Online Delivery at Traditional Institutions: Faculty Concerns and Knowledge about Intellectual Property Rights

This study was designed to provide information to administrators about concerns faculty might have with online delivery and to assess their overall knowledge about intellectual property rights at traditional institutions. Faculty from the eight institutions under the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning were invited to participate in the study regardless of whether they participate in online delivery or not. The results of this study will allow administrators and faculty an opportunity to address concerns and explore putting written policies. Faculty reported low levels of concerns about legal issues and rewards. Of greatest concern were those issues regarding workload/effort where there were differences found based on the faculty member\u27s tenure status. Differences were found between gender and preferred delivery method. No significant differences were found with the subject variables and the satisfaction of an individual who has engaged in online delivery. Further, the majority of the 223 respondents did not answer the intellectual property rights questions correctly

Rodent medial and lateral orbitofrontal cortices represent unique components of cognitive maps of task space.

The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) has been proposed to function as a cognitive map of task space: a mental model of the steps involved in a task. This idea has proven popular because it provides a cohesive explanation for a number of disparate findings regarding the OFC's role in a broad array of tasks. Concurrently, evidence has begun to reveal the functional heterogeneity of OFC subregions, particularly the medial and lateral OFC. How these subregions uniquely contribute to the OFC's role as a cognitive map of task space, however, has not been explored. Here we propose that, in rodents, the lateral OFC represents the agent's initial position within that task map (i.e. initial state), determining which actions are available as a consequence of that position, whereas the medial OFC represents the agent's future position within the task map (i.e. terminal state), influencing which actions are selected to achieve that position. We argue that these processes are achieved somewhat independently and somewhat interdependently, and are achieved through similar but non-identical circuitry

Prefrontal corticostriatal disconnection blocks the acquisition of goal-directed action

© 2018 the authors. The acquisition of goal-directed action requires encoding of the association between an action and its specific consequences or outcome. At a neural level, this encoding has been hypothesized to involve a prefrontal corticostriatal circuit involving the projection from the prelimbic cortex (PL) to the posterior dorsomedial striatum (pDMS); however, no direct evidence for this claim has been reported. In a series of experiments, we performed functional disconnection of this pathway using targeted lesions of the anterior corpus callosum to disrupt contralateral corticostriatal projections with asymmetrical lesions of the PL and/orpDMSto block plasticity in this circuit in rats. We first demonstrated that unilaterally blocking the PL input to the pDMS prevented the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-related kinase/mitogen activated protein kinase (pERK/pMAPK) induced by instrumental training. Next, we used a full bilateral disconnection of the PL from the pDMS and assessed goal-directed action using an outcome-devaluation test. Importantly, we found evidence that rats maintaining an ipsilateral and/or contralateral connection between thePLand thepDMSwere able to acquire goal-directed actions. In contrast, bilateral PL–pDMS disconnection abolished the acquisition of goal-directed actions. Finally, we used a temporary pharmacological disconnection to disrupt PL inputs to thepDMSby infusing theNMDAantagonist DL-2-amino-5-phosphonopentanoic acid into thepDMSduring instrumental training and found that this manipulation also disrupted goal-directed learning. These results establish that, in rats, the acquisition of new goal-directed actions depends on a prefrontal-corticostriatal circuit involving a connection between the PL and the pDMS

Inferring action-dependent outcome representations depends on anterior but not posterior medial orbitofrontal cortex

