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Learning to better discriminate a specific visual feature (i.e., a specific orientation in a specific region of space) has been associated with plasticity in early visual areas (sensory modulation) and with improvements in the transmission of sensory information from early visual areas to downstream sensorimotor and decision regions (enhanced readout). However, in many real-world scenarios that require perceptual expertise, observers need to efficiently process numerous exemplars from a broad stimulus class as opposed to just a single stimulus feature. Some previous data suggest that perceptual learning leads to highly specific neural modulations that support the discrimination of specific trained features. However, the extent to which perceptual learning acts to improve the discriminability of a broad class of stimuli via the modulation of sensory responses in human visual cortex remains largely unknown. Here, we used functional MRI and a multivariate analysis method to reconstruct orientation-selective response profiles based on activation patterns in the early visual cortex before and after subjects learned to discriminate small offsets in a set of grating stimuli that were rendered in one of nine possible orientations. Behavioral performance improved across 10 training sessions, and there was a training-related increase in the amplitude of orientation-selective response profiles in V1, V2, and V3 when orientation was task relevant compared with when it was task irrelevant. These results suggest that generalized perceptual learning can lead to modified responses in the early visual cortex in a manner that is suitable for supporting improved discriminability of stimuli drawn from a large set of exemplars.
- fMRI
- visual cortex
- perceptual learning
- attention
perceptual learning (pl) refers to an improved ability to detect or discriminate a sensory stimulus after repeated exposure (Gibson 1963, 1969). This behavioral improvement is thought to be supported by at least two neural mechanisms: an increase in the fidelity of early sensory responses (sensory modulation account) and/or an increase in the efficiency with which early sensory information is relayed to, or "read out" by, downstream decision mechanisms (enhanced readout account). Consistent with the sensory modulation account, learning for a specific feature can enhance the gain of informative sensory signals (Zohary et al. 1994; Gilbert et al. 2001; Schoups et al. 2001; Furmanski et al. 2004; Yang and Maunsell 2004; Bao et al. 2010; Jehee et al. 2012) and reduce correlated noise shared between visually responsive neurons (Adab and Vogels 2011; Bejjanki et al. 2011; Gu et al. 2011). Conversely, readout models can explain improved perceptual performance without the need to invoke learning-related changes in the fidelity of responses in early sensory areas (Dosher and Lu 1999, 2007, 2009; Lu and Dosher 1999; Petrov et al. 2005; Lu et al. 2010, 2011; Huang et al. 2012) and empirical data suggest that training can modify the degree to which informative sensory neurons are weighted during decisionmaking, particularly when a large set of training stimuli are employed [i.e., the trained stimuli change from session to session (Law and Gold 2008, 2009, 2010; Gold et al. 2010)].
However, most prior investigations that documented changes in early sensory modulation trained subjects to discriminate a single feature value (often in a single location), so the degree to which sensory modulation can support PL across multiple stimulus exemplars is largely unknown. This is an important question, as many real-world instances of PL require identifying unique members from a broad class of possible features: a radiologist must find a small fracture irrespective of its precise location or its exact orientation, and a baggage screener at an airport must detect potential weapons of all shapes and sizes hidden in a piece of luggage. Intuitively, this more general form of PL might be supported primarily by changes in the readout of unmodified sensory signals (e.g., Law and Gold 2008), as any plasticity in sensory areas that facilitates the processing of one specific exemplar might interfere with the processing of other exemplars (Schoups et al. 2001; Fahle 2004, 2009). On the other hand, it is possible that learning modulates early sensory responses in a more flexible manner that facilitates the processing of all stimuli from the trained set of exemplars, perhaps by enhancing the overall gain of feature-selective responses in early visual areas. Here, we tested this latter hypothesis in human subjects using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and a multivariate analysis technique that assesses how PL modifies the characteristics of population-level orientation-selective tuning profiles in human visual cortex.
Thirteen subjects (7 males and 6 females) between the ages of 18 and 28 (M = 21.5, SD = 2.8) were recruited from the University of California, San Diego to participate in the experiment, and all gave written informed consent in accordance with the Institutional Review Board at University of California, San Diego. Of these 13 subjects, 5 were excluded from analysis: 1 did not complete both scanning sessions, 2 could not do the task for unknown reasons (with final day orientation offsets of 24 and 40°, which were ∼3–10 times larger than the other subjects), and 2 showed significant motion artifacts (i.e., multiple abrupt translations of 5 mm or more in both scanning sessions). Subjects performed a brief 20-min familiarization session before the initial scanning session, a 2-h pretraining fMRI scan, ten 1-h behavioral training sessions in the laboratory, and a final 2-h posttraining fMRI scan. Subjects were compensated $10/h for the training sessions and $20/h for the scan sessions.
Stimulus and task.
All stimuli were created using MATLAB (v.7.8; The Math Works, Natick, MA) with the Psychophysics Toolbox (v.3; Brainard 1997; Pelli 1997). The physical properties of the stimulus display were identical across two attention conditions: 1) attend to the orientation of a grating stimulus (attend-orientation) and 2) attend to a central rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) stream of letters (attend-RSVP). Each trial started with a 200-ms fixation interval, followed by a peripheral circular square-wave grating and a centrally presented RSVP stream (Fig. 1). The grating had a radius of a 10° visual angle and a spatial frequency of 0.5 cycles per degree and flickered at a rate of 5 Hz. The inner blank aperture around fixation extended to a 2° visual angle. The orientation of the grating was pseudorandomly selected on each trial from a set of nine possible orientations that were evenly distributed across 180° of orientation space; ±3° of orientation jitter was randomly added to the first grating on each trial to ensure that subjects could not make their judgment with respect to a fixed orientation. The spatial phase of each of the gratings was also randomly determined on each trial to ensure that measured signals were related to orientation and not to specific luminance patterns on the display screen. After 2,000 ms, the grating was removed from the screen for 400 ms, and then a second flickering grating was presented for an additional 2,000 ms. On attend-orientation blocks, the subject's task was to press one button if the second stimulus was rotated clockwise from the first stimulus, and another button if it was rotated counterclockwise from the first stimulus (buttons were pressed with the first 2 fingers of the right hand). The RSVP stream appeared within the inner blank aperture of the grating, with each letter subtending at a 1.2° visual angle. The letter stream was presented during the same temporal epochs in which the oriented gratings were presented (i.e., 2,000 ms on, 400 ms off, 2,000 ms on). Either an "X" or a "Y" was presented within each epoch of RSVP, and on attend-RSVP blocks the subject's task was to press one button if the target letters matched (i.e., 2 "Xs" or 2 "Ys") and another button if the two target letters did not match. Subjects had 2,000 ms to respond after the stimuli were removed from the screen, and this response window also served as the intertrial interval (ITI).
At the beginning of each training session, the clockwise or counterclockwise rotational offset between the first and the second gratings was set to 30°, and performance was adjusted using the QUEST algorithm (Watson and Pelli 1983). The orientation offset required to achieve 75% accuracy was taken as the threshold for each session, and learning was operationalized as the change in the angular offset between the first and second gratings that was required to achieve threshold accuracy during each testing session. The exposure duration of each letter in the RSVP stream was manually adjusted to achieve ∼75% accuracy to ensure that the task remained equally challenging across training sessions.
Training regimen.
Before the initial scan session, subjects performed 4 blocks of 36 trials of the task (2 blocks each of the attend-orientation and attend-RSVP conditions) to familiarize them with the task. After the initial scan session, subjects completed ten 1-h training sessions. During each training session, subjects performed four blocks of the attend-orientation condition and four blocks of the attend-RSVP condition, with each condition alternating on a block-by-block basis. Auditory feedback (short beeps, 100-ms duration) was provided to indicate correct and incorrect responses during the familiarization and training phases but not during either scan session. After the 10th training session, subjects completed the second scan session.
fMRI sessions.
Subjects performed eight blocks of the behavioral task in each of the two scan sessions, and each block lasted 5 min. Eight null trials were randomly interleaved with 36 task trials in each block. For the first scan session, the offset between the two presentations of the grating was based on the staircased offset from the familiarization session (M = 8.3°, SE = 4.7°) and was manually adjusted at the end of each block based on subject performance to maintain consistent performance across runs (M = 8.1°, SE = 0.95°). The letter exposure duration was also based on the exposure duration from the familiarization session (M = 157.1 ms, SE = 6.1 ms), but this number was decreased slightly in the scanner (M = 140.7 ms, SE = 9.5 ms), due to relatively high accuracy on this task during the pretraining session. For the second scan session, the orientation offset was based on the final training session (M = 2.9°, SE = 0.64°) and again was manually adjusted at the end of each block to maintain consistent performance across runs (M = 5.1°, SE = 0.33°). The letter exposure duration was also based on the last training session (M = 33.0 ms, SE = 0.0 ms), and this number was also manually adjusted to maintain consistent performance (M = 85.4 ms, SE = 5.0 ms).
Functional localizer scans.
Two 6.6-min functional localizer scans were run in each scan session to independently identify voxels in retinotopically organized early visual areas that responded to stimuli in the spatial location occupied by the visual stimulus in the main task. On each trial, a contrast-reversing checkerboard stimulus (spatial frequency = 1 cycle/°, temporal frequency = 8 cycles/°) was presented in the center of the screen for 10 s. On half of the 16 trials, the radius of the stimulus was a 5° visual angle and on the other half the radius of the stimulus was a 10° visual angle (matching the size of the stimulus used in the main learning experiment). Subjects were instructed to press a button whenever the contrast of the flickering stimulus dimmed slightly. Contrast-dimming target events occurred four times per trial and each dimming lasted for 66.7 ms. The occurrence of each target was determined pseudorandomly, with the constraint that the target appeared at least 1 s after stimulus onset and 1 s before stimulus offset, and each target was separated from the previous one by at least 1 s. Trials were separated by a 10-s ITI.
Retinotopic mapping.
A standard meridian mapping procedure was used to identify visual areas V1, V2v/V2d, and V3v/V3d. Subjects passively viewed a contrast-reversing checkerboard stimulus flickering at 8 Hz and covering 60° of polar angle and that alternated every 20 s between the horizontal and vertical meridians (Engel et al. 1994; Sereno et al. 1995). A standard general linear model (GLM) with regressors corresponding to epochs of vertical meridian and horizontal meridian stimulation was used to identify voxels in the visual cortex that responded to each respective region of the visual field. Each regressor was generated by convolving a boxcar model of each stimulus time series ("0" if no stimulus, "1" if stimulus present) with a standard difference-of-two gamma function model (time to peak of positive response: 5 s; time to peak of negative response: 15 s; ratio of positive and negative responses: 6; positive and negative response dispersion: 1). The retinotopic mapping data were then projected onto a computationally inflated rendering of each subjects' gray/white matter boundary to facilitate the identification of the horizontal and vertical meridians to define each cortical area. Because we used a large central stimulus, voxels in ventral and dorsal aspects of V2 and V3 were combined.
fMRI data acquisition and preprocessing.
Scanning was performed using a 3T GE MR750 MRI scanner with an eight-channel head coil at the University of California, San Diego's Keck Center for Functional MRI. Anatomical images were collected using a T1-weighted sequence that produced images with a 1-mm3 resolution (TR/TE = 11/3.3 ms, TI = 1,100 ms, 172 slices, flip angle = 18°). Functional images were collected using a gradient echo EPI pulse sequence with 35 slightly oblique slices, which covered the whole brain. The slices were collected in ascending interleaved order and were 3-mm thick [TR = 2,000 ms, TE = 30 ms, flip angle = 90°, image matrix = 64 (AP) × 64 (RL), with FOV = 192 mm (AP) × 192 mm (RL), voxel size = 3 × 3 × 3 mm]. All EPI images were slice-time corrected, motion-corrected (both within and between scans), and high-pass filtered (3 cycles/run). BrainVoyager QX (v2.3; Brain Innovation, Maastricht, The Netherlands) was used to perform the data analysis in conjunction with custom analysis scripts written in MATLAB (version 7.11.0584; The Math Works).
Analysis of functional localizer data.
Data from the functional localizer scans were analyzed using a GLM that contained separate regressors marking the temporal interval in which each of the two stimulus types was presented (small checkerboard and large checkerboard). Each regressor was generated by convolving a boxcar model of the stimulus time series ("0" if no stimulus, "1" if stimulus) with a standard difference-of-two gamma function model (time to peak of positive response: 5 s; time to peak of negative response: 15 s; ratio of positive and negative responses: 6; positive and negative response dispersion: 1). A contrast was then performed to identify voxels that responded more to the large 10° checkerboard compared with the small 5° checkerboard; this contrast was intended to exclude voxels that respond strongly to the location of the central RSVP stream. Voxels within each of the visual areas were included in subsequent analyses if they passed a threshold of P < 0.05, after using BrainVoyager's false discovery rate algorithm to correct for multiple comparisons.
Estimating trial-by-trial blood oxygen level-dependent responses on attention scans.
Before estimating the trial-by-trial magnitude of the blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) response during the main attention task, we first estimated the shape of the hemodynamic response function (HRF) separately for each visual area in each subject. This subject- and area-specific fitting was done because the shape of the HRF can vary substantially across subjects and brain regions (Zarahn et al. 1997; Gonzalez-Castillo et al. 2012). Data were averaged across all trials in the main scans, and the mean stimulus-locked HRF was computed separately for each visual area in each subject across a 24-s window using a Finite Impulse Response model (Dale 1999). We then used a gradient descent algorithm implemented in MATLAB to fit each HRF estimate using a standard difference-of-two gamma function model with time to peak, onset time, and the ratio of positive and negative components as free parameters (using the same seed parameters listed in Analysis of functional localizer data). The parameters that yielded the best fit were used to produce a custom HRF model for each visual area in each subject. We then created a design matrix with a boxcar model of the onset/offset time of each 4.4-s stimulus epoch on each trial within a scan, yielding 36 regressors of interest (4 instances of each of the 9 orientations) along with 1 additional regressor as a constant term. Each boxcar regressor model was then convolved with the custom HRF estimate for that subject, and a GLM was used to estimate the relative amplitude of the BOLD response on each trial. This estimate of response amplitude one each trial in each voxel was then used as input to the orientation encoding model described below.
Estimating orientation-selective BOLD tuning profiles using a forward encoding model.
Forward encoding models adopt a set of a priori assumptions about the important features or stimulus labels that can be distinguished using hemodynamic signals within a region of interest (ROI) (Brouwer and Heeger 2009, 2011; Dumoulin and Wandell 2008; Gourtzelidis et al. 2005; Kay and Gallant 2009; Kay et al. 2008; Mitchell et al. 2008; Naselaris et al. 2009; Schönwiesner and Zatorre 2009; Scolari, et al. 2012; Thirion et al. 2006; reviewed in Naselaris et al. 2011; Serences and Saproo 2012). The features or labels in the model are then used to predict the pattern of BOLD responses. Unlike multivoxel pattern analysis (MVPA) decoding techniques, this approach allows us to quantify changes in the shape of orientation population-response profiles that are related to PL. This technique thus complements MVPA approaches, as MVPA provides an index of how much overall information is encoded in a pattern of responses and how that level of information changes as a result of PL (or other experimental manipulations: see Serences and Saproo 2012). However, a general increase in the information content of a response pattern might be supported by several different types of modulation (i.e., a decrease in the bandwidth of orientation-selective population tuning profiles, an increase in gain of orientation-selective population tuning profiles, etc.). Thus, by directly reconstructing population tuning profiles using an a priori encoding model, we can quantify the modulatory patterns that occurred as a result of generalized PL.
Here, we used a forward model adapted from Brouwer and Heeger (2009, 2011) to estimate the response across a series of orientation channels as a function of PL and the focus of attention. The model assumes that the BOLD response in a given voxel reflects the pooled activity across a large population of orientation-selective neurons and that the distribution of neural tuning preference is biased within a given voxel either due to large-scale feature maps (Freeman et al. 2011) or to subvoxel anisotropies in cortical columns (Kamitani and Tong 2005; Swisher et al. 2010). In either case, BOLD responses measured from many voxels in early visual cortex exhibit a modest but robust orientation preference (Haynes and Rees 2005; Kamitani and Tong 2005; Serences et al. 2009; Freeman et al. 2011).
For each subject and scan session, we first split the data into two sets (training and test sets), using a hold-one-out cross-validation method. Adopting the terminology and formulations of Brouwer and Heeger (2009, 2011) for consistency, let m be the number of voxels in a given visual area, n1 be the number of observations (trials) in the training set, n2 be the number of trials in the test set, and k be the number of hypothetical orientation channels. Let B1 (m × n1 matrix) be the training set, and B2 (m × n2 matrix) be the test set. The training data in B1 were then mapped onto the matrix of hypothetical channel outputs (C1, k × n) by the weight matrix (W, m × k) that was estimated using a linear model of the form: 1
where the ordinary least-squares estimate of W is computed as: 2
The channel responses (C2, k × n2) were then estimated for the test data (B2) using the weights estimated in Eq. 2: 3
Equations 1 and 2 are similar to a traditional univariate GLM in that each voxel gets a weight for each feature in the model (in this case, 1 weight for each orientation channel). Equation 3 then estimates channel responses on each trial based on the estimated weights assigned to each voxel and the vector of responses observed across all voxels on a given trial in the test set.
The construction of the basis set matrix C has a large impact on the resulting channel response estimates. In the present experiment, we used a half-sinusoidal function that was raised to the 5th power to emulate the approximate shape of single-unit tuning functions in V1, where the average 1/sqrt(2) half-bandwidth of orientation tuned cells is ∼20° (Schiller et al. 1976; Ringach et al. 2002; Gur et al. 2005). This function was then replicated six times, with the six copies evenly distributed across orientation space. The power of the sinusoidal function necessitated the use of at least six copies to adequately cover orientation space (Freeman and Adelson 1991). While we selected the shape of the basis function based on existing physiology studies, all results that we report are robust to reasonable variations in this value (i.e., raising the half-sinusoid to the 5th, 6th, 7th, or 8th power, all of which are reasonable choices based the large range of single-unit bandwidths observed in early visual areas). The analysis described above was then repeated with the center position of each of the six basis functions shifted across all 180° of orientation space in 1° increments to generate channel tuning functions with 1° resolution (which ultimately produced a 180° tuning function). Note that because of overlap between adjacent basis functions, each point along these 180-point tuning curves was not independent from neighboring points. However, this approach was adopted to maximize the smoothness of the orientation tuning functions, which in turn facilitates quantifying the amplitude, bandwidth, and baseline level using the model fitting approach described below. Last, the 180-point channel response function estimated on each trial was circularly shifted so that the channel matching the orientation of the stimulus on that trial was positioned in the center of the tuning curve, thereby aligning all channel response profiles to a common stimulus-centered reference frame (which is plotted as 0° on the x-axis by convention, see Figs. 5–6). The channel responses for each subject were then averaged across subjects within each scanning session so that group channel response functions for the different attention and training conditions could be compared.
