Alpha band oscillations track temporal orienting of attention

Introduction: Recent investigations using field-potential recordings in visual and auditory cortices have shown that oscillatory activity in neuronal ensembles become entrained to the timing of rhythmically presented stimuli according to their modality and location (Lakatos, Chen et al. 2007; Lakatos, Karmos et al. 2008; Lakatos, O'Connell et al. 2009). In spite of the evidence showing the role of brain oscillations on forming predictions about forthcoming sensory events (for a review (Engel, Fries et al. 2001), little is known about the role of such oscillations in the temporal orienting of attention (Nobre 2001; Coull and Nobre 2008). To test the effect of temporal orienting of attention on early perceptual processing, motor selection, and anticipatory low frequency oscillation (alpha waves), we analysed EEG data from healthy adults participants who were performing a visual perceptual discrimination task of targets preceded by rhythmic spatio-temporal cues.

Methods: EEG was recorded continuously from 30 healthy, right-handed participants [mean age, 23.9 years (SD, 4.9 years); range, 19–32 years; 9 males], using a 34 Ag/AgCl electrodes at 1000Hz (AFZ ground, right mastoid reference) in an electrically shielded room. The task consisted of rhythmic stimuli that cued participants to the time and location that a subsequent target stimulus would occur after an occlusion (Fig. 1). At the beginning of each trial, a stimulus (ball - diameter:1.0°) appeared on the upper (50%) or lower (50%) left side of the screen and moved across the screen in a diagonal spatial trajectory of seven steps (200 ms for each step). Temporal orienting was induced by manipulating the SOA of each stimuli in three different conditions: fast (400 ms), slow (800 ms) and neutral, where the SOA within a trial was unpredictable, and varied randomly between 300-900 ms. Upon reaching an “occluder”, the ball disappeared for 600 (short occlusion) or 1400ms (long occlusion). When it reappeared on the right-hand side of the occluder, it contained an upright or tilted cross (200 ms, for which participants were required to discriminate the target, using a button-press response with either their right or left hand accordingly. The time-frequency analysis was performed in unfiltered continuous data, epoched from -700 to 1800 ms relative to the beginning of the occlusion period. Data from 12 participants had to be excluded from the analysis due to excessive artifacts in the EEG recordings or poor behavioural performance (accuracy < 60%). A multitaper time–frequency transformation was applied to all electrodes in each trial. This transformation produced an estimation of oscillatory power for each time sample and frequencies between 4 and 20 Hz. Alpha power (8 to 14 Hz) values were extracted from the epochs and submitted to a repeated-measures. All frequency analysis was done using Fieldtrip package ("http://www.ru.nl/fcdonders/fieldtrip/":http://www.ru.nl/fcdonders/fieldtrip/) for MATLAB (MatWorks).

Results: To test the effect of reorienting of attention in time we analyzed alpha band oscillations during the long occlusion period. In this way we can observed the reorienting effect in the invalid (fast) trials, when participants have to shift their attention to the long occlusion given that the target did not appear after the expected cued (short) interval. This result reveals an alpha desynchronization preceding the expected target (blue dashed line). When comparing these oscillations within the same period for the slow (valid) rhythm, we observed that this desynchronization in alpha is only present when preceding by a fast, but not slow, rhythm [F(1,17) = 3.85; p = 0.029]. As can be observed in Figure 2, in the valid condition (slow rhythm) there is also a desynchronization of alpha preceding the cued late target. However, if we compare the alpha oscillations preceding the appearance of the later presented target for the valid and invalid temporal cues, no significant difference is observed [F(1,17) = 0.31; p = 0.905]. 
 
Conclusion: Our findings support the hypothesis that temporal orienting can also modulate brain oscillations, specifically in the alpha range. Importantly, we showed that in the invalid (fast) condition, in which participants were prepared for a target presentation after a short occlusion, there was also a preparation for the presentation of the later target. This indicates that participants were able to reorient their attention to the second interval given that the target fail to appear after the short (expected) occlusion.

