Very short delays prior to escape from potential predators may function efficiently as adaptive risk-assessment periods

Periods between predator detection and an escape response (escape delays) by prey upon attack by a predator often arise because animals trade-off the benefits such a delay gives for assessing risk accurately with the costs of not escaping as quickly as possible. We tested whether freezing behaviour (complete immobility in a previously foraging bird) observed in chaffinches before escaping from an approaching potential threat functions as a period of risk-assessment, and whether information on predator identity is gained even when time available is very short. We flew either a model of a sparrowhawk (predator) or a woodpigeon (no threat) at single chaffinches. Escape delays were significantly shorter with the hawk, except when a model first appeared close to the chaffinch. Chaffinches were significantly more vigilant when they resumed feeding after exposure to the sparrowhawk compared to the woodpigeon showing that they were able to distinguish between threats, and this applied even when time available for assessment was short (an average of 0.29 s). Our results show freezing in chaffinches functions as an effective economic risk assessment period, and that threat information is gained even when very short periods of time are available during an attack.

Description of a "Phoenix" phenomenon in the growth of Campylobacter jejuni at temperatures close to the minimum for growth

When Campylobacter jejuni cultures that had been grown in broth at 39degreesC were subcultured into fresh medium at 30degreesC, there was a transient period of growth followed by a decline in viable-cell numbers before growth resumed once more. We propose that this complex behavior is the net effect of the growth of inoculum cells followed by a loss of viability due to oxidative stress and the subsequent emergence of a spontaneously arising mutant population that takes over the culture.

Age-related decline in the ability to decode emotional prosody: primary or secondary phenomenon?

Emotion processing deficits can cause catastrophic damage to a person's ability to interact socially. While it is known that older adults have difficulty identifying facial emotions, it is still not clear whether this difficulty extends to identification of the emotion conveyed by prosody. This study investigated whether the ability of older adults to decode emotional prosody falls below that of young adults after controlling for loss of hearing sensitivity and key features of cognitive ageing. Apart from frontal lobe load, only verbal IQ was associated with the age-related reduction in performance displayed by older participants, but a notable deficit existed after controlling for its effects. It is concluded that older adults may indeed have difficulty deducing the emotion conveyed by prosody, and that while this difficulty can be exaggerated by some aspects of cognitive ageing, it is primary in origin.

The irrelevant sound phenomenon revisited: what role for working memory capacity?

High-span individuals (as measured by the operation span [CSPAN] technique) are less likely than low-span individuals to notice their own names in an unattended auditory stream (A. R. A. Conway, N. Cowan, & M F. Bunting, 2001). The possibility that OSPAN accounts for individual differences in auditory distraction on an immediate recall test was examined. There was no evidence that high-OSPAN participants were more resistant to the disruption caused by irrelevant speech in serial or in free recall. Low-OSPAN participants did, however, make more semantically related intrusion errors from the irrelevant sound stream in a free recall test (Experiment 4). Results suggest that OSPAN mediates semantic components of auditory distraction dissociable from other aspects of the irrelevant sound effect.

Is optical imaging spectroscopy a viable measurement technique for the investigation of the negative BOLD phenomenon? A concurrent optical imaging spectroscopy and fMRI study at high field (7T)

Traditionally functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has been used to map activity in the human brain by measuring increases in the Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent (BOLD) signal. Often accompanying positive BOLD fMRI signal changes are sustained negative signal changes. Previous studies investigating the neurovascular coupling mechanisms of the negative BOLD phenomenon have used concurrent 2D-optical imaging spectroscopy (2D-OIS) and electrophysiology (Boorman et al., 2010). These experiments suggested that the negative BOLD signal in response to whisker stimulation was a result of an increase in deoxy-haemoglobin and reduced multi-unit activity in the deep cortical layers. However, Boorman et al. (2010) did not measure the BOLD and haemodynamic response concurrently and so could not quantitatively compare either the spatial maps or the 2D-OIS and fMRI time series directly. Furthermore their study utilised a homogeneous tissue model in which is predominantly sensitive to haemodynamic changes in more superficial layers. Here we test whether the 2D-OIS technique is appropriate for studies of negative BOLD. We used concurrent fMRI with 2D-OIS techniques for the investigation of the haemodynamics underlying the negative BOLD at 7 Tesla. We investigated whether optical methods could be used to accurately map and measure the negative BOLD phenomenon by using 2D-OIS haemodynamic data to derive predictions from a biophysical model of BOLD signal changes. We showed that despite the deep cortical origin of the negative BOLD response, if an appropriate heterogeneous tissue model is used in the spectroscopic analysis then 2D-OIS can be used to investigate the negative BOLD phenomenon.

