The nature of the object mediates conscious perception: evidence from reaction time

Humans evolved to find and manipulate food in our environment. Studies have shown faster reaction times (RTs) and better visual attention for food stimuli. The current study investigated if the same is the case when stimuli are presented at the pre-attentive level. Food and No Food images were presented with and without a subliminal technique called b-CFS (breaking- Continuous Flash Suppression). This technique hides the image presented to one eye by distracting the other with a colorful flashing mask (i.e. Mondrian). Consistent with previous reports, an advantage for Food was found but only when the stimuli were presented without the Mondrian (No b-CFS condition). No difference in RT was found in the b-CFS condition. Modern food is complex and variant RT can be modulated by: Manipulability (whether an object can be grasped using a Whole hand grasp vs. Precision grasp) and process state (Nature vs. Processed). Results suggest that the advantage in detecting Food stimuli is only present during conscious perception.NSER

Conceptual frameworks and empirical approaches used to assess the impact of health research: an overview of reviews

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>How to assess the impact of research is of growing interest to funders, policy makers and researchers mainly to understand the value of investments and to increase accountability. Broadly speaking the term "research impact" refers to the contribution of research activities to achieve desired societal outcomes. The aim of this overview is to identify the most common approaches to research impact assessment, categories of impact and their respective indicators.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We systematically searched the relevant literature (PubMed, The Cochrane Library (1990-2009)) and funding agency websites. We included systematic reviews, theoretical and methodological papers, and empirical case-studies on how to evaluate research impact. We qualitatively summarised the included reports, as well the conceptual frameworks.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We identified twenty-two reports belonging to four systematic reviews and 14 primary studies. These publications reported several theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches (bibliometrics, econometrics, ad hoc case studies). The "payback model" emerged as the most frequently used. Five broad categories of impact were identified: a) advancing knowledge, b) capacity building, c) informing decision-making, d) health benefits, e) broad socio-economic benefits. For each proposed category of impact we summarized a set of indicators whose pros and cons are presented and briefly discussed.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This overview is a comprehensive, yet descriptive, contribution to summarize the conceptual framework and taxonomy of an heterogeneous and evolving area of research. A shared and comprehensive conceptual framework does not seem to be available yet and its single components (epidemiologic, economic, and social) are often valued differently in different models.</p

An Empirical Comparison of Consumer Innovation Adoption Models: Implications for Subsistence Marketplaces

So called “pro-poor” innovations may improve consumer wellbeing in subsistence marketplaces. However, there is little research that integrates the area with the vast literature on innovation adoption. Using a questionnaire where respondents were asked to provide their evaluations about a mobile banking innovation, this research fills this gap by providing empirical evidence of the applicability of existing innovation adoption models in subsistence marketplaces. The study was conducted in Bangladesh among a geographically dispersed sample. The data collected allowed an empirical comparison of models in a subsistence context. The research reveals the most useful models in this context to be the Value Based Adoption Model and the Consumer Acceptance of Technology model. In light of these findings and further examination of the model comparison results the research also shows that consumers in subsistence marketplaces are not just motivated by functionality and economic needs. If organizations cannot enhance the hedonic attributes of a pro-poor innovation, and reduce the internal/external constraints related to adoption of that pro-poor innovation, then adoption intention by consumers will be lower

The genomic landscape of balanced cytogenetic abnormalities associated with human congenital anomalies

Despite the clinical significance of balanced chromosomal abnormalities (BCAs), their characterization has largely been restricted to cytogenetic resolution. We explored the landscape of BCAs at nucleotide resolution in 273 subjects with a spectrum of congenital anomalies. Whole-genome sequencing revised 93% of karyotypes and demonstrated complexity that was cryptic to karyotyping in 21% of BCAs, highlighting the limitations of conventional cytogenetic approaches. At least 33.9% of BCAs resulted in gene disruption that likely contributed to the developmental phenotype, 5.2% were associated with pathogenic genomic imbalances, and 7.3% disrupted topologically associated domains (TADs) encompassing known syndromic loci. Remarkably, BCA breakpoints in eight subjects altered a single TAD encompassing MEF2C, a known driver of 5q14.3 microdeletion syndrome, resulting in decreased MEF2C expression. We propose that sequence-level resolution dramatically improves prediction of clinical outcomes for balanced rearrangements and provides insight into new pathogenic mechanisms, such as altered regulation due to changes in chromosome topology

