Beyond the Death of Linear Response: 1/f optimal information transport

Non-ergodic renewal processes have recently been shown by several authors to be insensitive to periodic perturbations, thereby apparently sanctioning the death of linear response, a building block of nonequilibrium statistical physics. We show that it is possible to go beyond the ``death of linear response" and establish a permanent correlation between an external stimulus and the response of a complex network generating non-ergodic renewal processes, by taking as stimulus a similar non-ergodic process. The ideal condition of 1/f-noise corresponds to a singularity that is expected to be relevant in several experimental conditions.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, 1 table, in press on Phys. Rev. Let

Absolute identification by relative judgment

In unidimensional absolute identification tasks, participants identify stimuli that vary along a single dimension. Performance is surprisingly poor compared with discrimination of the same stimuli. Existing models assume that identification is achieved using long-term representations of absolute magnitudes. The authors propose an alternative relative judgment model (RJM) in which the elemental perceptual units are representations of the differences between current and previous stimuli. These differences are used, together with the previous feedback, to respond. Without using long-term representations of absolute magnitudes, the RJM accounts for (a) information transmission limits, (b) bowed serial position effects, and (c) sequential effects, where responses are biased toward immediately preceding stimuli but away from more distant stimuli (assimilation and contrast)

Spousal Control and Efficiency of Intra-Household Decision Making: Experiments among Married Couples in India, Ethiopia and Nigeria

We examine whether the nature of gender relations matters for the effects on household efficiency of exogenous variation in spousal control over the intra-household allocation of resources. Experiments testing for efficiency were conducted among married couples in eight sites representing a range of conjugal cultures: from an extreme form of separate spheres in northern Nigeria to (male) centralised control in North India, along with a variety of intermediate cases. Inefficiency is widespread, varies greatly and tends to be lower when wives control the allocation. The exception is a site in northern Nigeria where female control over resources is well established.JEL Classification Codes: D13, J12, J16, O15http://www.grips.ac.jp/list/jp/facultyinfo/munro_alistair

The inclusion of students with dyslexia in higher education: a systematic review using narrative synthesis

This article reports on a study focusing on the inclusion of students with dyslexia in higher education (HE). A systematic review was carried out to retrieve, critically appraise and synthesize the available evidence on how the inclusion of students with dyslexia can be fostered in HE. The 15 studies included in the final synthesis employed descriptive designs and overwhelmingly used qualitative methods to explore dyslexic students’ perceptions on the impact of teaching, support and accommodation in their own learning experience. A critical appraisal of these studies revealed a landscape of significant gaps in the available stock of evidence on the inclusion of students with dyslexia in HE. The synthesis of the available evidence is presented in a narrative of five cross-study thematic areas: student coping strategies, being identified as dyslexic, interaction with academic staff, accessibility and accommodations, and using assistive technologies and information and communication technologies. Implications for practice and future research are discussed

A chapter of early medical africana

Mention is made of the early treatment utilized by the indigenous population of South Africa, as described in general terms by an intelligent caller and observer Willem ten Rhyne in 1673, who recorded his observations some 13 years later. Reference is also made to an interestino original medical volume to which Ten Rhyne contributed the use of acupuncture and scarification for the treatment of podagra (gout). A description of the physical methods used by the Hottentots of that period is illustrated from original engravings contained in the famous Kolbe 'Beschryving' of 1727. It is interesting to note the mention of dacha (dagga) by the Hottentots in Ten Rhyne's description 'of their physick' and this is possibly the first men/ion made of this drug in South African literature

The Marginal Propensity Out of After-Tax Income and Implications for Tax Policy

From the Washington University Senior Honors Thesis Abstracts (WUSHTA), 2017. Published by the Office of Undergraduate Research. Joy Zalis Kiefer, Director of Undergraduate Research and Associate Dean in the College of Arts & Sciences; Lindsey Paunovich, Editor; Helen Human, Programs Manager and Assistant Dean in the College of Arts and Sciences Mentors: Steven Fazzari, Bruce Petersen, and Maria Cano

From the Warnock Report (1978) to an Education Framework Commission: a novel contemporary approach to educational policy making for pupils with special educational needs /disabilities

This is the final version. Available on open access from Frontiers Media via the DOI in this recordThis paper argues that the significance of the Warnock Report after 40 years goes beyond the impact of its deliberations and recommendations on UK policy and practice and its wider international influence. The Report’s significance also highlights the nature of provision for pupils with SEN and disabilities and the changing context of policy making in contemporary liberal democratic society. This paper shows the strong inter-connection between SEN and inclusion with other aspects of educational provision as the basis for proposing that future policy directions depend on general policy processes. It then argues that policy for pupils with SEN illustrates the democratic deficits in educational and policy-making processes in general. It uses this analysis to conclude that without grappling with these bigger policy issues we cannot expect some crucial questions in the field to be addressed more coherently and convincingly either conceptually or practically. Drawing on a post-democracy political analysis (Crouch, 2000). and contemporary ideas about deliberative democracy (Fishkin, 2018), with a recognition of the plural values that underlie policy tensions (Dahl, 1982). it proposes an Education Framework Commission (EFC). The Commission would set policy priorities as a settlement that has the potential to reconcile plural and sometimes contrary value positions. It would aim to design a ten-year consensual educational policy framework, within which political parties and governments will work; a framework that could be renewed after this period. An EFC would cover all key aspects of education including designs for including the diversity of learners. Finding common ground between different social and political value perspectives involves deliberative democratic principles and approaches that could influence representative democratic policy making. Though this proposal arises in an English context it has international relevance to the project of renewing ideas and values about the nature of schooling in a way that takes genuine account of SEN and disabilities

Parental agency, identity and knowledge: mothers of children with dyslexia

This is a postprint of an article whose final and definitive form has been published in the Oxford Review of Education© 2004 Copyright Taylor & Francis; Oxford Review of Education is available online at http://www.informaworld.comIn this paper we report and analyse findings from part of a two-year evaluation project which focuses on parent-professional communications over the issues of learning difficulties arising from dyslexia. The key concepts in this study are dyslexia friendly schools and parental partnership, which are discussed in the current policy interest in inclusive education and parent partnership. A conceptual framework has been derived from the study which focuses on parental strategies to ensure adequate provision for their children, knowledge about dyslexia and identity, in particular that of the mother of the child with dyslexia. Excerpts from in-depth interviews of parents are then presented to illustrate the framework. The significance of the findings is examined in relation to other studies of parent partnership. Implications for a more inclusive version of extended professionalism are also considered

The use of drama to teach social skills in a special school setting for students with autism.

For children with autism, social challenges may be both part of the disability and a barrier to accessing education. This paper reports on a project which used drama to address such challenges by drawing on the social skills of non-autistic peers in a special school setting. The paper demonstrates how drama’s flexibility may be harnessed in order to help students support each other’s development of creative and communicative skills. Focusing on two children in particular, specific examples are given to illustrate how they participated in group work, made imaginative contributions to verbal and physical representations, and engaged with abstract ideas. The project’s outcomes suggest, given a concrete structure and an invitation to collaborate, drama can be a powerful learning medium for children with ASD. The conclusion reflects on the diverse meaning of inclusive practice which can be achieved within specialist settings