12244 research outputs found
Sort by
Tracing modification to cortical circuits in human and nonhuman primates from high-resolution tractography, transcription, and temporal dimensions
No full textThe neural circuits that support human cognition are a topic of enduring interest. Yet, there are limited tools available to map brain circuits in the human and nonhuman primate brain. We harnessed high-resolution diffusion MR tractography, anatomic, and transcriptomic data from individuals of either sex to investigate the evolution and development of frontal cortex circuitry. We applied machine learning to RNA sequencing data to find corresponding ages between humans and macaques and to compare the development of circuits across species. We transcriptionally defined neural circuits by testing for associations between gene expression and white matter maturation. We then considered transcriptional and structural growth to test whether frontal cortex circuit maturation is unusually extended in humans relative to other species. We also considered gene expression and high-resolution diffusion MR tractography of adult brains to test for cross-species variation in frontal cortex circuits. We found that frontal cortex circuitry development is extended in primates, and concomitant with an expansion in corticocortical pathways compared with mice in adulthood. Importantly, we found that these parameters varied relatively little across humans and studied primates. These data identify a surprising collection of conserved features in frontal cortex circuits across humans and Old World monkeys. Our work demonstrates that integrating transcriptional and structural data across temporal dimensions is a robust approach to trace the evolution of brain pathways in primates.
SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Diffusion MR tractography is an exciting method to explore pathways, but there are uncertainties in the accuracy of reconstructed tracts. We broaden the repertoire of toolkits to enhance our ability to trace human brain pathways from diffusion MR tractography. Our integrative approach finds corresponding ages across species and transcriptionally defines neural circuits. We used this information to test for variation in circuit maturation across species and found a surprising constellation of similar features in frontal cortex neural circuits across humans and primates. Integrating across scales of biological organization expands the repertoire of tools available to study pathways in primates, which opens new avenues to study pathways in health and diseases of the human brain
The deficit bias: candidate gender differences in the relative importance of facial stereotypic qualities to leadership hiring
Get PDFRecent findings highlight two facets of the two fundamental stereotype content dimensions of agency (i.e., ‘dominance’ and ‘competence’) and communality (i.e., ‘morality’ and ‘sociability’; e.g., Abele et al., 2016) with implications for understanding gender inequality in the workplace (e.g., Prati et al., 2019). Extending this research and contributing to the facial first impressions literature, we examined how these facets of agency and communality when inferred from White men’s and women’s faces, along with attractiveness, influence their leadership suitability. In three studies in the United Kingdom (total N = 424), using student and working samples and two managerial descriptions, we found an unexpected pattern of results, supported by an internal meta-analysis: attractiveness and competence were the most important predictors of hirability for all candidates. For women, dominance was the next most important predictor; for men, morality and sociability were more important than dominance. Moreover, morality and sociability were more important in evaluating men than women, while dominance was more important in evaluating women than men. Findings are discussed in terms of a ‘deficit bias’, whereby the qualities women and men are considered to lack – dominance for women, morality, and sociability for men – may be given more weight when evaluating their leadership suitability
Teacher agency in the selection of literary texts
Get PDFThe nature of English as a school subject – and particularly English literature – is a longstanding issue of debate for practitioners and researchers internationally. One dimension of this concerns the forces that shape the diet of literary texts that students are fed. In this study, we draw on the ecological model of agency to interrogate the factors which influence how teachers choose literary texts for whole class teaching. Dimensions of agency are used as lenses to reveal the complex ways in which values and beliefs, structures of authority, material resources, and identities shape the selection of books, plays and poetry that are taught in English. By looking across these dimensions, we identify important questions which contribute to the debate: who should have agency to choose the texts taught; how does teacher agency influence students’ experiences of English literature; how far should we expect these experiences to be standardised
Can dog-assisted and relaxation interventions boost spatial ability in children with and without special educational needs? A longitudinal, randomized controlled trial
Get PDFChildren's spatial cognition abilities are a vital part of their learning and cognitive development, and important for their problem-solving capabilities, the development of mathematical skills and progress in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) topics. As many children have difficulties with STEM topic areas, and as these topics have suffered a decline in uptake in students, it is worthwhile to find out how learning and performance can be enhanced at an early age. The current study is the first to investigate if dog-assisted and relaxation interventions can improve spatial abilities in school children. It makes a novel contribution to empirical research by measuring longitudinally if an Animal-Assisted Intervention (AAI) or relaxation intervention can boost children's development of spatial abilities. Randomized controlled trials were employed over time including dog intervention, relaxation intervention and no treatment control groups. Interventions were carried out over 4 weeks, twice a week for 20 min. Children were tested in mainstream schools (N = 105) and in special educational needs (SEN) schools (N = 64) before and after interventions, after 6 weeks, 6 months and 1 year. To assess intervention type and to provide advice for subsequent best practice recommendations, dog-assisted interventions were run as individual or small group interventions. Overall, children's spatial abilities improved over the year with highest increases in the first 4 months. In Study 1, typically developing children showed higher scores and more continuous learning overall compared to children with special educational needs. Children in the dog intervention group showed higher spatial ability scores immediately after interventions and after a further 6 weeks (short-term). Children in the relaxation group also showed improved scores short-term after relaxation intervention. In contrast, the no treatment control group did not improve significantly. No long-term effects were observed. Interestingly, no gender differences could be observed in mainstream school children's spatial skills. In study 2, children in SEN schools saw immediate improvements in spatial abilities after relaxation intervention sessions. No changes were seen after dog interventions or in the no treatment control group. Participants' pet ownership status did not have an effect in either cohort. These are the first findings showing that AAI and relaxation interventions benefit children's spatial abilities in varied educational settings. This research represents an original contribution to Developmental Psychology and to the field of Human-Animal Interaction (HAI) and is an important step towards further in-depth investigation of how AAI and relaxation interventions can help children achieve their learning potential, both in mainstream schools and in schools for SEN
