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Wasteland
Get PDFThough not the first video game set in the ruins of an apocalypse—examples
of earlier games include the car-combat role-playing game Autoduel (1985) and
the turn-based strategy game Road War (1986)—Wasteland was groundbreaking
because it was the first ever sandbox, post-apocalyptic, role-playing game, and it
created many of the foundational narrative themes of the genre
The two-child limit for Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit
Get PDFRichard Machin explores the background to, and likely impact of, the two-child limit on the child element in Universal Credit and the Child Tax Credit, which was introduced by the Welfare Reform and Work Act 201
“It’s the Power of Film that Compels You! Transgressing Taboos and the War on Demonic Possession in The Exorcist.”
No full textRethinking Assessment By Examination In The Age Of Contract Cheating
Get PDFIn this age of contract cheating, where students are paying and using third parties to complete their work, there are many educators who are advocating a return to assessment through tests and examinations. The standard argument is usually that the level of examination security is such that the student alone is being tested and that an external body cannot be used to provide unacknowledged support for this process. Some academics seem to be have the view that the traditional type of assessment by examination is valued by employers more than coursework. However, opponents of assessment through examination note the restrictive form of this type of assessment, that many examination papers focus mainly on recall and memory and that examinations provide little opportunity for students to develop extended arguments and portfolio pieces. Assessment through examination does not seem to be the sole solution to contract cheating.
This paper builds on previous work, mostly published in the form of presentations and blog posts, that looks at the methods of contract cheating that have been used in an examination setting. It includes examples of student contract cheating requests used in an examination scenario, including several taken from a collection of over 30,000 contract cheating requests developed by contract cheating detectives during their investigative process. Examples covered demonstrate susceptibilities in the way that many examinations are set and invigilated. These are vulnerabilities that leave exams open to external cheating and which need to be closed. An issue is particularly noted with examinations taken online and outside of a traditional supervised environment. Even within an invigilated examination, external support can be provided through new technologies, including smartwatches, cameras and earpieces. These allow a student to communicate to someone hired through a contract cheating process and operating outside of an examination room.
The paper argues that assessment needs to continue to evolve to ensure that this is secure, fit for purpose and ensures that a student who is cheating cannot receive a qualification that they do not deserve. It is stated that the use of mixed modalities of assessment is necessary to ensure academic integrity and authentic assessment now needs to be at the forefront of this process. Practical considerations for academics setting examinations are discussed in the paper to ensure that good practice is fed back into the classroom
Exploring Issues Challenging Academic Integrity in South East Europe
No full textThis paper reports on the South-East European Project on Policies for Academic Integrity (SEEPPAI) research study on academic integrity in higher education, which was conducted in Europe in late 2016. The study was funded by the Council of Europe. The data collection methods and results build upon the success of the Impact of Policies for Plagiarism in Higher Education across Europe (IPPHEAE). Conducted between 2010—2013, IPPHEAE explored how higher education institutions (HEIs) in 27 European Union member states were managing student plagiarism and academic misconduct.
The SEEPPAI research covers six further countries in south-east Europe: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. A mixed method research approach was adopted, utilising on-line questionnaires, student focus groups and interviews with senior managers and national policy advisers. Visits to the region to collect data also afforded the research team the opportunity to offer workshops to students and teachers surrounding aspects of academic integrity.
This paper draws on the full research report (SEEPPAI 2017) created for the Council of Europe to present key findings and insights. Central to this is the use of Academic Integrity Maturity Model (AIMM) evaluation tool to analyse the data and provide profiles of the countries participating in the research. Parallels are drawn throughout with the IPPHEAE research. The full report provides further details of the research findings and makes specific observations and recommendations appropriate to each country in the study
Evidence for hyperactivity in the superior colliculus in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Get PDFObjectives
The superior colliculus (SC) is a sub-cortical midbrain structure involved in attentional shifts and distractibility. As distractibility is often atypical within ADHD, it is possible SC functionality in ADHD is also atypical. Indeed, a recent theory suggests distractibility observed within ADHD could be attributed to dysfunction, specifically hyperactivity, of the SC (Overton, 2008). This experiment aimed to explore whether SC responses to visual stimulation were associated with ADHD traits. We predicted a positive correlation between ADHD traits and SC responses.
Methods
The present study uses fMRI to examine the relationship between SC responsiveness and inattention-ADHD traits, assessed with the ASRS questionnaire. Seventeen typically developed adults, who ranged along the continuum of inattention-ADHD traits, were shown radial motion and static dot stimuli presented unilaterally in the left or right hemifield, while they performed a central rapid colour counting task.
Results
Responses in the left and right SC to motion versus static stimuli presented in the right hemifield, showed significant positive correlations with ADHD inattention traits (left hemisphere: r=.50 p=.020, right hemisphere: r=.45 p=.035), with those exhibiting higher levels of inattention traits showing larger motion responses compared to static. However, when the same stimuli were presented in the left hemifield, there was no significant correlation between left or right SC responses to motion versus static stimuli and ADHD inattention traits. Whole brain analyses also revealed positive associations between the left hemisphere early visual cortex response to right hemifield motion versus static stimuli and ADHD inattention traits. Again, no similar results were found for left hemifield presentation.
Conclusions
The results found preliminary support the initial hypothesis that those with higher levels of inattention traits showed increased SC activity to motion distractors compared to static, suggesting SC dysfunction may underlie some ADHD distractibility. Interestingly, such results only occurred to right hemifield distractors, which may reflect the hemifield differences in spatial attention previously observed within ADHD
The Untold Holocaust and Hitler's Testing Ground
No full textNote: This project is in progress there are three clips at the following links that demonstrate the outputs and development so far.
This is a HEIF funded project that is designed to investigate the creation and dissemination of digital materials in support of subject specific academic work. This project records the work of Professor Caroline Sturdy Colls as she works to research the early history of the holocaust.
The digital content is designed to research the new possibilities in commissioning and accessing historical content. This includes application of technology and production methodology to make content suitable for TV commissioning, museum and archive resources and integration of virtual technologies.
The digital artifacts record personal testimony, research methodology and captures the ongoing historical research for dissemination to the public. Outputs will inform the public through museums in the UK and Poland including the IWM, Oswiecim Jewish Centre and Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum
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