Quantifying channel responses by fitting a von Mises function.
After the channel responses were recentered to a common reference frame, data from each subject and each condition (attend-orientation/attend-RSVP, pretraining/posttraining) were independently fit with a von Mises function: 4
with amplitude (a), mean (μ), bandwidth (σ) , and baseline (b) as independent free parameters that reflect distinct attributes of the function. The amplitude was restricted to a range from 0 and 2, the mean was restricted to a range from 60 and 120°, the bandwidth was restricted to a range between 0 and 8, and the baseline was restricted to a range from −3 and 3. The von Mises function (Eq. 4) was then fit to the data from each subject 150 times using randomly chosen initial seed values for each parameter on each iteration (across the range of allowable values) to ensure that the fitting algorithm did not settle in a local minimum. The set of parameters for each subject that yielded the lowest root mean squared error across the 150 iterations were then used in subsequent analyses.
Behavior during training sessions outside of scanner.
The staircasing procedure did not converge for one subject during the first of their 10 behavioral training sessions, rendering data from session 1 highly variable (that subject had an orientation offset of 22.2°, where the mean across all other subjects was 4.7°). Therefore, statistical comparisons of the behavioral data were performed excluding this subject (although the size of the learning effect only increases if this subject is included, and their offsets during sessions 2-10 were stable and showed learning effects). The angular offset between the gratings needed to perform the task at criterion was steadily reduced across training sessions [see Fig. 2A; one-way repeated-measures ANOVA, F(9,54) = 2.18, P = 0.038], and there was a significant decrease in the average orientation offset between session 1 (4.7°) and session 10 [3.0°; paired t-test, t(6) = 3.4150, P = 0.014]. Response time did not significantly change across sessions 1-10 in the attend-orientation task [one-way repeated-measures ANOVA, F(9,54) = 0.48, P = 0.88]. Accuracy also did not significantly change across sessions 1-10 [see Fig. 2B; one-way repeated-measures ANOVA, F(9,54) = 0.8, P = 0.62], suggesting that staircasing was successful in maintaining a criterion level of accuracy.
Observers also improved in the attend-RSVP condition, such that the exposure duration of each letter in the RSVP stream steadily decreased across the 10 training sessions [see Fig. 2C; one-way repeated-measures ANOVA, F(9,54) = 22.89, P = 0.0002]. The average letter exposure duration also significantly decreased from 128.57 ms/letter during session 1 to 33.33 ms/letter during session 10 [paired t-test, t(6) = 8.40, P = 0.0002]. However, accuracy also changed across the 10 sessions in the RSVP task [see Fig. 2D; one-way repeated-measures ANOVA, F(9,54) = 5.08, P = 0.0001], suggesting that the reduction in exposure duration across sessions is not a perfect indicator of the amount of learning that occurred in the RSVP task (although this was not an issue when comparing pre- and posttraining behavioral performance in the scanner as all comparisons were carried out within session, see below). Response times for the attend-RSVP condition did not significantly change across training sessions [one-way repeated-measures ANOVA, F(9,54) = 0.82, P = 0.6].
Behavior in the scanner.
In the scanner, the average orientation offset was 8.1° (SE = 0.95°) in the pretraining scan session and 5.1° (SE = 0.33°) in the posttraining scan session [Fig. 3A; paired t-test, t(7) = 3.84, P = 0.006]. For the RSVP task, the pretraining letter presentation speed was 140.63 ms/letter (SE = 9.5 ms/letter) and the posttraining letter presentation speed was 85.42 ms/letter [SE = 5.0 ms/letter; Fig. 3C; paired t-test, t(7) = 6.33, P = 0.0004]. We speculate that the slightly elevated orientation offsets and letter exposure durations in the scanner, compared with outside the scanner, were due to the lower quality visual display in the scanner. Accuracy on attend-orientation trials was slightly lower during the posttraining scan session compared with the pretraining session [see Fig. 3B; orientation task: 91% pretraining SE = 1%, 88% posttraining SE = 1%, paired t-test, t(7) = 2.78, P = 0.03]. However, this small change in accuracy was not a major cause of the observed learning effects, as four subjects had balanced accuracy across pre- and posttraining scan sessions and they all showed at least 4° improvement with training. Accuracy in the attend-RSVP condition did not significantly differ across scan sessions {see Fig. 3D; letter task: 89% pretraining (SE = 2%) and 88% posttraining [SE = 2%, repeated-measures t-test, t(7) = 0.8769, P = 0.4]}.
fMRI results.
First, we computed the mean univariate HRF for each attention condition based on the z-scored BOLD time series averaged across all voxels in each ROI (see methods; Fig. 4). As all three areas showed a similar pattern of responses, we performed statistics on the data averaged across V1, V2, and V3 (compare panels in Fig. 4). A three-way repeated-measures ANOVA with time (0–24 s), attention condition, and training (pre- vs. posttraining) revealed a main effect of time [F(12,84) = 41.13, P < 0.0001], a main effect of attention condition [F(1,7) = 36.91, P = 0.0005], and an interaction between time and attention [F(12,84) = 12.24, P < 0.0001]. However, there was no main effect of training [F(1,7) = 0.11, P = 0.74] and no interaction between training and time [F(12,84) = 7.99, P = 0.65] or training and attention condition [F(1,7) = 2.91, P = 0.133]. Overall, this pattern suggests that the HRFs were significantly modulated by attention but not by learning.
We then used an encoding model (see methods) to determine how learning modulated orientation-selective response profiles in V1, V2, and V3. Across both scan sessions and attention conditions, the averaged orientation-selective response profiles peaked at the target orientation and fell off in a Gaussian-like manner (see Figs. 5 and 6). We fit the tuning curve for each subject with a von Misses function and submitted the best fitting parameters to a three-way repeated-measures ANOVA with factors for attention condition (attend-orientation vs. attend-RSVP), training (scan 1 vs. scan 2), and visual area (V1, V2, V3). There was no main effect of visual area and no three-way interaction among visual area, attention condition, and training condition for any of the fit parameters (amplitude, bandwidth, baseline, or mean, see Table 1 for all statistics). This suggests that all areas showed a similar pattern of modulation across task manipulations (see Figs. 6 and 7 for data from individual visual areas). As a result, we hereafter focus our statistical analysis on the von Mises parameters fit to tuning functions that were computed after combining all voxels from V1-V3. Because the size of the orientation offset differed across pre- and posttraining scan sessions, a comparison between pre- and posttraining within each attention condition could not be directly assessed due to the sensory differences in the display. Thus we focused on evaluating a two-way repeated-measures ANOVA with attention condition and training as factors to compare with the magnitude of attention effects during pre- and posttraining sessions as our main marker of PL. The ANOVA revealed a significant overall main-effect of attention condition on the amplitude of the orientation-selective tuning profiles, such that the amplitude in the attend-orientation condition was higher than the amplitude in the attend-RSVP condition [collapsed across scanning sessions; Fig. 5, A and B; F(1,7) = 10.03, P = 0.015]. In addition, there was a significant interaction between attention condition and training on tuning function amplitude, indicating that the magnitude of the attentional modulation (i.e., attend-orientation vs. attend-RSVP) increased with training [Fig. 5C; F(1,7) = 7.98, P = 0.025]. This interaction was driven by a significant difference between response amplitudes in the attend-orientation and attend-RSVP conditions posttraining but not pretraining [t(7) = 3.5, P < 0.01 and t(7) = 1.25, P = 0.25, respectively]. Finally, there was an overall main effect of attention condition on the baseline parameter, such that baseline estimates were higher in the attend-RSVP condition than the attend-orientation condition [Fig. 5E; F(1,7) = 7.84, P = 0.026]. No learning-related changes in any of the other parameters were observed.
Learning to better discriminate a specific stimulus feature has been associated with enhanced sensory responses in early visual cortex (Gilbert et al. 2001; Schoups et al. 2001; Furmanski et al. 2004; Yang and Maunsell 2004; Jehee et al. 2012) and with the improved readout of sensory information by downstream sensorimotor and decision mechanisms (Dosher and Lu 1998, 2009; Ghose et al. 2002; Law and Gold 2008, 2009, 2010; Xiao et al. 2008; Zhang et al. 2010b, 2013; Gold et al. 2010; Lu et al. 2011; Huang et al. 2012). However, little is known about how these mechanisms support PL in situations where observers must learn to make difficult discriminations between stimuli that are drawn from a large set of exemplars. Indeed, modified early sensory responses that are highly selective for supporting the discrimination of a specific feature might be predicted to impair the discriminability of other stimuli (e.g., Schoups et al. 2001; Fahle 2004, 2009). However, here we show that generalized PL leads to an enhancement of feature-selective attentional modulations in early visual cortex, supporting a version of the sensory modulation account of generalized PL.
Even though our data support a sensory modulation account of generalized PL, they do not speak to the possibility of additional contributions due to changes in the efficiency of sensory readout. Indeed, sensory modulation and changes in the efficiency of readout are not mutually exclusive. For example, Law and Gold (2008) trained subjects using a large stimulus set and their data provide support for enhanced readout in the absence of changes in early sensory responses in motion selective area MT. Their task involved discriminating stimuli moving in one of two directions, where the exact direction and location of the motion stimulus were changed on a session-by-session basis to optimize the response of cells in MT and the lateral intraparietal area (LIP). Law and Gold did not observe training-related changes in MT, an area that represents the quality of motion-evoked sensory signals. Instead, they found an increase in motion-driven responses in LIP, where cells are thought to play a role in the "readout" (or sensorimotor transformation) of sensory signals that are generated in MT. However, there are several differences between our study and theirs that might contribute to the differences that we observe. First, we used fMRI to assess the response profile across orientation channels tuned to all stimulus features (the entire range from 0 to 180°) whereas Law and Gold just assessed the activity of cells that were selectively tuned to the trained stimulus feature (or to the antipreferred feature). Thus we mapped out the full tuning profile and they mapped two points along this function. This could be a key difference, as our results suggest that the overall amplitude increase in fMRI-based orientation tuning profiles is due to a combination of enhanced responses in orientation channels tuned around the relevant stimulus feature and to attenuated responses in orientation channels tuned progressively farther away from the relevant stimulus (compare Fig. 5, A to B). Thus measuring the entire tuning profile might provide improved sensitivity to detect learning-related changes in the amplitude of sensory responses. In addition, and perhaps more importantly, our display contained multiple competing stimuli (a central RSVP stream and a peripheral grating), and competition between multiple stimuli has been previously shown to amplify the magnitude of attentional modulations in visual cortex (e.g., Moran and Desimone 1985; Motter 1993; Desimone and Duncan 1995; Kastner et al. 1998; Awh et al. 2003; Reynolds and Desimone 2003; Serences et al. 2004; Gál et al. 2009). Thus the degree of interstimulus competition might be a key factor in determining the magnitude of sensory modulation during PL. In either case, we believe that the current evidence, both from our study and from others, firmly suggests that PL enhances sensory modulation as well as enhanced readout, and future studies will need to directly determine how much each mechanism contributes to behavioral indexes of PL, particularly as a function of the degree of competition between relevant and irrelevant stimuli in the visual field.
The present observation of a training-related increase in feature-selective attention effects is consistent with several previous studies that focused on PL for highly specific visual features (reviewed in Seitz and Dinse 2007; Roelfsema et al. 2010; Sasaki et al. 2010; Byers and Serences 2012). In particular, the present data are consistent with previous suggestions that top-down attentional modulations play a key role in both context-dependent effects on sensory processing, PL, and attenuating responses evoked by task-irrelevant features (Gilbert et al. 2000; Crist et al. 2001; Schoups et al. 2001; Li et al. 2004; Vidnyánszky and Sohn 2005; Gál et al. 2009; Mukai et al. 2011; Gilbert and Li 2012). For example, Gilbert and Li (2013) summarize evidence for top-down attentional control and recurrent feedback connections as a mechanism for changing early sensory responses based on task goals; a pattern that is present even in the pretraining orientation-selective response profiles described here. However, our data suggest a further key role of task context in gating posttraining sensory responses, as enhanced responses to trained stimuli were primarily elicited when the orientation stimulus is task relevant and not when the orientation stimulus is merely present (i.e., in the attend RSVP condition; Gilbert et al. 2000; Li et al. 2004; Gilbert and Li 2012). Furthermore, the nature of the neural changes associated with PL may be dependent on the context in which subjects were trained, suggesting that training with more irrelevant distractors could lead to even larger attentional modulations, both before and after learning (Luck et al. 1993; Motter 1993; Kastner and Ungerleider 2000; Li et al. 2004; Vidnyánszky and Sohn 2005; Gál et al. 2009; Gilbert and Li 2012).
Recently, Jehee et al. (2012) used fMRI to show that the ability of individual voxels in V1-V4 to discriminate between two similar orientations was improved when the oriented stimulus was attended compared with when it was unattended. However, this improvement was specific to both the trained orientation and stimulus location, so the implication of their results to situations in which training is focused on improving the discriminability of a larger class of stimuli is unclear. In contrast, we addressed this complementary question by exploiting the joint information encoded by large-scale populations to show that generalized orientation learning improves the amplitude of feature-based modulations in early visual cortex. Thus the current results demonstrate that PL modifies population-level orientation tuning profiles via enhanced attentional gain and that these population-level modulations provide computational constraints on models of PL in more complex scenarios.
In the present study, we observed a qualitative attenuation of responses to the grating stimulus when subjects were performing the attend-RSVP task (see blue line in Fig. 5B; although note that we cannot compare pre- and posttraining response amplitude levels quantitatively in the attend-RSVP condition due to learning-related changes in the nature of the sensory stimulus, see results). At first glance, this observation seems inconsistent with prior work showing PL even for task-irrelevant stimuli when they are paired with the presentation of a concurrent relevant or rewarding stimulus (Seitz and Watanabe 2005; Seitz et al. 2009; Frankó et al. 2010). However, task-irrelevant PL seems to occur only when the irrelevant stimulus does not strongly compete or interfere with the processing of the relevant attended stimulus (Watanabe et al. 2001; Seitz et al. 2006, 2009; Tsushima et al. 2008; Choi et al. 2009; Seitz and Watanabe 2009; Huang and Watanabe 2012; Leclercq and Seitz 2012a,b). This criterion is not likely met in our study, as the grating was highly salient and it surrounded the relatively low-salience central RSVP stream. Thus this stimulus configuration likely led to a high degree of interstimulus competition, and in turn this competition may have blocked task-irrelevant PL effects on the oriented grating when subjects were attending the central RSVP stream.
In previous reports (e.g., Regan and Beverley 1985; Seung and Sompolinsky 1993; Schoups et al. 2001), including work from our own laboratory (Scolari and Serences 2009, 2010; Scolari et al. 2012), the performance of a fine discrimination task between similar orientations has been shown to mediate the gain of "off-channel" neural populations, or those neurons that are tuned just away from the to-be-discriminated feature. From an information-theoretic viewpoint, this is optimal because these off-channel neurons have a steeper tuning function around the discriminada and should thus undergo a larger change in firing rate to the two stimulus alternatives (see Scolari and Serences 2009 for more discussion). Thus we might have expected such off-channel modulations in the present study to be enhanced with PL. However, in experiment 1 of Scolari et al. (2012), we demonstrated that off-channel gain, at least as assessed using fMRI and the same analysis approach and general paradigm used here, is not observed when the direction of the orientation offset is unknown in advance (i.e., the subject does not know whether to attend to and expect a clockwise or a counterclockwise rotation). In experiment 2 in the same article, we then demonstrated a robust off-channel gain effect when we precued subjects about the rotational offset of the oriented stimuli in advance. Given that the present task closely mimics experiment 1 from Scolari et al. (2012) in which no precue was given, we did not expect to see off-channel gain in early visual areas in the present study and indeed no robust evidence for such an effect was observed.
Although we observed an increase in the overall amplitude of orientation-selective responses in early visual areas (Fig. 5C), we did not observe any training-related changes in the mean BOLD response computed across all voxels in each ROI (Fig. 4). Several previous reports also failed to observe changes in the mean BOLD response with PL (Yotsumoto et al. 2008; Zhang et al. 2010a; Jehee et al. 2012). Note, however, that the presence of enhanced feature-based attention effects (Figs. 5 and 6) can still be observed even if there is no net change in the magnitude of the mean HRF that is computed based on the average across all voxels. For example, we observed enhanced responses in channels tuned to the relevant stimulus and attenuated responses in channels tuned away from the relevant stimulus (Figs. 5B and 6). Thus increases and decreases in the channel responses roughly cancel out and we would not predict a change in overall HRF amplitude. In addition, others have suggested that learning leads to improved coding for specific features even in the absence of a change in mean HRF amplitude, as PL might reduce response variability (which would effectively increase the signal-to-noise ratio of the HRF without changing its overall magnitude; Jehee et al. 2012). Finally, it is possible that the amplitude of the mean BOLD response is modulated by PL but that early learning-induced increases in BOLD amplitude return to baseline with further training (Yotsumoto et al. 2008). Thus we may not have observed changes in HRF amplitude because our posttraining fMRI session took place after the HRF returned to pretraining baseline levels.
In summary, we used a forward encoding model to make inferences about how PL influences the shape of population-level orientation tuning functions based on the multivariate response profiles in visual cortex (Serences and Saproo 2012). We show that PL leads to a selective increase in the amplitude of orientation-selective tuning profiles in V1-V3 with training. This amplitude increase corresponds to an increase in the dynamic-range (or entropy) of orientation-selective response profiles within these regions. In turn, increasing the dynamic range of feature-selective response profiles should, in theory, increase the information content of these population-response profiles and thus the separability of responses evoked by stimuli rendered at different orientations (i.e., an amplitude increase should magnify the difference between mean responses evoked by two nearby orientations; Saproo and Serences 2010, 2014).
This work was supported by National Institute of Mental Health Grant R01-092345 (to J. T. Serences).
No conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise, are declared by the author(s).
Author contributions: A.B. and J.T.S. conception and design of research; A.B. performed experiments; A.B. analyzed data; A.B. and J.T.S. interpreted results of experiments; A.B. prepared figures; A.B. drafted manuscript; A.B. and J.T.S. edited and revised manuscript; A.B. and J.T.S. approved final version of manuscript.
We thank Sirawaj Itthipuripat, Thomas C. Sprague, and Tiffany Ho for useful discussions.
- Copyright © 2014 the American Physiological Society


