Exact time-dependent solutions for a self-regulating gene

The exact time-dependent solution for the stochastic equations governing the behavior of a binary self-regulating gene is presented. Using the generating function technique to rephrase the master equations in terms of partial differential equations, we show that the model is totally integrable and the analytical solutions are the celebrated confluent Heun functions. Self-regulation plays a major role in the control of gene expression, and it is remarkable that such a microscopic model is completely integrable in terms of well-known complex functions.

Self-awareness and psychosocial functioning following acquired brain injury: An evaluation of a group support programme

This study investigated a group support programme designed to improve self-awareness deficits and psychosocial functioning in a group of chronic patients (N = 21) with acquired brain injury (ABI). The participants were on average 8.6 years (range: 1-36 years) post-injury and were seen at the Brain Injury Association of Queensland, Australia. The assessment of participants involved two standardised measures of intellectual self-awareness with collateral reports from relatives. The present study introduced a new measure called the Self-Regulation Skills Interview (SRSI) which assessed higher levels of self awareness and self-regulation skills. Psychosocial functioning was assessed using a standardised self-report measure. At baseline the group had a relatively high level of intellectual self-awareness regarding their deficits, a low to moderate level of self-regulation skills, and significant psychosocial impairment. The participants were involved in a 16-week group programme which involved components of cognitive rehabilitation, cognitive-behavioural therapy, and social skills training. A post-intervention assessment indicated that participants had significantly improved levels of self-regulation skills and psychosocial functioning. A 6-month follow-up assessment indicated that overall, participants had maintained the gains made during the programme. The important role of self-regulation skills is emphasised as the principle factor contributing to the maintenance of the gains observed.

Self-Directed Behavioral Family Intervention for Parents of Oppositional Children in Rural and Remote Areas

Twenty-four parents of oppositional preschoolers were randomly assigned to either a self-directed behavioral family intervention condition (SD) or to a waitlist control group (WL). The self-directed parent training program based on self-regulation principles, consisted of a written information package and weekly telephone consultations for 10 weeks. At posttest, in comparison to the WL group, children in the SD group had lower levels of behavior problems on parent report measures of child behavior. At posttreatment, parents in the SD condition reported increased levels of parenting competence and lower levels of dysfunctional parenting practices as compared to parents in the WL condition. In addition, mothers reported lower levels of anxiety, depression, and stress as compared to mothers in the WL condition at posttreatment. Using mother's reports, gains in child behavior and parenting practices achieved at posttreatment were maintained at 4-month follow-up.

Illness perception, knowledge and self-care about cervical cancer

Prevention plays a central role in early detection of cervical cancer. Common Sense Model proposes that the nature and organization of illness representations can guide actions related to health and how self-care is exercised. The aim of this study was to describe and compare illness perception, knowledge and self-care in women with and without cancer precursor lesions. Participants were 92 women (aged 18-59) from primary care unity divided into two groups: women with and without premalignant lesion. Measures for illness perception, knowledge and self-care were used. There was no statistically signifi cant difference (t test e chi-square test) between groups in the variables analyzed. Despite the risk for cervical cancer, women with precursor lesions do not adjust their illness perceptions, knowledge and self-care to the situation. These data show the need to warn women against the cervical cancer risks, because their distorted perceptions and lack of knowledge about the disease may hamper the screening and control of cervical cancer.

Regulation and opportunism: How much activism do we need?

This paper analyzes the current trend towards firms self-regulation as opposed to the formal regulation of a negative externality. Firms respond to increasing activism in the market(conscious consumers that take into account the external effects of their purchase) by providing more socially responsible goods. However, because regulation is the outcome of a political process, an increase in activism might imply an inefficiently higher externality level. This may happen when a majority of non-activist consumers collectively free-ride on conscious consumers. By determining a softer than optimal regulation, they benefit from the behavior of firms, yet they have access to cheaper (although less efficient) goods.

