Learning volition: A longitudinal study of developing intentional awareness in Tourette syndrome

Tourette syndrome (TS) is characterized by the presence of involuntary movements (tics) which are, at least partly, generated within ‘voluntary’ motor pathways. Here we reassess 16 TS patients (age 19 ± 2.3 years) who participated in a mental chronometry study of volition 5.5 years previously (Ganos C et al. Cortex. 2015 Mar.; 64:47–54), and 16 age-matched controls. Participants estimated the time of their own voluntary movements (Libet's M judgement), or of conscious intention to make voluntary movements (Libet's W judgement), in separate blocks. We considered M judgement as a control condition. Therefore, the experience of an intention to move occurring prior to actual movement onset, as measured by the W-M gap, was taken as the cardinal feature of volition. Time estimates of the TS group did not differ significantly from controls, for either M or W judgement. Further, M and W time estimates in the TS group had not changed significantly between the two assessments. However, exploratory analyses revealed a strong relation between disease duration and the development of M- and W-judgements: the longer was the disease duration, the less was the developmental increase in the W-M gap (linear regression, p = .003). In conclusion, our results suggest compromised development of experience of volition in developing TS patients. The developmental difficulty in processing internal premotor signals for voluntary actions could reflect the chronic persistence of tics from adolescence to adulthood

Good images, effective messages? Working with students and educators on academic practice understanding

Work at Northumbria University has focussed on activity that extends opportunities for students to engage directly with the skills development necessary for sound academic practice. This has included highly visual campaigns on the "Plagiarism trap", providing access to Turnitin plagiarism detection software, guides and sessions to highlight use of associated referencing tools. Sessions on a variety of topics, such as supporting study skills and reading originality reports, have been provided for students on taught, undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. This provision has included students working on collaborative partners' sites and also those on research programmes. Alongside the activities with students, "designing out" approaches have been embedded in staff development within the educator community at Northumbria. Formative use of Turnitin is integrated throughout programmes and academic practice development is formally recognised within the University Learning and Teaching Strategy's focus on information literacy. This article outlines and reviews these activities in a critical institutional context and evaluates responses from a variety of students and educators to determine how effective these measures have been

The spectrum of involuntary vocalizations in humans: A video atlas

In clinical practice, involuntary vocalizing behaviors are typically associated with Tourette syndrome and other tic disorders. However, they may also be encountered throughout the entire tenor of neuropsychiatry, movement disorders, and neurodevelopmental syndromes. Importantly, involuntary vocalizing behaviors may often constitute a predominant clinical sign, and, therefore, their early recognition and appropriate classification are necessary to guide diagnosis and treatment. Clinical literature and video‐documented cases on the topic are surprisingly scarce. Here, we pooled data from 5 expert centers of movement disorders, with instructive video material to cover the entire range of involuntary vocalizations in humans. Medical literature was also reviewed to document the range of possible etiologies associated with the different types of vocalizing behaviors and to explore treatment options. We propose a phenomenological classification of involuntary vocalizations within different categorical domains, including (1) tics and tic‐like vocalizations, (2) vocalizations as part of stereotypies, (3) vocalizations as part of dystonia or chorea, (4) continuous vocalizing behaviors such as groaning or grunting, (5) pathological laughter and crying, (6) vocalizations resembling physiological reflexes, and (7) other vocalizations, for example, those associated with exaggerated startle responses, as part of epilepsy and sleep‐related phenomena. We provide comprehensive lists of their associated etiologies, including neurodevelopmental, neurodegenerative, neuroimmunological, and structural causes and clinical clues. We then expand on the pathophysiology of the different vocalizing behaviors and comment on available treatment options. Finally, we present an algorithmic approach that covers the wide range of involuntary vocalizations in humans, with the ultimate goal of improving diagnostic accuracy and guiding appropriate treatment

Is it cheating or learning the craft of writing? Using Turnitin to help students avoid plagiarism

Plagiarism is a growing problem for universities, many of which are turning to software detection for help in detecting and dealing with it. This paper explores issues around plagiarism and reports on a study of the use of Turnitin in a new university. The purpose of the study was to inform the senior management team about the plagiarism policy and the use of Turnitin. The study found that staff and students largely understood the university’s policy and Turnitin’s place within it, and were very supportive of the use of Turnitin in originality checking. Students who had not used Turnitin were generally keen to do so. The recommendation to the senior management team, which was implemented, was that the use of Turnitin for originality checking should be made compulsory where possible - at the time of the study the use of Turnitin was at the discretion of programme directors. A further aim of the study was to contribute to the sector’s body of knowledge. Prevention of plagiarism through education is a theme identified by Badge and Scott (2009) who conclude an area lacking in research is "investigation of the impact of these tools on staff teaching practices". Although a number of recent studies have considered educational use of Turnitin they focus on individual programmes or subject areas rather than institutions as a whole and the relationship with policy

A Stated Preference Investigation into the Chinese Demand for Farmed vs. Wild Bear Bile