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**ONLY $1,250 MONTH GROSS** This space is ready to go ASAP and was a former hair salon & office space but can easily be converted to many other uses for little cost. Located in shopping center with c-store, cleaners, & long standing pizza joint. Signage available on building! Located on Kuhn between North Ave and Army Trail Rd. Lease is gross including TAX & CAM.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Project title
you know, for old times' sake.
I can't do that to my family.
Everyone just got settled.
I'll make it work. Thanks.
Take care of yourself.
What are you waiting for?
I don't know.
Something amazing, I guess.
Me, too, kid.
"Hold still"?
Match: Mr. Incredible.
Room is secure. Commence message.
Hello, Mr. Incredible.
Yes, we know who you are.
Rest assured,
your secret is safe with us.
My name is Mirage.
We have something in common.
According to the government,
neither of us exist.
Please pay attention, as this message
is classified and will not be repeated.
I represent a top secret division
of the government,
designing and testing
experimental technology,
and we have need
of your unique abilities.
Something happened
at our testing facility.
- Honey!
- Huh? What?
- Dinner's ready.
- Okay.
...it is contained
within an isolated area,
it threatens to cause incalculable
damage to itself and our facilities,
jeopardizing hundreds
of millions of dollars...
Is someone in there?
- It's the TV, trying to watch.
- Because of its sensitive nature...
- Stop. It's time for dinner.
- One minute!
If you accept, your payment will be
triple your current annual salary.
Call the number on the card.
Voice-matching will ensure security.
The supers aren't gone, Mr. Incredible.
You're still here.
You can still do great things. Or...
...you can listen to police scanners.
Your choice.
You have 24 hours to respond.
Think about it.
This message
will self-destruct.
You are one distracted guy.
Am I? I don't mean to be.
I know you miss being a hero
and your job is frustrating.
I just want you to know how much it
means to me that you stay at it anyway.
- Honey? About the job?
- What?
- Something's happened.
- What?
- The, uh...
- What?
The company is sending me
to, uh, a conference.
- A conference?
- Out of town.
I'm gonna be gone for a few days.
They've never sent you to a conference
before. This is good, isn't it?
You see? They're finally
recognizing your talents.
- You're moving up.
- Yes.
- Honey! This is wonderful!
- Yes, it is.


