The social anatomy of 'collusion'

This paper offers a conceptual analysis of collusion, the often overlooked relative of plagiarism in debates on academic integrity. Considered as an inherently social phenomenon, we present the results of a systematic effort to understand the anatomy of collusion. The term’s meanings and associated governance practices are compared for contexts outside Higher Education (HE). These are considered alongside a thematic analysis of publicly available UK university academic integrity documentation that specifies for students what counts as collusion. We indicate how current guideline practice can (1) appear incomplete by concentrating on classroom peers, (2) create blurred boundaries around useful collaboration, peer review and dishonest practice and (3) may be so unrealistic as to have unwelcome, unintended consequences for students and staff. Taking an ecological perspective on the conditions of collusion emphasises how these guidelines - by seeking to constrain social interactions around assignment work - may create an uncomfortable incoherence between their prescriptions and well-established patterns of study

The Conical Point in the Ferroelectric Six-Vertex Model

We examine the last unexplored regime of the asymmetric six-vertex model: the low-temperature phase of the so-called ferroelectric model. The original publication of the exact solution, by Sutherland, Yang, and Yang, and various derivations and reviews published afterwards, do not contain many details about this regime. We study the exact solution for this model, by numerical and analytical methods. In particular, we examine the behavior of the model in the vicinity of an unusual coexistence point that we call the ``conical'' point. This point corresponds to additional singularities in the free energy that were not discussed in the original solution. We show analytically that in this point many polarizations coexist, and that unusual scaling properties hold in its vicinity.Comment: 28 pages (LaTeX); 8 postscript figures available on request ([email protected]). Submitted to Journal of Statistical Physics. SFU-DJBJDS-94-0

Bridging knowing and proving in mathematics An essay from a didactical perspective

Text of a talk at the conference "Explanation and Proof in Mathematics: Philosophical and Educational Perspective" held in Essen in November 2006International audienceThe learning of mathematics starts early but remains far from any theoretical considerations: pupils' mathematical knowledge is first rooted in pragmatic evidence or conforms to procedures taught. However, learners develop a knowledge which they can apply in significant problem situations, and which is amenable to falsification and argumentation. They can validate what they claim to be true but using means generally not conforming to mathematical standards. Here, I analyze how this situation underlies the epistemological and didactical complexities of teaching mathematical proof. I show that the evolution of the learners' understanding of what counts as proof in mathematics implies an evolution of their knowing of mathematical concepts. The key didactical point is not to persuade learners to accept a new formalism but to have them understand how mathematical proof and statements are tightly related within a common framework; that is, a mathematical theory. I address this aim by modeling the learners' way of knowing in terms of a dynamic, homeostatic system. I discuss the roles of different semiotic systems, of the types of actions the learners perform and of the controls they implement in constructing or validating knowledge. Particularly with modern technological aids, this model provides a basis designing didactical situations to help learners bridge the gap between pragmatics and theory

Genomic Correlates of Atherosclerosis in Ancient Humans

Paleogenetics offers a unique opportunity to study human evolution, population dynamics, and disease evolution in situ. Although histologic and computed x-ray tomographic investigations of ancient mummies have clearly shown that atherosclerosis has been present in humans for more than 5,000 years, limited data are available on the presence of genetic predisposition for cardiovascular disease in ancient human populations. In a previous whole-genome study of the Tyrolean Iceman, a 5,300-year-old glacier mummy from the Alps, an increased risk for coronary heart disease was detected. The Iceman’s genome revealed several single nucleotide polymorphisms that are linked with cardiovascular disease in genome-wide association studies. Future genetic studies of ancient humans from various geographic origins and time periods have the potential to provide more insights into the presence and possible changes of genetic risk factors in our ancestors. The study of ancient humans and a better understanding of the interaction between environmental and genetic influences on the development of heart diseases may lead to a more effective prevention and treatment of the most common cause of death in the modern world

