Does interhemispheric competition mediate motion-induced blindness? A transcranial magnetic stimulation study

Motion-induced blindness (MIB) is a phenomenon, perhaps related to perceptual rivalry, where stationary targets disappear and reappear in a cyclic mode when viewed against a background (mask) of coherent, apparent 3-D motion. Since MIB has recently been shown to share similar temporal properties with binocular rivalry, we probed the appearance-disappearance cycle of MIB using unilateral, single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)-a manipulation that has previously been shown to influence binocular rivalry. Effects were seen for both hemispheres when the timing of TMS was determined prospectively on the basis of a given subject's appearance-disappearance cycle, so that it occurred on average around 300 ms before the time of perceptual switch. Magnetic stimulation of either hemisphere shortened the time to switch from appearance to disappearance and vice versa. However, TMS of left posterior parietal cortex more selectively shortened the disappearance time of the targets if delivered in phase with the disappearance cycle, but lengthened it if TMS was delivered in the appearance phase after the perceptual switch. Opposite effects were seen in the right hemisphere, although less marked than the left-hemisphere effects. As well as sharing temporal characteristics with binocular rivalry, MIB therefore seems to share a similar underlying mechanism of interhemispheric modulation. Interhemispheric switching may thus provide a common temporal framework for uniting the diverse, multilevel phenomena of perceptual rivalry.

A profile of low vision services in England the Low Vision Service Model Evaluation (LOVSME) project

In the UK, low vision rehabilitation is delivered by a wide variety of providers with different strategies being used to integrate services from health, social care and the voluntary sector. In order to capture the current diversity of service provision the Low vision Service Model Evaluation (LOVSME) project aimed to profile selected low vision services using published standards for service delivery as a guide. Seven geographically and organizationally varied low-vision services across England were chosen for their diversity and all agreed to participate. A series of questionnaires and follow-up visits were undertaken to obtain a comprehensive description of each service, including the staff workloads and the cost of providing the service. In this paper the strengths of each model of delivery are discussed, and examples of good practice identified. As a result of the project, an Assessment Framework tool has been developed that aims to help other service providers evaluate different aspects of their own service to identify any gaps in existing service provision, and will act as a benchmark for future service development.

Educating Europe

In the UK most psychology undergraduates are women, most finish their education with a bachelor's degree, most do not enter professional psychology, and competition to do so at 21+ is fierce. This all raises many questions - not least about the nature of the discipline itself and the purpose of university education. Although they have unique features, other European countries, are grappling with similar issues. They all have interesting and varied responses within a common broad framework. These variations tell us something about higher education, about vocational preparation, and about the shape and future of the discipline.

Developing a process to create and validate an instrument assessing student attainment of competencies at an intercultural university in Mexico

This study took place at one of the intercultural universities (IUs) of Mexico that serve primarily indigenous students. The IUs are pioneers in higher education despite their numerous challenges (Bertely, 1998; Dietz, 2008; Pineda & Landorf, 2010; Schmelkes, 2009). To overcome educational inequalities among their students (Ahuja, Berumen, Casillas, Crispín, Delgado et al., 2004; Schmelkes, 2009), the IUs have embraced performance-based assessment (PBA; Casillas & Santini, 2006). PBA allows a shared model of power and control related to learning and evaluation (Anderson, 1998). While conducting a review on PBA strategies of the IUs, the researcher did not find a PBA instrument with valid and reliable estimates. The purpose of this study was to develop a process to create a PBA instrument, an analytic general rubric, with acceptable validity and reliability estimates to assess students' attainment of competencies in one of the IU's majors, Intercultural Development Management. The Human Capabilities Approach (HCA) was the theoretical framework and a sequential mixed method (Creswell, 2003; Teddlie & Tashakkori, 2009) was the research design. IU participants created a rubric during two focus groups, and seven Spanish-speaking professors in Mexico and the US piloted using students' research projects. The evidence that demonstrates the attainment of competencies at the IU is a complex set of actual, potential and/or desired performances or achievements, also conceptualized as "functional capabilities" (FCs; Walker, 2008), that can be used to develop a rubric. Results indicate that the rubric's validity and reliability estimates reached acceptable estimates of 80% agreement, surpassing minimum requirements (Newman, Newman, & Newman, 2011). Implications for practice involve the use of PBA within a formative assessment framework, and dynamic inclusion of constituencies. Recommendations for further research include introducing this study's instrument-development process to other IUs, conducting parallel mixed design studies exploring the intersection between HCA and assessment, and conducting a case study exploring assessment in intercultural settings. Education articulated through the HCA empowers students (Unterhalter & Brighouse, 2007; Walker, 2008). This study aimed to contribute to the quality of student learning assessment at the IUs by providing a participatory process to develop a PBA instrument.

