Questions In Course Research Articles

Finding your way in the world: on the neurocognitive basis of spatial memory and orientation in humans

Finding your way home, remembering where you left the car keys or directing someone to the nearest hospital are examples of highly complex cognitive tasks based on spatial memory and orientation. Without these functions, navigating through daily life would be impossible. Our ability to construct spatial representations of the outside world, and to store them in our memory is likely to underlie many other higher cognitive functions in humans, such as decision-making and planning. Many other animals possess the ability to navigate around their environment but there are certain higher-order features of the human system, such as the ability to communicate spatial information verbally or the ability to switch perspectives, which are uniquely human. This symposium will address how the variety of spatial memory processes is implemented in the human brain, and how it is characterized by differences across species, and within the human species (such as in gender, age and clinical populations). We will start with sketching an evolutionary taxonomy of spatial memory and spatial representations. Next, we will discuss how (certain) spatial abilities might develop during the human ontogeny. An important question of course is how the human brain carries out mental activities such as navigation and perspective taking. We will illustrate this by examples of recent neuroimaging studies on allocentric spatial representations and perspective switches. More insight in to how the human brain deals with spatial information processing can be gathered from neurological cases in which spatial neurological circuits are affected. Another way to understand how spatial representations of the surrounding world are created comes from studying situations in which the sensory input channels are limited, such as in the case of blindness. This sheds light on the supposed supramodality of spatial representations. Finally, the versatility of the human spatial memory system will be illustrated by a closer look at individual differences in humans: how do men and women differ in spatial memory ability?. This symposium derives from a EU funded NEST PATHFINDER research initiative (see http://www.wayfinding.fss.uu.nl/).

Stater möter aktivister - om den polisära hanteringen av politiska protester vid EU-toppmötena i Göteborg och Köpenhamn

As the representatives of political authority the police are often the targets for protesters’ interventions and their very presence can in turn ‘trigger’ political disorder. In this article I analyze two radically different approaches to the policing of protest: protest policing in conjunction with the EU Summit meetings in Göteborg 2001 and Copenhagen 2002. In what ways are spaces for democratic protest protected, alternatively threatened, by political policing? Unquestionably, direct threats are posed to the public spaces for political protest in the event of serious public disorder and even more seriously in the event of police riots as we witnessed in Gothenburg. A deployment of ‘keystone cops’ in the action spaces of social movement politics risks serious threats to civil liberties, which were the outcomes of a strategy wedded to the control of territorial spaces. Were these ‘democratic spaces’ even endangered by policing measures designed to control situations as was the case in Copenhagen? The tentative answer offered is yes. The threats are of course subtler, but nevertheless, threats to civil and political liberties were incurred. The question of course arises as to whether threats to civil liberties can indeed be wholly eliminated in the quest for public order in present-day risk societies.

What Is Bipolar Disorder?

What Is Bipolar Disorder?

Molecular Systems Biology : a new journal for a new biology?

Mol Syst Biol. 1: 2005.0005 While Molecular Systems Biology may be a new journal, there has been considerable debate as to whether systems biology itself represents a new approach to biology or whether it is really just a new and catchy name for what some biologists have been doing all along. The answer to this question of course depends on how one defines systems biology. Terms that have already been used to describe systems biology include comprehensive biology, postgenomic biology, quantitative biology, mathematical modeling of biological processes, multidisciplinary biology, molecular physiology, the convergence of biology and computer science, and more. These terms do not actually describe systems biology as anything new. However, those who, like the author of this feature, believe that systems biology in fact does represent a new approach to the life sciences have therefore been challenged to produce a definition that reflects this view. Perhaps surprisingly, a concise definition of systems biology that most of us can agree upon has yet to emerge. In order to come up with such a concise definition, we should first consider what systems biology aims to …

The Joy of Research

The Joy of Research

Discussion of “Robustness and Pricing with Uncertain Growth”

