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‘It's healthy. It's good for you’:Children's perspectives on utilising their autonomy in the writing classroom
Get PDFGrowing concern about children's writing motivation highlights the need for more research that foregrounds pupil autonomy and examines how classroom practices influence students' sense of agency and control in their writing. This study adopts a self-determination theory (SDT) perspective to explore the role of autonomy and locus of control in shaping writing motivation among primary-aged students. Specifically, it reports on a qualitative interview study with 24 children (aged 9–11, 50% female) from three primary schools in England, focusing on their feelings and experiences of autonomy in relation to school-based writing. Thematic analysis, illustrated within Graham's (2018) production strategies for writing, identified three key themes relating to children's perceptions of the locus of control for their writing and the extent to which this was held by, or shared between, the teachers or themselves, with (a) teacher-controlled writing, (b) student-controlled writing and (c) collaboratively-controlled writing themes identified. Children's perceptions of the advantages and disadvantages of teacher and student-controlled writing are discussed, before their thoughts on a ‘collaboratively-controlled writing’ approach are shared. This research provides novel and important insights for educators, researchers and policy-makers into how collaboratively-controlled writing projects could enhance primary students' writing motivation, and contributes to current discourse on effective and affecting writing pedagogy.</p
Metabolic plasticity:an evolutionary perspective on metabolic and circadian dysregulation in bipolar disorder
Get PDFThe emerging field of metabolic psychiatry has brought mechanisms of metabolic dysfunction into focus in bipolar disorder research. In this manuscript, we propose that the metabolic features of bipolar disorder provide a new vector from which to understand the role of circadian dysfunction in this condition. A notable feature of bipolar disorder is the photoperiod driven, seasonal occurrence of symptoms and episodes mediated by circadian systems, with mania occurring more frequently in the spring and autumn at times of rapid rate of change in photoperiod, and depression being more prevalent in the winter when photoperiod is attenuated. In this manuscript we note that seasonal adaptations in metabolism are highly conserved evolutionary traits across diverse taxa. Several of the underlying mechanisms mediating seasonal changes in metabolism are conserved in human biology and are implicated in bipolar disorder pathophysiology. Such mechanisms encompass targets of lithium involved in insulin signaling (the phosphatidylinositol cycle, GSK3β and Akt), clock genes (CLOCK and BMAL1), targets of psychiatric and metabolic medications (mTOR and AMPK) and hormonal signaling (melatonin and cortisol). We propose that bipolar disorder may represent a dysregulation of conserved mechanisms of chronometabolic regulation and provide a discussion of the evolutionary context of such mechanisms. Genetic predisposition coupled to novel environmental inputs to human biology including artificial light at night and sustained refined sugar and carbohydrate intake may contribute to states of metabolic and circadian dysregulation in bipolar disorder underlying episodes of mania and depression.</p
Mirror descent for stochastic control problems with measure-valued controls
Get PDFThis paper studies the convergence of the mirror descent algorithm for finite horizon stochastic control problems with measure-valued control processes. The control objective involves a convex regularisation function, denoted as , with regularisation strength determined by the weight . The setting covers regularised relaxed control problems. Under suitable conditions, we establish the relative smoothness and convexity of the control objective with respect to the Bregman divergence of , and prove linear convergence of the algorithm for and exponential convergence for . The results apply to common regularisers including relative entropy, -divergence, and entropic Wasserstein costs. This validates recent reinforcement learning heuristics that adding regularisation accelerates the convergence of gradient methods. The proof exploits careful regularity estimates of backward stochastic differential equations in the bounded mean oscillation norm
Optimized Lattice-Structured Flexible EIT Sensor for Tactile Reconstruction and Classification
Get PDFFlexible electrical impedance tomography (EIT) offers a promising alternative to traditional tactile sensing approaches, enabling low-cost, scalable, and deformable sensor designs. Here, we propose an optimized lattice-structured flexible EIT tactile sensor incorporating a hydrogel-based conductive layer, systematically designed through 3-D coupling field simulations (3D-CFSs) to optimize structural parameters for enhanced sensitivity and robustness. By tuning the lattice channel width and conductive layer thickness, we achieve significant improvements in tactile reconstruction quality and classification performance. Experimental results demonstrate high-quality tactile reconstruction with correlation coefficients (CCs) up to 0.9275, peak signal-to-noise ratios (PSNRs) reaching 29.0303 dB, and structural similarity indexes up to 0.9660, while maintaining low relative errors down to 0.3798. Furthermore, the optimized sensor accurately classifies 12 distinct tactile stimuli with an accuracy reaching 99.6%. These results highlight the potential of simulation-guided structural optimization for advancing flexible EIT-based tactile sensors toward practical applications in wearable systems, robotics, and human–machine interfaces (HMIs).All data are publicly available in Edinburgh DataShare with the identifier https://doi.org/10.7488/ds/7982</p
“You think you’re going to get better”:A creative-relational inquiry into long Covid and physical activity