References:
Coull, J. and A. Nobre (2008). "Dissociating explicit timing from temporal expectation with fMRI." _Current Opinion in Neurobiology_ 18(2): 137-44.
Engel, A. K., P. Fries, et al. (2001). "Dynamic predictions: oscillations and synchrony in top-down processing." _Nature Reviews Neuroscience_ 2(10): 704-16.
Lakatos, P., C. M. Chen, et al. (2007). "Neuronal oscillations and multisensory interaction in primary auditory cortex." _Neuron_ 53(2): 279-92.
Lakatos, P., G. Karmos, et al. (2008). "Entrainment of Neuronal Oscillations as a Mechanism of Attentional Selection." _Science_ 320(5872): 110-113.
Lakatos, P., M. N. O'Connell, et al. (2009). "The leading sense: supramodal control of neurophysiological context by attention." _Neuron_ 64(3): 419-30.
Nobre, A. C. (2001). "Orienting attention to instants in time." _Neuropsychologia_ 39(12): 1317-28.
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What do we know about automation at work and workers' wellbeing? Literature review

Rapid technological advances are profoundly changing the world of work. The introduction of automation technologies in the workplace has complex direct and indirect impacts on work activities and the wellbeing of workers. In this paper, we conduct a comprehensive review of the emerging literature on the impact of new automation technologies on workers’ subjective wellbeing. We specifically examine the evidence on (i) automation risk, (ii) the expectations and fears surrounding automation and (iii) the adoption of automation technologies, and how they can influence workers’ job satisfaction and life satisfaction. Taken together, the findings from this literature are mixed and largely depend on the type of technology examined. Studies reveal great variation in the impacts across different occupations and industries. While many studies focus on investigating negative consequences of automation technologies, our review suggests that there is potential for both positive and negative effects on wellbeing to coexist. As much remains unknown, we identify possible avenues for future research to further explore this complex relationship, notably, the need for a broader, more holistic approach to the assessment of both risks and impacts to ensure successful adoption from the perspective of enhancement of worker wellbeing

Motivating circular food behaviors

O sistema alimentar precisa urgentemente se tornar mais sustentável. Uma possível solução está na transição para a economia circular no setor de alimentos, a qual precisa envolver diferentes atores. Nesta tese, focamos em comportamentos do consumidor que contribuem para a economia circular no setor de alimentos – o que chamamos de circular food behaviors. Embora muitas pessoas tenham uma atitude positiva em relação à sustentabilidade, algumas barreiras podem impedir os circular food behaviors, como a falta de motivação. A goal-framing theory explica que isso pode acontecer porque as pessoas muitas vezes têm vários objetivos ao mesmo tempo, e os objetivos de sustentabilidade (ou normativos) podem entrar em conflito com objetivos relacionados a recursos pessoais (objetivo de ganho) ou estado emocional (objetivo hedônico). Com base nessa teoria, esta tese aborda o seguinte problema: Como motivar os consumidores a adotarem circular food behaviors? Para responder a essa pergunta, nós desenvolvemos três artigos. O primeiro artigo revisa a literatura sobre circular food behaviors, proporcionando uma melhor compreensão do contexto de estudo. Neste artigo, também categorizamos os circular food behaviors em três tipos: linear, em transição e circular. Para cada tipo, identificamos o papel do consumidor, os objetivos de sustentabilidade, o engajamento do consumidor e o papel da tecnologia, oferecendo uma estrutura para entender melhor a transição para comportamentos mais sustentáveis. Em nosso conhecimento, este é o primeiro artigo a revisar e sistematizar comportamentos alimentares que contribuem para a economia circular. O segundo artigo compara a goal-framing theory com teorias estabelecidas, destacando as forças e fraquezas da teoria. A seguir, revisamos estudos empíricos aplicando a goal-framing theory para estudar comportamentos ambientais. Isso contribui para o nosso entendimento do estado-da-arte da literatura e das lacunas que precisam ser abordadas em pesquisas futuras. Por fim, propomos um modelo que representa a goal-framing theory, que é testado no artigo final. O terceiro artigo baseia-se nos anteriores: nele verificamos os pressupostos da goal-framing theory em uma intervenção que promove um circular food behavior. Por meio de um experimento online, testamos o efeito de valores e pistas situacionais na intenção dos consumidores comprarem alimentos com formatos anormais. Este artigo contribui com a aplicação empírica da goal-framing theory em nosso contexto de estudo. Os resultados suportam parcialmente nossas hipóteses relacionadas à influência dos valores e das pistas situacionais na intenção de comprar alimentos com um formato anormal. Os resultados sugerem que os consumidores que priorizam valores altruístas e biosféricos podem se envolver mais facilmente em circular food behaviors, especialmente se a situação incluir mensagens de ganho ou normativas, e que pode ser mais difícil envolver consumidores que priorizam valores hedônicos. O artigo sugere implicações práticas direcionadas a diferentes grupos de consumidores, e que podem ser utilizadas pela cadeia de alimentos para vendas ou campanhas promovendo o comportamento estudado. A partir dos resultados da dissertação, sugerimos contribuições teóricas e práticas e possibilidade de estudos futuros.There is an urgent need to increase sustainability in the food system. A possible solution lies in the transition towards a circular food system, which needs to involve multiple stakeholders. In the present dissertation, we focus on consumer behaviors that contribute towards circular food systems — what we refer to as circular food behaviors. Although many people hold a positive attitude towards sustainability, some barriers can prevent circular food behaviors, as the lack of motivation at the time of choice. The goal-framing theory explains how this can happen because people often have multiple goals simultaneously, and behaving according to sustainability (or normative) goals may conflict with goals related to people’s resources (gain goal) or emotional state (hedonic goal). Based on this theory, this dissertation addresses the following problem: How to motivate consumers to adopt circular food behaviors? To answer this question, we developed three papers. The first paper reviews the literature on circular food behaviors, providing a better understanding of the study context. It also categorizes circular food behaviors in three types as linear, transitioning, and circular. For each type, we identified consumers’ role, sustainability goals, engagement, and technology, offering a framework to better understand the changes towards more sustainable behaviors. To our knowledge, this is the first paper to review and systematize food behaviors that contribute to the circular economy. The second paper compares the goal-framing theory with established theories, highlighting its strengths and weaknesses. Next, we review empirical research applying the goal-framing theory to study environmental behaviors. This contributes to understanding what has been done so far and which gaps need to be addressed by future research. Finally, we propose a model visually representing the goal-framing theory, which is tested in the final paper. The third paper builds upon the two prior papers: it tests assumptions of the goal-framing theory in an intervention promoting a circular food behavior. Through an online experiment, we test the effect of values and situational cues on consumers’ intention to purchase abnormally shaped foods. This paper contributes with empirical evidence applying the goal-framing theory in the context of the study. Results partially support our hypotheses related to the influence of consumers’ values and situational cues on the intention to purchase abnormally shaped foods. Results suggest that consumers who prioritize altruistic and biospheric values may more easily engage in circular food behaviors, especially if the behavior is supported by gain or normative cues, and that it may be harder to engage consumers who prioritize hedonic values. We provide practical implications tailored to different groups of consumers, which the food chain actors can use in sales or campaigns to promote this circular food behavior. We draw general theoretical and practical contributions from the dissertation's results and indicate avenues for future research

