scholarly journals Probing the circuits of conscious perception with magnetophosphenes

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Modolo ◽  
M. Hassan ◽  
G. Ruffini ◽  
A. Legros
Keyword(s):  
Functional Role ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Conscious Perception ◽  
Alpha Band ◽  
Beta Band ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Integrated Information Theory ◽  
Local Segregation

AbstractBackgroundConscious perception is thought to involve the large-scale, coordinated activation of distant brain regions, a process termed ignition in the Global Workspace Theory and integration in Integrated Information Theory, which are two of the major theories of consciousness.MethodsHere, we provide evidence for this process in humans by combining a magnetically-induced phosphene perception task with electroencephalography. Functional cortical networks were identified and characterized using graph theory to quantify the impact of conscious perception on local (segregation) and distant (integration) processing.ResultsConscious phosphene perception activated frequency-specific networks, each associated with a specific spatial scale of information processing. Integration increased within an alpha-band functional network, while segregation occurred in the beta band.ConclusionsThese results bring novel evidence for the functional role of distinct brain oscillations and confirm the key role of integration processes for conscious perception in humans.

The Impact of Quantitative Easing on Emerging Markets – Literature Review

e-Finanse ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 67-76
Author(s):  
Piotr Bartkiewicz
Keyword(s):  
Emerging Markets ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Quantitative Easing ◽  
Methodological Choices ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Methodological Approaches ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Sufficient Precision

AbstractThe article presents the results of the review of the empirical literature regarding the impact of quantitative easing (QE) on emerging markets (EMs). The subject is of interest to policymakers and researchers due to the increasingly larger role of EMs in the world economy and the large-scale capital flows occurring after 2009. The review is conducted in a systematic manner and takes into consideration different methodological choices, samples and measurement issues. The paper puts the summarized results in the context of transmission channels identified in the literature. There are few distinct methodological approaches present in the literature. While there is a consensus regarding the direction of the impact of QE on EMs, its size and durability have not yet been assessed with sufficient precision. In addition, there are clear gaps in the empirical findings, not least related to relative underrepresentation of the CEE region (in particular, Poland).

Situational Breakdowns

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Nassauer
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Contextual Factors ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Outcomes ◽  
Dynamic Processes ◽  
Collective Decisions ◽  
Different Types ◽  
The Impact

This book provides an account of how and why routine interactions break down and how such situational breakdowns lead to protest violence and other types of surprising social outcomes. It takes a close-up look at the dynamic processes of how situations unfold and compares their role to that of motivations, strategies, and other contextual factors. The book discusses factors that can draw us into violent situations and describes how and why we make uncommon individual and collective decisions. Covering different types of surprise outcomes from protest marches and uprisings turning violent to robbers failing to rob a store at gunpoint, it shows how unfolding situations can override our motivations and strategies and how emotions and culture, as well as rational thinking, still play a part in these events. The first chapters study protest violence in Germany and the United States from 1960 until 2010, taking a detailed look at what happens between the start of a protest and the eruption of violence or its peaceful conclusion. They compare the impact of such dynamics to the role of police strategies and culture, protesters’ claims and violent motivations, the black bloc and agents provocateurs. The analysis shows how violence is triggered, what determines its intensity, and which measures can avoid its outbreak. The book explores whether we find similar situational patterns leading to surprising outcomes in other types of small- and large-scale events: uprisings turning violent, such as Ferguson in 2014 and Baltimore in 2015, and failed armed store robberies.

The academic profession in Russia’s two capitals: The impact of 20 years of transition

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 626-644 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizaveta Sivak ◽  
Maria Yudkevich
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Academic Career ◽  
Academic Profession ◽  
University Faculty ◽  
Key Characteristics ◽  
Personal Strain ◽  
High Degree ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Russian Universities

This paper studies the dynamics of key characteristics of the academic profession in Russia based on the analysis of university faculty in the two largest cities in Russia – Moscow and St Petersburg. We use data on Russian university faculty from two large-scale comparative studies of the academic profession (‘The Carnegie Study’ carried out in 1992 in 14 countries, including Russia, and ‘The Changing Academic Profession Study’, 2007–2012, with 19 participating countries and which Russia joined in 2012) to look at how faculty’s characteristics and attitudes toward different aspects of their academic life changed over 20 years (1992–2011) such as faculty’s views on reasons to leave or to stay at a university, on university’s management and the role of faculty in decision making. Using the example of universities in the two largest Russian cities, we demonstrate that the high degree of overall centralization of governance in Russian universities barely changed in 20 years. Our paper provides comparisons of teaching/research preferences and views on statements concerning personal strain associated with work, academic career perspectives, etc., not only in Russian universities between the years 1992 and 2012, but also in Russia and other ‘Changing Academic Profession’ countries.

scholarly journals The Role of Silicon Heterojunction and TCO Barriers on the Operation of Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cells: Comparison between Theory and Experiment

