Alignment strategies for the entrainment of music and movement rhythms

Theories of entrainment assume that spontaneous entrainment emerges from dynamic laws that operate via mediators on interactions, whereby entrainment is facilitated if certain conditions are fulfilled. In this study, we show that mediators can be built that affect the entrainment of human locomotion to music. More specifically, we built D-Jogger, a music player that functions as a mediator between music and locomotion rhythms. The D-Jogger makes it possible to manipulate the timing differences between salient moments of the rhythms (beats and footfalls) through the manipulation of the musical period and phase, which affect the condition in which entrainment functions. We conducted several experiments to explore different strategies for manipulating the entrainment of locomotion and music. The results of these experiments showed that spontaneous entrainment can be manipulated, thereby suggesting different strategies on how to embark. The findings furthermore suggest a distinction among different modalities of entrainment: finding the beat (the most difficult part of entrainment), keeping the beat (easier, as a temporal scheme has been established), and being in phase (no entrainment is needed because the music is always adapted to the human rhythm). This study points to a new avenue of research on entrainment and opens new perspectives for the neuroscience of music

The effect of subgroup homogeneity of efficacy on contribution in public good dilemmas

open access articleThis paper examines how to maximize contribution in public good dilemmas by arranging people into homogeneous or heterogeneous subgroups. Past studies on the effect of homo- geneity of efficacy have exclusively manipulated group composition in their experimental designs, which might have imposed a limit on ecological validity because group membership may not be easily changed in reality. In this study, we maintained the same group composi- tion but varied the subgroup composition. We developed a public good dilemmas paradigm in which participants were assigned to one of the four conditions (high- vs. low-efficacy; homogeneous vs. heterogeneous subgroup) to produce their endowments and then to decide how much to contribute. We found that individuals in homogeneous and heteroge- neous subgroups produced a similar amount and proportion of contribution, which was due to the two mediating effects that counteracted each other, namely (a) perceived efficacy rel- ative to subgroup and (b) expectation of contribution of other subgroup members. This paper demonstrates both the pros and cons of arranging people into homogeneous and het- erogeneous subgroups of efficacy

A multi-agent system with application in project scheduling

The new economic and social dynamics increase project complexity and makes scheduling problems more difficult, therefore scheduling requires more versatile solutions as Multi Agent Systems (MAS). In this paper the authors analyze the implementation of a Multi-Agent System (MAS) considering two scheduling problems: TCPSP (Time-Constrained Project Scheduling), and RCPSP (Resource-Constrained Project Scheduling). The authors propose an improved BDI (Beliefs, Desires, and Intentions) model and present the first the MAS implementation results in JADE platform.multi-agent architecture, scheduling, project management, BDI architecture, JADE.

Nutrition-sensitive value chains from a smallholder perspective: A framework for project design

"The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) gratefully acknowledges permission from IFAD to re-publish that work as an Alliance Working Paper, with updated acknowledgements, author information and information on additional resources.

Constructing a Virtual Training Laboratory Using Intelligent Agents

This paper reports on the results and experiences of the Trilogy project; a collaborative project concerned with the development of a virtual research laboratory using intelligence agents. This laboratory is designed to support the training of research students in telecommunications traffic engineering. Training research students involves a number of basic activities. They may seek guidance from, or exchange ideas with, more experienced colleagues. High quality academic papers, books and research reports provide a sound basis for developing and maintaining a good understanding of an area of research. Experimental tools enable new ideas to be evaluated, and hypotheses tested. These three components-collaboration, information and experimentation- are central to any research activity, and a good training environment for research should integrate them in a seamless fashion. To this end, we describe the design and implementation of an agent-based virtual laboratory

Neuroinflammation in Preclinical Alzheimer's Disease: A Review of Current Evidence

The pathology of sporadic Alzheimer’s disease (AD) may be present at mid-life and precede the prodromal and clinical dementia syndromes associated with the disorder by decades. Few successful therapeutic treatments exist and, as a result, attention is turning to the preclinical stages of the disease for the development of future intervention strategies. The success of such strategies will rely on well-defined biomarkers of preclinical disease to identify and monitor changes earlier in the disease course. Here, we consider whether immune function changes are potentially useful markers of preclinical disease. We have selected studies spanning epidemiological, animal, clinical and imaging research pertaining to the earliest stages of AD pathogenesis, as well as studies of non-demented adults at high AD risk. We examine changes in inflammatory markers, alongside changes in established biomarkers, to highlight their suitability as disease indicators across preclinical and prodromal stages. We conclude that further work surrounding this topic is required, calling for larger prospective epidemiological studies of preclinical disease that incorporate serial assessment designs with a wider range of inflammatory mediators. We anticipate that future benefits of work in this area include improved disease detection and modification, as well as diagnostic accuracy of trial participants, leading to more cost-effective observation and intervention studies

People Make the Difference: An Explorative Study on the Relationship between Organizational Practices, Employees’ Resources, and Organizational Behavior Enhancing the Psychology of Sustainability and Sustainable Development

The most recent developments in the field of sustainability science and the emergence of a psychologyofsustainabilityandsustainabledevelopmenthavecontributedtocollectevidencesabout the fact that modern organizations need healthy and motivated employees to survive and to prosper within this fast-moving scenario. In this vein, a confirmation to these evidences came from the abundant research on HEalthy and Resilient Organizations (HERO), showing that when organizations make systematic, planned, and proactive efforts to improve employees’ subjective resources then organizational processes and outcomes benefit in turn. Moving forward from these premises, the presentstudyaimedtoexploretheseassumptionswithinthecontextofsmallandmediumenterprises (SMEs), investigating the relationships among the organizational practices, employees’ subjective resources, and organizational behaviors. Two hundred and thirty-six participants working in SMEs located in the south of Italy took part. They were invited to fill in a questionnaire investigating their perception of organizational resources and practices (autonomy, leadership, communication, organizational mindfulness, and commitment to resilience), of their individual resources (work engagement and psychological capital), and finally, of some organizational outcomes (extra-role behavior). Results showed that psychological capital was a significant mediator of the relationship betweenemployees’perceptionoftheorganizationalresourcesandpracticesandextra-rolebehaviors. Concrete implications of these conclusions in terms of human resource management (HRM) are discussed together with limitations of the study and future developments

The Lawyer As Consensus Builder: Ethics For a New Practice

In this Article, I explore the roles of lawyers in alternative dispute resolution ( ADR ), including traditional roles in arbitration and new roles in mediation and facilitation. I also discuss how conventional ethics rules for lawyers fail to provide guidance and best practices for lawyers who serve in these new roles. State legislatures and professional associations, such as the American Arbitration Association ( AAA ), the Center for Public Resources Institute for Dispute Resolution ( CPR ), and the Association of Conflict Resolution, have adopted ethical codes for mediators and arbitrators. Select professional associations are also developing best practice guides for the provision of ADR services; however, the lack of clarity in the Model Rules is a serious problem. The failure of the Model Rules to recognize the role of lawyers in peacemaking, dispute prevention or resolution, and legal problem solving marks an absence in what is publicly recognized as among the most important roles a lawyer performs - that of a constructive lawyer. Furthermore, the Model Rules misrepresent the legal profession by assuming that representing clients in adversarial matters is the only role lawyers fulfill. Such an assumption fails to give adequate guidance to a lawyer who fulfills a broader, and perhaps, more significant role than that of a hired gun