17 research outputs found
The quiet editor: Ivan VladislaviÄ and South African cultural production
This article examines the literary and sociological significance of Ivan VladislaviÄâs "double lifeâ (Lahire, 2010: n.p.) as both editor and writer. With reference to a number of his editorial roles as well as the joint projects he has worked on with writers and visual artists, the article considers how VladislaviÄâs work with others spreads symbolic value. Described by one of his clients as the âquiet editorâ, VladislaviÄ can be read as a new kind of author; what he terms âcreative editingâ (Steyn, 2012: n.p.) as a new kind of writing, through which more traditional models of authorship and literary production are thrown into question â less Bourdieuâs (1984) âfield of literary productionâ or Casanovaâs (2004: 82) âworld literary spaceâ, red in tooth and claw, amd more Howard Beckerâs âart worldâ: a convivial ânetwork of cooperating people, all of whose work is essential to the final outcomeâ (1982: 25)
A Diffusive Homeostatic Signal Maintains Neural Heterogeneity and Responsiveness in Cortical Networks
Gaseous neurotransmitters such as nitric oxide (NO) provide a unique and often overlooked mechanism for neurons to communicate through diffusion within a network, independent of synaptic connectivity. NO provides homeostatic control of intrinsic excitability. Here we conduct a theoretical investigation of the distinguishing roles of NO-mediated diffusive homeostasis in comparison with canonical non-diffusive homeostasis in cortical networks. We find that both forms of homeostasis provide a robust mechanism for maintaining stable activity following perturbations. However, the resulting networks differ, with diffusive homeostasis maintaining substantial heterogeneity in activity levels of individual neurons, a feature disrupted in networks with non-diffusive homeostasis. This results in networks capable of representing input heterogeneity, and linearly responding over a broader range of inputs than those undergoing non-diffusive homeostasis. We further show that these properties are preserved when homeostatic and Hebbian plasticity are combined. These results suggest a mechanism for dynamically maintaining neural heterogeneity, and expose computational advantages of non-local homeostatic processes