text:
|Page (1) of 1 - 10/29/11
|email article
|print page
Missouri testing specimens in E coli outbreakMissouri health officials testing specimens, trying to determine cause of E coli outbreak
Page: 1
Related Keywords:E Coli-St Louis, Disease outbreaks, Infectious diseases, Diseases and conditions, Health, General news, Public health
Source:Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.. All Rights Reserved


text:
There are 0 items in your basket.
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Sandqvist Eddy Backpack in Black. Crafted from a 1000 denier Cordura and a maximum 20 liter capacity this is a must have backpack this summer. Features include a roll top with plastic buckle fasten, adjustable shoulder straps concealed in the back pocket to let the user carry the bag as a tote bag, two side zip entries to the main compartment with a laptop sleeve inside. The Eddy Backpack has been Inspired by Eddy Merckx, the Belgian cyclist who won five Tour de France competitions and many other titles in the 60's and 70's, making him one of the best cyclists of the century.
Measurements of this bag: 29 x 40 x 13 CM
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text: B&A Pacific No. 586 poses here with a westbound train at Worcester, Massachusetts sometime in the early 1930s. Delivered in 1913 as the NYC's No. 3184, she was renumbered in 1921 into a Boston & Albany sequence as depicted here. Following dieselization of the B&A in the late 1940s these class K-14g 4-6-2s were transferred back to the NYC and assigned to suburban service in the New York City area, where they were renumbered into the 4300s. This engine became No. 4386, and lasted until 1952. The white smokebox front was a distinctive feature of B&A steam locomotives.


