Effects of Brief-Signal Number and Location on Responding Maintained by Delay of Reinforcement

The purpose of the present series of experiments was to examine the effects of the number, type, and location of brief signal(s) occurring during, but not throughout, a delay period, on responding maintained by the delay of reinforcement. In each experiment, a tandem variable time (VT) 60-s fixed interval (FI) 9-s schedule was used as a baseline condition of an immediate reinforcement against which delay conditions were examined. For the delay conditions, a chained variable interval (VI) 60-s fixed time (FT) 9-s (delay period) schedule was used, and the imposition of the brief signal (blackout) during the delay period was manipulated. In Experiment 1, when a brief signal(s) was imposed at the fixed temporal location during the delay period, the VI component response rate was maintained at a comparable level to the baseline. Conversely, when a brief signal was imposed at the variable temporal locations during the delay period, the VI component response rate diminished to low levels compared to the baseline. In Experiment 2, when a brief signal was imposed at the beginning of the delay period, the VI response rate was maintained at a higher level compared to when the brief signal was imposed at the middle or end of the delay period. In both Experiment 1 and 2, when the brief signal was contingent and temporally contiguous with the required response (a keypeck that completed the VI component and started the delay period), the VI response rate was maintained at a higher level compared to when there was a disruption in temporal contiguity between the required response and brief signal presentation. To examine this observation, in Experiment 3, a brief signal was imposed at the variable temporal location during the delay period, however, a contingency was imposed where an additional response after the elapse of the signal timer was required to produce the brief signal. In this procedure, the VI response rate was maintained at a higher level compared to when the brief signal was presented at the variable temporal location without an additional response requirement for the brief signal presentation. These results underline the importance of response-brief signal contingency and temporal contiguity in maintaining responding by partially signaled delay of reinforcement

Agricultural Development in Uzbekistan: Agricultural Reforms versus Transboundary Water Issues

Agriculture is one of the basic and vital sectors of the national economy of Uzbekistan. From the historical background, in the harsh context of progressively growing number of population and specialization of domestic production for cotton monoculture, economic crisis in the early years of independence revealed the need for extending the horizon of agriculture after facing the difficulties in providing the population and industries with necessary agricultural products. Therefore, government pays great attention to agricultural development and continuously has been taking measures for further strengthening and enhancing the efficiency of agricultural sector. In turn, development in agricultural sector have faced several challenges in water use for irrigation, climate change, desertification and deforestation due to transboundary rivers shared among all five states of Central Asia. Attempts to electricity generation growth, diversified agricultural policy and its orientation have been radically changing the regional climate by breaking the terms and conditions of agreements on joint water allocation among neighboring states. Efficiency and impact analysis serve as the core research methods for proposing relevant recommendations and possible solutions for further improvement of agricultural system development based on research findings and drawn conclusions

Assessing the Financial Mechanisms for Innovation Support in the Republic of Uzbekistan: A Comparative Analysis of Enablers and Constraints to Innovation Across Two Industries

Innovation is fundamental not only to individual firms but ultimately to a country\u27s economic growth and stability. Innovation Systems assert that innovation depends not only on how individual firms and external actors operate, but also on the dynamics of their interaction as part of the system. While funding for innovation is a central theme of Innovation Systems models, there is a gap in the literature on this topic, particularly in regard to the role played by government in transition economies (Bruton, Su, & Filatotchev, 2018). The majority of the research has focused on micro/meso-level support, but there is a significant gap at the macro level. This thesis bridges this gap by theoretically conceptualising and empirically testing the effect of macro-level financial support mechanisms on both innovation and performance constructs within a Sectoral Innovation System (SIS), spanning firms’ internal capability and their external context. Using interview and survey data from Uzbekistan’s machine building and chemical industries, this thesis contends that a firm’s internal capability consisting of absorptive capacity, international growth orientation, investment in-house R&D, and barriers in the market where a firm operates, affects this relationship. Specialists from academia, governmental organisations and managers from both industries participated in interviews. A survey of both sectors yielded 351 complete responses. This data was analysed through structural equation modelling using Mplus. The research findings validate the theoretical model put forward and indicate that the existence of macro-level financial support mechanisms impact innovation and performance constructs through mediated factors. Furthermore, control variables such as age, size, and government ownership have a significantly positive correlation with access to finance, absorptive capacity, international growth orientation, and firm performance. Although industry controls show a significantly negative link to incremental innovation and financial performance, there is a significantly positive link to radical innovation performance. This justifies the existence of a differentiated SIS approach for innovation support in Uzbekistan. Interestingly this research found that international growth orientation is a more significant factor than absorptive capacity and in-house R&D respectively, in the relationship between access to finance and innovation performance. A key contribution of this research is that it advances the understanding of factors that contribute to firm level innovation success. It also exposes best practice for firms and government policymakers in order to maximise performance outcomes. The core argument of this thesis is that access to finance and the individual components of firms’ internal capabilities need to be synchronized to maximize value creation and innovative performance. In this process, the role of government is crucial in designing effective financial and legal infrastructures. Absorptive capacity, international growth orientation, and investment in-house R&D are key micro-level components. This multipronged approach, although challenging to implement, would help to drive more favourable outcomes. Managers are offered a framework to analyse the market and internal capabilities which may moderate the supply of finance and work towards aligning them to achieve superior performance outcomes

