The roles of feature-specific task set and bottom-up salience in attentional capture: An ERP study

We investigated the roles of top-down task set and bottom-up stimulus salience for feature-specific attentional capture. Spatially nonpredictive cues preceded search arrays that included a color-defined target. For target-color singleton cues, behavioral spatial cueing effects were accompanied by cueinduced N2pc components, indicative of attentional capture. These effects were only minimally attenuated for nonsingleton target-color cues, underlining the dominance of top-down task set over salience in attentional capture. Nontarget-color singleton cues triggered no N2pc, but instead an anterior N2 component indicative of top-down inhibition. In Experiment 2, inverted behavioral cueing effects of these cues were accompanied by a delayed N2pc to targets at cued locations, suggesting that perceptually salient but task-irrelevant visual events trigger location-specific inhibition mechanisms that can delay subsequent target selection.

Plutarch's 'Lives' and the critical reader

This paper analyses the kind of reader constructed in the Lives and the response expected of that reader. It begins by attempting a typology of moralising in the Lives. Plutarch does sometimes make general 'gnomic' statements about right and wrong, and occasionally passes explicit judgement on a subject's behaviour. In addition, the language with which Plutarch describes character is inherently moralistic; and even when he does not pass explicit judgment, Plutarch can rely on a common set of notions about what makes behaviour virtuous or vicious. However, the application of any moral lessons is left to the reader's own judgement. Furthermore, Plutarch's use of multiple focalisations means that the reader is sometimes presented with varying ways of looking at the same individual or the same historical situation. In addition, many incidents or anecdotes are marked by 'multivalence': that is, they resist reduction to a single moral message or lesson. In such cases, the reader is encouraged to exercise his or her own critical faculties. Indeed, the prologues which precede many pairs of Lives and the synkriseis which follow them sometimes explicitly invite the reader's participation in the work of judging. The syncritic structure of the Parallel Lives also invites the reader's participation, as do the varying perspectives provided by a corpus of overlapping Lives. In fact, the presence of a critical, engaged reader is presupposed by the agonistic nature of much of Greek literature, and of several texts in the Moralia which stage opposing viewpoints or arguments. Plutarch himself argues for such a reader in his How the young man should listen to poems.

Simultaneous bridge-localized and mixed-valence character in diruthenium radical cations featuring diethynylaromatic bridging ligands

A series of bimetallic ruthenium complexes [{Ru(dppe)Cp*}2(μ-C≡CArC≡C)] featuring diethynylaromatic bridging ligands (Ar = 1,4-phenylene, 1,4-naphthylene, 9,10-anthrylene) have been prepared and some representative molecular structures determined. A combination of UV–vis–NIR and IR spectroelectrochemical methods and density functional theory (DFT) have been used to demonstrate that one-electron oxidation of compounds [{Ru(dppe)Cp*}2(μ-C≡CArC≡C)](HC≡CArC≡CH = 1,4-diethynylbenzene; 1,4-diethynyl-2,5-dimethoxybenzene; 1,4-diethynylnaphthalene; 9,10-diethynylanthracene) yields solutions containing radical cations that exhibit characteristics of both oxidation of the diethynylaromatic portion of the bridge, and a mixed-valence state. The simultaneous population of bridge-oxidized and mixed-valence states is likely related to a number of factors, including orientation of the plane of the aromatic portion of the bridging ligand with respect to the metal d-orbitals of appropriate π-symmetry.

Effect of elevated CO2 and high temperature on seed-set and grain quality of rice

Hybrid vigour may help overcome the negative effects of climate change in rice. A popular rice hybrid (IR75217H), a heat-tolerant check (N22), and a mega-variety (IR64) were tested for tolerance of seed-set and grain quality to high-temperature stress at anthesis at ambient and elevated [CO2]. Under an ambient air temperature of 29 °C (tissue temperature 28.3 °C), elevated [CO2] increased vegetative and reproductive growth, including seed yield in all three genotypes. Seed-set was reduced by high temperature in all three genotypes, with the hybrid and IR64 equally affected and twice as sensitive as the tolerant cultivar N22. No interaction occurred between temperature and [CO2] for seed-set. The hybrid had significantly more anthesed spikelets at all temperatures than IR64 and at 29 °C this resulted in a large yield advantage. At 35 °C (tissue temperature 32.9 °C) the hybrid had a higher seed yield than IR64 due to the higher spikelet number, but at 38 °C (tissue temperature 34–35 °C) there was no yield advantage. Grain gel consistency in the hybrid and IR64 was reduced by high temperatures only at elevated [CO2], while the percentage of broken grains increased from 10% at 29 °C to 35% at 38 °C in the hybrid. It is concluded that seed-set of hybrids is susceptible to short episodes of high temperature during anthesis, but that at intermediate tissue temperatures of 32.9 °C higher spikelet number (yield potential) of the hybrid can compensate to some extent. If the heat tolerance from N22 or other tolerant donors could be transferred into hybrids, yield could be maintained under the higher temperatures predicted with climate change.