University students’ regulation of learning and text processing – examples from medical and teacher education

The general aim of the thesis was to study university students’ learning from the perspective of regulation of learning and text processing. The data were collected from the two academic disciplines of medical and teacher education, which share the features of highly scheduled study, a multidisciplinary character, a complex relationship between theory and practice and a professional nature. Contemporary information society poses new challenges for learning, as it is not possible to learn all the information needed in a profession during a study programme. Therefore, it is increasingly important to learn how to think and learn independently, how to recognise gaps in and update one’s knowledge and how to deal with the huge amount of constantly changing information. In other words, it is critical to regulate one’s learning and to process text effectively. The thesis comprises five sub-studies that employed cross-sectional, longitudinal and experimental designs and multiple methods, from surveys to eye tracking. Study I examined the connections between students’ study orientations and the ways they regulate their learning. In total, 410 second-, fourth- and sixth-year medical students from two Finnish medical schools participated in the study by completing a questionnaire measuring both general study orientations and regulation strategies. The students were generally deeply oriented towards their studies. However, they regulated their studying externally. Several interesting and theoretically reasonable connections between the variables were found. For instance, self-regulation was positively correlated with deep orientation and achievement orientation and was negatively correlated with non-commitment. However, external regulation was likewise positively correlated with deep orientation and achievement orientation but also with surface orientation and systematic orientation. It is argued that external regulation might function as an effective coping strategy in the cognitively loaded medical curriculum. Study II focused on medical students’ regulation of learning and their conceptions of the learning environment in an innovative medical course where traditional lectures were combined wth problem-based learning (PBL) group work. First-year medical and dental students (N = 153) completed a questionnaire assessing their regulation strategies of learning and views about the PBL group work. The results indicated that external regulation and self-regulation of the learning content were the most typical regulation strategies among the participants. In line with previous studies, self-regulation wasconnected with study success. Strictly organised PBL sessions were not considered as useful as lectures, although the students’ views of the teacher/tutor and the group were mainly positive. Therefore, developers of teaching methods are challenged to think of new solutions that facilitate reflection of one’s learning and that improve the development of self-regulation. In Study III, a person-centred approach to studying regulation strategies was employed, in contrast to the traditional variable-centred approach used in Study I and Study II. The aim of Study III was to identify different regulation strategy profiles among medical students (N = 162) across time and to examine to what extent these profiles predict study success in preclinical studies. Four regulation strategy profiles were identified, and connections with study success were found. Students with the lowest self-regulation and with an increasing lack of regulation performed worse than the other groups. As the person-centred approach enables us to individualise students with diverse regulation patterns, it could be used in supporting student learning and in facilitating the early diagnosis of learning difficulties. In Study IV, 91 student teachers participated in a pre-test/post-test design where they answered open-ended questions about a complex science concept both before and after reading either a traditional, expository science text or a refutational text that prompted the reader to change his/her beliefs according to scientific beliefs about the phenomenon. The student teachers completed a questionnaire concerning their regulation and processing strategies. The results showed that the students’ understanding improved after text reading intervention and that refutational text promoted understanding better than the traditional text. Additionally, regulation and processing strategies were found to be connected with understanding the science phenomenon. A weak trend showed that weaker learners would benefit more from the refutational text. It seems that learners with effective learning strategies are able to pick out the relevant content regardless of the text type, whereas weaker learners might benefit from refutational parts that contrast the most typical misconceptions with scientific views. The purpose of Study V was to use eye tracking to determine how third-year medical studets (n = 39) and internal medicine residents (n = 13) read and solve patient case texts. The results revealed differences between medical students and residents in processing patient case texts; compared to the students, the residents were more accurate in their diagnoses and processed the texts significantly faster and with a lower number of fixations. Different reading patterns were also found. The observed differences between medical students and residents in processing patient case texts could be used in medical education to model expert reasoning and to teach how a good medical text should be constructed. The main findings of the thesis indicate that even among very selected student populations, such as high-achieving medical students or student teachers, there seems to be a lot of variation in regulation strategies of learning and text processing. As these learning strategies are related to successful studying, students enter educational programmes with rather different chances of managing and achieving success. Further, the ways of engaging in learning seldom centre on a single strategy or approach; rather, students seem to combine several strategies to a certain degree. Sometimes, it can be a matter of perspective of which way of learning can be considered best; therefore, the reality of studying in higher education is often more complicated than the simplistic view of self-regulation as a good quality and external regulation as a harmful quality. The beginning of university studies may be stressful for many, as the gap between high school and university studies is huge and those strategies that were adequate during high school might not work as well in higher education. Therefore, it is important to map students’ learning strategies and to encourage them to engage in using high-quality learning strategies from the beginning. Instead of separate courses on learning skills, the integration of these skills into course contents should be considered. Furthermore, learning complex scientific phenomena could be facilitated by paying attention to high-quality learning materials and texts and other support from the learning environment also in the university. Eye tracking seems to have great potential in evaluating performance and growing diagnostic expertise in text processing, although more research using texts as stimulus is needed. Both medical and teacher education programmes and the professions themselves are challenging in terms of their multidisciplinary nature and increasing amounts of information and therefore require good lifelong learning skills during the study period and later in work life.

