Hallucinations and perceptual inference

This commentary takes a closer look at how constructive models of subjective perception," referred to by Collerton et al. (sect. 2), might contribute to the Perception and Attention Deficit (PAD) model. It focuses oil the neuronal mechanisms that could mediate hallucinations, or false inference - in particular, the role of cholinergic systems in encoding uncertainty in the context of hierarchical Bayesian models of perceptual inference Friston 20021); Yu & Dayan 2002)

Gendered Humanitarianism: Reconsidering the ethics of war

"The aim of this work is to supplement the usual emphasis on strategic and national issues of war in the interest of theorizing aspects of war from the point of view of individual experience, be the individual a combatant, a casualty, a ..

Modularity, segregation, and interactions

This commentary considers how far one can go in making inferences about functional modularity or segregation, based on the sorts of analyses used by Caplan & Waters in relation to the underlying neuronal infrastructure. Specifically an attempt is made to relate the "functionalist" approach adopted in the target article to "neuroreductionist" perspectives on the same issue

Liberal Quotidian Practices of World Ordering

Pages 157-172, Liberal world orders edited by Dunne, Tim, and Trine Flockhart, 2013, reproduced by permission of Oxford University Press http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780197265529.doLiberal World Orders is a timely contribution to debates about the current world order in the face of declining US hegemony and rising new powers. It examines the history and durability of liberal thought

Drilling down to the core: collaborative core content creation

As part of Leeds Metropolitan University’s review of the postgraduate curriculum in 2012–13, Libraries and Learning Innovation (LLI) was asked to lead a project group to create two core content modules for use at Level 7 (Masters level) in Research Practice and Project Management. Core content modules are modules within a virtual learning environment (VLE) that have a clear structure and design, containing generic materials to support the subject. They are intended to serve as a template for academics designing a module, providing a range of high quality, up-to-date content (created by Leeds Metropolitan as well as from other sources) that may be easily inserted and contextualised within the curriculum. The modules have been extremely well received, with very positive feedback being given in the promotional workshops run for staff, through a feedback form and in meetings and events attended by team members. Several academic staff have already used a copy of the Research Practice module as the basis of their own research modules, and it has also been adopted by a new course for distance learners as the core of their Research Practice module, following on from recommendations of colleagues in that faculty. A member of academic staff involved in the MSc in Strategic Project Management is working with the team on re-purposing a number of his own materials to augment the Project Management module, and these re-purposed materials will also be used to enhance and extend the project management content on the Skills for Learning website. The project has been a very rewarding experience for the team involved, and it has led to the development of a set of resources which it seems will be of real worth to the academic community

Response of rat tracheal epithelium to ozone and oxygen exposure in vitro.

Although ozone-induced epithelial injury in vivo has been morphologically characterized, effects of gaseous oxidants on respiratory epithelium in organ culture, where tissue organization is maintained but systemic influences are eliminated, have not been thoroughly investigated. In this study, we exposed tracheal organ cultures from rats to 95% oxygen and 1 ppm ozone, alone and in combination, to determine (1) whether epithelial responses to ozone similar to those observed in vivo occur in airways separated from systemic physiologic, secretory, and inflammatory reactions; (2) whether concentrations of oxygen sufficient to potentially cause oxidant injury result in morphologic epithelial alterations similar to those that occur in ozone toxicity; and (3) if the combined oxidant insult of oxygen and ozone results in more severe damage to the tracheal epithelium than occurs with ozone in air. Tracheal organ cultures were exposed to filtered air and 5% carbon dioxide; filtered air, 5% carbon dioxide, and 1 ppm ozone; 95% oxygen and 5% carbon dioxide; or 95% oxygen, 5% carbon dioxide, and 1 ppm ozone for 96 hr. Light- and quantitative electron-microscopic evaluation showed that epithelia exposed to 1 ppm ozone in air exhibited loss of ciliated cells and ciliated cell damage. The epithelia exposed to 95% oxygen and 5% carbon dioxide were pseudostratified, columnar, ciliated, and hyperplastic. Epithelia exposed to 95% oxygen plus 1 ppm ozone were stratified and nonciliated or very sparsely ciliated. The predominant cell types in epithelia exposed to oxygen plus ozone were serous cells and metaplastic cells, and focal aggregates of adherent necrotic cells were present. We conclude that there was a synergism between oxygen and ozone exposure leading to enhanced epithelial injury and metaplasia

Testing time-sensitive influences of weather on street robbery

Although the relationship between weather and crime has been extensively investigated over the past century, little consensus has emerged on the directions of the relationships observed and the mechanisms through which weather might exert its influence. This paper advances an argument that the interpretation of weather, and subsequent activities based on that interpretation, leads to spatio-temporal variations in criminal opportunities, and hence crime. Two hypotheses relating to unseasonal weather and effects of weather on discretionary activities are proposed. Negative binomial regression models are used to test these at the 6-hour shift unit of analysis on street robberies in the Strathclyde region of Scotland. In line with predictions, in this temperate microclimate, more favourable weather in winter (higher temperatures and low wind speeds) was associated with increases in robbery. Partial support was also found for the hypothesis regarding time delineated for discretionary activities. Here, temperature, wind speed and humidity were seen to be significant predictors of robbery during the night shift and weekends. Notably rain was shown to have a negative relationship with robbery at the weekends. This affirms that people are less likely to venture outdoors when it is raining when travel behaviour is optional. Counter to our hypothesised effects, fog was the only variable to significantly interact with public holidays. We conclude by discussing how these analyses might be extended and briefly discuss implications for crime prevention