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Yaser Abdulraheem ◽  
Moustafa Ghannam ◽  
Hariharsudan Sivaramakrishnan Radhakrishnan ◽  
Ivan Gordon
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cells ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Surface Passivation ◽  
Series Resistance ◽  
Crystalline Silicon ◽  
Thermionic Emission ◽  
Analytical Description ◽  
Theoretical Explanation ◽  
The Impact

Photovoltaic devices based on amorphous silicon/crystalline silicon (a-Si:H/c-Si) heterojunction interfaces hold the highest efficiency as of date in the class of silicon-based devices with efficiencies exceeding 26% and are regarded as a promising technology for large-scale terrestrial PV applications. The detailed understanding behind the operation of this type of device is crucial to improving and optimizing its performance. SHJ solar cells have primarily two main interfaces that play a major role in their operation: the transparent conductive oxide (TCO)/a-Si:H interface and the a-Si:H/c-Si heterojunction interface. In the work presented here, a detailed analytical description is provided for the impact of both interfaces on the performance of such devices and especially on the device fill factor ( FF ). It has been found that the TCO work function can dramatically impact the FF by introducing a series resistance element in addition to limiting the forward biased current under illumination causing the well-known S-shape characteristic in the I-V curve of such devices. On the other hand, it is shown that the thermionic emission barrier at the heterojunction interface can play a major role in introducing an added series resistance factor due to the intrinsic a-Si:H buffer layer that is usually introduced to improve surface passivation. Theoretical explanation on the role of both interfaces on device operation based on 1D device simulation is experimentally verified. The I-V characteristics of fabricated devices were compared to the curves produced by simulation, and the observed degradation in the FF of fabricated devices was explained in light of analytical findings from simulation.

scholarly journals Audio Mining: The Role of Vocal Tone in Persuasion

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin (Shane) Wang ◽  
Shijie Lu ◽  
X I Li ◽  
Mansur Khamitov ◽  
Neil Bendle
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Study ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Controlled Experiments ◽  
The Core ◽  
Content Model ◽  
Stereotype Content ◽  
Key Indicators ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Insight Into

Abstract Persuasion success is often related to hard-to-measure characteristics, such as the way the persuader speaks. To examine how vocal tones impact persuasion in an online appeal, this research measures persuaders’ vocal tones in Kickstarter video pitches using novel audio mining technology. Connecting vocal tone dimensions with real-world funding outcomes offers insight into the impact of vocal tones on receivers’ actions. The core hypothesis of this paper is that a successful persuasion attempt is associated with vocal tones denoting (1) focus, (2) low stress, and (3) stable emotions. These three vocal tone dimensions—which are in line with the stereotype content model—matter because they allow receivers to make inferences about a persuader’s competence. The hypotheses are tested with a large-scale empirical study using Kickstarter data, which is then replicated in a different category. In addition, two controlled experiments provide evidence that perceptions of competence mediate the impact of the three vocal tones on persuasion attempt success. The results identify key indicators of persuasion attempt success and suggest a greater role for audio mining in academic consumer research.

scholarly journals Dissociable oscillatory networks support gain and loss processing in human orbitofrontal cortex

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ignacio Saez ◽  
Jack Lin ◽  
Edward Chang ◽  
Josef Parvizi ◽  
Robert T. Knight ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neural Activity ◽  
Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Reward Processing ◽  
Neural Oscillations ◽  
Beta Band ◽  
Neuronal Ensembles ◽  
Gain And Loss

AbstractHuman neuroimaging and animal studies have linked neural activity in orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) to valuation of positive and negative outcomes. Additional evidence shows that neural oscillations, representing the coordinated activity of neuronal ensembles, support information processing in both animal and human prefrontal regions. However, the role of OFC neural oscillations in reward-processing in humans remains unknown, partly due to the difficulty of recording oscillatory neural activity from deep brain regions. Here, we examined the role of OFC neural oscillations (<30Hz) in reward processing by combining intracranial OFC recordings with a gambling task in which patients made economic decisions under uncertainty. Our results show that power in different oscillatory bands are associated with distinct components of reward evaluation. Specifically, we observed a double dissociation, with a selective theta band oscillation increase in response to monetary gains and a beta band increase in response to losses. These effects were interleaved across OFC in overlapping networks and were accompanied by increases in oscillatory coherence between OFC electrode sites in theta and beta band during gain and loss processing, respectively. These results provide evidence that gain and loss processing in human OFC are supported by distinct low-frequency oscillations in networks, and provide evidence that participating neuronal ensembles are organized functionally through oscillatory coherence, rather than local anatomical segregation.

scholarly journals The Impact of Mobile Phone Uses in the Developing World

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 20-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvain K. Cibangu ◽  
Mark Hepworth ◽  
Donna Champion
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Mobile Phones ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Impact