The relation of attentional, emotional, and social regulation to cognitive competence, from infancy to school entry

Recent research on the sources of cognitive competence in infancy and early childhood has highlighted the role of social and emotional factors (for example, Lewis, 1993b). Exploring the roots of competence requires a longitudinal and multivariate approach. To deal with the resulting complexity, potentially integrative theoretical constructs are required. One logical candidate is self-regulation. Three key developmental questions were the focus of this investigation. 1) Does infant self-regulation (attentional, emotional, and social) predict preschool cognitive competence? 2) Does infant self-regulation predict preschool self-regulation? 3) Does preschool self-regulation predict concurrent preschool cognitive competence? One hundred preschoolers (46 females, 54 males; mean age = 5 years, 11 months) who had participated at 9- and/ or 12-months of age in an object permanence task were recruited to participate in this longitudinal investigation. Each subject completed four scales of the WPPSI-R and two social cognitive tasks. Parents completed questionnaires about their preschoolers' regulatory behaviours (Achenbach's Child Behavior Checklist [1991] and selected items from Eisenberg et ale [1993] and Derryberry & Rothbart [1988]). Separate behavioural coding systems were developed to capture regulatory capabilities in infancy (from the object permanence task) and preschool (from the WPPSIR Block Design). Overall, correlational and multiple regression results offered strong affirmative answers to the three key questions (R's = .30 to .38), using the behavioural observations of self-regulation. Behavioural regulation at preschool substantially predicted parental reports of regulation, but the latter variables did not predict preschool competence. Infant selfregulation and preschool regulation made statistically independent contributions to competence, even though regulation at Time 1 and Time 2 ii were substantially related. The results are interpreted as supporting a developmental pathway in which well-regulated infants more readily acquire both expertise and more sophisticated regulatory skills. Future research should address the origins of these skills earlier in infancy, and the social contexts that generate them and support them during the intervening years.

Hot cognition and activation of the medial prefrontal cortex: Self-regulating in contexts involving motivational pressures

The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is involved in performance-monitoring and has been implicated in the generation of several electrocortical responses associated with self-regulation. The error-related negativity (ERN), the inhibitory Nogo N2 (N2), and the feedback-related negativity (FRN) are event-related potential (ERP) components which reflect mPFC activity associated with feedback to behavioural (ERN, N2) and environmental (FRN) consequences. Our main goal was to determine whether or not rnPFC activation varies as a function of motivational context (e.g., those involving performance-related incentives) or the use of internally versus externally generated feedback signals (i.e., errors). Additionally, we assessed medial prefrontal activity in relation to individual differences in personality and temperament. Participants completed a combination of tasks in which performance-related incentives were associated with task performance and feedback generated from internal versus external responses. MPFC activity was indexed using both ERP scalp voltage peaks and intracerebral current source density (CSD) of dorsal and ventral regions. Additionally, participants completed several questionnaires assessing personality and temperament styles. Given previous studies have shown that enhanced mPFC activity to loss (or negative) feedback, we expected that activity in the mPFC would generally be greater during the Loss condition relative to the Win condition for both the ERN and N2. Also, due to the evidence that the (vmPFC) is engaged in arousing contexts, we hypothesized that activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) would be greater than activity in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), especially in the Loss condition of the GoNogo task (ERN). Similarly, loss feedback in the BART (FRN) was expected to engage the vmPFC more than the dmPFC. Finally, we predicted that persons rating themselves as more willing to engage in approach-related behaviours or to exhibit rigid cognitive styles would show reduced activity of the mPFC. Overall, our results emphasize the role of affective evaluations of behavioural and environmental consequences when self-regulating. Although there were no effects of context on brain activity, our data indicate that, during the time of the ERN and N2 on the MW Go-Nogo task and the FRN on the BART, the vrnPFC was more active compared to the dmPFC. Moreover, regional recruitment in the mPFC was similar across internally (ERN) and externally (FRN) generated errors signals associated with loss feedback, as reflected by relatively greater activity in the vmPFC than the dmPFC. Our data also suggest that greater activity in the mPFC is associated with better inhibitory control, as reflected by both scalp and CSD measures. Additionally, deactivation of the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC) and lower levels of self-reported positive affect were both related to increased voluntary risk-taking on the BART. Finally, persons reporting higher levels of approach-related behaviour or cognitive rigidity showed reduced activity of the mPFC. These results are in line with previous research emphasizing that affect/motivation is central to the processes reflected by mediofrontal negativities (MFNs), that the vmPFC is involved in regulating demands on motivational/affective systems, and that the underlying mechanisms driving these functions vary across both individuals and contexts.