The history of entrepreneurship: Medieval origins of a modern phenomenon

The origins of enterprise are often associated with the Industrial Revolution, but this article presents evidence of entrepreneurial activities from a much earlier date – the medieval period. Between 1250 and 1500 the church, merchants and members of the royal court all engaged in activities that demonstrated the entrepreneurial characteristics of innovation, risk-taking and judgement. The activities of the prior of Tynemouth and the career of the wool merchant William de la Pole illustrate these developments. By focusing on individuals rather than firms, it is possible to push back the study of entrepreneurship beyond the Industrial Revolution and early-modern trade to a period that witnessed the origins of the modern state.

Is it still King Lear? English teachers and the e-reader phenomenon

E-reading devices such as the Kindle have rapidly secured a significant place in a number of societies as at least one major platform for reading.To some extent they are part of the overarching move towards a fully digitised world, but they have a distinctiveness in being deliberately‘book-like’. Teachers generally have some suspicion towards ‘New Media’, especially when it challenges their established practice. This chapter reports on a survey of English teachers in England to gauge their reactions to e-readers, both personally and professionally, and describes their speculations about the place of e-readers in schools in the future. There is a mixed reaction with some teachers concerned about the demise of the book and the potential negative impact on reading. However, the majority welcome e-readers as a dynamic element within the reading environment with particular potential to enthuse reluctant readers and those with special or linguistic needs. They also, some grudgingly, view the fact that reading using this form of technology appeals to the ‘egeneration’ and may succeed in making reading ‘cool’. This form of technology is, ironically [given that it appears to threaten traditional books], likely to be rapidly adopted in classrooms.

Internationalization motives: sell more, buy better, upgrade and escape

Purpose – The purpose of this the paper is to review the motives for internationalization to clarify previous arguments and provide a theory-driven classification. Design/methodology/approach – The authors build on behavioral economics and propose a classification of internationalization motives as the result of the interaction among two dimensions, an economics-driven exploitation of existing resources or exploration of new resources, and a psychology-driven search for better host country conditions or avoidance of poor home country conditions. Findings – These two dimensions result in four internationalization motives: sell more, in which the company exploits existing resources at home and obtains better host country conditions; buy better, in which the company exploits existing resources abroad and avoids poor home country conditions; upgrade, in which the company explores for new resources, and it obtains better host country conditions; and escape, in which the company explores for new resources and avoids poor home country conditions. Originality/value – This theory-driven classification provides predictive power for future analyses of internationalization motives.

The ratio bias phenomenon: fact or artifact?

The ratio bias—according to which individuals prefer to bet on probabilities expressed as a ratio of large numbers to normatively equivalent or superior probabilities expressed as a ratio of small numbers—has recently gained momentum, with researchers especially in health economics emphasizing the policy importance of the phenomenon. Although the bias has been replicated several times, some doubts remain about its economic significance. Our two experiments show that the bias disappears once order effects are excluded, and once salient and dominant incentives are provided. This holds true for both choice and valuation tasks. Also, adding context to the decision problem does not alter this finding. No ratio bias could be found in between-subject tests either, which leads us to the conclusion that the policy relevance of the phenomenon is doubtful at best.

The urban cool island phenomenon in a high-rise high-density city and its mechanisms

The urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon has been studied extensively, but there are relatively fewer reports on the so-called urban cool island (UCI) phenomenon. We reveal here that the UCI phenomenon exists in Hong Kong during the day, and is associated with the UHI at night under all wind and cloud conditions. The possible mechanisms for the UCI phenomenon in such a high-rise compact city have been discovered using a lumped urban air temperature model. A new concept of urban cool island degree hours (UCIdh) to measure the UCI intensity and duration is proposed. Our analyses reveal that when anthropogenic heat is small or absent, a high-rise and high-density city experiences a significant daytime UCI effect. This is explained by an intensified heat storage capacity and the reduced solar radiation gain of urban surfaces. However, if anthropogenic heat in the urban area increases further, the UCI phenomenon still exists, yet UCIdh decrease dramatically in a high-rise compact city. In a low-rise, low-density city, the UCI phenomenon also occurs when there is no anthropogenic heat, but easily disappears when there is little anthropogenic heat, and the UHI phenomenon dominates. This probably explains why the UHI phenomenon is often observed, but the UCI phenomenon is rarely observed. The co-existence of urban heat/cool island phenomena implies reduction of the daily temperature range (DTR) in such cities, and its dependence on urban morphology also implies that urban morphology can be used to control the urban thermal environment.