Privileged for Being Stationary: Why the Practice of Differentiating Between In-State and Out-Of-State Tuition Rates are Unconstitutional

State universities charging out-of-state tuition prices through the use of durational residency requirements is unconstitutional in violation of the Privileges and Immunities Clause of Article IV for students who come into a state in order to attend school there because the practice hinders the operation of a system of higher education within the nation as a whole by allowing states to confer the privilege of in-state tuition upon residents that people coming into the state from other states do not receive. Additionally, the practice of using durational residency requirements in determining who is eligible for in-state tuition violates the right to travel as protected under the Privileges and Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The right to travel is violated because the requirements create discriminatory classifications among newer residents and long-term residents that penalize the right of a citizen to be treated the same in his new state of residence as those who have already lived there for the period of time specified by the durational residency requirement. Furthermore, the practice of charging out-of-state tuition rates to students who come into the state from external states poses serious policy concerns through unfair application of durational residency requirements. This practice places a significant obstacle in the way of students who wish to obtain a higher education at a university in another state in the form of exponentially higher tuition rates. In Section I, this Note first looks at residency as states define it for tuition purposes and how states use durational residency requirements to determine whether a student qualifies for in-state tuition rates or not. In Section II, this Note discusses the history of the Privileges and Immunities Clause of Article IV in order to provide a background for how this issue fits within the protections of the clause, taking a look at its origins and its evolution. In Section III, this Note discusses the constitutional implications of a state conferring the benefit of in-state tuition on its residents to the detriment of students coming from out of state under the purview of the Privileges and Immunities Clause of Article IV. In Section IV, this Note discusses the Privileges and Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to see how these protections apply to the states and, more specifically, how out-of-state tuition prices infringe upon the right to travel as protected under this clause. In Section V, this Note’s primary argument outlines how the practice of imposing durational residency requirements for in-state tuition purposes violates the right to travel under the Privileges and Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment

Composition of Australian parliaments by party and gender: a quick guide

Summary: This Quick Guide contains the most recent table showing the composition of Australian parliaments by party and gender. It takes into account the results of the 2015 Queensland state election and the South Australian by-election for Davenport, both held on 31 January 2015. Please note that the data in this table is updated periodically as changes occur

High delusional ideation is associated with false pictorial memory

Background and objectives To assess the relationship between false memories and schizotypal experiences in healthy volunteers. Previous research has examined a number of schizotypal dimensions and experiences and found a variety of results. Our aim was to determine the specificity of these associations by giving participants a schizotypy measure which tapped positive, negative and disorganised dimensions (O-LIFE) and another which focused on delusional ideation (PDI). Methods A new memory task was used consisting of images of everyday items, separated into categories. At test participants were presented with pictures which had been seen in the study phase, related lures (additional items from the same categories but which were new) and new items which were not from these categories. Results Positive correlations were found between scores on the positive dimension of schizotypy/delusional ideation and proportion of false memories. Moreover, these participants also had a greater tendency to respond with the highest confidence old response, regardless of the status of the item. No significant correlations were found with the other dimensions of schizotypy. Limitations The confidence finding differs somewhat from previous research, which has found more confidence in memory errors and less confidence in correct responses in schizophrenia. It is unclear the reason(s) for this discrepancy. Conclusions Increased false memory is associated with the positive dimension of schizotypy and delusional ideation and not the disorganised or negative dimensions. Furthermore, our results suggest that those high in positive schizotypy/delusional ideation require less evidence before they are willing to call an item old

Variability of head tissues’ conductivities and their impact in electrical brain activity research

The presented thesis endeavoured to establish the impact that the variability in electrical conductivity of human head tissues has on electrical brain imaging research, particularly transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and electroencephalography (EEG). A systematic meta-analysis was firstly conducted to determine the consistency of reported measurements, revealing significant deviations in electrical conductivity measurements predominantly for the scalp, skull, GM, and WM. Found to be of particular importance was the variability of skull conductivity, which consists of multiple layers and bone compositions, each with differing conductivity. Moreover, the conductivity of the skull was suggested to decline with participant age and hypothesised to correspondingly impact tDCS induced fields. As expected, the propositioned decline in the equivalent (homogeneous) skull conductivity as a function of age resulted in reduced tDCS fields. A further EEG analysis also revealed, neglecting the presence of adult sutures and deviation in proportion of spongiform and compact bone distribution throughout the skull, ensued significant errors in EEG forward and inverse solutions. Thus, incorporating geometrically accurate and precise volume conductors of the skull was considered as essential for EEG forward analysis and source localisation and tDCS application. This was an overarching conclusion of the presented thesis. Individualised head models, particularly of the skull, accounting for participant age, the presence of sutures and deviation in bone composition distribution are imperative for electrical brain imaging. Additionally, it was shown that in vivo, individualised measurements of skull conductivity are further required to fully understand the relationship between conductivity and participant demographics, suture closure, bone compositions, skull thickness and additional factors