Self-Regulated Learning and Children At-Risk for Learning Disabilities: Using Motivational Tactics to Support "Reading Rocks!"

This project explored self-regulation among children impacted by leaming disabilities. More specifically, this thesis examined whether a remedial literacy program called Reading Rocks! offered by the Leaming Disabilities Association of Niagara Region, provided participating children opportunities to set goals, develop strategies to meet these goals, and provide intemal and extemal feedback- all processes associated with a model of self-regulated leaming as pioneered by Butler and Winne (1995) and Winne and Hadwin (1999). In this thesis, I triangulate the data through the combination of three different methodologies. Firstly, I describe the various elements of the Reading Rocks! program. Secondly, I analyze the data gathered through three semi-structured interviews with three parents of children that participated in the Reading Rocks! program to demonstrate whether the program provides opportunities for children to self-regulate their learning. Thirdly, I also analyze photographic evidence of the motivational workstation boards created by the tutors and children to further illustrate how Reading Rocks! promotes self-regulatory processes among children.

Avoidance goal pursuit depletes self-regulatory resources.

Objective Research on the strength model of self-regulation is burgeoning, but little empirical work has focused on the link between distinct types of daily goal pursuit and the depletion of self-regulatory resources. The authors conducted two studies on the link between avoidance goals and resource depletion. Method Study 1 (283 [228 female] Caucasians, ages 18–51) investigated the concurrent and longitudinal relations between avoidance goals and resource depletion over a 1-month period. Study 2 (132 [93 female] Caucasians, ages 18–49) investigated the concurrent and longitudinal relations between avoidance goals and resource depletion over a 1-month period and explored resource depletion as a mediator of the avoidance goal to subjective well-being relation. Results Studies 1 and 2 documented both a concurrent and a longitudinal negative relationship between avoidance goals and self-regulatory resources, and Study 2 additionally showed that self-regulatory resources mediate the negative link between avoidance goals and subjective well-being. Ancillary analyses demonstrated that the results observed in the two studies were independent of neuroticism. Conclusions These findings advance knowledge in both the resource depletion and avoidance goal literatures, and bolster the view that avoidance goal pursuit over time represents a self-regulatory vulnerability.

Electrophysiological indices of response inhibition in a Go/NoGo task predict self-control in a social context.

Recent research demonstrates that response inhibition-a core executive function-may subserve self-regulation and self-control. However, it is unclear whether response inhibition also predicts self-control in the multifaceted, high-level phenomena of social decision-making. Here we examined whether electrophysiological indices of response inhibition would predict self-control in a social context. Electroencephalography was recorded as participants completed a widely used Go/NoGo task (the cued Continuous Performance Test). Participants then interacted with a partner in an economic exchange game that requires self-control. Results demonstrated that greater NoGo-Anteriorization and larger NoGo-P300 peak amplitudes-two established electrophysiological indices of response inhibition-both predicted more self-control in this social game. These findings support continued integration of executive function and self-regulation and help extend prior research into social decision-making processes.

Self-control in social decision making: A neurobiological perspective

Self-control is defined as the process in which thoughts, emotions, or prepotent responses are inhibited to efficiently enact a more focal goal. Self-control not only allows for more adaptive individual decision making but also promotes adaptive social decision making. In this chapter, we examine a burgeoning area of interdisciplinary research: the neuroscience of self-control in social decision making. We examine research on self-control in complex social contexts examined from a social neuroscience perspective. We review correlational evidence from neuroimaging studies and causal evidence from neuromodulation studies (i.e., brain stimulation). We specifically highlight research that shows that self-control involves the lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) across a number of social domains and behaviors. Research has also begun to directly integrate nonsocial with social forms of self-control, showing that the basic neurobiological processes involved in stopping a motor response appear to be involved in social contexts that require self-control. Further, neural traits, such as baseline activation in the lateral PFC, can explain sources of individual differences in self-control capacity. We explore whether techniques that change brain functioning could target neural mechanisms related to self-control capacity to potentially enhance self-control in social behavior. Finally, we discuss several research questions ripe for examination. We broadly suggest that future research can now turn to exploring how neural traits and situational affordances interact to impact self-control in social decision making in order to continue to elucidate the processes that allow people to maintain and realize stable goals in a dynamic and often uncertain social environment.