Hansen and Sargent, and a number of coauthors have recently initiated a research agenda that introduces the notion of robustness to model uncertainty (or a concern with model misspecification) into macroeconomics and finance. Methodologically they modify key techniques from the robust control literature in applied mathematics in order to allow for recursivity, discounting, and stochastic dynamics, which are obvious ingredients of the conventional modeling paradigm in financial economics. The fundamental idea behind robustness is that economic models are at best viewed as stylized approximations of reality rather than perfectly accurate descriptions thereof. It is then natural to entertain the possibility that economic agents making decisions in these models share the concern for model misspecification that economists and econometricians routinely express. When agents use a particular model as guidance in a dynamic decision problem and worry that this model might be misspecified, one would expect them to insist on considering alternative models in order to obtain decision rules that not only work well when the particular baseline model is correct, but that also perform reasonably well when the model is somewhat misspecified. This is the sense in which the decision rule is designed to be robust. The question of course is how agents go about considering alternative models and obtaining a robust decision rule given these alternative models. In this article, as in other work introducing robustness, the agents are assumed to achieve robustness by considering a least-favorable or worst-case model that is similar to and statistically hard to distinguish from the baseline model.

On consensus between tree-representations of linguistic data

One of the aims of linguistics is to infer from the ever-growing mass of actual data available the implicit, virtual organization underlying the apparent disorder and diversity of surface phenomena. The procedure invariably consists in establishing and revealing the latent links between the fundamental entities justifying the dichotomy between language and speech, namely langue and parole (Saussure), competence and performance (Chomsky), system and process, substance and form (Hjelmslev), or sense and signification (Guillaume). This ever-present crucial duality is also at work in computational linguistics, where the chief question is how to reach, beyond the surface of observed facts, for the latent abstract organization, thus enabling the observer (i.e. the linguist) to gain access to knowledge that can be generalized. Tree-representation is a powerful means of evincing the inherent structure of mutually dependent data to account for the respective dependence or independence of the represented objects by means of a hierarchic tree where clearly outlined categories are paired and embedded. Frequently, modern linguists tend to be interested more in the relative closeness of objects than in their belonging to this or that closed class. Additive, as opposed to hierarchic, trees do away with watertight partitions between objects and lay the stress on notions such as proximity and opposition. The question of course arises of the possibility of representing any two distinct sets of original data in one tree-figure. The only procedure available is to attempt to achieve a consensus by fusion of the original two trees by means of a new algorithm. The algorithm is explained in detail and applied to various subsets of the tagged version of the LOB Corpus.

Soundings: The “mum test”

Who would you rather be treated by? An exceptionally gifted diagnostician who is completely committed to your wellbeing, or a burnt out cynic who is not interested in you at all? And would it change things if one was wearing ripped jeans, while the other was in a suit? It's a silly question of course. You wouldn't last very long in the health service in ripped jeans. So do clothes matter? Well yes they do. Many …

Needlestick prevention devices: a pointed discussion.

Institutions and employees in the healthcare industry recently have been flooded with a variety of new preventive devices, with the promise of reducing the risk of needlestick accidents. With the known risk of occupational human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and the greater risk of morbidity and mortality of occupational hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, it is hard not to get swept away by the tsunami of “safer devices.” The ultimate question of course, is whether these new or improved products actually contribute to the reduction of accidents and diminish the transmission of these diseases. With the demand for safer working conditions in the context of the HIV epidemic and in times of shrinking budgets, the safest and most cost-effective devices must be determined. Although the Occupational Safety and Health Administrations (OSHA) final ruling on occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens may not directly address the issue of needlestick prevention devices, institutions should be prepared to justify their practices and selection of equipment, given its emphasis on engineering and work practices that states “Engineering and work practice controls shall be used to eliminate or minimize employee exposure.”

VANUATU PENAL CODE

Like many other Penal Codes in the Commonwealth, the Penal Code of Vanuatu is divided into two Parts, Part I, which deals with general principles of criminal liability, and Part 2, which sets out the definition of the individual offences. The presentation has the advantage of orthodoxy and conformity, but whether it is the most helpful method of presentation is another question of course. The form of presentation requires that the persons charged with applying the Code, either as magistrates or as police, and the persons wishing to ascertain the extent of their liability as citizens, must read the contents of the first Part, and carry them in their mind, and apply them where appropriate into the definitions of individual offences in the second Part. This is not an easy feat when the contents of the first Part are few in number, and when the readers are very familiar with the English language and with the art of implication. Neither of these circumstances is present with regard to the Penal Code of Vanuatu, which cannot help but render it difficult to understand and to apply in this country.