Does participant’s age impact on tDCS induced fields? Insights from computational simulations

Objective: Understanding the induced current flow from transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is essential for determining the optimal dose and treatment. Head tissue conductivities play a key role in the resulting electromagnetic fields. However, there exists a complicated relationship between skull conductivity and participant age, that remains unclear. We explored how variations in skull electrical conductivities, particularly as a suggested function of age, affected tDCS induced electric fields. Approach: Simulations were employed to compare tDCS outcomes for different intensities across head atlases of varying age. Three databases were chosen to demonstrate differing variability in skull conductivity with age and how this may affect induced fields. Differences in tDCS electric fields due to proposed age-dependent skull conductivity variation, as well as deviations in grey matter, white matter and scalp, were compared and the most influential tissues determined. Main results: tDCS induced peak electric fields significantly negatively correlated with age, exacerbated by employing proposed age-appropriate skull conductivity (according to all three datasets). Uncertainty in skull conductivity was the most sensitive to changes in peak fields with increasing age. These results were revealed to be directly due to changing skull conductivity, rather than head geometry alone. There was no correlation between tDCS focality and age. Significance: Accurate and individualised head anatomy and in vivo skull conductivity measurements are essential for modelling tDCS induced fields. In particular, age should be taken into account when considering stimulation dose to precisely predict outcomes

Impact of skull sutures, spongiform bone distribution, and aging skull conductivities on the EEG forward and inverse problems

Source imaging is a principal objective for electroencephalography (EEG), the solutions of which require forward problem (FP) computations characterising the electric potential distribution on the scalp due to known sources. Additionally, the EEG-FP is dependent upon realistic, anatomically correct volume conductors and accurate tissue conductivities, where the skull is particularly important. Skull conductivity, however, deviates according to bone composition and the presence of adult sutures. The presented study therefore analyses the effect the presence of adult sutures and differing bone composition have on the EEG-FP and inverse problem (IP) solutions. Utilising a well-established head atlas, detailed head models were generated including compact and spongiform bone and adult sutures. The true skull conductivity was considered as inhomogeneous according to spongiform bone proportion and sutures. The EEG-FP and EEG-IP were solved and compared to results employing homogeneous skull models, with varying conductivities and omitting sutures, as well as using a hypothesised aging skull conductivity model. Significant localised FP errors, with relative error up to 85%, were revealed, particularly evident along suture lines and directly related to the proportion of spongiform bone. This remained evident at various ages. Similar EEG-IP inaccuracies were found, with the largest (maximum 4.14 cm) across suture lines. It is concluded that modelling the skull as an inhomogeneous layer that varies according to spongiform bone proportion and includes differing suture conductivity is imperative for accurate EEG-FP and source localisation calculations. Their omission can result in significant errors, relevant for EEG research and clinical diagnosis

Correction to: Variation in reported human head tissue electrical conductivity values

Correction to: Brain Topography (2019) 32:825–858 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10548-019-00710-

Variation in reported human head tissue electrical conductivity values

Electromagnetic source characterisation requires accurate volume conductor models representing head geometry and the electrical conductivity field. Head tissue conductivity is often assumed from previous literature, however, despite extensive research, measurements are inconsistent. A meta-analysis of reported human head electrical conductivity values was therefore conducted to determine significant variation and subsequent influential factors. Of 3121 identified publications spanning three databases, 56 papers were included in data extraction. Conductivity values were categorised according to tissue type, and recorded alongside methodology, measurement condition, current frequency, tissue temperature, participant pathology and age. We found variation in electrical conductivity of the whole-skull, the spongiform layer of the skull, isotropic, perpendicularly- and parallelly-oriented white matter (WM) and the brain-to-skull-conductivity ratio (BSCR) could be significantly attributed to a combination of differences in methodology and demographics. This large variation should be acknowledged, and care should be taken when creating volume conductor models, ideally constructing them on an individual basis, rather than assuming them from the literature. When personalised models are unavailable, it is suggested weighted average means from the current meta-analysis are used. Assigning conductivity as: 0.41 S/m for the scalp, 0.02 S/m for the whole skull, or when better modelled as a three-layer skull 0.048 S/m for the spongiform layer, 0.007 S/m for the inner compact and 0.005 S/m for the outer compact, as well as 1.71 S/m for the CSF, 0.47 S/m for the grey matter, 0.22 S/m for WM and 50.4 for the BSCR