© 2018 Elsevier Inc. Although studies examining orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) often treat it as though it were functionally homogeneous, recent evidence has questioned this assumption. Not only are the various subregions of OFC (lateral, ventral, and medial) hetereogeneous, but there is further evidence of heterogeneity within those subregions. For example, several studies in both humans and monkeys have revealed a functional subdivision along the anterior-posterior gradient of the medial OFC (mOFC). Given our previous findings suggesting that, in rats, the mOFC is responsible for inferring the likelihood of unobservable action outcomes (Bradfield, Dezfouli, van Holstein, Chieng, & Balleine, 2015), and given the anterior nature of the placements of our prior manipulations, we decided to assess whether the rat mOFC also differs in connection and function along its anteroposterior axis. We first used retrograde tracing to compare the density of efferents from mOFC to several structures known to contribute to goal-directed action: the mediodorsal thalamus, basolateral amygdala, posterior dorsomedial striatum, nucleus accumbens core and ventral tegmental area. We then compared the functional effects of anterior versus posterior mOFC excitotoxic lesions on tests of Pavlovian-instrumental transfer, instrumental outcome devaluation and outcome-specific reinstatement. We found evidence that the anterior mOFC had greater connectivity with the accumbens core and greater functional involvement in goal-directed action than the posterior mOFC. Consistent with previous findings across species, therefore, these results suggest that the anterior and posterior mOFC of the rat are indeed functionally distinct, and that it is the anterior mOFC that is particularly critical for inferring unobservable action outcomes

Introduction: Popular Economies in South Africa

African economies have long been a matter of concern to anthropologists, not least in the pages of Africa. These economies are situated, somewhat contradictorily, between global settings of financialized capitalism on the one hand and impoverished local arenas where cash-based economic transfers predominate on the other. The more such economies appear to be tied to wider global arenas and operations that place them beyond the reach of ordinary people, the more necessary it is to explore the logics and decisions that tie them inexorably to specific everyday settings

Coffee consumption and prostate cancer risk: further evidence for inverse relationship

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Higher consumption of coffee intake has recently been linked with reduced risk of aggressive prostate cancer (PC) incidence, although meta-analysis of other studies that examine the association between coffee consumption and overall PC risk remains inconclusive. Only one recent study investigated the association between coffee intake and grade-specific incidence of PC, further evidence is required to understand the aetiology of aggressive PCs. Therefore, we conducted a prospective study to examine the relationship between coffee intake and overall as well as grade-specific PC risk.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted a prospective cohort study of 6017 men who were enrolled in the Collaborative cohort study in the UK between 1970 and 1973 and followed up to 31st December 2007. Cox Proportional Hazards Models were used to evaluate the association between coffee consumption and overall, as well as Gleason grade-specific, PC incidence.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Higher coffee consumption was inversely associated with risk of high grade but not with overall risk of PC. Men consuming 3 or more cups of coffee per day experienced 55% lower risk of high Gleason grade disease compared with non-coffee drinkers in analysis adjusted for age and social class (HR 0.45, 95% CI 0.23-0.90, p value for trend 0.01). This association changed a little after additional adjustment for Body Mass Index, smoking, cholesterol level, systolic blood pressure, tea intake and alcohol consumption.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Coffee consumption reduces the risk of aggressive PC but not the overall risk.</p

The role of Independent Reviewing Officers (IROs) in England: final report

Independent Reviewing Officers (IROs) were introduced to represent the interests of looked after children following a number of cases where care plans had not been implemented, leading to harm. Their role was strengthened through the introduction of statutory guidance in April 2011 but there has been continuing scepticism about whether they are making enough difference to the quality of the service and whether their independence is compromised by being under local authority control. The aim of this study, undertaken by NCB Research Centre in partnership with the Centre for Child and Family Research, Loughborough University, and funded by the Nuffield Foundation, is to provide an evidence base about the way the role actually operates in order to inform future policy and practice. The research involved: national surveys of IROs, their managers and Directors of Children Services (DCSs); analysis of inquiries from IROs to independent advice services; an analysis of resources need for the IRO service; case studies of four local authorities, including analysis of care plans, interviews and focus groups with IROs, social workers, other key professionals and looked after children. The question of how the effectiveness of the IRO service can be measured is, however, complex. In their thematic inspection of the IRO role within ten local authorities published in 2013, Ofsted suggested that IROs were still not making enough positive impact. The House of Lords Committee on Adoption Reform (2013) recommended that it was time to employ IROs outside the local authority but the Government did not agree and are committed to making the role work within the current arrangements. The challenges faced by IROs are even greater now than when statutory guidance was introduced in 20111 Creating the right context . It is hoped that the evidence afforded by this study will inform the debate about how to maximise the effectiveness of the role to ensure that looked after children get the independent support they need and deserve