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Contingent
Terms modified by Contingent Selected AbstractsMAKING THE CORE CONTINGENT: PROFESSIONAL AGENCY WORK AND ITS CONSEQUENCES IN UK SOCIAL SERVICESPUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, Issue 2 2008KIM HOQUE In recent times, the UK has witnessed a steady growth in the use of agency workers to fill core professional roles in public sector organizations. Similar trends have been noted elsewhere, particularly in Australia and the US. In this paper our objective is to explore some of the consequences of this growth, drawing on case study research on social services. We point to a number of problems associated with the management of agency workers and to the potentially negative consequences for the quality of services. These problems, in turn, may impact on key aspects of a (largely functional) public service employment model founded on strong internal labour markets, employment stability and collegial ethos. We also note that while there are ways in which public organizations can manage this situation, certain constraints may prevent them from doing so. [source] ,CREATIONISM' AND THE CONTINGENT A PRIORIRATIO, Issue 2 2010Jessica F. Leech Williamson (1986) presents a troublesome example of the contingent a priori; troublesome, because it does not involve indexicals, and hence cannot be defused via the usual two-dimensional strategies. Here I explore how the example works, via an examination of crucial belief-forming method M, partly in response to Hawthorne (2002) and the questions there raised for ,hyperreliable' belief-forming methods. I suggest that, when used to form a belief, M does its special work through creating a verifying state of affairs which guarantees the truth of the belief thus formed. This creative link can be said to account for the knowledge-conferring status of M. But it also provides us with a way to defuse the purported example of the contingent a priori. The knowledge at issue is only a priori in virtue of this creative link, an importantly different epistemic achievement from standard cases of a priori knowledge. One important moral to be drawn is that the a priori/a posteriori distinction does not appear to be slicing the epistemological beast at its joints. [source] Effects of alcohol on risk-taking during simulated drivingHUMAN PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY: CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL, Issue 3 2002Scott E. Burian Abstract The effect of alcohol on judgement or conscious risk-taking may increase the likelihood of an automobile accident. This study examined the direct effects of penalty severity and alcohol on risk-taking in a novel simulated-driving lane-choice task. Thirteen male social drinkers received alcohol (0.3,g/kg, 0.5,g/kg, 0.8,g/kg) or placebo during each of four test sessions in a randomized, within subject design. In repeated trials, subjects selected, then drove through a cone-defined lane. Contingent upon performance, points were added (+,5 for the narrower lane, +,3 for the wider lane) and taken away (,,1, ,,3, or ,,5 points per hit cone) after each trial. Risk-taking was defined as a selection of the narrower-width lane. The frequency of risk-taking decreased as the penalty increased. The 0.5,g/kg dose, compared to other alcohol doses or placebo, significantly increased risk-taking in the high-risk (5-point penalty) condition. This finding suggests that breath alcohol concentrations within current legal standards can alter a driver's decision-making such that the willingness to enter a high-risk situation is increased. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] The continuity of microevolution and macroevolutionJOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, Issue 5 2002Andrew M. Simons Abstract A persistent debate in evolutionary biology is one over the continuity of microevolution and macroevolution , whether macroevolutionary trends are governed by the principles of microevolution. The opposition of evolutionary trends over different time scales is taken as evidence that selection is uncoupled over these scales. I argue that the paradox inferred by trend opposition is eliminated by a hierarchical application of the ,geometric-mean fitness' principle, a principle that has been invoked only within the limited context of microevolution in response to environmental variance. This principle implies the elimination of well adapted genotypes , even those with the highest arithmetic mean fitness over a shorter time scale. Contingent on premises concerning the temporal structure of environmental variance, selectivity of extinction, and clade-level heritability, the evolutionary outcome of major environmental change may be viewed as identical in principle to the outcome of minor environmental fluctuations over the short-term. Trend reversals are thus recognized as a fundamental property of selection operating at any phylogenetic level that occur in response to event severities of any magnitude over all time scales. This ,bet-hedging' perspective differs from others in that a specified, single hierarchical selective process is proposed to explain observed hierarchical patterns of extinction. [source] Disproving