Civil society and financial markets : what is not happening and why

Why have commercial financial flows – as a major force in contemporary society with a number of significant problematic consequences – attracted relatively little effective public-interest response from civil society? Change-oriented NGOs, labour unions, faith-based organisations and other social movements have mostly remained in the shadows vis-à-vis private financial markets. Impacts from these citizen associations have not gone beyond promoting modest rises in public awareness, certain limited policy shifts, and minor institutional reforms of a few public governance agencies. The reasons for these scant achievements are partly related to capacities and practices in civil society groups, relevant governance agencies, and financial firms. Also important in constraining civil society impacts to reform and transform contemporary financial markets are deeper structural circumstances such as embedded social hierarchies (among countries, classes, etc.), the pivotal role of finance capital in accumulation processes today, and the entrenchment of prevailing neoliberal policy discourses

Act quickly, decide later: long latency visual processing underlies perceptual decisions but not reflexive behavior

Jolij J, Scholte H, Van Gaal S, Hodgson TL, Lamme VAF (2011) Act quickly, decide later: Long latency visual processing underlies perceptual decisions but not reflexive behavior. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience 23(12), p 3734-3745

Bullying Among Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorders: Prevalence and Perception

This study examined: (a) the prevalence of bullying and victimization among adolescents with ASD, (b) whether they correctly perceived bullying and victimization, and (c) whether Theory of Mind (ToM) and bullying involvement were related to this perception. Data were collected among 230 adolescents with ASD attending special education schools. We found prevalence rates of bullying and victimization between 6 and 46%, with teachers reporting significantly higher rates than peers. Furthermore, adolescents who scored high on teacher- and self-reported victimization were more likely to misinterpret non-bullying situations as bullying. The more often adolescents bullied, according to teachers and peers, and the less developed their ToM, the more they misinterpreted bullying situations as non-bullying. Implications for clinical practice are discussed

Animal models of cystic fibrosis

AbstractAnimal models of cystic fibrosis, in particular several different mutant mouse strains obtained by homologous recombination, have contributed considerably to our understanding of CF pathology. In this review, we describe and compare the main phenotypic features of these models. Recent and possible future developments in this field are discussed

Parental resilience and the quality of life of children with developmental disabilities in Indonesia

Cultures could influence parents in the way they perceive adverse situations and in how external factors influence resilience, which in turn, may differentially affect the quality of life of a child. The present study aimed to examine the associations between different dimensions of parental resilience and the quality of life of children in Indonesia. The samples consisted of 497 families. This study used the Parenting Resilience Elements and the Quality of Life Questionnaire. Parental resilience consists of three dimensions, knowledge of child’s characteristics, positive perception of parenting, and perceived social support. Knowledge of child’s characteristics, one of the parental resilience dimensions, significantly related to the Quality of Life dimensions of communication and influence, and development. Positive perceptions of parenting related to socio-emotional well-being. Perceived social support related to material well-being, activity, and socio-emotional well-being. We found that the parental resilience related to Quality of Life of children with developmental disabilities. Some findings could be unique for a collectivist culture and highlight the complexities of the association between different factors of parent resilience and Quality of Life of children with developmental disabilities in Indonesia

Aortic stiffness in type-1 diabetes mellitus; beware of hypertension

Cardiolog