Domain-general Stroop Performance and Hemispheric Asymmetries: A Resting-state EEG Study

The ability to suppress irrelevant information while executing a task or interference resistance is a function of pFC that is critical for successful goal-directed human behavior. In the study of interference resistance and, more generally, executive functions, two key questions are still open: Does pFC contribute to cognitive control abilities through lateralized but domain-general mechanisms or through hemispheric specialization of domain-specific processes? And what are the underlying causes of interindividual differences in executive control performance? To shed light on these issues, here we employed an interindividual difference approach to investigate whether participants' hemispheric asymmetry in resting-state electrophysiological brain dynamics may reflect their variability in domain-general interference resistance. We recorded participants' resting-state electroencephalographic activity and performed spectral power analyses on the estimated cortical source activity. To measure participants' lateralized brain dynamics at rest, we computed the right-left hemispheric asymmetry score for the \u3b2/\u3b1 power ratio. To measure their domain-general interference resistance ability, verbal and spatial Stroop tasks were used. Robust correlations followed by intersection analyses showed that participants with stronger resting-state-related left-lateralized activity in different pFC regions, namely the mid-posterior superior frontal gyrus, middle and posterior middle frontal gyrus, and inferior frontal junction, were more able to inhibit irrelevant information in both domains. The present results confirm and extend previous findings showing that neurophysiological difference factors may explain interindividual differences in executive functioning. They also provide support for the hypothesis of a left pFC hemispheric specialization for domain-independent phasic cognitive control processes mediating Stroop performance

A configurational approach to the dynamics of firm level knowledge

Whilst there has been exponential growth in the work on the nature of organisational knowledge, relatively little progress has been made in terms of understanding the way in which knowledge specifically impacts on the firm. The aim of this paper is to further this understanding by developing a series of configurations representing some of the potential ways that knowledge is composed in organisations, with those components being tacit, explicit, architectural, component, individual and collective knowledge

Developing the wider role of business in society: the experience of Microsoft in developing training and supporting employability.

The purpose of this paper is to describe Microsoft's activities in encouraging employability and to show how these activities provide strategic advantage

Measurement of the eta->pi+pi-pi0 decay with WASA-at-COSY detector

One of the objectives of the physics programme of the WASA-at-COSY facility is to study the isospin violating eta hadronic decays into pi+pi-pi0$ systems driven by the term of QCD Lagrangian which depends on the d and u quark mass difference. These studies can be made in terms of the Dalitz plot parameters describing the density population which is proportional to the square of the amplitude |A(x,y)|^2. This contribution describes the current status of the analysis of the eta->pi+pi-pi0 decay in the pd->3He eta and as well in the pp->pp eta reaction with WASA-at-COSY

Influence of the nonlocal parameter on the transverse vibration of double-walled carbon nanotubes

A high-order nonlocal continuum beam model is proposed, which can be applied to study the transverse vibrations of double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWCNTs), including those that could have initial deformations due to defects or external actions. A beam element is developed adopting Hermite cubic polynomials as shape functions, and mass and elastic stiffness matrix are presented. The influence of the nonlocal parameter on the vibrational properties of DWCNTs is studied. Using the proposed model, it was found that the nonlocal parameter has a strong influence on the natural frequencies.Fil: de Borbon, Fernanda Maria. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Mecánica Estructural y Riesgo Sísmico. Maestría en Ingeniería Estructural; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza; ArgentinaFil: Ambrosini, Ricardo Daniel. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ingeniería. Instituto de Mecánica Estructural y Riesgo Sísmico. Maestría en Ingeniería Estructural; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza; Argentin

Affective norms for italian words in older adults: Age differences in ratings of valence, arousal and dominance

In line with the dimensional theory of emotional space, we developed affective norms for words rated in terms of valence, arousal and dominance in a group of older adults to complete the adaptation of the Affective Norms for English Words (ANEW) for Italian and to aid research on aging. Here, as in the original Italian ANEW database, participants evaluated valence, arousal, and dominance by means of the Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM) in a paper-and-pencil procedure. We observed high split-half reliabilities within the older sample and high correlations with the affective ratings of previous research, especially for valence, suggesting that there is large agreement among older adults within and across-languages. More importantly, we found high correlations between younger and older adults, showing that our data are generalizable across different ages. However, despite this across-ages accord, we obtained age-related differences on three affective dimensions for a great number of words. In particular, older adults rated as more arousing and more unpleasant a number of words that younger adults rated as moderately unpleasant and arousing in our previous affective norms. Moreover, older participants rated negative stimuli as more arousing and positive stimuli as less arousing than younger participants, thus leading to a less-curved distribution of ratings in the valence by arousal space. We also found more extreme ratings for older adults for the relationship between dominance and arousal: older adults gave lower dominance and higher arousal ratings for words rated by younger adults with middle dominance and arousal values. Together, these results suggest that our affective norms are reliable and can be confidently used to select words matched for the affective dimensions of valence, arousal and dominance across younger and older participants for future research in aging. Figure

Convergence and divergence dynamics in British and French business schools: how will the pressure for accreditation influence these dynamics?

This paper focuses on convergence and divergence dynamics among leading British and French business schools and explores how the pressure for accreditation influences these dynamics. We illustrate that despite historical differences in approaches to management education in Britain and France, these approaches have converged partly based on the influence of the American model of management education but more recently through the pursuit of accreditation, in particular AASCB and EQUIS. We explore these dynamics through the application of the resource-based view of the firm and institutional theory and suggest that whilst achieving accreditation is a necessary precursor for international competition, it is no longer a form of competitive advantage. The pursuit of accreditation has fostered a form of competitive mimicry reducing national distinctiveness. The resource-based view of the firm suggests that the top schools need a more heterogeneous approach that is not easily replicable if they are to outperform the competitors. Consequently, the convergence of management education in Britain and France will become a new impetus for divergence. We assert that future growth and competitive advantage might be better achieved through the reassertion of national, regional and local cultural characteristics