An exploration of the underlying generative mechanisms that shape university students' agency in their educational digital practices
Get PDFResearch in educational technology is often approached from an enthusiastic stance that emphasises questions related to 'what works', 'best practice', and 'efficiency', leaving the messy and nuanced lived digital culture and experiences of young people relatively unexplored. This study explores this gap, challenging deterministic therefore, reductive ideas such as young people being 'digital natives' and tools being naturally powerful drivers for change. The aim is to understand why and how undergraduates in Education Studies engage with digital tools and platforms? Rather than just accumulating facts and experiences about observable facts, emphasis is given not only to students' meaning making and decision-making concerning digital engagements with tools and platforms but also to explanations of the deeper levels of social reality. The overarching goal of the study is thus, to seek knowledge through scrutinising the level of the real where the generative mechanisms are found. The study was conducted at one small, post 92 university in the UK with 22 undergraduates attending the Education Studies course. For this empirical study, mapping was used as a means to inquire into students' daily entanglements with digital technology under a qualitative and critical approach. Whilst the philosophical anchor is critical realism, theoretical guidance is provided by Realist Social Theory. Under this framework, an explanation of the hidden and invisible generative mechanisms that shape students' reflexive engagement -their agency with digital technology was given. Through this viewpoint, the use of educational technology was addressed not from an individual perspective but in relation to the social structures in which students operate. The results of the study show how the institutional digital space is a space of struggle for many making it a structural barrier for students' agency. Emotions, one of the generative mechanisms at play, has a significant influence in shaping students' lack of engagement with open digital practices. It was also found that digital capability defined as a generative mechanism entails internal and external aspects such as the social position that students occupy in relation to others and technology, and the concomitant vested interest of students proves to have a strong impact in the digital practices that students engage with. Moreover, it was elicited that how the institutional culture operates has a powerful influence on students' reflexive engagement with open and participatory tools. In this study, three aspects of the institutional culture were addressed, the belief that students are digital natives, the assessment that prevails in the School of Education and the centrality of the VLE as the main digital technology used to manage learning and teaching. Through bringing these findings to light, I make an empirically grounded contribution to the ongoing theoretical debates about structure and agency in students' open educational practices
Conforming to or confounding the beauty myth: femininity, diversity and chromosomal disorders
Get PDFDespite being the largest marginalized identity group in the world, disabled people are routinely overlooked or ignored in the world of fashion, beauty, and advertising. With this in mind, the article examines the ways in which a model born with Down syndrome can be seen to reassert both the fragility and fixity of the female beauty myth, opening up broader debates about diversity and inclusivity in fashion and beauty advertising. This article considers the representation and popular reception of Madeline Stuart, who is a model with Down syndrome, with specific reference to her 2015 appearance during New York Fashion Week. Stuart is an important case study here because she is routinely penned as the world’s first professional model with Down syndrome, and her travel down the catwalk in question, which at the time of writing, has been viewed 161,000 times on YouTube, appears front and centre of her official website. The article examines the ways in which Stuart’s career, carefully constructed and circulated by her manager mother in lieu of an agent, both confirms and seeks to challenge existing stereotypes as they relate to femininity, disability, fashion, beauty, and body confidence, before concluding that although Stuart can be read as a game-changer in the fashion and beauty industry, the rigid ableist beauty myth still holds sway
Agency
Get PDFThe recent ‘participatory turn’ (Bishop 2012; White 2013) has led to a focus on audience agency in live performance, especially in work that directly engages its participants, and socially engaged art. This contribution is a provocation to think about audience and participant agency in more complex terms than work ‘giving’ agency to participants and propose contextual agency as a framework to better understand how agency becomes meaningful for audiences/participants. This framework differentiates between two types of agency (agency of engagement and narrative agency) and includes a spectrum of agentive actions that audiences might engage in. I propose that ‘conducting’ better describes the flow of agency within a performance; which not only respects that participants have agency as they enter but also enables a more nuanced understanding of how their acts take on meaning
Teaching Key Stage 3 literature: the challenges of accountability, gender and diversity
Get PDFThis article presents the results of a study, conducted in parts of Wales and southwest England, focusing on what literature is being taught to learners aged 11–14 years. By exploring this area, we gain insight into influences on teacher choices and the challenges faced by teachers. Our research, which included a survey of over 170 teachers as well as teacher interviews, provides a snapshot of young people's experiences studying literature in the early secondary years (Key Stage 3). The results show that while some schools provide variety and diversity in their choice of texts and authors, the majority provide a limited diet of literature with texts mainly from male writers, with male protagonists. Girls are rarely the main focus. Nor do the majority of children study literature written by or about those from black and minority ethnic backgrounds, highlighting a lack of diversity. Literature teaching at Key Stage 3 is increasingly influenced by the demands of GCSE and exam accountability. We hope the study can act as a catalyst for discussion about what ought to be the purpose and focus of literature study in England, Wales and beyond