Availability estimation and management for complex processing systems

“Availability” is the terminology used in asset intensive industries such as petrochemical and hydrocarbons processing to describe the readiness of equipment, systems or plants to perform their designed functions. It is a measure to suggest a facility’s capability of meeting targeted production in a safe working environment. Availability is also vital as it encompasses reliability and maintainability, allowing engineers to manage and operate facilities by focusing on one performance indicator. These benefits make availability a very demanding and highly desired area of interest and research for both industry and academia. In this dissertation, new models, approaches and algorithms have been explored to estimate and manage the availability of complex hydrocarbon processing systems. The risk of equipment failure and its effect on availability is vital in the hydrocarbon industry, and is also explored in this research. The importance of availability encouraged companies to invest in this domain by putting efforts and resources to develop novel techniques for system availability enhancement. Most of the work in this area is focused on individual equipment compared to facility or system level availability assessment and management. This research is focused on developing an new systematic methods to estimate system availability. The main focus areas in this research are to address availability estimation and management through physical asset management, risk-based availability estimation strategies, availability and safety using a failure assessment framework, and availability enhancement using early equipment fault detection and maintenance scheduling optimization.

A review of road structure data in six European countries

The European Union has expanded significantly in recent years. Sustainable trade within the Union, leading to economic growth to the benefit of the ‘old’ and ‘new’ member states is thus extremely important. The road infrastructure is strategic and vital to such development since an uneven transport infrastructure, in terms of capacity and condition, has the potential to reinforce uneven development trends and hinder economic convergence of old and new member states. In the decades since their design and construction, loading conditions have significantly changed for many major highway infrastructure elements/networks owing primarily to increased freight volumes and vehicle sizes. This, coupled with the gradual deterioration of a significant number of highway structures due to their age, and the absence of a pan-European assessment framework, can be expected to affect the smooth functioning of the infrastructure in its as-built condition. Increased periods of reduced flow can be expected owing to planned and unplanned interventions for repair/rehabilitation. This paper reports the findings of a survey regarding the current status of the highway infrastructure elements in six countries within the European Union as reported by the owners/operators. The countries surveyed include a cross-section of ‘existing’ older countries and ‘new’ member states. The current situations for bridges, culverts, tunnels and retaining walls are reported, along with their potential replacement costs. The findings act as a departure point for further studies in support of a centralised and/or synchronised EU approach to infrastructure maintenance management. Information in the form presented in this paper is central to any future decision-making frameworks in terms of trade route choice and operations, monetary investment, optimised maintenance, management and rehabilitation of the built infrastructure and the economic integration of the newly joined member states.

Kultur ist mehr als Currywurst Ältere Literatur im Deutschunterricht : Eine Literaturstudie

With regards to the teaching of German in Sweden this literature study looks into the Swedish curriculum and the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) to compare today’s common interpretation of the goals in language learning to the educational goals in the documents. Critics mean that the CEFR and in extension the curricula in the associated countries focus mainly on measurable practical language skills. This leads to impoverishment of the concept of language learning, which should include broad cultural aspects, encourage the students to develop their personalities and curiosity and foster a livelong desire to study. This work will try to show that blaming the CEFR for the kind of lopsided development towards practical, measurable skills in language teaching does not origin in the document or in the national curriculum. It appears to be the interpretation of the documents that oversees some essential requirements, not only for successful language teaching but also for the use of German as a tool for conversation and understanding. The real understanding of a language is, according to the research referred to in this work, connected to the understanding of culture. This literature study will show that reading older literature in language classes will favour the students´ understanding of culture. Furthermore, this work will try to point out other educational benefits besides the gain of cultural knowledge in working with literature. Students learn to argue and gain understanding of their own world by comparing to the new reality they meet in the literature. In addition, students will, with the help of the text, acquire new vocabulary and get an understanding of the structure of the language. In essence the use of literature in teaching German on one hand meets and fulfils the requirements in the curriculum and on the other hand supports the development of language skills and personals skills.