Causal Relationships Using Observational Data,OXFORD BULLETIN OF ECONOMICS & STATISTICS, Issue 3 2009Henry L. Bryant Abstract Economic theory is replete with causal hypotheses that are scarcely tested because economists are generally constrained to work with observational data. We describe a method for testing a hypothesis that one observed random variable causes another. Contingent on a sufficiently strong correspondence between the two variables, an appropriately related third variable can be employed for the test. The logic of the procedure naturally suggests strong and weak grounds for rejecting the causal hypothesis. Monte Carlo results suggest that weakly grounded rejections are unreliable for small samples, but reasonably reliable for large samples. Strongly grounded rejections are highly reliable, even for small samples. [source] Are the Laws of Logic Necessary or Contingent?PROCEEDINGS OF THE ARISTOTELIAN SOCIETY (HARDBACK), Issue 1 2001Anna Sherratt First page of article [source] Contingent and Non-Contingent Working in Local Government: Contrasting Psychological ContractsPUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, Issue 1 2002Jacqueline A-M. Given that the contingent worker is likely to be a familiar presence in the public service workplace of the future, this paper explores the consequences of contingent work arrangements on the attitudes and behaviour of employees using the psychological contract as a framework for analysis. Drawing upon survey evidence from a sample of permanent, fixed term and temporary staff employed in a British local authority, our results suggest that contract status plays an important role in how individuals view the exchange relationship with their employer and how they respond to the inducements received from that relationship. Specifically, contingent employees are less committed to the organization and engage in organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) to a lesser degree than their permanent counterparts. However, contrary to our hypothesis, the relationship between the inducements provided by the employer and OCB is stronger for contingent employees. Such findings have implications for the treatment of contingent and non-contingent employees in the public services. [source] The Impact of Internal Auditor Compensation and Role on External Auditors' Planning Judgments and Decisions,CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNTING RESEARCH, Issue 2 2001F. Todd Dezoort Abstract This paper reports the results of an experiment that investigates how external audit planning is affected when internal auditors have incentives and the opportunity to bias their evaluations. Specifically, we draw on attribution theory to examine how internal auditor eligibility for incentive compensation and participation in consulting (i.e., two factors that provide incentives to bias audit evaluations) affect external audit planning. In addition, we examine the effects of incentive compensation and a consulting role across two routine internal audit tasks , an objective tests of controls task and a subjective inventory valuation task , to evaluate whether their effects are contingent upon task subjectivity (i.e., opportunity to bias audit evaluations). Seventy-six external auditors from four Big 5 public accounting firms participated in an experiment that manipulated internal auditor compensation (fixed salary versus incentive compensation), the type of work that the internal auditors routinely perform (primarily auditing versus primarily consulting), and audit task subjectivity (objective tests of controls versus subjective inventory valuation). Our results suggest that the nature of internal auditors' compensation and work affect audit planning recommendations differently. The opportunity to receive incentive compensation results in less reliance on internal auditors' work and greater budgeted audit hours, but only for the subjective task. Although a consulting role decreases perceived internal auditor objectivity, it has a limited effect on planning recommendations. Specifically, consulting has no effect on reliance, and leads to greater budgeted audit hours only when incentive compensation is available. We discuss potential explanations for the results as well as implications for audit research, practice, and regulation. [source] EXAMINING THE CONDITIONAL NATURE OF THE ILLICIT DRUG MARKET-HOMICIDE RELATIONSHIP: A PARTIAL TEST OF THE THEORY OF CONTINGENT CAUSATIONCRIMINOLOGY, Issue 1 2002GRAHAM C. OUSEY Recently, Zimring and Hawkins (1997) have suggested that drug markets are a "contingent cause" of the increase in homicide rates. That is, where structural conditions known to produce violence are already in place, the drug distribution-homicide link may be exacerbated. This analysis uses hierarchical linear modeling to investigate two key research questions: (1) Is within-city variation in illicit drug market activity positively associated with within-city variation in homicide rates during the 1984,1997 period? (2) Is the illicit drug market-homicide association contingent on preexisting violence conducive socioeconomic conditions? Using three measures of drug market activity, analyses provide affirmative