Men and Things

Pity poor Henry Hutchinson. There is not a room in his honour in these buildings, nor as far as I can recall a portrait of him anywhere in the LSE. But in some sense he had as much to do with the foundation of the school as others whose names are more easily recalled as founders. Hutchinson was the lonely unknown man who shot himself in 1893 and in his will left a large sum to the Fabian society so that they might apply the money 'to the propaganda and other purposes of the said society and its socialism and towards advancing its objects in any way they deem advisable.. .. Sidney Webb was the person trusted, along with some others, to administer the bequest. Webb was casting around at that time for some money to start his favourite School of Economics. The delicate question of course was, Could the teaching of economics be said to have anything to do with the propaganda for socialism? It was obviously necessary to fudge the issue. So Webb extended the interpretation of the donor's wishes to cover 'the promotion of the study of socialism, economics, or any other branch or branches of social science or political science, or towards the propagation or advocacy of socialistic or economic or political teaching'. Despite this nice turn of phrase, the school was not called the 'London School of Socialism, Economics and any other Branch or Branches of Social Science or Political Science'. The 'Economics and Political Science' survived and social sciences were duly taught. The bit about socialism was just an embarrassment. Bernard Shaw clearly saw that this was a fudge. He thought that what Sidney Webb wanted to do was 'an atrocious malversation of the ... bequest'. He wanted W. S. Hewins, the person nominated to be the director, 'to speak as a collectivist and make it clear that the school of Economics will have a collectivist bias .... The collectivist flag must be waved and the Marseillaise played if necessary to attract fresh bequests.' Shaw tried his best to change the Fabian Society's mind on this, but he did not win. Webb assured Haldane, who had confronted him with some legalistic queries, that (a) he remained a socialist and (b) he believed that, the more that social conditions were studied scientifically and impartially, the stronger the case for socialism became. That seemed to settle the legal problem. There were a couple of snags. No economists could be found initially (or dare one say since) who could make obvious the connection between a scientific study of economics and socialism. It was difficult to find teachers, as Beatrice Webb said, of 'a science that does not yet exist'. But, though the science did not exist, it had to be taught. It was also going to be taught without the socialist connection being pressed too far, as Hewins as the first director made clear in his fund-raising visit to the London Chamber of Commerce. He promised

Putting Cost-Benefit Analysis in Its Place: Ethical Questions for Courses in Food, Energy, and Technology: A Course Description

(1982). Putting Cost-Benefit Analysis in Its Place: Ethical Questions for Courses in Food, Energy, and Technology: A Course Description. The Journal of Environmental Education: Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 37-40.

Analysis of contact lens deposits

The most frequent cause of irritation from contact lenses is the formation of deposits from the tear film during lens wear. If such deposits are not removed by thorough daily cleaning, not only do they impair the optical quality of the lenses, their wettability and possibly their oxygen permeability, they may also cause chemic0-toxic o r as in the case of p ro te ins allergic reactions accompanied by the well-known symptom of protein conjunctivitis. In addition, such deposits generally provide a good medium for microorganisms, so infections are a further possible consequence. It is therefore of great importance that the contact lens practitioner should examine lenses that have become intolerable for possible deposits with a view to establishing the cause of the irritation. The question of course arises as to what use it is to find out what a deposit consists of. The answer is that in many cases the causes of irritation can be eliminated if we can determine the nature of the deposit and identify its origin. Iwould like to report on a number of tests which we have carded out on contaminated soft lenses and to explain a few of the methods we use to identify such deposits. The problem is not so much the nature of the deposit itself we know the approximate composition of the tear film and therefore have a specific basis for looking for particular chemical groups. The problem is rather that the quantities of deposits to be found on contact lenses are very small and often beyond the identification limits of conventional chemical techniques. We are in fact dealing with orders of magnitude ranging down to a tenth of a microgram (10-~g). This makes positive identification difficult and requires the use of special equipment. I am now going to discuss three different analytical procedures: Thin layer chromatography Scanning electron microscopy Light microscopy