Intergenerational income mobility in the UK : new evidence using the BHPS and understanding society

Using a new dataset combining the British Household Panel Survey and Understanding Society, I estimate the intergenerational income elasticity in the UK for individuals born between 1973 and 1991. Employing the traditional OLS approach as well as an alternative two-stage residual method that better controls for life-cycle effects, my results indicate that the intergenerational income elasticity is approximately 0.25. This means that around one quarter of every additional 1% of income advantage enjoyed by parents is passed on to their children. I also estimate income rank coefficients, which are a measure of positional mobility in the income distribution and these results corroborate the analysis of elasticities. These main results are largely robust to changes in the specifications of the model, sample restrictions and to the use of different measures of income. I also obtain regional estimates of mobility, and find large differences between the North and South of Englan

Behavioural Dissociation between Exogenous and Endogenous Temporal Orienting of Attention

BACKGROUND: In the current study we compared the effects of temporal orienting of attention based on predictions carried by the intrinsic temporal structure of events (rhythm) and by instructive symbolic cues; and tested the degree of cognitive, strategic control that could be exerted over each type of temporal expectation. The experiments tested whether the distinction between exogenous and endogenous orienting made in spatial attention may extend to the temporal domain. TASK DESIGN AND MAIN RESULTS: In this task, a ball moved across the screen in discrete steps and disappeared temporarily under an occluding band. Participants were required to make a perceptual discrimination on the target upon its reappearance. The regularity of the speed (rhythmic cue) or colour (symbolic cue) of the moving stimulus could predict the exact time at which a target would reappear after a brief occlusion (valid trials) or provide no temporal information (neutral trials). The predictive nature of rhythmic and symbolic cues was manipulated factorially in a symmetrical and orthogonal fashion. To test for the effects of strategic control over temporal orienting based on rhythmic or symbolic cues, participants were instructed either to "attend-to-speed" (rhythm) or "attend-to-colour". Our results indicated that both rhythmic and symbolic (colour) cues speeded reaction times in an independent fashion. However, whilst the rhythmic cueing effects were impervious to instruction, the effects of symbolic cues were contingent on the instruction to attend to colour. FINAL CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, our results provide evidence for the existence of qualitatively separable types of temporal orienting of attention, akin to exogenous and endogenous mechanisms

