Spiking neural network connectivity and its potential for temporal sensory processing and variable binding

Copyright © 2013 Wall and Glackin. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these termsPeer reviewedFinal Published versio

A Pilot Study of Pedestrians with Visual Impairments Detecting Traffic Gaps and Surges Containing Hybrid Vehicles

The increasing number of hybrid and quiet internal combustion engine vehicles may impact the travel abilities of pedestrians who are blind. Pedestrians who rely on auditory cues for structuring their travel may face challenges in making crossing decisions in the presence of quiet vehicles. This article describes results of initial studies looking at the crossing decisions of pedestrians who are blind at an uncontrolled crossing (no traffic control) and a light controlled intersection. The presence of hybrid vehicles was a factor in each situation. At the uncontrolled crossing, Toyota hybrids were most difficult to detect but crossing decisions were made more often in small gaps ended by a Honda hybrid. These effects were seen only at speed under 20 mph. At the light controlled intersection, parallel surges of traffic were most difficult to detect when made up only of a Ford Escape hybrid. Results suggest that more controlled studies of vehicle characteristics impacting crossing decisions of pedestrians who are blind are warranted

Towards a More Representative Definition of Cyber Security

In recent years, ‘Cyber Security’ has emerged as a widely-used term with increased adoption by practitioners and politicians alike. However, as with many fashionable jargon, there seems to be very little understanding of what the term really entails. Although this is may not be an issue when the term is used in an informal context, it can potentially cause considerable problems in context of organizational strategy, business objectives, or international agreements. In this work, we study the existing literature to identify the main definitions provided for the term ‘Cyber Security’ by authoritative sources. We then conduct various lexical and semantic analysis techniques in an attempt to better understand the scope and context of these definitions, along with their relevance. Finally, based on the analysis conducted, we propose a new improved definition that we then demonstrate to be a more representative definition using the same lexical and semantic analysis techniques

Epidemiology of imported cutaneous leishmaniasis at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, London, United Kingdom: use of polymerase chain reaction to identify the species.

This study reviewed all patients diagnosed with imported cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in London, United Kingdom, over an 11-year period. Diagnostic and epidemiologic information was collected prospectively for all patients with imported CL to this hospital during 1998-2009. A total of 223 patients were given a diagnosis of CL. Ninety patients were diagnosed with Old World CL, which was caused most commonly by Leishmania donovani complex (n = 20). A total of 71% were tourists to the Mediterranean region, 36% were migrants or visiting friends and relatives, and 17% were soldiers. One hundred thirty-three patients were given a diagnosis of New World CL. The Leishmania subgenus Viannia caused 97 of these cases; 44% of these were in backpackers and 29% were in soldiers. Polymerase chain reaction was more sensitive and faster for detecting Leishmania DNA (86% for Old World CL and 96% for New World CL) than culture. This is the largest study of imported leishmaniasis, and demonstrates that tourists to the Mediterranean and backpackers in Central and South America are at risk for this disease

#Healthy: smart digital food safety and nutrition communication strategies—a critical commentary

This paper explores how food safety and nutrition organisations can harness the power of search engines, games, apps, social media, and digital analytics tools to craft broad-reaching and engaging digital communications. We start with search engines, showing how organisations can identify popular food safety and nutrition queries, facilitating the creation of timely and in-demand content. To ensure this content is discoverable by search engines, we cover several non-technical aspects of search engine optimisation (SEO). We next explore the potential of games, apps, social media, and going viral for reaching and engaging the public, and how digital data-based tools can be used to optimise communications. Throughout, we draw on examples not only from Europe and North America, but also China. While we are enthusiastic about the benefits of digital communications, we recognise that they are not without their drawbacks and challenges. To help organisations evaluate whether a given digital approach is appropriate for their objectives, we end each section with a discussion of limitations. We conclude with a discussion of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the practical, philosophical, and policy challenges associated with communicating food safety and nutrition information digitally

A Spiking Neural Network Model of the Medial Superior Olive Using Spike Timing Dependent Plasticity for Sound Localization