text:
I'm looking to start a new website and am considering choosing XF as my forum solution (vs. vb3, which I'm very experienced with).
I'm a PHP developer and so the website will have a custom-coded mainsite/blog area. I want that to use the forum to handle accounts and sessions just to keep things as simple and as secure as possible.
With vBulletin, all I needed to do was include a file (global.php) and check for a variable ($vbulletin->userinfo) containing the user information. Can a similar approach be taken to integrate XF with a custom script?
Also, on a separate note, is XF's user upgrade system pretty much the same as vB's paid subscriptions? I need the forum to be able to handle paypal donations.


text:
Have you seen all the ads and discussion about Tieks ballet flats? If you haven't heard of them, Tieks are high-end leather ballet flats that cost $175-295. A lot of people are wondering if they're worth the price or it's just all hype. In case $200-300 flats are out of your budget, I went searching for some cheaper alternatives to Tieks ballet flats. These aren't Tieks knock-offs – just shoes with similar qualities at a lower price.
What are Tieks Shoes?
Tieks are high-end ballet flat shoes. Most are made of soft leather. They have a split rubber sole and a cushioned insole.
Before I discuss cheaper alternatives to Tieks ballet flats, let's look at the qualities that people like about Tieks:
- High-quality materials. Most models are made of high-quality leather.
- Cushioned insoles. Tieks have a cushioned insole for comfort.
- Durable. They hold up a very long time.
- Flexible & Packable. The sole folds in half for comfort and carrying in a purse or suitcase.
There are a few downsides to Tieks ballet flats that often get mentioned:
- Takes time to break in. While most people say they're comfortable, they can be painful during the break-in period.
- Little arch support.
- Teal soles and back stripe. While some people like this, others would prefer a completely neutral shoe.
- Although they are foldable, many folks complain that they're still pretty bulky to take in a purse.
Tieks Alternative: Yosi Samra Women's Samara 2.0 Ballet Flat
Yosi Samra Samara ballet flat is probably the most similar alternative to Tieks that I could find.
Similarities Between Yosi Samra Samara Ballet Flats and Tieks:
- Real leather
- Cushioned insoles
- Durable
- Flexible & Packable – folds in half just like Tieks
Differences Between Yosi Samra Samara Ballet Flats and Tieks:
- Elastic around the top edge
- No teal blue soles or stripe
- Not available in as many colors
- 1/2 to 1/3 of the price of Tieks
Although the Yosi Samra Samara ballet flats are not cheap, they're MUCH less expensive than Tieks and seem to be pretty comparable. They have excellent reviews. For 1/3 to 1/2 the price of Tieks, they seem like a sensible alternative:
Tieks Alternative: Ollio Comfort Ballet Flat
The Ollio comfort ballet flat was the least expensive alternative to Tieks that I found, but there are obvious differences in quality. On the plus side, the Ollio flats have a lot of good reviews and women seem to find them very comfortable. You could buy 7-12 pairs of Ollio flats for the price of one pair of Tieks!
Similarities Between Ollio Comfort Ballet Flats and Tieks:
- Cushioned insoles
- Flexible design
Differences Between Ollio Comfort Ballet Flats and Tieks:
- All synthetic materials vs leather
- Elastic around the top edge
- No teal blue soles or stripe
- Not available in as many colors
- 1/7 to 1/12 of the price of Tieks
At such a low price with so many good reviews, I think the Ollio Comfort Ballet Flats are worth considering:
Tieks Alternative: Lucky Brand Emmie Ballet Flat
While searching for recommended flats, I saw many devoted fans of the Lucky Brand Emmie Ballet Flat. It seems to be the standard flat that everyone loves. It's not completely the same style as Tieks, but I felt it deserved a mention as a high-quality, inexpensive flat. It's available in a variety of colors and materials and retails for around $60. It can be found on sale often in the range of $30-50, making them 1/3 to 1/6 of the price of the least expensive Tieks.
Similarities Between Lucky Brand Emmie Ballet Flats and Tieks:
- Available in real leather
- Available in a wide range of colors and materials
- Cushioned insoles
- Similar top edge
Differences Between Lucky Brand Emmie Ballet Flats and Tieks:
- Doesn't have a foldable sole
- No teal blue soles or stripe
- 1/3 to 1/6 of the price of Tieks
If you're looking for a quality flat a decent price, the Lucky Brand Emmie Ballet Flat is a great option:


text:
My Cat From Hell
Paranormal Cat-tivity
Season 7 Episode 10
Lola became so desperate for help with her cat problems that she posted a video seeking a new home for her cat Jimmy Slap. Mike and Patricia love their three cats, but unfortunately their cats do not love each other.
- 43 min
- Premiered 06/13/2015


text:
Crusher a lamb when it comes to booze barons
If you're a minister in this Government, the way you usually deal with social discord is to pass tough regulations.
Social Development Minister Paula Bennett has done this with beneficiaries, and Housing Minister Phil Heatley recently acted on state house tenants claiming cheap accommodation to which they were not entitled. When she was police minister, Judith Collins famously took on boy racers, earning her the nickname Crusher, with her rarely enacted legislation to crush the cars of multiple offenders. But though Crusher might be a lion with boy racers, the justice minister appears to be a lamb when it comes to dealing with the nation's booze barons.
Alcopops or RTDs (ready-to- drinks), with an alcohol content of up to 10 per cent, are blamed for much of the public drunkenness we see among young people. There have been calls to limit the alcohol content of these drinks. That's what they do in Aussie with apparent success. For a while, it looked as if our Government was going to listen and pass appropriate legislation. But then one of New Zealand's most effective pressure groups, the alcohol lobby, sprang into action. They have seemingly worked their magic on Crusher, as she has now decided that rather than be told what to do by government, the booze barons can be trusted to regulate themselves.
Wonderful! Will we now see beneficiaries have their rigid work-testing requirements relaxed because Paula Bennett believes they are responsible enough to regulate themselves? Will boy racers be asked to self-regulate in the burn-out department? Surely gang members are, like the booze barons, responsible individuals who can self-regulate where they will wear patches?
Perhaps Crusher Collins needs a new sobriquet to mark her newfound status as hero of the alcohol lobby. Maybe Crushed Ice Collins or perhaps Tom Collins is now more appropriate.
The liquor industry is understandably delighted at Crushed Ice's change of heart. This is the same industry that happily tolerated the notorious six o'clock swill in the 1950s and 1960s because it was cost-effective, showed no interest in providing food in bars to counter the effects of mass alcohol consumption and, in the 1970s, constructed huge booze barns that promoted fights and drunk driving yet made phenomenal profits.
So will self-regulation work? Possibly.
But the evidence, in Auckland anyway, shows that some restrictions can help counter our binge-drinking culture. According to Mayor Len Brown, since many outlets have banned the sale of single bottles or beer and RTDS, breaches of the city liquor ban have decreased by five times.
That's such good news that liquor giant Lion Breweries, which produces wonderful boutique beers with amazingly original names like Lion Red and Lion Brown, has written to Crushed Ice asking her to regulate. She rightly refused to get involved in what is essentially a council matter.
Here in Wellington, the police report that a third of our city's crimes are committed in our booze-sodden, vomit-strewn Golden Mile. Rather than regulate, perhaps Crushed Ice and her brewery mates should stand in Courtenay Place on a Friday night and politely ask the barfing, bingeing, brawling teenagers to self-regulate.
Though I think a law limiting alcohol content in RTDs has definite merit, ultimately Crushed Ice and her lobbyists are right. No amount of regulation will effectively change our boozing culture. We must change as a society.
During my recent sojourn to Asia, I saw only three drunks the entire time. Two of them were old men in Vietnam's Mekong Delta, paralytic yet harmless at 10am. I figured that given they survived the US bombing, I shouldn't be too judgmental.
The third drunk was an obstreperous tattooed fellow in the bar at Kuala Lumpur Airport, loudly complaining about the price of a pint. Though he was particularly rude to the super- polite staff, he greeted me with a big, friendly smile. After all, I was a fellow Kiwi.
The Dominion Post