evidence on both questions. Theoretical and research implications of these findings are discussed. [source] EXECUTING THE INNOCENT AND SUPPORT FOR CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC POLICYCRIMINOLOGY AND PUBLIC POLICY, Issue 1 2005JAMES D. UNNEVER Research Summary: The issue of whether innocent people have been executed is now at the center of the debate concerning the legitimacy of capital punishment. The purpose of this research was to use data collected by the Gallup Organization in 2003 to investigate whether Americans who believed that an innocent person had been executed were less likely to support capital punishment. We also explored whether the association varied by race, given that African Americans are disproportionately affected by the death penalty. Our results indicated that three-quarters of Americans believed that an innocent person had been executed for a crime they did not commit within the last five years and that this belief was associated with lower levels of support for capital punishment, especially among those who thought this sanction was applied unfairly. In addition, our analyses revealed that believing an innocent person had been executed had a stronger association with altering African American than white support for the death penalty. Policy Implications: A key claim of death penalty advocates is that a high proportion of the public supports capital punishment. In this context, scholars opposing this sanction have understood the importance of showing that the public's support for executing offenders is contingent and shallower than portrayed by typical opinion polls. The current research joins this effort by arguing that the prospect of executing innocents potentially impacts public support for the death penalty and, in the least, creates ideological space for a reconsideration of the legitimacy of capital punishment. [source] Equipment, Supplies, and Pharmaceuticals: How Much Might It Cost to Achieve Basic Surge Capacity?ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 11 2006Dan Hanfling MD The ability to deliver optimal medical care in the setting of a disaster event, regardless of its cause, will in large part be contingent on an immediately available supply of key medical equipment, supplies, and pharmaceuticals. Although the Department of Health and Human Services Strategic National Stockpile program makes these available through its 12-hour "push packs" and vendor-managed inventory, every local community should be funded to create a local cache for these items. This report explores the funding requirements for this suggested approach. Furthermore, the response to a surge in demand for care will be contingent on keeping available staff close to the hospitals for a sustained period. A proposal for accomplishing this, with associated costs, is discussed as well. [source] Reducing Child Labour Through Conditional Cash Transfers: Evidence from Nicaragua's Red de Protección SocialDEVELOPMENT POLICY REVIEW, Issue 6 2010Kevin A. Gee Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programmes, providing eligible households with periodic cash payments, contingent on their children's adherence to school enrolment and attendance requirements, hold considerable promise for reducing levels of child labour across the developing world. This article presents the results of an analysis of a CCT programme in Nicaragua, Red de Protección Social, and compares them with those of other CCT programmes, discussing how the structure of each programme's incentives, including differences in targeting, subsidy amounts and educational requirements, contributes to the variation in their effectiveness at reducing child labour. [source] Synthesis and separation in the history of "nature" and "nurture"DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOBIOLOGY, Issue 8 2007Cheryl A. Logan Abstract For much of the 20th century scientific psychology treated the relative contributions of nature and nurture to the development of phenotypes as the result of two quite separate sources of influence. One, nature, was linked to biological perspectives, often manifest as "instinct", while the other, nurture, was taken to reflect psychological influences. We argue that this separation was contingent on historical circumstance. Prior to about 1920, several perspectives in biology and psychology promoted the synthesis of nature and nurture. But between 1930 and 1980 that synthetic consensus was lost in America as numerous influences converged to promote a view that identified psychological and biological aspects of mind and behavior as inherently separate. Around 1960, during the hegemony of behaviorism, Daniel Lehrman, Gilbert Gottlieb, and other pioneers of developmental psychobiology developed probabilistic epigenesis to reject predeterminist notions of instinct and restore a synthesis. We describe the earlier and later periods of synthesis and discuss several influences that led to the separation of nature and nurture in the middle of the 20th century. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 49: 758,769, 2007. [source] Influences of postconceptional age and postnatal experience on the development of auditory recognition memory in the newborn infantDEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOBIOLOGY, Issue 3 2002Raye-Ann deRegnier Abstract We evaluated the effects of postconceptional age and postnatal experience on the development of neonatal auditory recognition memory. Three groups were tested: a premature newborn group (tested at 35,38 weeks postconceptional age, ,1 week old), a full-term newborn group (tested at 39,42 weeks postconceptional age, ,1 week old), and a full-term experienced group (tested at 39,42 weeks postconceptional age, >1 week old; range 8,30 days). Event-related potentials were collected while infants listened to the maternal voice alternating with a stranger's voice. Postconceptional age was correlated with the development of recognition memory for the maternal voice while there were qualitative effects of postnatal experience on latency measurements. Maturity of auditory cortical responses was not correlated with recognition memory abilities. We conclude that maturation of the recognition memory pathways is primarily a function of postconceptional age with qualitative effects of postnatal experience. Maturation of the auditory recognition memory pathway is not contingent upon maturation of the "P2" peak thought to arise from primary auditory cortex. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 41: 216,225, 2002. Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/dev.10070 [source] The development of sentence interpretation: effects of perceptual, attentional and semantic interferenceDEVELOPMENTAL SCIENCE, Issue 6 2007Robert Leech How does the development and consolidation of perceptual, attentional, and higher cognitive abilities interact with language acquisition and processing? We explored children's (ages 5,17) and adults' (ages 18,51) comprehension of morphosyntactically varied sentences under several competing speech conditions that varied in the degree of attentional demands, auditory masking, and semantic interference. We also evaluated the relationship between subjects' syntactic comprehension and their word reading efficiency and general ,speed of processing'. We found that the interactions between perceptual and attentional processes and complex sentence interpretation changed considerably over the course of development. Perceptual masking of the speech signal had an early and lasting impact on comprehension, particularly for more complex sentence structures. In contrast, increased attentional demand in the absence of energetic auditory masking primarily affected younger children's comprehension of difficult sentence types. Finally, the predictability of syntactic comprehension abilities by external measures of development and expertise is contingent upon the perceptual, attentional, and semantic milieu in which language processing takes place. [source] Defending Contingentism in MetaphysicsDIALECTICA, Issue 1 2009Kristie Miller Metaphysics is supposed to tell us about the metaphysical nature of our world: under what conditions composition occurs; how objects persist through time; whether properties are universals or tropes. It is near orthodoxy that whichever of these sorts of metaphysical claims is true is necessarily true. This paper looks at the debate between that orthodox view and a recently emerging view that claims like these are contingent, by focusing on the metaphysical debate between monists and pluralists about concrete particulars. This paper argues that we should be contingentists about monism and pluralism, and it defends contingentism against some necessitarian objections by offering an epistemology of contingent metaphysical claims. [source] On Explaining Knowledge of NecessityDIALECTICA, Issue 1 2004Joel Pust Moderate rationalists maintain that our rational intuitions provide us with prima facie justification for believing various necessary propositions. Such a claim is often criticized on the grounds that our having reliable rational intuitions about domains in which the truths are necessary is inexplicable in some epistemically objectionable sense. In this paper, I defend moderate rationalism against such criticism. I argue that if the reliability of our rational intuitions is taken to be contingent, then there is no reason to think that our reliability is inexplicable. I also suggest that our reliability is, in fact, necessary, and that such necessary reliability neither admits of, nor requires, any explanation of the envisaged sort. [source] Alcohol, suppressed anger and violenceADDICTION, Issue 9 2010Thor Norström ABSTRACT Aims Is alcohol related causally to violence, and if so, is the effect of drinking contingent on suppressed anger such that it is strongest among individuals who are highly inclined to withhold angry feelings? We addressed these questions by analysing panel data using a method that diminishes the effects of confounding factors. Design We analysed data on heavy episodic drinking and violent behaviour from the second (1994) and third (1999) waves of the Young in Norway Longitudinal Study (n = 2697; response rate: 67%). The first difference method was applied to estimate the association between these behaviours, implying that changes in the frequency of violence were regressed on changes in the frequency of