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A graph-theory approach for testing children’s block construction
No full textBlock construction is a central activity in childhood, engaging key motor and cognitive capabilities. Skills such as problem-solving, planning, and the intuitive understanding of physical principles are required during block building, all of which are foundational to later academic achievement in domains such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Past research has predominantly taken an outcome-oriented approach overlooking the underlying mechanisms and their connections to other skills. Here, we introduce a graph-theory framework to capture and analyze the sequential steps in children’s block construction activities. We tested our framework using a dataset of adults (n = 18) and children (n = 12; ages 7–10) building Duplo models. We took a process-oriented approach by using a novel video-annotation scheme that allowed us to generate graphical structures of the building process and extract measures that provided valuable insights into the differences between children and adults in the construction process. Our findings show that while adults take fewer steps, they take more time per step, and that children struggle to recover from errors more than adults. The framework is openly shared with the scientific community, aiming to provide the groundwork for other researchers who are interested in shifting from an outcome-oriented to a processoriented approach when studying block construction
Frequent, scalable and global use of “Intelligent Onesies” to quantify newborns’ spontaneous movements in natural settings
No full textEarly identification of atypical neurological function in newborns is essential for the timely detection of cerebral palsy and other neurodevelopmental conditions such as Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Traditionally, assessing infants’ spontaneous general movements provides a clinical standard for early detection. Such assessment requires specialized training and periodic in-person observation—conditions that can be difficult to fulfil for many families. Recent technological advances in wearable inertial sensors raise the exciting possibility of an automated, home-based protocol for general movement assessment (GMA) that could increase reach and reduce costs. In this project, we examined the feasibility of testing newborns’ spontaneous movements in high frequency and in their natural setting. To that end, we created a wearable “intelligent onesie” equipped with inertial measurement units. The data collections were administered by caregivers and were monitored remotely using secure tunnelling to local Raspberry-Pi devices. We detail the setup and methodological challenges encountered—from shipping the home recording kits to ensuring adequate sensor placement, data syncing, calibration, and retrieval—and how we overcame them. We demonstrate how to collect large-scale and global data that capture newborn spontaneous movements in home environments. We discuss implications for leveraging automated GMA for early intervention pathways and future directions for scalable infant neurodevelopmental screening
Doctors in private practice: a systematic review of the perceived working conditions, psychological health, and patient care
Get PDFMedical doctors are at risk of poor mental health, linked to their working conditions. However, little distinction is made between private and public practice where working conditions differ. This review examines the relationship between perceived working conditions, psychological health, and patient care among doctors in private practice, considering how differences between private and public practice impact these outcomes and the implications of working across sectors. We conducted a systematic literature review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. The search encompassed Academic Search Premier, Business Source Premier, PsycInfo, PsycArticles, and Medline. Included studies were coded in line with the Job Demands–Resources model. The initial search identified 309 papers, with 14 being selected for final full-text review. Higher job demands were associated with higher levels of burnout, while social resources, job crafting, and healthy coping mechanisms were linked with lower levels of burnout. Working in private practice was associated with higher demands. Doctors in private practice had more negative perceptions of performance, less satisfactory leadership, and a lack of feedback. However, private practice also offered better work–life balance, more control, and greater reward. Notably, no study was found that examined the implications of dual roles where doctors worked across both sectors, which is common. A clear definition of private practice as well as a more granular understanding of work-related risks posed to private practice and dual roles should be the focus of future research
Jerusalem
No full textJerusalem is at once a place in the world, a historic city in the Holy Land, and an image, an idea, a symbol. Jerusalem’s multiple facets are present in the biblical accounts of the city – the Davidic royal capital, the site of the Temple, the most beautiful of cities, a ‘sweet and comely’ place (Canticles 6:3), ‘built as a city that is bound firmly together’ (Psalm 122.3), the site of Jesus’s death and burial, and the mystical apocalyptic city of the future described in Isaiah, Ezekiel and Apocalypse, ‘prepared as a bride adorned for her husband’, coming down out of heaven (Apocalypse 21:2). It is ‘the city of truth’ and ‘the sanctified mountain’ (Zacharias 8.3), ‘Full of clamour, a populous city, a joyous city’ (Isaiah 22.2), the ‘dwelling of righteousness’ (Jeremiah 31:22), ‘a city sought after, and not forsaken’ (Isaiah 62:12). The Psalmist promises, ‘If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand be forgotten’ (Psalms 136:5), foreseeing and affirming the crucial, precious, and instinctual role the city would take in the Judeo-Christian consciousness. Perhaps more than any other place or space on the planet, Jerusalem has been represented in writing and culture, at least since the biblical period. Encounters with the earthly Jerusalem and attempts to apprehend the heavenly Jerusalem are a mainstay of the western Christian tradition of travel writing, as well as of Jewish and Muslim literary and devotional traditions. In this essay I alight on some of key representations of Jerusalem but make no claim to completeness. Rather, in this essay I focus on Jerusalem’s status within the medieval Christian tradition of place pilgrimage, especially with regard to the dominant role Jerusalem has played in global geography, popular pilgrimage, and mnemonic retention
