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

Perceptions of quality in staff-student written feedback in higher education:a case study

This paper reports on the results of an embedded, multiple case study that investigated the views of both lecturers and students on written staff-student feedback in three postgraduate programmes at one UK university. The study sought to uncover how ‘quality written feedback’ is perceived in the higher education environment under investigation. It found that tutors and students were broadly aligned in the features that they identified as constituting quality, which could be categorised within three dimensions: the affective or interpersonal, the orientational and the transformational. The findings suggest that feedback needs to incorporate each of these dimensions if it is to be perceived as being of good quality

English as a lingua franca communication between domestic helpers and employers in Hong Kong:a study of pragmatic strategies

This paper discusses an exploratory, small-scale study that investigated the use of English as a lingua franca in domestic workplaces in Hong Kong between Filipino employees and Hong Kongese employers. Through data collected from 26 surveys of and interviews with 18 employers and employees, the study explored the characteristics of the pragmatic features of communication, and identified the challenges experienced by participants and the pragmatic strategies that they used to communicate. In general, it was found that what can be defined as active strategies, such as clarification, repetition and direct questioning, were more successful in achieving effective communication from a transactional perspective, while passive strategies, such as ignoring unknown language produced by an interlocutor in the expectation that it would either become clear or redundant, were more likely to lead to ambiguity and misunderstanding. The study also found that pragmatic competence was viewed as being more important than language ‘proficiency’ as it has traditionally been conceived. The article concludes that there may be a need for critical reflection on the ESP courses that are currently provided in the Hong Kong context

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

Mediating Factors in the Provision of Lecturers’ Written Feedback to Postgraduate Taught Students

This paper reports on research that investigated the factors mediating written feedback provision by lecturers teaching on three postgraduate taught programmes at a university in the UK. The study adopted a case study approach, with the postgraduate programmes as the cases. Lecturers participated in background and stimulated recall interviews, with their authentic written feedback used as the stimulus. The study identified multiple mediating factors that impacted on the staff members’ feedback processes. These could be separated into three main categories: experiential, social and environmental. The mediators indicated that written feedback in higher education may serve multiple simultaneous goals that relate not only to student learning but also to lecturers’ perceptions of their roles and function within the broader institutional context