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Are the differences between human and alloanimal cognition a matter of kind or of degree? This question continues to generate controversial arguments for the uniqueness of certain features of human cognition, with no clear consensus in sight (see, e.g., Hauser, Chomsky & Fitch, 2002; Suddendorf & Corbalis, 2007). To move the debate into fresh territory, this symposium develops a proposal from conceptual blending theory (CBT: Fauconnier & Turner, 2002; Turner, 2014) to argue that the differences in question are both a matter of kind and of degree. The symposium also takes up a line of inquiry initiated by Pelkey, who has proposed synthesizing CBT with related insights from Charles S. Peirce, Jakob Johann von Uexküll, and biosemiotics to build a stronger case for alloanimal blending. We bring together a diverse group of researchers to discuss human-unique cognitive abilities through the lens of CBT. Turner introduces CBT and outlines the cross- species cline of conceptual blending. Pelkey provides evidence for various types of blends in bats and discusses the conclusions of these analyses. Leonardis, Semenuks, and Coulson emphasize the importance of taking non-human perspectives in analyzing behaviors with CBT. Adachi discusses work on metaphorical and cross-modal mapping in primates. Forster serves as the moderator.

Are the differences between human and alloanimal cognition a matter of kind or of degree? This question continues to generate controversial arguments for the uniqueness of certain features of human cognition, with no clear consensus in sight (see, e.g., Hauser, Chomsky & Fitch, 2002; Suddendorf & Corbalis, 2007). To move the debate into fresh territory, this symposium develops a proposal from conceptual blending theory (CBT: Fauconnier & Turner, 2002; Turner, 2014) to argue that the differences in question are both a matter of kind and of degree. The symposium also takes up a line of inquiry initiated by Pelkey, who has proposed synthesizing CBT with related insights from Charles S. Peirce, Jakob Johann von Uexküll, and biosemiotics to build a stronger case for alloanimal blending. We bring together a diverse group of researchers to discuss human-unique cognitive abilities through the lens of CBT. Turner introduces CBT and outlines the cross- species cline of conceptual blending. Pelkey provides evidence for various types of blends in bats and discusses the conclusions of these analyses. Leonardis, Semenuks, and Coulson emphasize the importance of taking non-human perspectives in analyzing behaviors with CBT. Adachi discusses work on metaphorical and cross-modal mapping in primates. Forster serves as the moderator.

The world is currently undergoing the largest wave of urban growth in history. Most of this urban growth is occurring in the cities and slums of developing nations. While urban growth can bring many advantages, it can also bring new challenges in terms of conflict and violence or urban violence. High levels of violence and conflict are already being observed in Latin American urban environments. In 2015, 47 out of the 50 world's most dangerous cities were located in this region.Several theories have emerged since the early twentieth century to explain the emergence of violence in urban environments with the most widely cited coming from explanations of civil conflict, such as grievance perspective, greed hypothesis and structural violence. In reducing levels of urban violence and preventing future outbreaks, approaches developed in Western Europe and North America; social disorganisation, broken windows and social capital, are the most influential and have been subjected to considerable testing and analysis in upper-income urban environments. However, only in the last twenty years have researchers started to invest in better understanding what explains the emergence of the violence and the best approaches to reduce or prevent the violence in middle to low-income environments, such as Latin American ones. This thesis adds to the growing body of literature on the nuances of urban violence in middle to low-income environments by focusing on the case study of a Latin American city, Medellin, Colombia. This case study is a unique one for examining the emergence and reduction of violence in an urban environment for three reasons. First, no other city in the world has experienced such critical and high levels of violence. When Medellin was portrayed as the most dangerous city in the world with 381 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, its homicide rate was almost 40 times higher than the United Nations definition of epidemic violence. Second, Medellin represents an extreme ca

Program highlights research of Ball State University faculty members. Researchers and contributors documented include Susan Johnson, Associate Dean of the College of Sciences and Humanities and Professor of Biology, whose Building Bridges to the Future project considered enhancements to elementary school science education; David Costill, Director of the Human Performance Laboratory, who researched the effect of spaceflight on muscle function; Mark Kornmann, Director of Outreach Programs at the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities, regarding the the Electronic Field Trip educational broadcasting program; Nancy Turner, head of Archives and Special Collections, regarding the Man Haters archival film project; Bruce Geelhoed, Director of the Middletown Studies and Professor of History, who worked to document Muncie and Delaware County corporate history; Stewart Vanderwilt, General Manager of Indiana Public Radio at Ball State University, regarding contributions to the growth of public radio in East Central Indiana; Min Zhang, Instructor of Chinese at Ball State University, regarding Chinese language culture and education; Tracy Cross, Executive Director of the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities and Professor of Educational Psychology, regarding research on gifted education; and Mohammad Behforouz, George and Frances Ball Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, regarding cancer research., This archival material has been provided for educational purposes. Ball State University Libraries recognizes that some historic items may include offensive content. Our statement regarding objectionable content is available at: https://dmr.bsu.edu/digital/about