Get PDFThis creative-relational inquiry explores the lived experience of people suffering from Long Covid. Responding to calls for a publicly oriented qualitative inquiry, we collaborate across an extended project team to develop and share an accessible and engaging performance text which advocates for and supports those who live precariously as a result of contracting Long Covid. We offer our performance text as a resource to inform and guide personal, professional, public, and policy responses to Long Covid. We propose that creative-relational inquiries such as this beneficially extend understanding beyond what is possible through traditional evidence-based medicine alone.</p
Silica substituted carbonate apatite: synthesis and analytical challenges
Get PDFWe use a high temperature experiment to demonstrate a coupled substitution mechanism for carbonate and silica in apatite, namely 2PO43− → SiO44− + CO32−, with carbonate substituting for phosphate (type-B substitution). The carbonate anion group occupies a crystallographically distinct site as one of two side faces of a now vacant T site phosphate tetrahedron, and an oxygen site vacancy is formed. In our experiment, apatite is synthesised using a high-pressure carbonate flux method, resulting in large crystals amenable to a range of analytical techniques which are otherwise not feasible on the more commonly synthesised nanoscale material. The apatite is analysed with wavelength dispersive spectrometry (WDS) using an electron probe microanalyser (EPMA), secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) using both transmission and attenuated total reflectance (ATR) techniques, and single crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD). There is no agreement on total carbonate contents between the analytical methods with EPMA-WDS and FTIR-ATR indicating ∼5 wt% CO2, SIMS suggesting roughly 2.6 wt% CO2, and SCXRD unable to conclusively support one or the other. Both estimates are sufficient to account for phosphate substitution by type-B carbonate and orthosilicate (SiO44−), but the higher 5 wt% estimate raises the possibility of additional carbonate hosted in the X channel site as type-A carbonate. The bioactivity of this type of substitution relative to other vectors (such as Na–Si) is currently unknown and requires further research. As our apatite was synthesised under geologically reasonable conditions, it also raises the possibility that this substitution is present in CO2-rich environments in the deep Earth, such as carbonic hydrothermal fluids and carbonatite magma systems, from the mantle to the crust
Signature White Matter Hyperintensity Locations Associated With Vascular Risk Factors Derived From 15 653 Individuals
Get PDFConscious thought under sensory deprivation:Avicenna’s Flying Man and ‘I’
Get PDFThis paper does three things. First, it presents a new interpretation of Avicenna’s influential argument, the Flying Man. One nice feature of this interpretation is that it vindicates the argument’s validity. Unlike the cogito-inspired case for dualism, the Flying Man isn’t undermined by neglect of referential opacity. Second, it compares Avicenna’s argument with Anscombe’s take on the possibility of conscious thought under sensory deprivation. Finally, the paper concludes with a brief critical assessment. Several possibilities are considered
For God and Empire:Arabic at the University of Edinburgh: its development, character and mission
Get PDFArabic was first taught at the University of Edinburgh in 1751, but it was not officially introduced as a regular subject until 1859 when it became an extra subject of study for the Senior Hebrew class. Over the following decades, it was taught by professors of Hebrew (and Semitic languages) until a dedicated lecturer in Arabic was appointed in 1911. Thereafter, it continued to be taught within the framework of Semitic languages until the early 1950s when a Department of Arabic was established, along with Turkish and Persian departments, in response to changing post-war needs. This chapter explores the development of the teaching of Arabic at the University of Edinburgh from the mid-nineteenth century until the early 1950s, looking at its practitioners, curriculum, degree, and student body. Originating from a milieu of religious studies and continental philology that also served staffing needs of imperial administration, it was taught largely by churchmen for much of the period and it was not until the early 1950s that the first native speaker of the language was employed on staff. It further examines the changing character of Arabic teaching at Edinburgh, the programme of study, its approach to spoken Arabic, and other changes within the curriculum that saw it begin to move slowly away from a traditional orientalist construct towards a more area studies model
Phonological Drift and Language Contact:The Northwest European Phonological Area
Get PDFSeveral language families of northern Europe 3 Germanic, Celtic, and Uralic 3 share phonetic and phonological patterns that are typologically unusual. This book demonstrates how we can better understand these convergences: they exemplify the phenomenon of drift. Using the latest advances in theoretical linguistics, the study of sound change, and language variation, it offers insights into the development of these features and what they tell us about past cultural and linguistic contacts. Although the languages are not closely related, an understanding of drift grounded in the theory of the life cycle of phonological patterns reveals the workings of convergent developments. Covering a wide range of vernacular varieties, this book shows how phonological microvariation is illuminated by an approach grounded in the theory of the life cycle and historical sociolinguistics. It is essential reading for historical and theoretical linguists, and anyone with an interest in the cultural and linguistic contacts across northern Europe
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