Evaluating the use of multimedia authoring with dyslexic learners: a case study

This paper reports on the findings of a case study set up to explore the possible benefits that dyslexic learners might have when engaging in the creation of their own multimedia project. Two children with specific learning difficulties worked with the author to develop a multimedia presentation. The children developed authoring skills (such as planning and drafting, composition, revision and reflection, proof reading and presentation) and became active, motivated learners. It is believed that the open-ended character of a multimedia authoring package can encourage creative thinking and interest for content and style of presentation.

Self, role and character: developing a professional identity as a drama teacher

The paper reports on research into what may have influenced trainees on four post-graduate teacher training courses in England to become specialist drama teachers rather than pursue careers in the world of professional entertainment. In doing so it raises questions regarding the value of considering teaching as a performing art. The paper goes on to explore how drama trainees regard an understanding of performance, and an ability to both use and demonstrate performance techniques, as integral to their role as subject specialists. The subsequent discussion examines how a drama teacher’s professional identity may be seen as being made up of the three inter-connected elements, self, role and character. Thus, while all teaching may be considered to involve some elements of performativity , this paper suggests that, for the drama specialist, an understanding of what constitutes ‘performance’ has a particular importance. One conclusion drawn from the research is that recognising the place of performance in their practice may result in experienced teachers of drama regarding themselves as artists whose art is teaching drama; another is that recognising the different ways in which adopting a role may involve performance could be of value to all teachers and teacher educators.

Nonlinear set-membership estimation: a support vector machine approach

In this paper a support vector machine (SVM) approach for characterizing the feasible parameter set (FPS) in non-linear set-membership estimation problems is presented. It iteratively solves a regression problem from which an approximation of the boundary of the FPS can be determined. To guarantee convergence to the boundary the procedure includes a no-derivative line search and for an appropriate coverage of points on the FPS boundary it is suggested to start with a sequential box pavement procedure. The SVM approach is illustrated on a simple sine and exponential model with two parameters and an agro-forestry simulation model.

A survey of primary homology assessment: different botanists perceive and define characters in different ways

Cladistic analyses begin with an assessment of variation for a group of organisms and the subsequent representation of that variation as a data matrix. The step of converting observed organismal variation into a data matrix has been considered subjective, contentious, under-investigated, imprecise, unquantifiable, intuitive, as a black-box, and at the same time as ultimately the most influential phase of any cladistic analysis (Pimentel and Riggins, 1987; Bryant, 1989; Pogue and Mickevich, 1990; de Pinna, 1991; Stevens, 1991; Bateman et al., 1992; Smith, 1994; Pleijel, 1995; Wilkinson, 1995; Patterson and Johnson, 1997). Despite the concerns of these authors, primary homology assessment is often perceived as reproducible. In a recent paper, Hawkins et al. (1997) reiterated two points made by a number of these authors: that different interpretations of characters and coding are possible and that different workers will perceive and define characters in different ways. One reviewer challenged us: did we really think that two people working on the same group would come up with different data sets? The conflicting views regarding the reproducibility of the cladistic character matrix provoke a number of questions. Do the majority of workers consistently follow the same guidelines? Has the theoretical framework informing primary homology assessment been adequately explored? The objective of this study is to classify approaches to primary homology assessment, and to quantify the extent to which different approaches are found in the literature by examining variation in the way characters are defined and coded in a data matrix.

Do we need different frameworks to explain infant MNEs from developing countries?

I argue that the initial set of firm-specific assets (FSAs) act as an envelope for the early stages of internationalization of multinational enterprises (MNEs) (of whatever nationality) AND THAT there is a threshold LEVEL of FSAs that IT must possess for such international expansion to be SUCCESSFUL. I also argue that the initial FSAs of an MNE tend to be constrained by the location-specific (L) assets of the home country. However, beyond different initial conditions, there are few obvious reasons to insist that INFANT developing country MNEs are of unique character THAN ADVANCED ECONOMY MNEs, and I predict that as they evolve, the observable differences between the two groups will diminish. Successful firms will increasingly explore internationalization, but there is also no reason to believe that this is likely to happen disproportionately from the developing countries.

Microbiological, chemical and rheological properties of low fat set yoghurt produced with exopolysaccharide (EPS) producing Bifidobacterium strains.

In this work, the microbiological and physicochemical differences of three types of low fat set yoghurts were studied, as well as the changes taking place during storage at 4 °C for 28 days. The first yoghurt was produced with yoghurt starters and exopolysaccharide (EPS) producing Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis CCUG 52486 (CCUGY), the second with yoghurt starters and Bifidobacterium infantis NCIMB 702205 (NCIMBY) and the third with just yoghurt starters (control yoghurt). No significant differences were observed in terms of cell concentrations; for all three yoghurts, similar final cell concentrations were obtained for the yoghurt starter cultures (~7.5 log cfu g−1) and the Bifidobacterium strains (~7.8 log cfu g−1). Both Bifidobacterium survived well during storage, as in both cases the cell viability decreased by less than 0.5 log cfu g−1after 28 days of storage. A decrease in pH followed by an increase in lactic acid was observed during storage for all three yoghurts, which was mostly attributed to the activity of the yoghurt starter cultures. The two yoghurts with the EPS producing Bifidobacterium strains exhibited lower syneresis than the control yoghurt. The lowest was shown by CCUGY, which also exhibited the highest storage modulus and firmness, and a well defined porous web-like structure in cryo-SEM. Examination of the micro-structure of the yoghurts using cryo-scanning electron microscopy (cryo-SEM) indicated that the above observations were due to the interaction between the EPS and the milk proteins. Overall, the results indicated that the EPS producing Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis CCUG 52486 is the most promising strain, and can be used with yoghurt starter cultures to manufacture low fat set yoghurt with probiotic activities and at the same time enhanced physicochemical and rheological properties.