Sex Trafficking: A Systematic Review of Operational Definitions

Objective: Trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation constitutes about 59% of detected victims of trafficking, which makes it the most prevalent form of human exploitation globally. In the existing literature, there is a lack of a precise and consistent conceptualization of this phenomenon, which poses a significant challenge in its study. The purpose of this inquiry is to fill in the gap in the existing literature by identifying and analyzing existing operational definitions of sex trafficking pertinent to psychological scholarly literature. Methods: Meta-ethnographic approach to qualitative research was utilized in this study. To identify pertinent literature, a systematic review of the scholarly articles across multiple ProQuest databases took place. A specific emphasis was placed on scientific literature inquiring into sex trafficking in the adult (\u3e18) population. Results: The results of the study indicated that 33% of the publications utilized operational definition of sex trafficking provided by the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (TVPA), followed by 30% provided by Palermo Protocol. A significant portion of publication (30%) did not employ a definition. Conclusions: The overall findings suggest that the most salient characteristics of sex trafficking employed in definitions were the presence of act of recruitment, harboring and transportation with the means of coercion, force, fraud and deception for the purpose of the commercial sex act

Surface structure of thin asymmetric PS-b-PMMA diblock copolymers investigated by atomic force microscopy

Asymmetric poly(styrene-b-methyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PMMA) diblock copolymers of molecular weight M-n = 29,700g mol(-1) (M-PS = 9300 g mol(-1) M-PMMA = 20,100 g mol(-1), PD = 1.15, chi(PS) = 0.323, chi(PMMA) = 0.677) and M-n = 63,900 g mol(-1) (M-PS = 50,500 g mol(-1), M-PMMA = 13,400 g mol(-1), PD = 1.18, chi(PS) = 0.790, chi(PMMA) = 0.210) were prepared via reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to investigate the surface structure of thin films, prepared by spin-coating the diblock copolymers on a silicon substrate. We show that the nanostructure of the diblock copolymer depends on the molecular weight and volume fraction of the diblock copolymers. We observed a perpendicular lamellar structure for the high molar mass sample and a hexagonal-packed cylindrical patterning for the lower molar mass one. Small-angle X-ray scattering investigation of these samples without annealing did not reveal any ordered structure. Annealing of PS-b-PMMA samples at 160 degrees C for 24 h led to a change in surface structure

Improving labor productivity through the rational use of working time on the basis of time management technologies

Rational use of working time leads to increased labor productivity. Time management technologies serve to increase the efficiency of time management in modern enterprises

Investigation of the quality indicators of raw silk with a high linear density

This article identifies the number of varieties of hybrid cocoons by season - Musaffo tola-2, Mayin tola-1, China-106, 37- 43 % of raw silk was obtained from the cocoons during the washing of the cocoons of suitable grade according to the established technological map, and the highest value was obtained by Musaffo tola -1. The quality indicators of high-density raw silk obtained from them were studied, and it was determined as a result of experiments that the obtained 37.2 tex tured raw silk corresponds to the navigation UzDSt 3313 2018 2A

Improved the properties of laser-produced plasma ions using multichannel laser beams

At present, there are number of works devoted to the study of laser-produced plasma as a source of ions for ICF together with heavy ion accelerators and the systems on the base of powerful impulse of electrical charge, i.e. Z-pinches. Laser ion source (LIS) has been recently designed to load the Heidelberg electron beam ion trap with a pulsed beam of charged ions from solid elements. Due to many characteristics of laser-produced plasmas, LIS takes advantages over e.g. a common metal vapor vacuum arc method as a source of ions..

Improved the properties of laser-produced plasma ions using multichannel laser beams

At present, there are number of works devoted to the study of laser-produced plasma as a source of ions for ICF together with heavy ion accelerators and the systems on the base of powerful impulse of electrical charge, i.e. Z-pinches. Laser ion source (LIS) has been recently designed to load the Heidelberg electron beam ion trap with a pulsed beam of charged ions from solid elements. Due to many characteristics of laser-produced plasmas, LIS takes advantages over e.g. a common metal vapor vacuum arc method as a source of ions..