drinking. Hence, the effects of time-invariant confounders were eliminated. Analyses were conducted for the whole sample, and for groups scoring low, medium and high on a short version of the STAXI anger suppression scale. Findings Changes in drinking were related positively and significantly to changes in violent behaviour, but the alcohol effect varied with the level of suppressed anger: it was strongest in the high-anger group (elasticity estimate = 0.053, P = 0.011) and weakest (and insignificant) in the low-anger group (elasticity estimate = 0.004, P = 0.806). Conclusions Alcohol use may be related causally to violence, but the effect of drinking is confined to individuals who are inclined to suppress their angry feelings. [source] STOP US BEFORE WE SPEND AGAIN: INSTITUTIONAL CONSTRAINTS ON GOVERNMENT SPENDINGECONOMICS & POLITICS, Issue 3 2006DAVID M. PRIMO A distributive politics model establishes that the presence of exogenously enforceable spending limits reduces spending and that the effect of executive veto authority is contingent on whether spending is capped and whether the chief executive is a liberal or conservative. Surprisingly, when spending limits are in place, governments with conservative executives spend more than those with more liberal chief executives. Limits are welfare improving, as is the executive veto when it leads to the building of override coalitions. Using 32 years of US state budget data, this paper also establishes empirically that strict balanced budget rules constrain spending and also lead to less pronounced short-term responses to fluctuations in a state's economy. Party variables like divided government and party control of state legislatures tend to have little or no direct effect, with political institutions and economic indicators explaining much of the variation in state spending. [source] Employment-based abstinence reinforcement as a maintenance intervention for the treatment of cocaine dependence: a randomized controlled trialADDICTION, Issue 9 2009Anthony DeFulio ABSTRACT Context Due to the chronic nature of cocaine dependence, long-term maintenance treatments may be required to sustain abstinence. Abstinence reinforcement is among the most effective means of initiating cocaine abstinence. Practical and effective means of maintaining abstinence reinforcement programs over time are needed. Objective To determine whether employment-based abstinence reinforcement can be an effective long-term maintenance intervention for cocaine dependence. Design Participants (n = 128) were enrolled in a 6-month job skills training and abstinence initiation program. Participants who initiated abstinence, attended regularly and developed needed job skills during the first 6 months were hired as operators in a data entry business and assigned randomly to an employment-only (control, n = 24) or abstinence-contingent employment (n = 27) group. Setting A non-profit data entry business. Participants Unemployed welfare recipients who used cocaine persistently while enrolled in methadone treatment in Baltimore. Intervention Abstinence-contingent employment participants received 1 year of employment-based contingency management, in which access to employment was contingent upon provision of drug-free urine samples under routine and then random drug testing. If a participant provided drug-positive urine or failed to provide a mandatory sample, then that participant received a temporary reduction in pay and could not work until urinalysis confirmed recent abstinence. Main outcome measure Cocaine-negative urine samples at monthly assessments across 1 year of employment. Results During the 1 year of employment, abstinence-contingent employment participants provided significantly more cocaine-negative urine samples than employment-only participants [79.3% and 50.7%, respectively; P = 0.004, odds ratio (OR) = 3.73, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.60,8.69]. Conclusions Employment-based abstinence reinforcement that includes random drug testing is effective as a long-term maintenance intervention, and is among the most promising treatments for drug dependence. Work-places could serve as therapeutic agents in the treatment of drug dependence by arranging long-term employment-based contingency management programs. [source] Effects of varying the monetary value of voucher-based incentives on abstinence achieved during and following treatment among cocaine-dependent outpatientsADDICTION, Issue 2 2007Stephen T. Higgins ABSTRACT Aims This study examined whether increasing the amount of abstinence achieved during outpatient treatment for cocaine dependence is an effective method for increasing longer-term cocaine abstinence. Design A two-condition, parallel groups, randomized controlled trial was conducted. Setting The trial was conducted in a university-based research clinic. Participants A total of 100 cocaine-dependent outpatients participated in the trial. Intervention Participants were assigned randomly to receive treatment based on the community reinforcement approach (CRA) plus voucher-based incentives set at a relatively high monetary value (maximal value = $1995/12 weeks) or CRA with vouchers set at a relatively low monetary value (maximal value = $499/12 weeks). Vouchers were earned contingent on cocaine-negative urinalysis results during the initial 12 weeks of the 24-week outpatient treatment. Measurements Outcomes were evaluated using urine-toxicology testing, questionnaires and other self-report instruments. Findings Increasing voucher value increased the duration of continuous cocaine abstinence achieved during the 24-week treatment period. Point-prevalence cocaine abstinence assessed every 3 months throughout an 18-month follow-up period was greater in the high- than low-value voucher conditions. The duration of abstinence achieved during treatment predicted abstinence during follow-up, although that relationship weakened over time. Conclusions Increasing the value of abstinence-contingent incentives during the initial weeks of treatment appears to represent an effective method for increasing during-treatment and longer-term cocaine abstinence, but the positive association of during-treatment abstinence with longer-term outcome dissipates with time. [source] REVIEW: Developing human laboratory models of smoking lapse behavior for medication screeningADDICTION BIOLOGY, Issue 1 2009Sherry A. McKee ABSTRACT Use of human laboratory analogues of smoking behavior can provide an efficient, cost-effective mechanistic evaluation of a medication signal on smoking behavior, with the result of facilitating translational work in medications development. Although a number of human laboratory models exist to investigate various aspects of smoking behavior and nicotine dependence phenomena, none have yet modeled smoking lapse behavior. The first instance of smoking during a quit attempt (i.e. smoking lapse) is highly predictive of relapse and represents an important target for medications development. Focusing on an abstinence outcome is critical for medication screening as the US Food and Drug Administration approval for cessation medications is contingent on demonstrating effects on smoking abstinence. This paper outlines a three-stage process for the development of a smoking lapse model for the purpose of medication screening. The smoking lapse paradigm models two critical features of lapse behavior: the ability to resist the first cigarette and subsequent ad libitum smoking. Within the context of the model, smokers are first exposed to known precipitants of smoking relapse (e.g. nicotine deprivation, alcohol, stress), and then presented their preferred brand of cigarettes. Their ability to resist smoking is then modeled and once smokers ,give in' and decide to smoke, they participate in a tobacco self-administration session. Ongoing and completed work developing and validating these models for the purpose of medication screening is discussed. [source] Behavioural sensitization and enhanced dopamine response in the nucleus accumbens after intravenous cocaine self-administration in miceEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 3 2003Agustin Zapata Abstract The behavioural effects of cocaine are enhanced in animals with a prior history of repeated cocaine administration. This phenomenon, referred to as sensitization, is also associated with an increase in cocaine-evoked extracellular dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens. Behavioural and neurochemical sensitization has been demonstrated in rats with a prior history of cocaine self-administration and in those that had received experimenter-administered cocaine. Although it is clear that the repeated non-contingent administration also results in behavioural sensitization in the mouse, the issue of whether behavioural and neurochemical sensitization also occur in this species following intravenous cocaine self-administration has not been assessed. The present study used the technique of in vivo microdialysis in conjunction with operant self-administration to characterize cocaine-evoked locomotor activity and dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens in mice with a prior history of intravenous cocaine self-administration or those that had received yoked infusions of cocaine. Mice that had received contingent or non-contingent infusions of cocaine exhibited an enhanced behavioural response to cocaine and increased cocaine-evoked dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens. There was no difference between groups in the magnitude of this effect. Prior exposure to cocaine did not modify baseline dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens. These data demonstrate that mice with previous cocaine self-administration experience show an enhanced behavioural and dopamine response to cocaine in the nucleus accumbens. Furthermore, control over cocaine infusion does not significantly alter the magnitude of the sensitized behavioural and presynaptic dopamine responses observed in response to a challenge dose of cocaine. [source] The neglected constituent of the basal forebrain corticopetal projection system: GABAergic projectionsEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 12 2002Martin Sarter Abstract At least half of the basal forebrain neurons which project to the cortex are GABAergic. Whilst hypotheses about the attentional functions mediated by the cholinergic component of this corticopetal projection