Second Task (second + task)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Investigating learning deficits associated with dyslexia

DYSLEXIA, Issue 1 2004
Emmanuel M. Pothos
Abstract An artificial grammar learning task was used to define two learning tasks of identical complexity at the symbolic level, but which differed in terms of stimulus format. The stimuli in one learning task were created so as to encourage participants to perceive each stimulus as a whole, with less emphasis on the stimulus constituent elements (the ,embedded' stimuli), while in the second task the constituent elements of each stimulus were emphasized by presenting them serially (the ,sequences' stimuli). Using a between participants design, dyslexic participants performed equally well in the two versions of the learning task. By contrast, non-dyslexic participants performed as well as dyslexic ones with the embedded stimuli but were impaired in the sequences stimuli. This finding was interpreted as showing that dyslexic participants were less able, compared to controls, to process individual stimulus elements of both the sequences and the embedded stimuli, consistently with recent work associating dyslexia with problems in attention focusing and shifting. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Board Efficiency and Internal Corporate Control Mechanisms

JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS & MANAGEMENT STRATEGY, Issue 4 2003
Clara Graziano
We analyze the interactions between internal and external control mechanisms in a framework in which the board selects the CEO and then decides whether to retain or dismiss him after observing a signal regarding his ability. The novel aspect of our paper is that we consider both the hiring and the firing of the CEO by the board. The type of board is defined by its ability to select a good CEO, so that the quality of the CEO depends on the type of board. Then, the dismissal-retention decision provides information not only on the quality of the CEO but also on the board's type. We show that the board's behavior depends on the pressure from the takeover market and on whether its type is publicly known. When the pressure from the takeover market is high and the type of board is private information, the board prefers not to dismiss the manager even if it has received a very low signal regarding his quality. Hence, our model endogenously derives a collusion between board and CEO in which the board does not fire a bad CEO. This behavior emerges as an attempt to hide the board's inability to accomplish the first task, CEO selection, by distorting the second task, the CEO retention-dismissal decision. [source]


Task assignment, incentives and technological factors

MANAGERIAL AND DECISION ECONOMICS, Issue 1 2009
Maria De Paola
In this paper, we examine the allocation of tasks between a principal and an agent considering their incentives to provide effort, their different abilities in handling tasks, and transmission costs. We focus our attention on two tasks: the first may be handled by the principal or by the agent, whereas the second is necessarily carried out by the agent. Under a fully decentralised organisation, the agent performs both tasks, whereas, under partial delegation, the principal handles the first task and transfers the outcome to the agent who handles the second task. Assuming technological complementarities, from our analysis it emerges that, if there is imperfect observability of effort, full delegation is better at eliciting effort by the agent in the second task, whereas, in comparison with partial delegation, it lowers effort in the first task. Although with contractible effort, the choice between the two organisational forms depends only on transmission costs and on the relative ability of its members, when moral hazard problems are taken into account, the organisational choice is related to the relative importance played by the two tasks in production. If the agent's task is relatively important in production, full delegation, encouraging a higher level of effort in this task, may be optimal, even if technological factors favour partial delegation. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


A comparison of bonfils fiberscope-assisted laryngoscopy and standard direct laryngoscopy in simulated difficult pediatric intubation: a manikin study

PEDIATRIC ANESTHESIA, Issue 6 2010
ARNIM VLATTEN MD
Summary Introduction:, Difficult airway management in children is challenging. One alternative device to the gold standard of direct laryngoscopy is the STORZ Bonfils fiberscope (Karl Storz Endoscopy, Tuttlingen, Germany), a rigid fiberoptic stylette-like scope with a curved tip. Although results in adults have been encouraging, reports regarding its use in children have been conflicting. We compared the effectiveness of a standard laryngoscope to the Bonfils fiberscope in a simulated difficult infant airway. Methods:, Ten pediatric anesthesiologists were recruited for this study and asked to perform three sets of tasks. For the first task, each participant intubated an unaltered manikin (SimBaby TM, Laerdal, Puchheim, Germany) five times using a styletted 3.5 endotracheal tube (ETT) and a Miller 1 blade (group DL-Normal). For the second task, a difficult airway configuration simulating a Cormack-Lehane grade 3B view was created by fixing a Miller-1 blade into position in the manikin using a laboratory stand. Each participant then intubated the manikin five times with a styletted 3.5 ETT using conventional technique but without touching the laryngoscope (group DL-Difficult). In the third task, the manikin was kept in the same difficult airway configuration, and each participant intubated the manikin five times using a 3.5-mm ETT mounted on the Bonfils fiberscope as an adjunct to direct laryngoscopy with the Miller-1 blade (group BF-Difficult). Primary outcomes were time to intubate and success rate. Results:, A total of 150 intubations were performed. Correct ETT placement was achieved in 100% of attempts in group DL-Normal, 90% of attempts in group DL-Difficult and 98% of attempts in BF-Difficult. Time to intubate averaged 14 s (interquartile range 12,16) in group DL-Normal; 12 s (10,15) in group DL-Difficult; and 11 s (10,18) in group BF-Difficult. The percentage of glottic opening seen (POGO score) was 70% (70,80) in group DL-Normal; 0% (0,0) in group DL-Difficult; and 100% (100,100) in group BF-Difficult. Discussion:, The Bonfils fiberscope-assisted laryngoscopy was easier to use and provided a better view of the larynx than simple direct laryngoscopy in the simulated difficult pediatric airway, but intubation success rate and time to intubate were not improved. Further studies of the Bonfils fibrescope as a pediatric airway adjunct are needed. [source]


A Micellar Multitasking Device: Sensing pH Windows and Gauging the Lipophilicity of Drugs with Fluorescent Signals

CHEMISTRY - A EUROPEAN JOURNAL, Issue 4 2010
Franck Denat Prof.
Abstract A multitasking fluorescent device can be obtained by forming micelles of Triton,X-100, containing a lipophilic macrocyclic Cu2+ complex and the coordinating fluorophore Coumarin,343 (C343), which features a COOH moiety. At low pH the two micellised components do not interact, and the fluorescence of Courmarin,343 (C343) is intense. At intermediate pH, C343 is deprotonated and coordinates to the Cu2+ centre in its apical position, with fluorescence quenching. At higher pH the deprotonated C343 is displaced from Cu2+ by the formation of an OH, complex, and the fluorescence is revived. This allows the system to carry out its first task as it behaves as an "on,off,on" fluorescent sensor for pH windows. The "off" part of the window ranges from pH,6 to 8. In this interval, in which the carboxylate form of C343 is apically coordinated to the Cu2+ complex inside micelles, the device carries out its second task, that is, it behaves as a gauge for lipophilicity. For pHs between 6 and 8, molecules containing a COOH group are in their COO, form and distribute between bulk water and micelles proportionally to their lipophilicity. Upon entering the micelle, their COO, moiety competes for coordination with C343, displacing it from the Cu2+ centre, and this results in fluorescence revival, the intensity of which is also proportional to the lipophilicity of the examined molecule. We have chosen the physiological pH value (7.4) as the working pH, and we have examined the lipophilicity of fatty acids and of the widely used family of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). The device successfully measures their lipophilicity, expressing it with an "off,on" type fluorescent signal, as demonstrated by the correlation of the fluorescence increase with the logarithmic water/octanol partition coefficient (log,P) and with the difference between the pKa observed in micelles and that measured in water for NSAIDs. [source]