text:
A message for coaches
I understand the value of cherishing every possession in basketball. I also recognize a need for balance.
Two thoughts are interwined as I reflect on last week's boys' basketball showdown between state-ranked St. Joseph-Ogden and Teutopolis teams.
There was a first-half scramble -- which took place after visiting Teutopolis had used both of its 30-second timeouts -- when players from both schools dove for a loose ball. T-Town gained momentary control and as a SJ-O player came close to forcing a jump ball, the Wooden Shoes called for a timeout.
It may have seemed like the thing to do at the moment, but games aren't won at that juncture of the contest. They can sure be lost then.
That point was reinforced with 11 seconds to play in what was a two-time lead for SJ-O. Teutopolis (which had made 9 of 11 fourth-quarter shots) had the ball near the top of the key. The Spartans created a double-team and the Teutopolis ballhandler responded the way many young players have been taught.
He called a timeout. Let the coach fix it. Let him set up a game-winning play. Isn't that the American way?
Only problem was Teutopolis had exhaused all five of its timeouts. Not only did the team lose possession, but SJ-O's top free throw shooter (Nate Michael) got to attempt two uncontested shots after the technical foul was assessed. He made them both, plus two more when he was fouled after the subsequent in-bounds pass.
In my opinion, coaches need to provide the players the confidence to react to situations as a game unfolds, to make decisions on their own and not rely on a coach to tell them what to do when the game is on the line.
By the way, on the possession Teutopolis gained in the second quarter with the timeout: It didn't result in any points. The team turned the ball over before a shot could be attempted.
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collectible Italian blue and white spode large candsticks
- Sold for: Start Free Trial or Sign In to see what it's worth.
- Item Category: Ceramics
- Source: eBay
- Sold Date: Jul 28, 2013
- Channel: Auction House
Pair of large 13 inches tall blue and white spode candlesticks. Have not seen any like these. Beautiful excellent condition. I bought these items during a trip to Italy and Greece. Very little use.


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Bedtime Huggie-Unicorn Girl
Spring Catalog Page: 79
Bedtime Huggie-Unicorn Girl View product
Minimum Quantity: 3
Spring Catalog Page: 79 View in Catalog
Wholesale Customers:
To view detailed wholesale pricing information and purchase this product you must have a registered, verified, and logged in wholesale account.
Retail Customers:
Sorry, this product is available strictly for wholesale purchase at this time. Please contact us for retail release information!
Bedtime Huggies combine two items essential to every baby's needs: a toy and a blanket. Your baby's favorite plush animal toy can also be the protector of his or her favorite blanket! Measuring 30 inches x 38 inches, the Bedtime Huggie blanket can be personalized with your baby's name or initials! While the blanket is perfect for warmth, comfort and security, the playful plush unicorn toy is super soft and perfect for squeezing, hugging and loving!
- Plush animal holding 30 inches x 38 inches blanket
- 100% Polyester for enhanced softness and durability
- Perfect for playing and sleeping
- Plush animal, damp wipe only, air dry only
- Blanket, machine wash cold, tumble dry low
- Blanket can be personalized with name or initials


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McCall's 3834; ©1988; Blouse A, B or C in two lengths with or without collar has front buttoned opening, sleeves with pleated caps and bow or trim variations. Blouse A or B: sleeves pleated into cuffs. Blouse C: lower sleeve tucks. Front buttoned vest has back belt with D-rings. Skirt A, B or C with front and back yoke has elastic in back casing and skirt with or without lower ruffle. Pull-on pants have elastic in waistline casing.
Links to reviews/blog postsEdit
- Sew Exciting Needleworks size 4
- Sew Exciting Needleworks size 5
Add a photo to the gallery by clicking the "modify" button below.
[insert your username, and make sure your preferences allow for people to contact you via e-mail. Do not list your email address here!]


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Classes for children are every Sunday fall-spring:
Our first session of 2015-16 is Sunday September 20th, 2015 beginning at 12:30 at Podkrepa hall and will include orientation for parents and students.
See the enrollment form at the bottom of this page (in .pdf, English version coming soon, Sept 2015)
Bulgarian Language for Adults:
Beginning adult Bulgarian language classes have resumed since October 4th, 2014 on Sundays from 4:15-5:15 pm, followed by intermediate level from 5:15-6:15 pm by arrangement with Daniela Ivanova-Nyberg. (Classes take a break during the summer).
"ROSNA KITKA" - Bulgarian Folk Dances @ Podkrepa:
New dance schedule for 2015 below - join us!
Everyone who wants to dance or learn Bulgarian folk dance is welcome! We enjoy a potluck and ask a suggested donation of just $5 to help with operating costs, but no one turned away! Come anyway! We have changed to once a month for now in 2015. (We were dancing every other Friday). However, as Thanksgiving and Christmas fall on the 4th weekends of the month this year, we will be switching up the schedule a little bit, so stay tuned for exact dates as they are set here:
We will dance on these dates so far:
Further dates to be determined later in 2016.
Bring your dancing shoes & comfy clothes and a dish to share with friends and fellow dancers. All ability levels are welcome, we are very happy to help you learn the Bulgarian and other Balkan region folk dances we enjoy! (Macedonian, Greek, Serbian and Albanian among others). We also just enjoy spending time with Balkan music and dance friends and fans, even if you don't dance. Come join us!
Check out our Photo Gallery for some pictures and video from past folk dance parties and concerts featuring the lively & haunting music of Bulgaria and Macedonia and surrounding areas.
The Macedonian Schools Project
Many of our members have been happy to support The Macedonian Schools Project, a non-profit organization promoting international friendship and cultural exchange by assisting Macedonian Schools with donations, resources and networking opportunities. We invite you to check out the great work this organization is doing on behalf of children in Macedonia and feel free to support them directly yourself. They can use both monetary and in-kind donations. And they are also seeking volunteer English teachers for two week stays during the summer of 2016. Please see the flyer below for details on this great cross cultural opportunity.


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Auromere's non-foaming Ayurvedic formula contains no Sodium Lauryl Sulfate. It combines the natural tooth whitening fiber Peelu with the astringent and invigorating properties of Neem and 21 other barks, roots, plants and flowers that have been esteemed for centuries by Ayurvedic specialists for their separate and combined efficacy in maintaining superior dental hygiene.Regular use gently and naturally cleans and polishes teeth to their whitest, invigorates and soothes sensitive gums, and purifies the mouth and breath. Free Of Fluoride, artificial preservatives, sodium lauryl sulfate.
Fine chalk (a gentle cleanser), glycerine (from vegetable oil), purified water, herbal extract blend: [Neem (azadirachta), peelu (salvadora persica), Indian licorice root, pomegranate rind , common jujube, rose apple, clove, Persian walnut, barleria prinoitis bark (vajradanti), Indian almond, bedda nut, Asian holly oak, prickly ash, zanthoxylum alatum (tejbal), sappan wood, catechu, Bengal madder, acacia arabica bark (babul), sarsaparilla, cinnamon, medlar, mayweed and bishop's weed (flower extract)], silica, carrageenan (from seaweed), cellulose gum (from plants), fennel oil, cardamom oil.
Not tested on animals.
View All AuromereView All Beauty & Personal Care > Oral Hygiene > ToothpasteTop 10 Oral Hygiene Products