system have been substantiated in recent years, knowledge about the functional contributions of its GABAergic branch has remained extremely scarce. The possibility that basal forebrain GABAergic neurons that project to the cortex are selectively contacted by corticofugal projections suggests that the functions of the GABAergic branch can be conceptualized in terms of mediating executive aspects of cognitive performance, including the switching between multiple input sources and response rules. Such speculations gain preliminary support from the effects of excitotoxic lesions that preferentially, but not selectively, target the noncholinergic component of the basal forebrain corticopetal system, on performance in tasks involving demands on cognitive flexibility. Progress in understanding the cognitive functions of the basal forebrain system depends on evidence regarding its main noncholinergic components, and the generation of such evidence is contingent on the development of methods to manipulate and monitor selectively the activity of the GABAergic corticopetal projections. [source] Hypocretin (orexin) in the rat pineal gland: a central transmitter with effects on noradrenaline-induced release of melatoninEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE, Issue 3 2001Jens D. Mikkelsen Abstract Hypocretin-1 (HCRT-1) and hypocretin 2 (HCRT-2), also known as orexin-A and orexin-B, are two neuropeptides derived from the same precursor. Hypocretinergic neurons have been found exclusively in the hypothalamic dorsolateral area. These neurons are implicated in sleep and feeding through activation of specific G-protein-coupled orexin-1 and orexin-2 receptor (OR-R1 and OR-R2). The purpose of this study was to determine the existence of the HCRT peptides in the central input of the rat pineal gland. Further, OR-R1 and OR-R2 expression was determined in the pineal gland and the effect of HCRT-2 on melatonin synthesis and secretion was analysed in dissociated rat pinealocytes. A large contingent of HCRT-positive nerve fibres and terminals were observed in the epithalamus, many of which entered into the pineal parenchyma. A significant number of nerve fibres endowed with positive boutons were identified in the pineal stalk, though the number of positive fibres decreased along the extension of the stalk. So far, no positive fibres have been found in the superficial pineal gland. RT-PCR analysis revealed the expression of OR-R2 mRNA, whereas OR-R1-receptor mRNA was not detected. When tested alone, HCRT-2 had no effect on secretion of melatonin from cultured rat pinealocytes. However, HCRT-2 partially inhibited (by a maximum of 30%) the ,-adrenergic-induced melatonin secretion. The same effect was seen on activation of N-acetyltransferase activity. The distribution and the large number of HCRT-positive fibres together with the effect on noradrenaline-mediated melatonin release through specific receptors suggests that these peptides may be significant central transmitters in pineal function, probably mediating homeostatic signals to the pineal gland. [source] Divergent trends of euroscepticism in countries and regions of the European UnionEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL RESEARCH, Issue 6 2010MARCEL LUBBERS Changes in different aspects of euroscepticism developed at different paces and in varying directions in the regions and countries of the European Union (EU) from 1994 to 2004. Using Eurobarometer data, along with data on country and region characteristics, information on the positions of the political parties and media attention paid to the EU, it is tested in detail whether opposite developments in euroscepticism were associated with opposite developments in influencing contextual characteristics. The authors found that the Netherlands became systematically more sceptical towards the EU, whereas the opposite trend was found in Spain. The introduction of the Euro partially explains these divergent trends, but the direction of this effect varies with countries' GDP. Changes in media attention on the EU further explain the changes in the public's attitude. However, this effect is contingent upon specific circumstances. Growing media attention increases political euroscepticism in countries with a negative EU budget balance, whereas it decreases such scepticism in countries with a positive balance. The effect of left-right ideological placement is contingent upon the EU budget balance as well. Finally, the effect of education on euroscepticism is found to be smaller in countries with a higher GDP. [source] The anatomy of autonomy: Reassessing the autonomy of the European CommissionEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL RESEARCH, Issue 4 2008JARLE TRONDAL Yet, the factual autonomy of the Commission remains largely unexplored, contributing to contradictory assessments of it. This study reassesses the behavioural autonomy of the Commission, as well as organisational conditions thereof. The article utilises one under-researched laboratory of the Commission: temporary officials (SNEs). SNEs may serve as a crucial test-bed of Commission autonomy due to their ambiguous affiliation towards the Commission. Whereas past studies claim that SNEs have a