The influence of transparency on self-evaluation as part of the university accreditation process in Peru.

In order to show the choice of transparency as the guiding principle of the accreditation process, the article evaluates its influence on the fundamental subprocess of self-evaluation, thereby confirming that transparency is an essential tool for continuous improvement of academic processes and those of educational quality management. It fosters educational innovation and permits the sustainability of the continuous accreditation process over time, resulting in greater probabilities of university self-regulation through systemization of the process, with the objective of continuous improvement of university degree programs. The article analyzes the influence of transparency on each activity of the self-evaluation process according to the Peruvian accreditation model prepared under the total quality approach, as a reference for other accreditation models, proposing concrete transparency actions and evaluating its influence on the stakeholder groups in the self-evaluation process, as well as on the efficiency and effectiveness of the process. It is concluded that transparency has a positive influence on the training of human capital and the formation of the university?s organizational culture, facilitating dissemination, understanding and involvement of the stakeholder groups in the continuous improvement of accreditation activities and increasing their acceptance of change and commitment to the process. It is confirmed that transparency contributes toward increasing the efficiency index of the self-evaluation process by reducing operating costs through adequate, accessible, timely contribution of information by the stakeholders and through the optimization of the time spent gathering relevant information. In addition, it is concluded that transparency contributes toward increasing the effectiveness index of self-evaluation by facilitating the achievement of its objectives through synthetic, useful, reliable interpretation of the education situation and the formulation of feasible improvement plans based on the adequacy, relevance, visibility, pertinence and truthfulness of the information analyzed.

The impact of marketing practices and its regulation policies on childhood obesity. Opinions of stakeholders in Spain

The aim of this study was to identify Spanish stakeholders’ views on the relationship between childhood obesity and the marketing and advertising of food and beverages aimed at children in Spain, as well as on the corresponding of regulations. We performed a qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews with Stakeholders/Key Informants (KI) from 13 organisations: experts (2), consumer advocates (1), public health advocates (2), food manufacturers (2), advertising advocates (1), government representatives (1), child/family/school advocates (2) and media (1). The variables studied were Prevalence of childhood obesity and its relationship to marketing/advertising and Regulation of marketing. In order to identify the most relevant arguments (pearls) in the discourses, a blind independent analysis by four members of the research team was performed. We found that the prevalence of childhood obesity was perceived to be higher than the European average. Self-regulation was identified as the main form of marketing control. Only food manufacturers and advertising agencies considered voluntary action and supervisory procedures to be effective. The other stakeholders advocated state control through legislation and non-state actions such as external assessment and sanctions. Despite the divergence of opinion between stakeholders, there was agreement on the need to improve supervision and to ensure compliance with current self-regulatory codes in Spain.

The regulation of professional advertising practices in Spain, 1988–2013

From the perspective of the sociology of professions, every professional activity should have its own clearly circumscribed and regulated sphere of action. Such an articulation facilitates the regulation of the production of a given profession as well as the way in which it is practiced. The purpose of the research reported here was to provide a comprehensive review and evaluation of the regulatory framework governing the advertising sector in Spain. To this end, the authors analysed external regulatory legislation and self-regulatory codes extracted from the data base of the Asociación para la Autoregulación de la Comunicación Comercial (Autocontrol) that had been enacted or adopted between 1988, the year that Law 11/1998 on General Telecommunications entered into force, and 2003 as well as other relevant documents retrieved from the Boletin Oficial del Estado (BOE) pertaining to the same period. Findings indicate that although there has been a groundswell of legislation governing advertising practices in Spain since 1988, especially at the regional level, lawmakers have focused on the content of advertising messages and shown very little interest in regulating the professions of advertising and public relations. Furthermore, Spanish legislation enacted in 2003 and EU policies appear to have encouraged the adoption of voluntary codes of ethics. Sectors traditionally subject to mandatory advertising regulation, either due to the vulnerability of their target audiences or the potential impact of their commercial messages on public health or the environment, are more likely to develop self-regulatory codes of conduct than others