File Transfer Protocol

The discourse surrounding the virtual has moved away from the utopian thinking accompanying the rise of the Internet in the 1990s. The Cyber-gurus of the last decades promised a technotopia removed from materiality and the confines of the flesh and the built environment, a liberation from old institutions and power structures. But since then, the virtual has grown into a distinct yet related sphere of cultural and political production that both parallels and occasionally flows over into the old world of material objects. The strict dichotomy of matter and digital purity has been replaced more recently with a more complex model where both the world of stuff and the world of knowledge support, resist and at the same time contain each other. Online social networks amplify and extend existing ones; other cultural interfaces like youtube have not replaced the communal experience of watching moving images in a semi-public space (the cinema) or the semi-private space (the family living room). Rather the experience of viewing is very much about sharing and communicating, offering interpretations and comments. Many of the web’s strongest entities (Amazon, eBay, Gumtree etc.) sit exactly at this juncture of applying tools taken from the knowledge management industry to organize the chaos of the material world along (post-)Fordist rationality. Since the early 1990s there have been many artistic and curatorial attempts to use the Internet as a platform of producing and exhibiting art, but a lot of these were reluctant to let go of the fantasy of digital freedom. Storage Room collapses the binary opposition of real and virtual space by using online data storage as a conduit for IRL art production. The artworks here will not be available for viewing online in a 'screen' environment but only as part of a downloadable package with the intention that the exhibition could be displayed (in a physical space) by any interested party and realised as ambitiously or minimally as the downloader wishes, based on their means. The artists will therefore also supply a set of instructions for the physical installation of the work alongside the digital files. In response to this curatorial initiative, File Transfer Protocol invites seven UK based artists to produce digital art for a physical environment, addressing the intersection between the virtual and the material. The files range from sound, video, digital prints and net art, blueprints for an action to take place, something to be made, a conceptual text piece, etc. About the works and artists: Polly Fibre is the pseudonym of London-based artist Christine Ellison. Ellison creates live music using domestic devices such as sewing machines, irons and slide projectors. Her costumes and stage sets propose a physical manifestation of the virtual space that is created inside software like Photoshop. For this exhibition, Polly Fibre invites the audience to create a musical composition using a pair of amplified scissors and a turntable. http://www.pollyfibre.com John Russell, a founding member of 1990s art group Bank, is an artist, curator and writer who explores in his work the contemporary political conditions of the work of art. In his digital print, Russell collages together visual representations of abstract philosophical ideas and transforms them into a post apocalyptic landscape that is complex and banal at the same time. www.john-russell.org The work of Bristol based artist Jem Nobel opens up a dialogue between the contemporary and the legacy of 20th century conceptual art around questions of collectivism and participation, authorship and individualism. His print SPACE concretizes the representation of the most common piece of Unicode: the vacant space between words. In this way, the gap itself turns from invisible cipher to sign. www.jemnoble.com Annabel Frearson is rewriting Mary Shelley's Frankenstein using all and only the words from the original text. Frankenstein 2, or the Monster of Main Stream, is read in parts by different performers, embodying the psychotic character of the protagonist, a mongrel hybrid of used language. www.annabelfrearson.com Darren Banks uses fragments of effect laden Holywood films to create an impossible space. The fictitious parts don't add up to a convincing material reality, leaving the viewer with a failed amalgamation of simulations of sophisticated technologies. www.darrenbanks.co.uk FIELDCLUB is collaboration between artist Paul Chaney and researcher Kenna Hernly. Chaney and Hernly developed together a project that critically examines various proposals for the management of sustainable ecological systems. Their FIELDMACHINE invites the public to design an ideal agricultural field. By playing with different types of crops that are found in the south west of England, it is possible for the user, for example, to create a balanced, but protein poor, diet or to simply decide to 'get rid' of half the population. The meeting point of the Platonic field and it physical consequences, generates a geometric abstraction that investigates the relationship between modernist utopianism and contemporary actuality. www.fieldclub.co.uk Pil and Galia Kollectiv, who have also curated the exhibition are London-based artists and run the xero, kline & coma gallery. Here they present a dialogue between two computers. The conversation opens with a simple text book problem in business studies. But gradually the language, mimicking the application of game theory in the business sector, becomes more abstract. The two interlocutors become adversaries trapped forever in a competition without winners. www.kollectiv.co.uk