The effects of unconditional stimulus valence and conditioning paradigm on verbal, skeleto-motor, and autonomic indices of human Pavlovian conditioning

The effects of unconditional stimulus (US) valence (aversive electro-tactile stimulus vs. nonaversive imperative stimulus of a RT task) and conditioning paradigm (delay vs. trace) on affective learning as indexed by verbal ratings of conditional stimulus (CS) pleasantness and blink startle modulation and on relational learning as indexed by electrodermal responses were investigated. Affective learning was not affected by the conditioning paradigm; however, electrodermal responses and blink latency shortening indicated delayed learning in the trace procedure. Changes in rated CS pleasantness were found with the aversive US, but not with the non-aversive US. Differential conditioning as indexed by electrodermal responses and startle modulation was found regardless of US valence. The finding of significant differential blink modulation and electrodermal responding in the absence of a change in rated CS pleasantness as a result of conditioning with a non-aversive US was replicated in a second experiment. These results seem to indicate that startle modulation during conditioning is mediated by the arousal level of the anticipated US, rather than by the valence of the CS. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.

The experiences and perceptions of unit managers in facilitating oral health in adults with intellectual disability

This qualitative research investigated the experiences and perceptions of unit managers regarding their involvement with oral health management of adults with intellectual disability. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with eight participants working in four different area offices of a metropolitan disability service, whose experience as unit managers ranged from 1 to 17 years. Key themes identified in the interview data focused on unit managers' views of the oral health of this group, the support roles involved in the oral health of adults with intellectual disability, the priority of oral health, the experiences of the participants within the oral health system, and the strategies for supporting adults with intellectual disability in oral health management. Implications of the findings included the need to improve education for all persons involved in the oral health of adults with intellectual disability, to encourage a collaborative approach to oral health by workers within accommodation support services and the oral health system, and to enable adults with intellectual disability to maximally participate in their own oral health management.

Integration of autonomic and local mechanisms in regulating cardiovascular responses to heating and cooling in a reptile (Crocodylus porosus)

Reptiles change heart rate and blood flow patterns in response to heating and cooling, thereby decreasing the behavioural cost of thermoregulation. We tested the hypothesis that locally produced vasoactive substances, nitric oxide and prostaglandins, mediate the cardiovascular response of reptiles to heat. Heart rate and blood pressure were measured in eight crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) during heating and cooling and while sequentially inhibiting nitric-oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase enzymes. Heart rate and blood pressure were significantly higher during heating than during cooling in all treatments. Power spectral density of heart rate and blood pressure increased significantly during heating and cooling compared to the preceding period of thermal equilibrium. Spectral density of heart rate in the high frequency band (0.19-0.70 Hz) was significantly greater during cooling in the saline treatment compared to when nitric-oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase enzymes were inhibited. Cross spectral analysis showed that changes in blood pressure preceded heart rate changes at low frequencies (

Demographic effects on the use of vertical sources of guidance by managers in widely differing cultural contexts

Data provided by 7380 middle managers from 60 nations are used to determine whether demographic variables are correlated with managers’ reliance on vertical sources of guidance in different nations and whether these correlations differ depending on national culture characteristics. Significant effects of Hofstede’s national culture scores, age, gender, organization ownership and department function are found. After these main effects have been discounted, significant although weak interactions are found, indicating that demographic effects are stronger in individualist, low power distance nations than elsewhere. Significant non-predicted interaction effects of uncertainty avoidance and masculinity-femininity are also obtained. The implications for theory and practice of the use of demographic attributes in understanding effective management procedures in various parts of the world are discussed.

Shadowing experiences and the extension of communities of practice: A case study of women education managers

Recent developments in workplace learning have focused on relational and social network views of learning that introduce practitioners to the norms, values and assumptions of the workplace as well as the learning processes through which knowledge is acquired. This article reports on a qualitative study of a mentoring programme designed to assist women education managers gain promotion by broadening their networks and stimulating insights into the senior management positions for which they were being prepared. The findings are that members reflexively assess and reassess goals and values to demystify knowledge and resolved cognitive dissonance in these processes. Moreover, this article shows that women participants learn from the networks, and that the networks learn from the participant in a reciprocal and informal way. The article concludes that organizational learning programmes must focus on enabling such networks to flourish.

Do socially responsible fund managers really invest differently?

To date, research into socially responsible investment (SRI), and in particular the socially responsible investment funds industry, has focused on whether investing in SRI assets has any differential impact on investor returns. Prior findings generally suggest that, on a risk-adjusted basis, there is no difference in performance between SRI and conventional funds. This result has led to questions about whether SRI funds are really any different from conventional funds. This paper examines whether the portfolio allocation across industry sectors and the stock-picking ability of SRI managers are different when compared to conventional fund managers. The study finds that SRI funds exhibit different industry betas consistent with different portfolio positions, but that these differences vary from year to year. It is also found that there is little difference in stock-picking ability between the two groups of fund managers.

Calcium channels controlling acetylcholine release from preganglionic nerve terminals in rat autonomic ganglia

Little is known about the nature of the calcium channels controlling neurotransmitter release from preganglionic parasympathetic nerve fibres. In the present study, the effects of selective calcium channel antagonists and amiloride were investigated on ganglionic neurotransmission. Conventional intracellular recording and focal extracellular recording techniques were used in rat submandibular and pelvic ganglia, respectively. Excitatory postsynaptic potentials and excitatory postsynaptic currents preceded by nerve terminal impulses were recorded as a measure of acetylcholine release from parasympathetic and sympathetic preganglionic fibres following nerve stimulation. The calcium channel antagonists omega-conotoxin GVIA (N type), nifedipine and nimodipine (L type), omega-conotoxin MVIIC and omega-agatoxin IVA (P/Q type), and Ni2+ (R type) had no functional inhibitory effects on synaptic transmission in both submandibular and pelvic ganglia. The potassium-sparing diuretic, amiloride, and its analogue, dimethyl amiloride, produced a reversible and concentration-dependent inhibition of excitatory postsynaptic potential amplitude in the rat submandibular ganglion. The amplitude and frequency of spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic potentials and the sensitivity of the postsynaptic membrane to acetylcholine were unaffected by amiloride. In the rat pelvic ganglion, amiloride produced a concentration-dependent inhibition of excitatory postsynaptic currents without causing any detectable effects on the amplitude or configuration of the nerve terminal impulse. These results indicate that neurotransmitter release from preganglionic parasympathetic and sympathetic nerve terminals is resistant to inhibition by specific calcium channel antagonists of N-, L-, P/Q- and R-type calcium channels. Amiloride acts presynaptically to inhibit evoked transmitter release, but does not prevent action potential propagation in the nerve terminals, suggesting that amiloride may block the pharmacologically distinct calcium channel type(s) on rat preganglionic nerve terminals. (C) 1999 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.

Towards a standards-based autonomic context management system

Pervasive computing applications must be sufficiently autonomous to adapt their behaviour to changes in computing resources and user requirements. This capability is known as context-awareness. In some cases, context-aware applications must be implemented as autonomic systems which are capable of dynamically discovering and replacing context sources (sensors) at run-time. Unlike other types of application autonomy, this kind of dynamic reconfiguration has not been sufficiently investigated yet by the research community. However, application-level context models are becoming common, in order to ease programming of context-aware applications and support evolution by decoupling applications from context sources. We can leverage these context models to develop general (i.e., application-independent) solutions for dynamic, run-time discovery of context sources (i.e., context management). This paper presents a model and architecture for a reconfigurable context management system that supports interoperability by building on emerging standards for sensor description and classification.