predominantly intergovernmental behavioural pattern, this study demonstrates that the SNEs blend departmental, epistemic and supranational behavioural dynamics, thereby safeguarding their behavioural autonomy. Understanding Commission autonomy requires that the organisational anatomy of the Commission organisation be carefully considered. The organisational anatomy is measured by considering four independent variables: the organisational composition of the Commission services; organisational incompatibilities across levels of governance; recruitment procedures of Commission officials through a so-called ,submarine' approach; and socialisation dynamics inside the Commission. The autonomy of the Commission is organisationally contingent and not only subject to what has been called ,actors' conspicuous desire for autonomy'. [source] Economic performance of ,weak' governments and their interaction with central banks and labour: Deficits, economic growth, unemployment and inflation, 1961,1998EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL RESEARCH, Issue 6 2005TAKAYUKI SAKAMOTO Comparative political economists have conventionally claimed that the strength and stability of governments affect policy making and performance, and that what they call ,weak governments', multiparty, minority and short-lived governments , show poorer economic performance. This article tests this and related hypotheses on deficits, economic growth, unemployment and inflation by examining data from 17 OECD countries. I find that there is generally little evidence to indicate that so-called ,weak governments', when considered independently, produce poorer performance than strong ones. However, the effects of different government types are partly contingent on central bank independence and labour organization. When central banks are independent, coalition governments exhibit better inflation and economic growth performance than one-party governments, but the opposite happens when central banks are dependent. I attempt an explanation for these relationships. I also find that independent central banks, under certain conditions, lead to lower growth and higher inflation. Thus, some of the benefits of central bank independence are context-specific, depending on other political-economic factors. [source] Attitude learning through exploration: advice and strategy appraisalsEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 5 2007J. Richard Eiser Processes of attitude learning were investigated through a game requiring discrimination between good and bad objects, where feedback about object valence (involving gain or loss) is contingent on approach. Previous research demonstrates a preponderance of false-negative errors, with some good objects (,learning asymmetry') and most novel objects (,generalization asymmetry') being judged as bad, but provides no direct evidence concerning how participants appraise alternative strategies and their own performance. To compare alternative strategies, participants received advice, supposedly from a previous participant, that most objects were bad and should be avoided, or good and should be approached. Learning and generalization asymmetries were replicated, especially among participants who followed the former (risk-averse) advice. Additionally, participants' evaluations of their own game strategy were inversely related to amount of negative feedback (the number of bad objects approached), but unrelated to positive feedback (from good objects approached), pointing to the salience of negative information for self-appraisals. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Perceived legitimacy of intergroup status differences: its prediction by relative ingroup prototypicalityEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 4 2002Ulrike Weber Research demonstrates that the perceived legitimacy of intergroup status differences has profound effects on intergroup attitudes, emotions and behavior. However, there has only been little intergroup research that predicts the perception of legitimacy. We hypothesize that the perception of legitimate or illegitime status relations depends upon the perceived relative prototypicality of the ingroup for the inclusive category. Since the prototype of the inclusive category provides a normative comparison standard for subgroup evaluation, similarity to this standard (i.e. prototypicality) should be positively evaluated and used to justify high status. A first study in a natural intergroup context (N,=,67) offered correlational data in support of the predicted relationship. The second study (N,=,60), using Germans as ingroup with Poles as outgroup and Europe as inclusive category, demonstrated that the link between prototypicality and legitimacy is contingent upon the valence of the inclusive category. In order to elucidate the causal direction, the third study manipulated relative prototypicality in an artificial intergroup context (N,=,94) and introduced status as a moderator variable. Overall, we found strong support for the hypothesis that legitimacy is related to prototypicality and that this relation is moderated by ingroup status and valence of the inclusive category. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||