Thematic thinking and individual performance in research and development

Individuals differ in their preference for processing information on the basis of taxonomic, feature-based similarity, or thematic, relation-based similarity. These differences, which have been investigated in a recently emerging research stream in cognitive psychology, affect innovative behavior and thus constitute an important antecedent of individual performance in research and development (R&D) that has been overlooked so far in the literature on innovation management. To fill this research gap, survey and test data from the employees of a multinational information technology services firm are used to examine the relationship between thematic thinking and R&D professionals' individual performance. A moderated mediation model is applied to investigate the proposed relationships of thematic thinking and individual-level performance indicators. Results show a positive relationship between thematic thinking and innovativeness, as well as individual job performance. While the results do not support the postulated moderation of the innovativeness–job performance relationship by employees' political skill, they show that the relationship between thematic thinking and job performance is fully mediated by R&D professionals' innovativeness. The present study is thus the first to reveal a positive relationship between thematic thinking and innovative performance.

The Dialectical Relationship of Preferential and Multilateral Trade Agreements

Preferentialism and multilateralism are not two independent and succinct avenues in the pur-suit of market access and regulatory policies. They historically build upon each other in a dialectical process, closely related and linked through regulatory bridges and references. They influence and direct each other in various ways. The paper mainly focuses on the evolution of international protection of intellectual property rights and of services. The multilateral regulation of the TRIPS and others derive from years of regulatory experience and high numbers of preferential agreements across the globe. The GATS and others, on the other hand, have entered the pluri- or multilateral stage early. Once regulation has reached the mul-tilateral stage, preferentialism focuses on WTO-plus and -extra commitments. Both areas, however, show close interaction. The principle of MFN ensures that multilateralism and preferentialism do not evolve independently from each other. It produces significant spill-over effects of preferential agreements. Such effects and the need to develop uniform and coherent regulatory standards have led in parallel to a number of preferential, plurilateral and multilateral regulatory initiatives. We submit that the process will eventually encourage the return to multilateralism and negotiations in international fora, in particular the WTO while traditional market access may stay with preferential relations among Nations. Such burden-sharing between different regulatory fora should be reflected in future WTO rules providing the overall backbone of the system.

Neural correlates of wishful thinking.

Wishful thinking (WT) implies the overestimation of the likelihood of desirable events. It occurs for outcomes of personal interest, but also for events of interest to others we like. We investigated whether WT is grounded on low-level selective attention or on higher level cognitive processes including differential weighting of evidence or response formation. Participants in our MRI study predicted the likelihood that their favorite or least favorite team would win a football game. Consistent with expectations, favorite team trials were characterized by higher winning odds. Our data demonstrated activity in a cluster comprising parts of the left inferior occipital and fusiform gyri to distinguish between favorite and least favorite team trials. More importantly, functional connectivities of this cluster with the human reward system were specifically involved in the type of WT investigated in our study, thus supporting the idea of an attention bias generating WT. Prefrontal cortex activity also distinguished between the two teams. However, activity in this region and its functional connectivities with the human reward system were altogether unrelated to the degree of WT reflected in the participants' behavior and may rather be related to social identification, ensuring the affective context necessary for WT to arise.

The functional significance of EEG microstates-Associations with modalities of thinking

The momentary, global functional state of the brain is reflected by its electric field configuration. Cluster analytical approaches consistently extracted four head-surface brain electric field configurations that optimally explain the variance of their changes across time in spontaneous EEG recordings. These four configurations are referred to as EEG microstate classes A, B, C, and D and have been associated with verbal/phonological, visual, attention reorientation, and subjective interoceptive-autonomic processing, respectively. The present study tested these associations via an intra-individual and inter-individual analysis approach. The intra-individual approach tested the effect of task-induced increased modality-specific processing on EEG microstate parameters. The inter-individual approach tested the effect of personal modality-specific parameters on EEG microstate parameters. We obtained multichannel EEG from 61 healthy, right-handed, male students during four eyes-closed conditions: object-visualization, spatial-visualization, verbalization (6 runs each), and resting (7 runs). After each run, we assessed participants' degrees of object-visual, spatial-visual, and verbal thinking using subjective reports. Before and after the recording, we assessed modality-specific cognitive abilities and styles using nine cognitive tests and two questionnaires. The EEG of all participants, conditions, and runs was clustered into four classes of EEG microstates (A, B, C, and D). RMANOVAs, ANOVAs and post-hoc paired t-tests compared microstate parameters between conditions. TANOVAs compared microstate class topographies between conditions. Differences were localized using eLORETA. Pearson correlations assessed interrelationships between personal modality-specific parameters and EEG microstate parameters during no-task resting. As hypothesized, verbal as opposed to visual conditions consistently affected the duration, occurrence, and coverage of microstate classes A and B. Contrary to associations suggested by previous reports, parameters were increased for class A during visualization, and class B during verbalization. In line with previous reports, microstate D parameters were increased during no-task resting compared to the three internal, goal-directed tasks. Topographic differences between conditions concerned particular sub-regions of components of the metabolic default mode network. Modality-specific personal parameters did not consistently correlate with microstate parameters except verbal cognitive style which correlated negatively with microstate class A duration and positively with class C occurrence. This is the first study that aimed to induce EEG microstate class parameter changes based on their hypothesized functional significance. Beyond, the associations of microstate classes A and B with visual and verbal processing, respectively and microstate class D with interoceptive-autonomic processing, our results suggest that a finely-tuned interplay between all four EEG microstate classes is necessary for the continuous formation of visual and verbal thoughts, as well as interoceptive-autonomic processing. Our results point to the possibility that the EEG microstate classes may represent the head-surface measured activity of intra-cortical sources primarily exhibiting inhibitory functions. However, additional studies are needed to verify and elaborate on this hypothesis.

Seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis and current thinking regarding screening in pregnancy: A review of the literature and case study discussion

The approach to the diagnosis and treatment of congenital toxoplasmosis has been one of flux and debate, fueled by lack of knowledge, lack of consensus, different methods of screening and different national policies for screening in different parts of the world. Countries with higher prevalence of disease such as in Europe and South America have a heightened awareness of the need to screen and treat for this parasitic infection during pregnancy. In contrast, in the United States, it is a condition scarcely discussed and has been largely ignored except in some large centers and by a few researchers. Policies and research strategies for any condition should start with obtaining good data. The aims of this thesis included a review of prevalence studies conducted in the United States, focused on the past 20 years, combined with a description of original research conducted by the author several years ago. The latter was a cross-sectional study performed in Houston, one of the largest American cities with a great ethnic mix. The study analyzed prevalence rates of Toxoplasma gondii IgG antibody in sera of women of reproductive age. Overall seroprevalence was 12.3%. In keeping with other studies, higher prevalence correlated with lower socioeconomic status, Black and Hispanic and Asian ethnicities, and increasing age. A literature search revealed only three prevalence studies performed in the United States over the past 20 years, with another four studies only referred to as personal communications or within a textbook, without further study detail available. The literature review also revealed a lack of consensus on whether or not to screen for toxoplasmosis in pregnancy, and even whether or not treatment in utero is worthwhile.^ Proponents of screening and treatment in pregnancy site studies both in the United States and France, emphasize that treatment reduces disease manifestations in infants. Opponents cite other studies that show only marginal benefits, together with potential side effects of medication regimens and generation of anxiety in parents. What is agreed on so far is the value of educating pregnant women on how to avoid contracting toxoplasmosis, and educating physicians on making the best use of reference laboratories before major treatment decisions are made. Further research to reevaluate the literature critically, review new treatment regimens and examine costs and benefits of screening and treatment of toxoplasmosis in pregnancy, bringing together European and American researchers, is needed.^

Mariátegui, Vallejo y la literatura peruana

Para enriquecer y superar la comprensión eurocéntrica histórica del fenómeno americano es preciso indagar en la reflexión que sobre éste realizan los propios pensadores de América. En este ocasión, nuestra particular elección ha recaído en José Carlos Mariátegui (1895-1930) y su obra Siete ensayos de interpretación de la realidad peruana (1928). Si bien su pensamiento fue poco formal, estuvo enriquecido por intuiciones y observaciones que aún esperan su oportunidad de tener un papel activo en la interpretación de nuestra cultura. Este trabajo se centra en la visión de la literatura peruana a partir de los aportes desde variadas perspectivas que realiza Mariátegui. Si bien parte de un método interpretativo relativamente rígido -materialista, economicista, historicista, lógico-dialéctico-, su obra tiene toda la amplitud crítica y la profundidad existencial que le da su posición privilegiada de observador y partícipe de los procesos políticos y sociales de la vida peruana. En sus comentarios sobre la literatura peruana, Mariátegui destaca el papel de Cesar Vallejo quien, nacido y criado en la sierra peruana, es el primer poeta capaz de representar a la nación con sus dos mundos: el mundo indio y el mundo mestizo. De esta manera, el pensamiento de Mariátegui nos ayuda a entender el carácter de la literatura peruana desde una novedosa y diferente perspectiva.

Thinking Ethically About Emergency Contraception.

http://www.chausa.org/docs/default-source/health-progress/hp1001l-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=0

Re-thinking Argentina's labour and social security reform in the 1990s : agreement on competitive corporatism

This paper will analyze the Menem administration's social policy reforms during the 1990s. Neo-liberal reforms in Argentina are well-known both in the economy and in the social arena, but in the latter we can discern the presence of tripartite negotiations. The form of such negotiations, the type of agreements reached as a result, and the background to those agreements will be discussed. We also pay attention to the concept of competitive corporatism, which was established under the increase in market competition brought about by globalization.

Re-thinking of "Chintanakan Mai" (new thinking) : new perspective for understanding Lao PDR

To date, many previous studies have viewed "Chintanakan Mai" (New Thinking), which was introduced in 1986, as one of the most important factors required for understanding present-day Laos. They tend to see the year 1986 as a watershed in Lao history and divide the history after 1975 into two periods before and after 1986: a period of socialism and a period of reform or market economy, respectively. Therefore, they are likely to see the current changes in Laos as the result or achievement of the reform started in 1986. The year 1986 is always a starting point for understanding Laos today. However, I suggest a different perspective and attempt to re-examine "Chintanakan Mai." "Chintanakan Mai" is not a watershed in Lao history, but rather a temporary slogan to advance postwar reconstruction. In this paper, I try to establish a new perspective for understanding Laos today.

Taiwan strait crises and Chiang Kai-shek's strategic thinking : a perspective from the Taiwan's archive

This paper uses Taiwan's archival documents to reexamine the two Taiwan Strait crises and the characteristics of Chiang Kai-shek's strategic thinking. Section 2 examines the oscillation of U.S. policy concerning the ROC's offensive toward mainland China and the defense of the Da-chen islands before and after the initiation of the First Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1954-1955. Doing so will highlight the contradictory U.S. attitude that contributed to the crisis and weakened its ability to control Chiang. Section 3 focuses on Chiang Kai-shek's strategic vision toward East Asia. In particular, this section focuses on his strategic thinking and tries to assess whether or not he was a "reckless" or "irrational" leader as often described in the previous research on his personality.