Mesoscale Systems, Finite Size Effects, and Balanced Neural Networks

Cortical populations are typically in an asynchronous state, sporadically interrupted by brief epochs of coordinated population activity. Current cortical models are at a loss to explain this combination of states. At one extreme are network models where recurrent in- hibition dynamically stabilizes an asynchronous low activity state. While these networks are widely used they cannot produce the coherent population-wide activity that is reported in a variety of datasets. At the other extreme are models where short term synaptic depression between excitatory neurons can generate the epochs of population-wide activity. However, in these networks inhibition plays only a perfunctory role in network stability, which is at odds with many reports across cortex. In this study we analyze spontaneously active in vitro preparations of primary auditory cortex that show dynamics that are emblematic of this mix- ture of states. To capture this complex population activity we consider models where large excitation is balanced by recurrent inhibition yet we include short term synaptic depression dynamics of the excitatory connections. This model gives very rich nonlinear behavior that mimics the core features of the in vitro data, including the possibility of low frequency (2- 12 Hz) rhythmic dynamics within population events. Our study extends balanced network models to account for nonlinear, population-wide correlated activity, thereby providing a critical step in a mechanistic theory of realistic cortical activity. We further investigate an extension of this model that l exhibits clearly non-Arrhenius behavior, whereby lower noise systems may exhibit faster escape from a stable state. We show that this behavior is due to the system size dependent vector field, intrinsically linking noise and dynamics

Demographic Disparities in Children with Behavioral or Conduct Disorders

This study examines the demographic disparities in children with externalizing behavior disorders, such as oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder, utilizing secondary data from the 2011/2012 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH). Current literature suggests that children with externalizing behavior disorders are more likely to be male, live in a low-­‐income family, receive lower grades in school, and to develop later conditions such as depression. Chi square tests and logistic regression were used to examine the associations of presence of a current behavioral or conduct problems with age group, race/ethnicity, sex, household income level, and insurance type. Additionally, associations were assessed between mild versus moderate/severe behavioral or conduct problems with the same set of demographic variables. Approximately one in twenty children has a behavioral or conduct problem, and significant independent associations were observed with age, race/ethnicity, sex, poverty, and insurance type. This study’s findings confirm the importance of early detection of behavioral or conduct problems, consistent insurance coverage that provides access to mental health care, and the need for refined tools to measure behavioral or conduct problem severity in large samples

An investigation into post-entry English language assessment in Australian universities

This paper describes a research study that identified the use of and attitudes towards post-entry language assessments (PELAs) in Australian universities. The study, which was conducted using desk research, online surveys and semi-structured interviews with key informants, found that PELAs are used in over one third of Australian universities, with a further twelve institutions planning to introduce them. While most PELAs are currently limited to specific discipline areas, there is a growing interest in offering them at an organisation-wide level. The study found that there was ambivalence towards the introduction of PELAs, with participants applauding the desire to address issues of English language competence or academic literacy while simultaneously expressing concern that some fundamental questions about their usefulness had not yet been addressed

Creating an environment for collaborative language learning

This paper describes the development and implementation of a project to encourage collaborative teaching practices and reciprocal peer learning in the area of tertiary-level language education. Preliminary analysis of student need in the form of survey research revealed a strong level of support for the project, which was subsequently conducted over a period of three years. The project illustrates the nexus between the professional development of academic staff and the value of the learning experience of students

Remaining relevant: assessment practices in undergraduate education

This paper identifies and analyses three broad, connected issues that are impacting on assessment practices in higher education today. The first issue relates to our desire to introduce alternative, more 'authentic' forms of assessment task. These tasks appear to have become particularly desirable as a consequence of the second issue described in this paper, the increased focus in higher education on assessing graduate competencies as well as knowledge. By their very nature, these constructs invite a criterion-based rather than norm-referenced approach to assessment, which leads to the third issue raised in this paper: the need for criteria that adequately and cogently describe those competencies and the requisite standard of attainment. The paper concludes by suggesting areas in which future research may assist us to create a more internally consistent set of processes that will be relevant for students and reflect more accurately our theoretical positions

Cassista v. Community Foods, Inc.: Drawing the Line at Obesity?

This Note will discuss the background of the Fair Employment and Housing Act, and give a brief overview of the federal statutes upon which the FEHA is modeled, the policy of the FEHA, and obesity discrimination. The overview will be followed by an analysis of the California Supreme Court\u27s application of the law to the facts in Cassista, and a critique of the court\u27s reasoning

Collaborating across boundaries: Developing a cross-departmental approach to English language development in an undergraduate business unit

This paper analyses a collaborative activity undertaken to identify and support undergraduate students at one Australian university who could be considered "at risk" because of the level of their English proficiency. The program, which was piloted in 2009, involved collaboration among staff across a number of areas: the faculties of Business and Health Sciences, academic language and learning staff and TESOL specialists. The project comprised an initial compulsory English language diagnostic assessment of all students enrolled in a discipline-specific communication skills unit, and the provision of a structured series of supplementary English language tutorials for those who were found to be in need of additional developmental assistance. The procedure, activated under the nomenclature, Starting University Confidently and Competently English Support Scheme (SUCCESS), was linked to the unit in the sense that the supplementary tutorials complemented the content of the disciplinary unit. The pilot program not only revealed the benefits of the scheme for the students and a wider group of stakeholders, but also uncovered some problematic issues that served as lessons for the future and threw up some ongoing questions

Hydrographic data from R/V endeavor cruise #90

The final cruise of the NSF sponsored Warm Core Rings Program studied a Warm Core Ring (WCR) in the Fall of 1982 as it formed from a large northward meander of the Gulf Stream. This ring, known as 82-H or the eighth ring identified in 1982, formed over the New England Seamounts near 39.5 deg N, 65 deg W. Surveys using Expendable Bathythermographs, Conductivity-Temperature-Depth-Oxygen stations and Doppler Current Profiling provide a look at the genesis of a WCR. These measurements reveal that WCR 82-H separated from the Gulf Stream sometime between October 2-5. This ring was a typical WCR with a diameter of about 200 km and speeds in the high velocity core of the 175 cm/sec. Satellite imagery of 82-H following the cruise showed that it drifted WSW in the Slope Water region at almost 9 km/day, had at least one interaction with the Gulf Stream and was last observed on February 8, 1983 at 39 deg N, 72 deg W

Language and the development of intercultural competence in an 'internationalised' university: staff and student perspectives

Within the currently diverse UK higher education environment, one important aspect of learning is the development of intercultural competence. The study that informs this paper investigated the ways intercultural competence was perceived as being enhanced or inhibited through current language and educational practices at a university that positions itself as internationally engaged and globally recognised. The project employed a multiple-case study design, examining eight academic programmes drawn from four different broad disciplinary groupings: social sciences, science, engineering, and management. Data were collected through individual, focus group and stimulated recall interviews, the latter using class observation recordings as a stimulus. The study revealed the ways in which language was exploited by both staff and students to convey particular meanings within an intercultural context. It was found that language choices, register and style were perceived as contributing to the pragmatic impact of either reinforcing barriers to or promoting intercultural competence development