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Skullcandy INKD 2.0 Earbud Headphones (Maroon and Chrome)
Model #SGIKDY-105
- You name the price you want to pay for a product.
- If the retailer likes your offer, you get that price for the product.
- All Products are New and from Certified Retailers
- 30 day return policy
- Free Shipping
No Additional Fees
Product Unavailable
We are sorry. At this time, we are not accepting offers on this product.
|Type: TPE
Length: 4.26' (1.3 m)
|16 ohms
|Maximum input power
|Frequency response
|20Hz - 20kHz
|1/8" (3.5 mm) gold plated
|11 mm
Surprisingly balanced for a Skullcandy product, and can be enjoyable for a $10 earphone. The Ink'ds make great disposable earphones that can be purchased at electronics stores and gas stations alike.
Easy to find, fairly inoffensive sound, reasonably comfortable and isolating
Poor build quality, harsh treble, no L/R indicators (note: L/R indicators were added in later versions)
Hi, i thought i'd just drop a short review on these for people considering to buy them.These are about the cheapest well sounding plugs i have gotten my hands on this far.I got them for 10$ on sale at my local music store but normally they go for around 20-30.
Great sound for the price. Good bass (Pro/con depending on what music you like)
No Left or Right.
the sound quality ok but the wires do not lay flat like round wires... they retain the shape of how you store them - mine are a month old and they still have the fold kinks from how they were originally packaged when i bought them even through i use them everyday and wind them in a large loop to...
Comfortable, Good Bass, Good Value
Cord Retains Kinks
my step daughter loved the design and colors not knowing how good they actually where,I must say that I was amazed at how good they sounded,would recommend
Comfortable, Compact, Durable, Good Bass, Good Value, Great Sound, Lightweight, Stylish
The earbuds themselves consist of two plastic round peices. The glue or whatever was holding them together has stopped working so now then I pull them out of my ears they come apart.
Easy to Use
Flimsy Construction, Unreliable
Before trying the skull candy ear buds, I always battled comfort, sound, durability, and style. With this product, you get it all!
Durable, Great Sound, Great feel, Compact, Lightweight, Attractive Design
I'd be willing to spend double the price if I knew that the headphones I was getting were going to last a few years through rigorous use. Very disappointed because these are the best quality sound that I've seen for the money but lowest quality cord.
I've owned many pairs of skullcandies over the years. When they work they're great. I love being able to put these in, leave the volume at a reasonably low level and still be able to hear everything coming from the speakers. They're perfect for studying in crowded areas.
I've owned MANY pairs of skullcandies over the years...why? Because after about 6 months they'll get a short and one side will go out. The pair I'm using right now I've had since January, but I didn't use them from the middle of May through August because I wasn't taking classes and didn't need them...
I purchased these earbuds as a cheap backup for my more expensive Sennheiser earbuds and Bose headphones. I didn't expect much for less than $25, but I was very pleasantly surprised by these earbuds. The sound quality is above average with crisp highs, ample mids, and deep lows.
This is a great little investment to toss in the gym bag and not really worry all that much if they happen to fall out.
Comfortable, Durable, Good Value
The earbuds have a awsome sound...but they broke within a month or two and i didnt even blare my sound to them....my opinion is that the makers of this should make them water proof because i go outside alot and i live in oregon....but still overall its not a bad pair of earbuds...
Price: 10 These earbuds are the cheapest skull candies on the market and for $10 they make an excellent job on providing good, high quality music. You can get more colorful designs with different combinations of colors for $2 more, and if you are the kind of guy that is …
- 11mm Full-Range Drivers
- 1/8" (3.5mm) Connection
- Rich Bass Response
- Lifetime Warranty
Average Expert Score
Average User Score


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One key to preventing age spot lies in a product you should already be using every day, says dermatologist Dr. Jordana Gilman. To find out what it is, watch this video.
The best way to prevent age spots is to use sunscreen everyday and to avoid excess sun exposure. These spots are a sign that your skin has had too much sun and your skin is trying to protect itself by making pigments.
Now Playing
Jordana S. Gilman, MD is a board-certified dermatologist and assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Mt. Sinai Medical Center. She has a private practice in New York, NY specializing in medical, aesthetic, and laser dermatology.


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John Cena, Sting meet with 7-year-old cancer survivor after Raw
This week's Monday Night Raw featured John Cena and Sting teaming up to face Seth Rollins and Big Show in the main event, but the best part of the night did not happen until the match was over.
Cena got on the microphone and spoke about 7-year-old Kiara Grindrod, who had recently discovered that her cancer was in remission, and was in attendance that night, before heading into the crowd with Sting to greet the inspirational fan.
• Lil B thinks Peyton Manning did the cooking dance
Cena has gone out of his way for kids battling cancer before, inviting a young fan holding an "I am beating cancer" sign into the ring and taking photos with him while he held the WWE star's championship belt.


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Dakota State University
Exceed your users' search expectations
"WorldCat Discovery provides both a simple search interface and expert search options, which we believe will improve findability compared to our previous discovery interface."
Risë Smith
Digital Design and Access Librarian, Dakota State University
The Karl E. Mundt Library and Learning Commons at Dakota State University was ready for a change. "We want[ed] a more usable and better-functioning search experience for our users," Digital Design and Access Librarian Risë Smith said. At this technical- and computer-focused university, the existing discovery interface was "clunky and unlike most other advanced search interfaces." That made it difficult for their Internet-savvy students and faculty to find the resources they needed.
The library staff of only five full-time employees discussed their options. After reviewing the benefits of WorldCat® Discovery, the staff determined that "WorldCat Discovery provides a cost-effective solution, especially since we already catalog with OCLC and were OCLC FirstSearch® subscribers."
"Compared to our original discovery interface, I much prefer the search functionality in WorldCat Discovery."
Risë registered for the service on April 1 to support a WorldCat Discovery launch in time for the next school year. She received her library's URL and within a month completed setup and added the new search box to the library homepage. She will announce the change to faculty and students before the fall semester begins.
With WorldCat Discovery, Risë immediately noticed improvements over the previous system the library had used. She noted, the "interface appearance is up to date and cleaner," and "the interlibrary loan (request item) button is easier to find and works more seamlessly than in our old interface." The library also opted to add the item location and real-time availability option to their subscription. Now, they not only maintain access to WorldCat, but they also gain mobile views, staff-specific functionality and integrated delivery capabilities.
Services used by Dakota State University
- Dakota State University has just more than 3,000 students with a student-to-faculty ratio of 18 to 1
- All students are required to use laptops and tablet computers in classes and to take computer and programming courses as part of their general education
- The Karl E. Mundt Library and Learning Commons experiments with ways to combine information resources, services, technology and research assistance
- The bas-relief mural above the library's door celebrates the history of the written word, from Egyptian hieroglyphics to an atomic symbol, representing the future
Related stories
Expand e-resource availability and visibility
See how High Point University improved discovery for students and visibility for their unique content.
Get students to your licensed materials
Observe how Mount Mercy University made management and discovery of e-content easier for librarians and students.


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Today marks the writer's 33rd death anniversary.
Black Thursdays
On Thursday, 24 July, 1980, Uttam Kumar passed away. A week later, Mohd Rafi fell victim to heart attack. The following week, on August 7, Vrajendra Gaur passed away. Much to the industry's relief, nothing fatal happened on August 14, 1980.


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Ref: JapTow212941
Apartment for rent from € 88/day in TowadaName/Address:
Image disclaimer: It is the responsibility of the hotel chain and/or the individual property to ensure the accuracy of the photos displayed. Dream Home Shop is not responsible for any inaccuracies in the photos.
Hotel Towadaso is the largest hotel in the area around Lake Towada, and boasts a spacious lobby and large bath.
The position on the map may not be accurate
No info provided


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Isla de la Juventud. Visitors are captivated by the beauty of the Cuban island, alleged to have inspired Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island.
Boasting long stretches of white, sandy beaches surrounded by overhanging palms, crystal-clear waterglobally-renowned for spectacular scuba diving and an abundance of both aquatic and terrestrial flora and fauna, Isla de la Juventud unsurprisingly remains a favorite amongst Cuban tourists. Located 94km off the southwestern coast of mainland Cuba and the largest of Canarreos Archipelago's 350 keys and islets, the remote, yet historically rich, "Isle of Youth" can be reached either by hopping on one of Havana's rapid planes or by taking a more scenic route on Batabanó's numerous high-speed catamaran ferries. Modes of transport aside, every visitor is sure to be captivated by the sheer natural beauty of an island alleged to have inspired one of the greatest adventure novels of all time— Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island.
- Seemingly a newly-discovered island, given its sparse population and unspoilt scenery, Isla de la Juventud was actually chanced upon by Columbus himself back in 1494 on his second journey to the New World.
- Responsible for the failed attack on the Moncada Barracks in the Oriente Province, notorious Cuban dictator Fidel Castro was imprisoned in the island's Presidio Modelo penitentiary from 1953 to 1955.
Equally known as "the island of a thousand names" owing to the numerous names it has been given since Columbus' arrival six centuries ago, Isla de la Juventud is most celebrated foroffering the adventurous traveller and marine animal lover an undeniably unforgettable scuba diving experience. From endless expanses of colorful coral reefs, gorgonians and sponges to an incredible array of fish species including spadefish, moray eels and barracudas to a multitude of limestone caves and sunken shipwrecked boats, visitors to Isla de la Juventud will be truly astounded by the breathtaking marine world lying beneath the Caribbean Sea's surface. In fact, so exceptionally beautiful are the deep-water sights that the International Underwater Photography Contest is held on the island every year. Away from the sea and back on dry land, wildlife enthusiasts should next take a trip to neighboring island Cayo Largo del Sur. Not only can visitors set their eyes on respectively comical and proud-looking pelicans and iguanas, but they can equally watch in wonder at the sight of thousands of sea turtle hatchlings being released into their natural marine habitat.
For those tourists more interested in learning about thesurprisingly extensive history or curious cultural traditions of such a small island however, a thorough exploration of Isla de la Juventud's intriguing museums or participation in its annual grapefruitfestival may be more enticing. Frightening, and perhaps unconventional, as it may sound to visit prison buildings while on holiday, the El Abra prison, which once held Cuban revolutionary José Martí captive, is actually housed in a charming hacienda and the Presidio Modelo prison is equally fascinating as it invites tourists to walk along the same corridors as Fidel Castro did himself almost sixty years ago. Possibly in need of a more lighthearted atmosphere at this point, visitors will certainly be put in a celebratory mood if fortunate enough to experience Isla de la Juventud's Fiesta de la Toronja. Held annually in February over a five day period, this bizarre, yet undoubtedly enjoyable, festival celebrates the end of the citrus crop and, amongst other things, entertains natives and visitors alike with rodeo shows, conga sets and puppet performances.
Isolated the Isla de la Juventud may be, but the splendor of its coastal setting, richness of its biodiversity and uniqueness of its history make it a must-see destination for the avid Latin American traveller.