The empty signified that is Murakami
No full textWho are we really talking about whenever we talk about Murakami Haruki, or in fact, what are we talking about? Using the concept of ‘signifier’ in linguistics and semiotics to look at the name ‘Murakami Haruki’, this reflective piece argues that the more he writes and the more we talk about him, the more this name becomes an empty signifier. The name no longer really refers to the actual writer himself—whenever the word ‘Murakami’ is evoked in writing or conversation, what we (critics and readers alike) are really referring to is a string of vague associations and assumptions that are only discursively linked to the author, but may in fact have little to do with the actual person himself. (This goes for this very reflective piece as well.) Such associations and assumptions can be the fictional works he has written (not all of which may reflect values he believes in), the non-fictional works he has produced (again, not all of which may reflect his beliefs), the popularity and reputation he enjoys among the public and scholars (i.e. the so-called Murakami phenomenon, fuelled also by readers of this volume, with little regard for whether this is what he really wants) and even the way his name is represented or stylised (in the West he is known as ‘Haruki Murakami’ following Eurocentric naming conventions—what cultural politics does this highlight, but also, does he care?). The name can now also evoke associations based on the treatment of certain themes in his works, such as gender, food, war or capitalism. The reflective piece will capture the multifaceted meanings the name ‘Murakami Haruki’ can now evoke and, more importantly, discuss the implication of this empty signification process to the study of literature in the twenty-first century
The Birkbeck EEG Neurofeedback and Neurophenomenology (BENN) study
Get PDFThis paper discusses a large-scale neurofeedback study designed to explore the mechanisms underlying neurofeedback learning, using electroen-cephalography (EEG) and two different frequency bands. Participants were di-vided into two groups: one trained to enhance theta power (4-8Hz) over Fz and the other to enhance sensorimotor rhythm (SMR, 12-15Hz) over C4. The study involved ten training sessions, where participants also completed cognitive tasks to assess the impact of neurofeedback on decision-making, interference resolu-tion, and impulsivity. Tasks included the simple response task, choice response task, Stroop tasks, Iowa gambling task, and the Balloon Analogue Risk Taking (BART) task. Interviews were conducted with participants at various points dur-ing the study, and diaries were kept to capture experiences. Previous work had not yet reported on the results of the BART or on the interviews. Whereas no impacts were found on the BART scores, the qualitative analysis of the interview demonstrated an experiential change across training sessions. This lends cre-dence to the view that as neural learning unfolds, subjective experience changes, which in turn may facilitate neural learning. The study emphasizes the need for further exploration of neurofeedback's cognitive effects embedded within a neu-rophenomenological research agenda
Subglacial geology and palaeo flow of Pine Island Glacier from combining glacial erratics with geophysics
Get PDFSubglacial geology plays a key role in determining the rate of ice flow and sensitivity of the glacial systemto atmospheric or ocean warming. However, bedrock geology is often poorly known because direct information from subglacial samples is extremely challenging to obtain. Here, we combine the distribution, petrology, crystallisation age and thermochronology of glacial erratics with geophysical analyses to provide evidence for Middle Jurassic (~175Ma) granitic bedrock extending beneath Pine Island Glacier, West Antarctica. Our results constrain the range of past ice flow pathways across the adjacent Hudson Mountains, providing information needed to improve models of ice sheet evolution in this vulnerable region. This work demonstrates the utility of integrating erratic geochemistry, geochronology and aerogeophysics for the study of subglacial environments and confirms erratics as a valuable, but largely untapped, source of evidence for what lies beneath the world’s ice sheets
Authorship, division of labour, material and digital form; thoughts on Samuel A. Moore's Publishing Beyond the Market
No full textOn Christmas day, we had a quiet time this year. One of the things I did was to read Moore, Samuel A., Publishing Beyond the Market: Open Access, Care, and the Commons (University of Michigan Press, 2025). This is a most enjoyable book that outlines a project and worldview that I know Sam has been cultivating and refining for many years. I should stress that I am not writing a “review” here. I would be conflicted anyway as I am thanked in the acknowledgements. But it did, like all good books, make me think and I wanted to jot down some thoughts. These thoughts are not necessarily novel – sometimes Sam even explores some of them in the book – but I thought it would be enjoyable to express them nonetheless
Historical context of research in Maputaland, South Africa, and research in Ndumo Game Reserve to c.1988
No full textThis paper provides an overview of historical natural history interest in the Maputaland region of South Africa, as context for an account of the history of research in the Ndumo Game Reserve to c.1988. It draws on archival sources and printed publications from the pre-digital era, which are often unexplored by contemporary researchers, and includes arguments in favour of their preservation and digitisation. Aspects of the history of region relevant to research in the game reserve, which have impacted on the game reserve, are provided. These include veterinary and medical research and interventions, notably concerning tsetse flies and nagana, and malaria and arthropod-borne disease research in the reserve. Alternative visions for the region, including the building of the Pongolapoort Dam and associated irrigation schemes intended to establish commercial agriculture, are noted, with consideration of their social and ecological impacts. Early natural history explorations and conservation initiatives are discussed, as well as the period of management under the Natal Parks Board (1947-88). Key findings of the landmark publication Studies on the Ecology of Maputaland are reviewed. Although some human dimensions are included, the emphasis is on the natural sciences, with social science and humanities research noted in passing. The paper concludes with reflections on the utility of these materials for current and future research at Ndumo Game Reserve
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