The effect of instructions on problem-solving creativity

The literature is replete with studies that examine the effectiveness of instructions to be creative and to brainstorm on creativity. Most studies, however, have used fairly simple tasks, made the creativity goal highly salient, and were conducted in an experimental environment. Problemcomplexity, goal salience and creativity context may mitigate or reverse the positive influence of instructions on creativity.Study One examined the effect of the two instructions (be creative, brainstorm) separately and combined on the creativity of ideas suggested by students to solve an ill-structured problem solving.A randomised experimental design was used, in which students worked individually ona written business problem, in the classroom. A standard instruction group provided a control tocapture students usual creativity expectations. Responses were rated on novelty, workability andrelevance by two independent industry practitioners. The two instructions had similar effects,enhancing novelty and number of ideas compared to standard, but reduced relevance.Brainstorming yielded slightly more ideas than the 'be creative' instruction. The combinedinstruction produced little difference to the individual instructions.Study Two examined how reading goals (placing the creativity instructions before or after thecase study) or presentation order of instructions (placing the 'be creative' instruction before orafter brainstorming) affected idea creativity. It utilised the same business problem and similardesign as Study One, in a different class of students. Placing creativity instructions before thecase study only enhanced novelty slightly, but presentation order had no observable effect.The findings suggest that: (i) the gist of creativity instructions may influence creative problemsolvinggoals in complex, ill-defined problems; (ii) creativity instructions may cause a noveltyrelevancetrade-off in complex ill-defined problems due to cognitive load limitations; (iii)enhancing the salience of creativity goals in problem-solving does not necessarily enhancenovelty; (iv) creativity context may moderate the effect of creativity instructions; and (v)creativity instructions may induce a promotion regulatory focus. If lecturers would like theirstudents to solve business problems creatively, they should provide creativity instructions andthey establish a creative climate in the classroom. Lecturers should be aware, though, that theresulting solutions may be less relevant to the problem

The Spirits' Happy Days Buddhist Festivals for the Dead in Southeast China

In China it is said that at the beginning of the seventh lunar month King Yama opens the gates of the underworld to release the spirits of the dead. During this Ghost Month the spirits are free to roam the earth and to receive offerings from the living. During this month Buddhist monasteries hold public recitation rituals in which the resulting merit is transferred to the ancestors, dead family relatives, and other dead beings in the monasteries’ Halls of Rebirth. This film documents the large scale ceremonies and rituals that take place during the Ghost Month in the Buddhist monasteries of Quanzhou City, Fujian Province, Southeast China. This film is part of the research project Buddhist Death Rituals of Southeast Asia and China (University of Bristol) funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (United Kingdom). A film by Ingmar Heise and Han Zhang

Zigi Ben Haim - ART CART Oral Histories

The interview with New York City artist Zigi Ben-Haim, focusing on the back stories behind his works from the 1970s until the present, is a journey that leads through different cultures and life experiences. The artist’s work in the ‘70s registers his first step to balance the differences between his Israeli cultural tradition and his new life in the US when he first moved to the country. It was from that time on that the urban landscape of SoHo and his travelling experiences became his primary sources of inspiration, and that “surface,” “materials from the outside of the art world,” “the old and the new,” and “culture and nature” became the key notions he has been painstakingly exploring through his entire career trajectory. When it came to his projects in the ‘80s and ‘90s, the ants carrying leaves in the rain forest of Costa Rica, the various figurines of gods in a Russian Church, and the tire of the Columbia Shuttle he got from NASA all added layers to Zigi’s art that he considers as the footprints of his life. This interview reveals how art has played an important role in maintaining a consistent and purposeful life for the artist, during which he has always reflected on the old but simultaneously adopted the new