O desenvolvimento da produção oral na aula de espanhol língua estrangeira numa perspectiva comunicativo-funcional

O presente trabalho propõe-se descrever e refletir sobre os diferentes passos levados a cabo na elaboração de um projeto de investigação-ação relativo a uma abordagem comunicativa do desenvolvimento da produção oral na aula de Espanhol Língua Estrangeira. Neste estudo, pretende-se, como ponto de partida, evidenciar e contextualizar a importância dada à oralidade no ensino-aprendizagem de línguas, sobretudo à luz do Quadro Europeu Comum de Referência para as Línguas. Por outro lado, através da implementação deste projeto numa turma de 9ºano, almeja-se evidenciar boas práticas que conduzem ao desenvolvimento da produção oral dos alunos em língua espanhola e, consequentemente, melhoram o seu desempenho escolar no âmbito das aulas de língua estrangeira. A análise dos resultados obtidos através do recurso a diversos instrumentos de recolha de dados mostra que práticas, materiais, atividades e estratégias de índole comunicativo-funcional, favorecem as aprendizagens dos alunos e fomentam o desenvolvimento da produção oral de cidadãos ativos numa sociedade cada vez mais intercultural e plurilingue.

El léxico disponible como herramienta de ayuda para la selección léxica en aula de ELE

This study aims to provide foreigns languages professionals with a sound methodology for selecting a suitable lexicon apropos of their students’ level in the language. The justification of said selection is, herein, rooted in a cognitive argument: If we are able to observe the manner in which words are organized within the mind, we will be better able to select the words needed for the natural process of communication. After poring over lists of lexical availability compiled by previous analyses, this study puts forth a glossary filtered by way of an objective procedure based on the mathematical concept known as Fuzzy Expected Value. I begin first by rigorously defining the concept of lexical availability and then thoroughly examining and explaining the manner in which I have obtained the results. Next, I employ the cognitive theory of prototypes to expound upon the organizational apparatus which arranges words within speakers’ minds. Subsequently and in accordance with objective criteria, a lexical selection is proposed. To end, I contemplate and muse upon the significance of a program that would enable us to identify the most appropriate vocabulary according to the students’ level of linguistic competence. In order to further substantiate this study, it will be juxtaposed to the specific notions outlined by the curriculum of The Cervantes Institute. Moreover, it will be relationed with the teaching levels proposed by American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) and Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

Interest rate (in)sensitivity of emerging market corporate debt : economic analysis based on 2002-2015 empirical evidence

Interest rate sensitivity assessment framework based on fixed income yield indexes is developed and applied to two types of emerging market corporate debt: investment grade and high yield exposures. Our research advances beyond the correlation analyses focused on co- movements in yields and/or spreads of risky and risk-free assets. We show that correlation- based analyses of interest rate sensitivity could appear rather inconclusive and, hence, we investigate the bottom line profit and loss of a hypothetical model portfolio of corporates. We consider historical data covering the period 2002 – 2015, which enable us to assess interest rate sensitivity of assets during the development, the apogee, and the aftermath of the global financial crisis. Based on empirical evidence, both for investment and speculative grades securities, we find that the emerging market corporates exhibit two different regimes of sensitivity to interest rate changes. We observe switching from a positive sensitivity under the normal market conditions to a negative one during distressed phases of business cycles. This research sheds light on how financial institutions may approach interest rate risk management, evidencing that even plain vanilla portfolios of emerging market corporates, which on average could appear rather insensitive to the interest rate risk in fact present a binary behavior of their interest rate sensitivities. Our findings allow banks and financial institutions for optimizing economic capital under Basel III regulatory capital rules.

Developing and Improving EFL Writing Skills

Learning a foreign language is a process that entails the development of four basic skills: Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. According to the Common European Framework, such skills can be grouped into productive and receptive. Reading and Listening are categorized as receptive skills, while speaking and writing are productive skills. Students’ and teachers’ experience along with research findings suggest that most learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) find productive skills more difficult to develop than receptive skill, and writing skills the hardest to acquire and improve. Learning to write is a complex process that calls for a wide range of cognitive and linguistic strategies to be used, most of which EFL students are not fully aware of. The purpose of this talk is to help EFL college majors become aware of the factors that make EFL discourse sound stilted and foreign. Good writing results from rational thinking, logical organization, and appropriate use of language. Sample texts will be looked at identify the strengths and weaknesses in each case.