A evolução da teoria contratual e os seus reflexos na teoria do risco : a hipótese do risco econômico imprevisto como integrante autônomo do conteúdo do contrato

O trabalho estuda a evolução da teoria geral dos contratos e os seus reflexos na teoria do risco contratual, tendo como ponto de partida o direito contratual clássico do século XIX e o paradigma da autonomia da vontade. No novo direito contratual do século XX em diante, a análise toma como fio condutor as obras de Emilio Betti e de Karl Larenz, dentro do que se pode considerar o novo paradigma do direito contratual: a regulação e a satisfação de interesses privados mediante critérios de autonomia e heteronomia. O objetivo específico desse estudo é verificar a hipótese de que a teoria atual tenha (ou não) enfrentado o problema econômico dos riscos imprevistos dentro da idéia de "economia interna do contrato", tratando o risco econômico imprevisto como um integrante do conteúdo do contrato com autonomia diante da prestação. O caminho percorrido pelo trabalho identifica que o direito contratual tem sua estrutura teórica construída sobre uma concepção formalista de contrato, segundo a qual essa figura jurídica é uma entidade com existência própria, a qual está centrada na noção jurídica-formal de "obrigação de prestar". Mesmo que, com a evolução do direito contratual, tal estrutura tenha passado a contar com uma função a ser desempenhada na vida real, o trabalho conclui que a teoria continua sem tratar adequadamente o risco econômico imprevisto, porque tal função permanece limitada pela noção jurídico-formal de "obrigação de prestar".This dissertation studies the evolution of contract law theory and its influences on the legal theory of contractual risk. It begins with the classic theory of the 19th century and the will theory paradigm within it; from the 20th century onwards, the main analysis is based on the works of Emilio Betti and Karl Larenz, alongside with the new paradigm that pursues concrete interests through the combination of private autonomy and private heteronomy. The specific purpose of this study is to test the hypothesis that the current theory may have (or may have not) dealt with the economic problem of unforeseen risks by utilizing the idea of economic balance of contract, insofar as to consider the unforeseen economic risk as an autonomous factor in the content of contracts. The research identifies that the theoretical structure of contract law is built over a formalist conception of contract, according to which the contract is an entity with selfexistence, one that is exclusively centered on the notion of "duty to pay". Although the evolution of contract law has given a function to this structure to perform in society and between parties to a given contract, the dissertation concludes that the current theory is still limited by the notion of "duty to pay", and that the unforeseen economic risk has not yet been provided with an adequate legal treatment

A integração produtiva entre agropecuária e agroindústria: uma discussão introdutória em torno da suinocultura

This article deals about the historic process of the existent productive articulation between primary production and the industry that processes agribusiness products, focusing, especially, in the integration system that exists between pig breeders and the pig slaughter industry in south Brazil. A diversity of motivations and behaviors between the participants is identified as an explanation to the success of this productive and commercial relationship. It is questioned if the computerized management of the information related to the pig breeding will lead to a behavioral change by the pig breeders and, to the extinction of this kind of relation or, if on the contrary, this is just another technical and organizational evolution which reinforces the control on the production flux and on the quality of the agribusiness products by the industry and by retail.O artigo trata do processo histórico de articulação produtiva entre produção primária e indústria processadora de produtos agropecuários, focalizando em específico o sistema de integração entre suinocultores e agroindústria de abate de suínos no sul do Brasil. Uma diversidade de motivações e de comportamento entre os participantes é identificada como explicação para o sucesso desta relação produtiva e comercial. Questiona-se se o gerenciamento computadorizado de informações relativas à criação dos suínos levará a uma modificação comportamental dos suinocultores, e à extinção deste tipo de relação, ou se, pelo contrário, é apenas mais uma evolução técnica e organizacional que reforça o controle sobre o fluxo de produção e sobre a qualidade dos produtos por parte da indústria e do varejo