The definition and assessment of visual and auditory perception

Abstract Perceptual tests are among the most frequently administered clinical instruments. They offer several different explanations for various perceptual regularities and irregularities, depending upon the orientation of the user. The very frequently administered Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test (BVMGT) (Bender, 1938) is an example of an assumed measure of visual perceptual discrimination, when in fact the manual motor response being ascertained may lead to several diagnoses. The BVMGT, and many of the other perceptual tests are often administered in order to determine: (1) childhood psychosis, (2) cerebral pathologies, (3) learning disabilities, (4) developmental lag, (5) intelligence, and even (6) personality development. The question of course is, what price is paid for the adaptable usage of perceptual tests? Is it possible that a usage which fits all or any theory of human pathology or developmental discrepancy, can impede the development of perceptual theories, which in turn may prohibit new test ...

Laser Excitation of Stationary States in Molecules: The Coupling of Real Eigenstates to Phonons and Photons

Abstract When a molecule is excited by a light source one considers the following optical cycle; absorption to a singlet state, internal conversion, intersystem crossing, and finally a phosphorescence from the triplet state (Jablonski process) to the ground state. On the other hand, one knows from quantum mechanics that a singlet state isoenergetic with other singlets or triplets interacts with these levels thus producing new states which diagonalize the exact molecular Hamiltonian. The question of course; which state do we excite and under what conditions does the intermolecular interaction (say with a phonon bath) influence the pathways for the excitation process? In this communication we will present for the first time experimental evidence for the laser excitation of true eigenstates in molecules. We will also discuss the theoretical treatment and the experimental findings on thermal broadening of electronic resonances which result in the loss of the “identity” of molecular states. Finally, it will be shown that vibrational relaxation and magnetic field induced couplings depend crucially on the preparation of the state.

Humanism and Tragic Redemption

When George Steiner announced The Death of Tragedy, in 1961, it was already somewhat unclear whether tragedy was said to be dead or dying, or in fact on the way to being reborn. Since then, Leo Aylen’s Greek Tragedy and the Modern World has challengingly affirmed the possibility of actual equivalents to Greek tragedy in our time. And now Raymond Williams flatly entitles his own critical diagnosis: Modern Tragedy.These questions of course extend far beyond the theatre. Ultimately they concern the entire substance of our culture, and especially our age’s increasing estrangement from religion. For Tragedy — whether Greek, mediaeval, Elizabethan or neo-classical – has, typically, sprung from societies rooted in religion; although the greatest moments of tragic art were precisely those moments when received beliefs stood under radical historical challenge. To ask why traditional tragic forms have increasingly been abandoned in the theatre of our time is thus, to raise questions we might otherwise not even be able to formulate about our epoch’s relations to religion – and about the resources of humanist faith.Raymond Williams’ confrontation of these questions seems to me crucial, in several ways. Unmistakably at the growing-point of humanist consciousness, his work is at once a critique of tragic theory, a socio-critical map of modern tragic literature, and a reassertion in depth of revolutionary imperatives in the face of objections to revolution truly wrestled with. Significantly, the book concludes not with any theoretical summing up but with an actual drama of revolution.

Efficiency in Public School Music Teaching

What is efficiency? The Universal Dictionary which I bought for ninetyeight cents, and which seldom has in it the words I want to find, says: Efficiency-the state of being efficient. Not very illuminating. On looking further I find: Efficient-causing effects or results; powerful; ready. That answers our question of course. Efficiency in public school music is the power to bring about effects or results. But what sorts of results does efficiency bring about? Most of us come in touch with results, sometimes very outstanding and tangible results which could hardly be said to come through efficiency. Shall we not then, modify this broad statement and say that efficiency is the power to bring about worth-while results in a skillful man-