Developing a Process to Create and Validate an Instrument Assessing Student Attainment of Competencies at an Intercultural University in Mexico

This study took place at one of the intercultural universities (IUs) of Mexico that serve primarily indigenous students. The IUs are pioneers in higher education despite their numerous challenges (Bertely, 1998; Dietz, 2008; Pineda & Landorf, 2010; Schmelkes, 2009). To overcome educational inequalities among their students (Ahuja, Berumen, Casillas, Crispín, Delgado et al., 2004; Schmelkes, 2009), the IUs have embraced performance-based assessment (PBA; Casillas & Santini, 2006). PBA allows a shared model of power and control related to learning and evaluation (Anderson, 1998). While conducting a review on PBA strategies of the IUs, the researcher did not find a PBA instrument with valid and reliable estimates. The purpose of this study was to develop a process to create a PBA instrument, an analytic general rubric, with acceptable validity and reliability estimates to assess students’ attainment of competencies in one of the IU’s majors, Intercultural Development Management. The Human Capabilities Approach (HCA) was the theoretical framework and a sequential mixed method (Creswell, 2003; Teddlie & Tashakkori, 2009) was the research design. IU participants created a rubric during two focus groups, and seven Spanish-speaking professors in Mexico and the US piloted using students’ research projects. The evidence that demonstrates the attainment of competencies at the IU is a complex set of actual, potential and/or desired performances or achievements, also conceptualized as “functional capabilities” (FCs; Walker, 2008), that can be used to develop a rubric. Results indicate that the rubric’s validity and reliability estimates reached acceptable estimates of 80% agreement, surpassing minimum requirements (Newman, Newman, & Newman, 2011). Implications for practice involve the use of PBA within a formative assessment framework, and dynamic inclusion of constituencies. Recommendations for further research include introducing this study’s instrument-development process to other IUs, conducting parallel mixed design studies exploring the intersection between HCA and assessment, and conducting a case study exploring assessment in intercultural settings. Education articulated through the HCA empowers students (Unterhalter & Brighouse, 2007; Walker, 2008). This study aimed to contribute to the quality of student learning assessment at the IUs by providing a participatory process to develop a PBA instrument.

Building bridges for innovation in ageing:synergies between action groups of the EIP on AHA

The Strategic Implementation Plan of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP on AHA) proposed six Action Groups. After almost three years of activity, many achievements have been obtained through commitments or collaborative work of the Action Groups. However, they have often worked in silos and, consequently, synergies between Action Groups have been proposed to strengthen the triple win of the EIP on AHA. The paper presents the methodology and current status of the Task Force on EIP on AHA synergies. Synergies are in line with the Action Groups’ new Renovated Action Plan (2016-2018) to ensure that their future objectives are coherent and fully connected. The outcomes and impact of synergies are using the Monitoring and Assessment Framework for the EIP on AHA (MAFEIP). Eight proposals for synergies have been approved by the Task Force: Five cross-cutting synergies which can be used for all current and future synergies as they consider overarching domains (appropriate polypharmacy, citizen empowerment, teaching and coaching on AHA, deployment of synergies to EU regions, Responsible Research and Innovation), and three cross-cutting synergies focussing on current Action Group activities (falls, frailty, integrated care and chronic respiratory diseases).

Introduction of African Swine Fever into the European Union through Illegal Importation of Pork and Pork Products

Transboundary animal diseases can have very severe socio-economic impacts when introduced into new regions. The history of disease incursions into the European Union suggests that initial outbreaks were often initiated by illegal importation of meat and derived products. The European Union would benefit from decision-support tools to evaluate the risk of disease introduction caused by illegal imports in order to inform its surveillance strategy. However, due to the difficulty in quantifying illegal movements of animal products, very few studies of this type have been conducted. Using African swine fever as an example, this work presents a novel risk assessment framework for disease introduction into the European Union through illegal importation of meat and products. It uses a semi-quantitative approach based on factors that likely influence the likelihood of release of contaminated smuggled meat and products, and subsequent exposure of the susceptible population. The results suggest that the European Union is at non-negligible risk of African swine fever.