Farming of animals and plants has recently been considered not merely as a more efficient and plentiful supply of their products but also as a means of protecting wild populations from that trade. Amongst these nascent farming products might be listed bear bile. Bear bile has been exploited by traditional Chinese medicinalists for millennia. Since the 1980s consumers have had the options of: illegal wild gall bladders, bile extracted from caged live bears or the acid synthesised chemically. Despite these alternatives bears continue to be harvested from the wild. In this paper we use stated preference techniques using a random sample of the Chinese population to estimate demand functions for wild bear bile with and without competition from farmed bear bile. We find a willingness to pay considerably more for wild bear bile than farmed. Wild bear bile has low own price elasticity and cross price elasticity with farmed bear bile. The ability of farmed bear bile to reduce demand for wild bear bile is at best limited and, at prevailing prices, may be close to zero or have the opposite effect. The demand functions estimated suggest that the own price elasticity of wild bear bile is lower when competing with farmed bear bile than when it is the only option available. This means that the incumbent product may actually sell more items at a higher price when competing than when alone in the market. This finding may be of broader interest to behavioural economists as we argue that one explanation may be that as product choice increases price has less impact on decision making. For the wildlife farming debate this indicates that at some prices the introduction of farmed competition might increase the demand for the wild product

Does Global Warming Increase Establishment Rates of Invasive Alien Species? A Centurial Time Series Analysis

BACKGROUND: The establishment rate of invasive alien insect species has been increasing worldwide during the past century. This trend has been widely attributed to increased rates of international trade and associated species introductions, but rarely linked to environmental change. To better understand and manage the bioinvasion process, it is crucial to understand the relationship between global warming and establishment rate of invasive alien species, especially for poikilothermic invaders such as insects. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We present data that demonstrate a significant positive relationship between the change in average annual surface air temperature and the establishment rate of invasive alien insects in mainland China during 1900-2005. This relationship was modeled by regression analysis, and indicated that a 1 °C increase in average annual surface temperature in mainland China was associated with an increase in the establishment rate of invasive alien insects of about 0.5 species year⁻¹. The relationship between rising surface air temperature and increasing establishment rate remained significant even after accounting for increases in international trade during the period 1950-2005. Moreover, similar relationships were detected using additional data from the United Kingdom and the contiguous United States. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These findings suggest that the perceived increase in establishments of invasive alien insects can be explained only in part by an increase in introduction rate or propagule pressure. Besides increasing propagule pressure, global warming is another driver that could favor worldwide bioinvasions. Our study highlights the need to consider global warming when designing strategies and policies to deal with bioinvasions

Global extent and drivers of mammal population declines in protected areas under illegal hunting pressure

Illegal hunting is a persistent problem in many protected areas, but an overview of the extent of this problem and its impact on wildlife is lacking. We reviewed 40 years (1980–2020) of global research to examine the spatial distribution of research and socio-ecological factors influencing population decline within protected areas under illegal hunting pressure. From 81 papers reporting 988 species/site combinations, 294 mammal species were reported to have been illegally hunted from 155 protected areas across 48 countries. Research in illegal hunting has increased substantially during the review period and showed biases towards strictly protected areas and the African continent. Population declines were most frequent in countries with a low human development index, particularly in strict protected areas and for species with a body mass over 100 kg. Our results provide evidence that illegal hunting is most likely to cause declines of large-bodied species in protected areas of resource-poor countries regardless of protected area conservation status. Given the growing pressures of illegal hunting, increased investments in people’s development and additional conservation efforts such as improving anti-poaching strategies and conservation resources in terms of improving funding and personnel directed at this problem are a growing priority

Система управления персоналом в Управлении железнодорожного транспорта Алмалыкского Горно-Металлургического комбината

Целью выпускной квалификационной работы является разработка направлений по совершенствованию системы управления персоналом в управлении железнодорожного транспорта АО "АГМК". В результате исследования были разработаны мероприятия по повышению уровня управления персоналом в управлении железнодорожного транспорта АО "АГМК" Степень внедрения: одно из разработанных предложений планируется на внедрение в управлении персоналом железнодорожного транспорта АО "АГМК". Область применения: разработанные мероприятия по управлению персоналом предприятия, может быть использован на предприятии, в организации, фирме любой отрасли.Научная новизна работы заключается в обосновании необходимости формирования новой концепции управления персоналом на предприятии, в обобщении основных методов управления персонThe goal of the final qualifying work is to develop directions for improving the personnel management system in the management of the railway transport of JSC "AGMK". As a result of the research, measures were developed to improve the level of personnel management in the management of the railway transport of JSC "AGMK" Degree of implementation: one of the developed proposals is planned for implementation in the management of railway transport personnel of JSC "AGMK". Scope: developed measures for the management of the company's personnel, can be used at the enterprise, in the organization, the firm of any industry. The scientific novelty of the work is to justify the need to formulate a new concept of personnel management at the enterprise, to generalize the basic methods of personnel ma