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SAN FRANCISCO — The lead at the U.S. Open belonged to Michael Thompson. The buzz came from Tiger Woods.
And the struggles came from the three players in the world ranking.
Even as Thompson strung together four birdies on the back nine at The Olympic Club that carried him to
4-under-par 66, Woods put on a clinic on the other side of the course on how to handle the toughest test in golf.
He was never out of position. None of his tee shots found the deep, nasty rough lining the fairways. There was little stress for such a demanding major.
With consecutive birdies late in his round, including a 35-foot putt that banged into the back of the cup on No. 5, Woods opened with 69 to raise hopes that he can finally end that four-year drought in the majors.
"I felt like I had control of my game all day," Woods said. "Just stuck to my game plan – and executed my game plan."
Phil Mickelson (76) and Bubba Watson (78), the other members of Woods' threesome, struggled.
They weren't the only ones to suffer.
Luke Donald, the No. 1 player in the world, is trying to capture his first major. It most likely won't be this one. He failed to make a single birdie and shot 79. He played with Rory McIlroy, the defending champion and No. 2 in the world, who shot 77. Lee Westwood, No. 3 in the world and the other member of the rank group, was 4 over through six holes and rallied for 73.
Nick Watney holed out from the fairway for an
albatross 2 on the par-5 17th hole, sending him to 69. Graeme McDowell, who won the U.S. Open two years ago down the coast at Pebble Beach, and Justin Rose also had 69 in the faster conditions of afternoon. David Toms shot his 69 in the morning, relying on a solid short game and a good attitude.
"You really just have to concentrate, give it your all on every shot and never give in to the golf course, because it will punish you if your attitude is not good, if your concentration is not good," Toms said. "There's just too many hard shots out there to really ever give in to it and not be there."
Thompson's game seems to work on this quirky, tree-lined course built on the side of a giant dune that separates the Pacific Ocean from Lake Merced.
He was runner-up in the 2007 U.S. Amateur at The Olympic Club and couldn't wait to get back.
He made five consecutive 3s – three of them birdies – and closed his dream round with a 10-foot birdie putt on the short, tough 18th for the lead. Thompson took only 22 putts.
"On the back side, the putter … seems like every putt went in the hole," said Thompson, a 27-year-old playing his first U.S. Open as a pro. "Got a little nervous there once all those cameras showed up. It's always a little bit of an adjustment. In that sense, I kind of wish I was Phil or Tiger, because you get the cameras from the beginning."
Thompson, who said he had only a few hundred people following his group, understands all the fuss over Woods, a 14-time major champion who is showing signs of returning to the top of his game. He was more than happy with 66 and his name atop the leaderboard, and he made it clear he wasn't going to settle for one good round.


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Really just looking for a pep talk here. We are going to see the new star wars movie, my choice lol, and I'm super nervous. I don't remember anything about our one night stand, and I've always liked him so I'm just stressing.
Nervous for date with one night stand?
Also I don't remember very much about our one night stand.
Have an opinion?
What Guys Said 1
hahah were you drunk?00|01|0
Well yes, that is generally when one night stands happen
What Girls Said 2
If the circumstances of the one night stand were mostly positive, and you both already had some casual sex. It can be a decent way to decide if there is more. Usually thats hard due to the awkward situation, but block that out of your mind and treat him like any other guy you'd go on a date with.00|00|0
Don't be he already had sex with you... At this point it should be easy!00|00|0
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Van Gaal: My Man Utd team are not far behind Tottenham
Louis van Gaal has claimed that his Manchester United side are not far behind title chasing Tottenham, despite plenty of evidence undermining that curious boast.
Spurs sit second in the table after a thrilling 4-0 win at Stoke on Monday night that confirmed their status as the only serious challengers to runaway leaders Leicester.
Mauricio Pochettino's side also beat United 3-0 earlier this month, but Van Gaal found a way to suggest his team were not far away from being a match for the free flowing North London side.
"I don't think there is a lot of distance between Tottenham and Manchester United, but the distance is in points," he argued.
"They have won more, they are scoring more and that's because they have more creative players.
"We have beaten Tottenham 1-0 (earlier in the season) and until the 70th minute I think we were the better team but then (there was) a mis-communication."
Some of that miscommunication Van Gaal refers to may have been down to his curious decision to play part of the game against Spurs with winger Ashley Young as a makeshift forward, while leaving striker Anthony Martial isolated out on the wing.
Those kind of decisions have infuriated United supporters during Van Gaal's tenure as manager, with yet the Dutchman still has a chance to finish this season on a high.
A top four finish and success in the FA Cup may yet keep him in a job at United for a third season and he has admitted captain Wayne Rooney has much to prove if he is to play a key role in a defining for days in United's season.
Rooney is making his way back from injury and is desperate to play against his old club Everton in Saturday's FA Cup semi-final at Wembley, but Van Gaal hints he needs to prove his fitness in Wednesday night's Premier League game against Crystal Palace.
"It's dependent on how he plays, like every player. We have to see how he is playing," said Van Gaal of Rooney, who made his first start in two months against Aston Villa on Saturday.
"I think he played very well in the first half (against Villa), I have said that already. In the second half he was tiring but he had already got 60 minutes in his legs.
"He has trained today and he has recovered so we will have to see how he is feeling in the second half against Crystal Palace and still he has to play good."


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The U.S. election is over, but USC started campaigning Wednesday. The school released a video — click here to see it — promoting receiver Marqise Lee's candidacy for the Heisman Trophy and the Biletnikoff, Maxwell and Hornung awards.
Lee, a sophomore, is second in the country with 1,286 receiving yards (behind Baylor's Terrance Williams, at 1,340), and Lee has 12 touchdown catches, third-most among national receivers. Lee also ranks in the top 10 nationally in kickoff-return yards, with 677 (an average of 29.4 yards per return).
The video of Lee's highlights and stats includes public-statement testimonials from UCLA coach Jim Mora and Stanford coach David Shaw, who called Lee "the best college receiver since I scouted Randy Moss.''
"As a head coach, you're always going to say good things about your stars,'' USC coach Lane Kiffin said, "but when other people are making statements like that, that should be even more powerful than a video being sent out or numbers being sent out, as to way Marqise should be considered in awards conversations.''


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Advanced Materials and Techniques for Reinforced Concrete Structures
Nowadays, there is a race among investors for constructing high-rise buildings due to high proἀts from the real estate business worldwide. Therefore, the major challenge for structural engineers is how to achieve the goal for the investors and the architects as well.
The aim of this book is to present the most advanced materials and construc-tion techniques used in the reinforced concrete structure industry. Because advanced materials are growing parallel to the development of new structure systems, the advantages and disadvantages of the different structure systems are very important from durability, reliability, and construction points of view.This book is intended to serve as a guide to junior and senior engineers who work in design, construction, and maintenance of reinforced concrete structures to assist them in choosing the most reasonable structure system, materials, method of con-struction, and maintenance plan.


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Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat
Shown here is a F4F-4 Wildcat on-board the USS Long Island (ACV-1) equipped with ferry tanks on the carrier's catapult ready for launching, during flight operations on 6th March, 1943. Note that the catapult runs diagonally across the flight deck. Planes parked in the background include more F4F-4s and F4U-1s.
Administrator, Mar 25, 2006
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Chain of large markets in the Portland area and Oregon. Stocks organic produce, grocery, deli, beer & wine, supplements, care products, and more. Open Mon-Sun 8:00am-10:00pm.
Reviews (3)
First Review by savedgurl
my favorite grocery store - Edit
The people here are so nice and helpful and they seem to love their job. Easy to find everything I use. Good labeling for organic and non-GMO items.
Watch Out Whole Foods - Edit
I had never heard of New Seasons before my PDX visit. It very much reminds me of Whole Foods, but I've never seen Pirate and Unicorn Band-Aids at Whole Foods... :)
It's a very large store, but it's very spacious, neat, and bright. I'm not sure if they are located outside of OR, but it would be nice for them to expand and end the monopoly that WF has on the big-scale health-food store chain.
Pros: clean and neat, very spacious
One Stop Shopping - Edit
This has got to be one of the best markets I have ever shopped at. They are local owned,have awesome selection, free class's,wellness people on site,nutritionist to help ya along the way, deserts are way good and wok bar is a big hit.
Pros: Local owner, wonderful selection, very clean
Cons: Parking, very busy
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A selected list of speaking engagements and Workshops:
Design Lessons from Life: An evolution of participatory action research and design methodologies for practice-based research. Evolution of Methodologies – How Artists and Designers are Evolving Practice Based Research. National Glass Centre, Sunderland. 30th June 2016.
Northern Bridge DTP Summer School. 'Interdisciplinarity' panel member. Ushaw College. 2nd June 2016.
Digital Engagement, Visitor Generated Content and Radical Trust: Visitor voices, moderation and social interpretation. Cultural Heritage, Digital Engagement and Visitor Experience Seminar. Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh. 25th May 2016.
Connectivity and Collaboration in Digital Humanities. Digital Arts and Humanities Institute 2015. Networks: Collaborations, connection, the future. Royal Irish Academy.23rd October 2015.
I teach on the Gallery 101: Designing the Art Exhibition, a first year Undergraduate Degree module in the School of Education, Durham University.
I have taught on a number of Undergraduate and Masters level courses during my time at Durham University and UCL Centre for Digital Humanities, focusing on Museum Studies, Digital Humanities, user studies and digital technology in a cultural heritage context.