In recent years, the rise of information and communication technologies (ICTs) contrasted with the dire living conditions of the world's poorest has been the subject of debate among industry and academia. However, despite the amount of writings produced on mobile phones, Western bias is surprisingly unbridledly prevailing alongside the fêted dissemination of mobile phones. Expansive literature tends to present the rapid adoption of mobile phones among rural individuals, with little to no indication of how local values and voices are respected or promoted. We undertook semi-structured interviews with 16 rural chiefs to inquire into ways in which mobile phones enabled socio-economic development in the rural Congo. Rather than using quantitative, large-scale, or top-down data, we sought to give voice to chiefs themselves about the role of mobile phones. We found that Western bias dominates the literature and deployment of mobile phones more than usually acknowledged. We suggested some paths forward, while bringing the African communal Utu or Ubuntu culture to the center stage.

scholarly journals The atomic hydrogen/molecular cloud association: an unavoidable relationship

1991 ◽  
Vol 147 ◽  
pp. 37-40
Author(s):  
G. Joncas
Keyword(s):  
Atomic Hydrogen ◽  
Molecular Clouds ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Young Stars ◽  
Physical Processes ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
Dark Clouds ◽  
Star Forming Regions ◽  
The Impact

The presence of HI in the interstellar medium is ubiquitous. HI is the principal actor in the majority of the physical processes at work in our Galaxy. Restricting ourselves to the topics of this symposium, atomic hydrogen is involved with the formation of molecular clouds and is one of the byproducts of their destruction by young stars. HI has different roles during a molecular cloud's life. I will discuss here a case of coexisting HI and H2 at large scale and the origin of HI in star forming regions. For completeness' sake, it should be mentionned that there are at least three other aspects of HI involvement: HI envelopes around molecular clouds, the impact of SNRs (see work on IC 443), and the role of HI in quiescent dark clouds (see van der Werf's work).

scholarly journals Altered topology of large-scale structural brain networks in chronic stroke

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bastian Cheng ◽  
Eckhard Schlemm ◽  
Robert Schulz ◽  
Marlene Boenstrup ◽  
Arnaud Messé ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information Transfer ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Neuronal Degeneration ◽  
Brain Networks ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Local Network ◽  
Structural Connectome ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Structural Brain ◽  
Topological Changes

Abstract Beyond disruption of neuronal pathways, focal stroke lesions induce structural disintegration of distant, yet connected brain regions via retrograde neuronal degeneration. Stroke lesions alter functional brain connectivity and topology in large-scale brain networks. These changes are associated with the degree of clinical impairment and recovery. In contrast, changes of large scale, structural brain networks after stroke are less well reported. We therefore aimed to analyse the impact of focal lesions on the structural connectome after stroke based on data from diffusion-weighted imaging and probabilistic fibre tracking. In total, 17 patients (mean age 64.5 ± 8.4 years) with upper limb motor deficits in the chronic stage after stroke and 21 healthy participants (mean age 64.9 ± 10.3 years) were included. Clinical deficits were evaluated by grip strength and the upper extremity Fugl-Meyer assessment. We calculated global and local graph theoretical measures to characterize topological changes in the structural connectome. Results from our analysis demonstrated significant alterations of network topology in both ipsi- and contralesional, primarily unaffected, hemispheres after stroke. Global efficiency was significantly lower in stroke connectomes as an indicator of overall reduced capacity for information transfer between distant brain areas. Furthermore, topology of structural connectomes was shifted toward a higher degree of segregation as indicated by significantly higher values of global clustering and modularity. On a level of local network parameters, these effects were most pronounced in a subnetwork of cortico-subcortical brain regions involved in motor control. Structural changes were not significantly associated with clinical measures. We propose that the observed network changes in our patients are best explained by the disruption of inter- and intrahemispheric, long white matter fibre tracts connecting distant brain regions. Our results add novel insights on topological changes of structural large-scale brain networks in the ipsi- and contralesional hemisphere after stroke.

Housing Disinvestment and Crime in a Phoenix Suburb: Exploring the Differential Effects of Investors and Owner-Occupants

2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 190-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alyssa W. Chamberlain ◽  
Danielle Wallace ◽  
Deirdre Pfeiffer ◽  
Janne Gaub
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Property Crime ◽  
Crime Rates ◽  
Housing Crisis ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Sociodemographic Data ◽  
Combining Data ◽  
Home Sales ◽  
The Impact

External investment in neighborhoods can inhibit crime. However, during the housing crisis, many investors were foreclosed upon, triggering large-scale community disinvestment. Yet the impact of this type of disinvestment on crime is currently unknown. Combining data on crime incidents with foreclosure, home sales, and sociodemographic data, this research assesses whether the foreclosure of properties owned by investors has an effect on crime in neighborhoods in Chandler, Arizona, a suburb in the heavily affected Phoenix region. Neighborhoods with a greater proportion of foreclosures on investors (FOIs) have higher total and property crime rates in the short term. In Hispanic neighborhoods, a greater proportion of FOIs result in lower rates of crime. Results suggest that neighborhood stabilization efforts should consider the role of investors in driving short-term crime rates, and that police and code enforcement strategies might prioritize neighborhoods with a high proportion of investor foreclosures.

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