The Influence of Task Characteristics on the Intermanual Asymmetry of Motor Overflow

The two studies reported here were designed to test the proposition that greater motor overflow occurs when movements are performed by the non-dominant hand. Unlike previous studies using normal adults, the task in these studies did not require force production. In the first study, a group of 19 right-handed participants performed unweighted finger lifting. That the frequency of motor overflow occurrence was the same regardless of which hand performed the task, did not support findings from other studies where tasks involving force production resulted in more overflow when performed by the non-dominant hand. To investigate further the influence of task characteristics on motor overflow occurrence, in the second study participants were required to remember and reproduce a prescribed sequence of four finger lifts. Left- and right-handed participants ( N =30) performed both single and sequenced finger lifting. The relative frequency of motor overflow (unintended lifts of fingers of the passive hand) was compared between hand preference groups, active hand and task type (single/sequenced). Contrary to the expectation that motor overflow would be greater for the sequenced finger lifting task, overflow was exhibited with a significantly greater frequency on single finger lifting. This finding indicates that task characteristics influence the pattern of overflow occurrence in normal adults. The task used in this study did not involve force production and did not result in an intermanual asymmetry of motor overflow. This contrasts with findings from other studies requiring adults to exert forces where greater overflow occurred when the non-dominant hand was active. However, this study confirms previous findings which show that left-handers produce greater overflow compared to right-handers regardless of the task being performed and the hand performing the task.

Fighting a tobacco rollback : a political analysis of the 1994 contraband crisis in Canada

We identify factors that led a regional government (Quebec, Canada) to opt for a reduction of its tobacco tax to combat tobacco smuggling. Then we explore the fallout of Quebec's tobacco-tax rollback on its tobacco control policy. We conducted qualitative research using a case-study design and multiple sources of data. We applied the Advocacy Coalition Framework in respect of data collection and analysis. Advocates of the tobacco-tax rollback framed the contraband problem in a way that won the support of an array of actors. However, anti-tobacco activists succeeded in convincing the government to invest more in tobacco control. The new resources were instrumental in enhancing the activists' ability to promote legislative measures. Our approach sheds light on the tobacco industry's strategy to have governments reducing their tobacco tax. Quebec offers an example of how tobacco control activists can transform defeat into the cornerstone of a comprehensive tobacco control policy.

Fighting the digital divide with microfinance : building social capital and socio-economic development

Unlike other technology, lCT has the tremendous capacity to eliminate various social and economic barriers impeding the poor, helping them discover their potential. Wider access and use of lCT can improve social networks and increase civic engagement, thereby improving social fabric and developing social capital. Thus, scholars now have realized lCT plays a primary role in the formation and maintenance of social network. This paper identifies microfinance programs as an agent with unparalleled capacity to facilitate access to lCT and thus the formation of social capital and socio-economic development of the poor. In this paper, we also discuss the role of MFls in developing social capital in
South Asia and present an analytical model of how the intervention of microfinance can facilitate access to lCT by the poor with the result of an improved both socio-economic situation and social capital.

EDMS, ERMS,ECMS or EDRMS : fighting through the acronyms towards a strategy for effective corporate records management

Records management has been receiving increased attention around the world over the last two decades as governments issue ever more laws and regulations about the management of corporate records. An electronic system to manage records effectively is the ultimate goal of every organisation in both the public private sectors – whether to support the development of E-Government or to conduct business legally. Such systems are not yet clearly defined, however, as the obvious confusion and inconsistency of nomenclature makes very clear. This paper highlights the problem and calls for research into this essential but currently ignored area.

Working and fighting for progress, for prosperity, for society : brave new business worlds before and beyond corporate citizenship

One of the things that many of us working in corporate citizenship tend to do is to assume that we are actually creating new agendas. Sometimes we do but, more often than not, other thinkers have been there before us. One such man worth revisiting in his extensive writings of over 60 years ago is Aldous Huxley, probably most famous to many for his novel Brave New World. This paper looks briefly at some of the things Huxley had to say that are relevant to our current thinking about the 'soul' of business and its relations to CSR and corporate citizenship.

Do governments lead or lag in fighting crime?

We examine the Granger causal relationship between police strength and a variety of different types of crime for South Australia. We find that with the exception of assault and homicide in the long run, the crime rate and police strength are neutral.

Asymmetry in volume between dominant and nondominant upper limbs in young tennis players

This study aimed at demonstrating the asymmetry in volume between the dominant and nondominant upper limbs in tennis players, controlled for maturity status. Upper limb volumes on both sides were calculated in 72 tennis players and 84 control subjects, using the truncated cone method. The participants’ maturity status was determined using the predicted age at peak height velocity (PHV). The results showed significant larger side-to-side asymmetry in volume in tennis groups than
in control groups. These findings suggested that, even before PHV, specific-sport adaptations occurred in the dominant upper limb in tennis players.

Fighting fatigue whilst fighting bushfire : an overview of factors contributing to firefighter fatigue during bushfire suppression

Aching muscles and joints, lethargy, and sleepiness are all signs of firefighter fatigue during bushfire suppression. If not managed, fatigue may lead to injury or illness for the individual, which may also compromise the safety and productivity of their crew. Understanding the many sources of firefighter fatigue is, therefore, fundamental for all Australian fire agencies. This article will briefly address  several factors thought to contribute to firefighter fatigue including; sleep loss, firefighter’s work activity, their hydration, and nutrition, the hot and smoky  working environment, firefighter’s physical fitness and their experience. This brief overview draws on findings from firefighting research and the broader scientific literature.

Fighting with fire : how bushfire suppression can impact on fire fighters' health

Background: Each year bushfire threatens Australia’s rural, forest, and urban-rural areas. Australia’s rural fire fighters work to curtail this threat in hot, smoky conditions, often at risk to their physical health. General practitioners, especially in rural areas, can help preserve the health of fire fighters during the fire season by understanding the stressors they face on the fireground.

Objective: This article outlines how the key fireground stressors of work intensity and duration, heat (from the weather, the fire, and the fire fighter’s own exertion) and smoke impact on the health of fire fighters. Practical advice for GPs treating Australia’s rural fire fighters is also included.

Discussion: General practitioners can help preserve fire fighters' health during bushfire suppression in a number of ways, including: identifying fire fighters at risk of cardiac distress during physical labour and educating them about the early warning signs; advocating regular exercise; discouraging smoking; and promoting the benefits of maintaining fluid, carbohydrate, and electrolyte levels during a shift.

Investigating business cycle asymmetry for the G7 countries : evidence from over a century of data

In this paper we test for asymmetric behaviour of business cycles for the G7 countries, using the entropy-based test for asymmetry suggested by Racine and Maasoumi [Racine, J.S., & Maasoumi, E. (in press-a). A versatile and robust metric entropy test of time-reversibility, and other hypotheses, Journal of Econometrics; Racine, J.S., & Maasoumi, E. (in press-b). A robust entropy based test for asymmetry. Econometric Reviews.]. We find overwhelming evidence of symmetry. In only 14% of the cases, we find some evidence of asymmetric behaviour of GDP and per capita GDP. More importantly, the period marked by the flexible exchange rate regime, over which much of the empirical work for the G7 countries has been conducted, evidence suggests that the two GDP series are symmetric.