Sound localization can be defined as the ability to identify the position of an input sound source and is considered a powerful aspect of mammalian perception. For low frequency sounds, i.e., in the range 270 Hz–1.5 KHz, the mammalian auditory pathway achieves this by extracting the Interaural Time Difference between sound signals being received by the left and right ear. This processing is performed in a region of the brain known as the Medial Superior Olive (MSO). This paper presents a Spiking Neural Network (SNN) based model of the MSO. The network model is trained using the Spike Timing Dependent Plasticity learning rule using experimentally observed Head Related Transfer Function data in an adult domestic cat. The results presented demonstrate how the proposed SNN model is able to perform sound localization with an accuracy of 91.82% when an error tolerance of ±10° is used. For angular resolutions down to 2.5°, it will be demonstrated how software based simulations of the model incur significant computation times. The paper thus also addresses preliminary implementation on a Field Programmable Gate Array based hardware platform to accelerate system performance

Natural human interaction in virtual immersive environments

REVERIE (REal and Virtual Engagement in Realistic Immersive Environments [1]) targets novel research to address the demanding challenges involved with developing state-of-the-art technologies for online human interaction. The REVERIE framework enables users to meet, socialise and share experiences online by integrating cutting-edge technologies for 3D data acquisition and processing, networking, autonomy and real-time rendering. In this paper, we describe the innovative research that is showcased through the REVERIE integrated framework through richly defined use-cases which demonstrate the validity and potential for natural interaction in a virtual immersive and safe environment. Previews of the REVERIE demo and its key research components can be viewed at www.youtube.com/user/REVERIEFP7

Organisational resilience of business schools: exploring the possibilities of adaptation

Organisational resilience of business schools: exploring the possibilities of adaptation The organisational landscape of business schools in some countries is in a state of fragility, plagued by an ongoing relevance critique, increasing competition from non-traditional private providers, demographics which intensify the competition for typical undergraduate students, increasing pressure for greater economic and environmental responsibility, a need to respond to technological advances, and a different political posture to the financial support of universities (Stokes et al 2018). As such, within this morphing landscape, the organisational resilience of business schools has perhaps become more pertinent in modern times than in recent history. Indeed, the UK is said to be experiencing an unprecedented market shake out of business schools with at least three facing imminent closure. Within this practice setting, organisational resilience has been conceptualised as (1) the capacity of an organisation to 'bounce back' (to survive) after an adverse or traumatic event, (2) the capacity of an organisation to adapt to circumstances and events before they are experienced as adverse, as traumatic or as a crisis, and (3) the aggregated capacities of people to absorb crises and operationally adapt to new situations (Koronis and Ponis, 2018; Evans, Cregan, & Wall, 2019 forthcoming). With this in mind, the first part of this QIC therefore explores how we might re-organise university-based business schools in ways which develop the adaptive capacities which are seemingly pertinent to contemporary circumstances. At the same time, organisational re-configurations are likely to, whether intended or unintended, shape the pedagogic practices of business schools (Akrivou & Bradbury-Huang, 2015) as well as have the potential for wider consequential tensions in a neo-liberal marketplace which emphasises individualism (Wall and Jarvis 2015). For example, a business school that develops strong employer involvement in curricula design, delivery and assessment may have a wider network of positive ties to sustain itself during difficult times, but adopting team based assessment practices (which can inculcate the wider social impact awareness of students) can create student experience challenges. So the second part of this QIC is to explore how the changes which are created for organisational resilience might shape pedagogic practices, and in turn, the possible consequences of organising in such ways. References Akrivou, K., & Bradbury-Huang, H. (2015). Educating integrated catalysts: Transforming business schools toward ethics and sustainability. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 14(2), 222-240. Evans, V., Cregan, K., & Wall, T. (2019 forthcoming) Organizational resilience, in Leal Filho, W. (ed) Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals – Good Health & Wellbeing, Springer, Cham Koronis, E., & Ponis, S. (2018). Better than before: the resilient organization in crisis mode. Journal of Business Strategy, 39(1), 32-42. Stokes, P., Smith, S., Wall, T., Moore, N., Rowland, C., Ward, T., & Cronshaw, S. (2018). Resilience and the (micro-)dynamics of organizational ambidexterity: Implications for strategic HRM. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, , 1-36. doi:10.1080/09585192.2018.1474939 Wall, T. & Jarvis, M. (2015). Business schools as educational provocateurs of productivity via interrelated landscapes of practice. Leadership & Policy Series. The Chartered Association of Business Schools, London