows, the ecosystem of software solutions designed to meet these needs has greatly expanded. Into this pool of software comes Avalon, but what exactly does it do, and do differently, from applications like Sufia or Islandora? Developed in partnership with Northwestern University, the Avalon Media System is an open source system for managing and providing access to large collections of digital audio and video. Used for library services such as Media Collections Online and projects such as IU's Media Digitization and Preservation Initiative, Avalon is an application that provides a robust set of features related to media access and streaming. Come learn how Avalon's focus on web-based access to audio and video materials is developed to meet the needs of both consumers and stewards of digital collections, as well as the unique role it plays in the world of digital repository software.
Bill Harshbarger (Master), Jon Kay (Director), Kenny Stone (Music), Nicholas Blewett (Videographer), Buki Long (Assistant Editor), Traditional Arts Indiana
Summary:
In 1952, Bill Harshbarger began showing sheep on the county and State Fair level, and continued to exhibit until the early 1960s. After going to shearing school in Warsaw, Indiana, he began shearing at the State Fair. 2006 marked his 52nd consecutive year competing in the State Fair Sheep Shearing Contest. Harshbarger is also a fixture at the Sheep Barn, having helped generations of State Fair participants by sharpening their shears.
How might we conceptualize "the digital” as a kind of mediation that articulates the time and space of diasporic experience? In answer, Parham's talk will explore rememory, affective excess, and glitch aesthetics in Toni Morrison’s Beloved, Hiro Murai’s video for Flying Lotus & Kendrick Lamar’s “Never Catch Me,” and Zun Lee’s digital project, “Fade Resistance.
Digital preservation is one of those phrases that means a lot to a few people and a little to a lot of people. It is often confused with digitization (preservation by digital), digital curation (of which preservation is a piece), digital asset management (another variant of digital curation), and so on. This talk will lay out the unique characteristics of digital preservation, as well as the practical applications. Expect to learn about recent developments in both the field and within the IU Libraries.
Video bio of Richard M. Fairbanks, inducted to Indiana Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame in 2016;
For more than 50 years, Richard M. Fairbanks of Indianapolis was a leader and innovator in radio broadcasting. His company owned and operated 20 radio stations around the country, a television station in Atlanta, cable television systems, a charter airplane company and had interests in real estate. Fairbanks established the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Network when he owned and operated WIBC-FM. He was very involved with professional, civic and cultural organizations and served on many boards including Butler University, Better Business Bureau, United Way of Central Indiana and the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Fairbanks was also a director of Merchants National Bank for 20 years. The Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation, established in 1986, has been a benefactor of the Indiana Broadcast Pioneers. Fairbanks died in 2000.
--Words from the Indiana Broadcast Pioneers
Medical Humanities Seminar Series lecture delivered by Angela Bowen Potter, PhD (Medical Humanities Program Coordinator, Purdue University) on March 23, 2016.
Gerry and Ralph Dunkin (Masters), Jon Kay (Director), Matt Stockwell (Videographer/Editor), Deborah Justice and Rachel Sprinkle (Music), Traditional Arts Indiana
Summary:
Gerry and Ralph Dunkin are largely responsible for the increased appreciation for miniature donkeys in the last two decades. They enjoy introducing people of all ages to these intelligent and companionable animals. Their greatest reward is the camaraderie between exhibitors and visitors that extends beyond the Fair, to home and farm.
Gerry Gray and the Family Reunion String Band (Masters), Jon Kay (Director), Ben Schreiner (Videographer/Editor) Cynthia Hoye (Executive Director of the State Fair)
Summary:
Beginning in 1975 when Gerry Gray, known as the "Mother Hen" was asked to play dulcimer and talk to visitors at the State Fair Pioneer Village, the Family Reunion String Band has entertained fairgoers for over thirty years. Playing for twelve hours a day for twelve days of the fair, the band is happy to see people come back year after year and become part of their extended family at the State Fair. Filled with jokes, improvisation, and good humor, the magnetism of the band and its members has encouraged enthusiastic listeners to become fellow musicians, making their performances into reunions of an ever-expanding musical family.
Textual analytics creates opportunities to ask new questions or test existing theories through a new lens. The HathiTrust (HT) collection can be considered one of the largest academic libraries in the US. How can a researcher unlock many insights of this digital library? What kinds of social science questions it can help to address? The HathiTrust Research Center (HTRC) has been developing computational tools to leverage the HathiTrust collection and its metadata. In this presentation we will provide an overview of the HathiTrust digital library and the suite of tools from the HTRC and invite participants to think creatively about how a corpus of ~14 billion volumes of text can be useful to them.
Research libraries continue to reinvent themselves in the face of increasing demand from users for digitized texts. As physical books move from stacks to deep storage, many researchers lament the reduction in the serendipitous discovery that was provided by browsing the stacks. We believe, however, that digitization offers even greater opportunities for guided serendipity. Developments in machine learning and computing at scale allow content-based models of library collections to be made accessible to patrons. In this talk, we will present a vision for the future of library browsing using the Topic Explorer ‰ÛÃHypershelf‰Û that we have developed for digital collections. It allows users to jump into the collection and browse nearby volumes, rearranging them at will according to topics extracted computationally from the full texts. We will demonstrate the Hypershelf in action, and discuss how it might be integrated with physically-shelved books. This vision enhances rather than supplants the traditional librarians' function of guiding patrons to the best starting points for their research needs.
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Abhinav Thota is a Principal Engineer in the Research Technologies division of UITS/PTI. He is part of the Scientific Applications and Performance Tuning (SciAPT) team and helps users efficiently use HPC resources at IU.
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Sara Benken is an Associate Director in the IU Human Subjects Office. Adam Mills and Andrew Neel are Research Compliance Associates in the IU Human Subjects Office.
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Web scraping is a method of extracting and restructuring information from web pages. This workshop will introduce basic techniques for web scraping using popular open-source tools. The first part of the workshop will provide an overview of basic HTML elements and Python tools for developing a custom web scraper. The second part will enable participants to practice accessing websites, parsing information, and storing data in a CSV file. This workshop is intended for social scientists who are new to web scraping. No programming experience is required, but basic familiarity with HTML and Python is helpful.
NaLette Brodnax is a data scientist and fourth-year doctoral student in the Joint Public Policy program administered by the School of Public and Environmental Affairs and the Department of Political Science at Indiana University. Her research interests include education policy, policy analysis and program evaluation, and quantitative research methodology. As a graduate assistant for the Center of Excellence for Women in Technology, she is working on a number of projects intended to expose women to technology and to support women using technology in their studies and careers. Prior to entering the doctoral program, NaLette spent nine years in corporate finance roles, managing large data sets and developing financial models for large companies such as Abbott Laboratories and Nokia. She holds a BSBA from The Ohio State University with a concentration in Finance and a Master's in Public Policy from Loyola University Chicago.