Effects of spring temperature and volcanic eruptions on wader productivity

Key demographic parameters often show substantial annual variation that can have important consequences for rates of population growth. Since 2011 we have conducted annual estimates of the productivity of Icelandic Black-tailed Godwits Limosa limosa islandica over a large part of its breeding range. During this period, a volcanic eruption resulted in extensive dust deposition across the region

Developing and enhancing biodiversity monitoring programmes: a collaborative assessment of priorities

1.Biodiversity is changing at unprecedented rates, and it is increasingly important that these changes are quantified through monitoring programmes. Previous recommendations for developing or enhancing these programmes focus either on the end goals, that is the intended use of the data, or on how these goals are achieved, for example through volunteer involvement in citizen science, but not both. These recommendations are rarely prioritized. 2.We used a collaborative approach, involving 52 experts in biodiversity monitoring in the UK, to develop a list of attributes of relevance to any biodiversity monitoring programme and to order these attributes by their priority. We also ranked the attributes according to their importance in monitoring biodiversity in the UK. Experts involved included data users, funders, programme organizers and participants in data collection. They covered expertise in a wide range of taxa. 3.We developed a final list of 25 attributes of biodiversity monitoring schemes, ordered from the most elemental (those essential for monitoring schemes; e.g. articulate the objectives and gain sufficient participants) to the most aspirational (e.g. electronic data capture in the field, reporting change annually). This ordered list is a practical framework which can be used to support the development of monitoring programmes. 4.People's ranking of attributes revealed a difference between those who considered attributes with benefits to end users to be most important (e.g. people from governmental organizations) and those who considered attributes with greatest benefit to participants to be most important (e.g. people involved with volunteer biological recording schemes). This reveals a distinction between focussing on aims and the pragmatism in achieving those aims. 5.Synthesis and applications. The ordered list of attributes developed in this study will assist in prioritizing resources to develop biodiversity monitoring programmes (including citizen science). The potential conflict between end users of data and participants in data collection that we discovered should be addressed by involving the diversity of stakeholders at all stages of programme development. This will maximize the chance of successfully achieving the goals of biodiversity monitoring programmes

The relationship between sensory sensitivity and autistic traits in the general population.

Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) tend to have sensory processing difficulties (Baranek et al. in J Child Psychol Psychiatry 47:591–601, 2006). These difficulties include over- and under-responsiveness to sensory stimuli, and problems modulating sensory input (Ben-Sasson et al. in J Autism Dev Disorders 39:1–11, 2009). As those with ASD exist at the extreme end of a continuum of autistic traits that is also evident in the general population, we investigated the link between ASD and sensory sensitivity in the general population by administering two questionnaires online to 212 adult participants. Results showed a highly significant positive correlation (r = .775, p < .001) between number of autistic traits and the frequency of sensory processing problems. These data suggest a strong link between sensory processing and autistic traits in the general population, which in turn potentially implicates sensory processing problems in social interaction difficulties

Standardized reporting of the costs of management interventions for biodiversity conservation

Effective conservation management interventions must combat threats and deliver conservation benefits at costs that can be achieved within limited budgets. Considerable effort has focused on measuring the potential benefits of conservation interventions but explicit quantification of implementation costs has been rare. Even when costs have been quantified, haphazard and inconsistent reporting means that published values are difficult to interpret. This reporting deficiency hinders progress towards building a collective understanding of the costs of management interventions across projects, and thus limits our ability to identify efficient solutions to conservation problems or attract adequate funding. We address this challenge by proposing a standardized approach to describing costs reported for conservation interventions. These standards call for researchers and practitioners to ensure the cost data they collect and report on provide enough contextual information that readers and future users can interpret the data appropriately. We suggest these standards be adopted by major conservation organizations, conservation science institutions, and journals, so that cost reporting is comparable between studies. This would support shared learning and enhance our ability to identify and perform cost-effective conservation.Funding was provided by CEED (GDI and workshop), an ARC Laureate Fellowship (HPP, BM, VA and JM), Arcadia (WJS), the Natural Environment Research Council (LVD, NE/K015419/1; NE/N014472/1) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (AJP)