bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Circadian Photoperception
Authors: Devlin Paul F , Kay Steve A
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  The circadian clock is intrinsically linked to the daily cycle of day and night. A capacity for entrainment to light-dark cycles has proven to be a universal feature of the clock in all organisms examined. Here we review a wealth of recent advances that reveal more about the light input mechanisms by which the circadian clock is set to the correct time in a range of different systems. Now that we are identifying more of the molecular components of both the light input pathway and the clock mechanism itself, we are becoming increasingly less able to distinguish between the two.
EPICHLOË SPECIES: Fungal Symbionts of Grasses
Authors: Schardl Christopher L.
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  Epichloë species and their asexual descendants (Acremonium endophytes) are fungal symbionts of C3 grasses that span the symbiotic continuum from antagonism to mutualism depending on the relative importance, respectively, of horizontal transmission of sexual spores versus vertical clonal transmission in healthy grass seeds. At least seven sexual Epichloë species are identifiable by mating tests, and many asexual genotypes are interspecific hybrids. Benefits conferred by the symbionts on host plants include protection from biotic factors and abiotic stresses such as drought. Four classes of beneficial alkaloids are associated with the symbionts: ergot alkaloids, indolediterpenes (lolitrems), peramine, and saturated aminopyrrolizidines (lolines). These alkaloids protect host plants from insect and vertebrate herbivores, including livestock. Genetic engineering of the fungal symbionts as more suitable biological protectants for forage grasses requires identification of fungal genes for alkaloid biosynthesis, and DNA-mediated transformation of the fungi.
COMPLIANCE WITH INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS
Authors: Simmons Beth A.
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  The study of compliance with international agreements has gained momentum over the past few years. Since the conclusion of World War II, this research agenda had been marginalized by the predominance of realist approaches to the study of international relations. However, alternative perspectives have developed that suggest that international law and institutions are important influences on the conduct of international politics. This review examines four perspectives and assesses their contribution to understanding the conditions under which states comply with international agreements. Despite severe conceptual and methodological problems, this research has contributed significantly to our understanding of the relationship between international politics and international law and institutions.
CIVIL-MILITARY RELATIONS
Authors: Feaver Peter D.
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  Who will guard the guardians? Political scientists since Plato have sought to answer this, the central question of the civil-military relations subfield. Although civil-military relations is a very broad subject, encompassing the entire range of relationships between the military and civilian society at every level, the field largely focuses on the control or direction of the military by the highest civilian authorities in nation-states. This essay surveys political science's contribution to our understanding of civil-military relations, providing a rough taxonomy for cataloguing the field and discussing the recent renaissance in the literature as well as fruitful avenues for future research. The essay focuses on theoretical developments, slighting (for reasons of space) the many case studies and empirical treatments that have also made important contributions to our knowledge.
WOMEN'SMOVEMENTS ATCENTURY'SEND: Excavation and Advances in Political Science
Authors: Beckwith Karen
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  Over the past two decades in the United States, research on women's movements has proliferated in women's studies, in sociology, and, to a much lesser extent, in political science. Focusing specifically on women's movements, this review considers current research within this emerging subfield of political science, particularly because political science and the subfield of women's movements research share a focus on the state and on comparative politics. This review assesses the contribution that scholarship of women's movements has made to empirical political science and to political movement theory. It concludes with a discussion of gender and political movements and suggests areas for future research.
ELECTORAL ANDPARTISANCYCLES INECONOMICPOLICIES ANDOUTCOMES
Authors: Franzese Robert J.
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  Policy makers in democracies have strong partisan and electoral incentives regarding the amount, nature, and timing of economic-policy activity. Given these incentives, many observers expected government control of effective economic policies to induce clear economic-outcome cycles that track the electoral calendar in timing and incumbent partisanship in character. Empirics, however, typically revealed stronger evidence of partisan than of electoral shifts in real economic performance and stronger and more persistent electoral and partisan shifts in certain fiscal, monetary, and other policies than in real outcomes. Later political-economic general-equilibrium approaches incorporated rational expectations into citizens' and policy makers' economic and political behavior to explain much of this empirical pattern, yet critical anomalies and insufficiencies remain. Moreover, until recently, both rational- and adaptive-expectations electoral-and-partisan-cycle work underemphasized crucial variation in the contexts—international and domestic, political and economic, institutional, structural, and strategic—in which elected partisan incumbents make policy. This contextual variation conditions policy-maker incentives and abilities to manipulate economic policy for electoral and partisan gain, as well as the effectiveness of such manipulation, differently across democracies, elections, and policies. Although relatively new, research into such context-conditional electoral and partisan cycles seems to offer much promise for resolving anomalies and an ideal substantive venue for theoretical and empirical advancement in the study of political economy and comparative democratic politics more generally.
GENDER, RACIAL, ETHNIC, SEXUAL, AND CLASS IDENTITIES
Authors: Frable Deborrah E. S.
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  Identity is the individual's psychological relationship to particular social category systems. This chapter summarizes how people create and negotiate their gender, racial, ethnic, sexual, and class identities. Theories, methods, and priorities in each of these content areas differ. However, each systematically excludes particular research participants and thus ignores the complexity of people's multiple social identities. Research suggests that gender, racial, ethnic, sexual, and class identities are fluid, multidimensional, personalized social constructions that reflect the individual's current context and sociohistorical cohort. However, far too little empirical work captures the richly textured, theoretical conceptions of identity development, maintenance, and change. Innovative methods for assessing the content and structure of people's identities now exist. Future research should include groups other than young children or college students; should explore functions of identity other than just self-esteem, adjustment, or well-being; and should implement methodologies that are longitudinal and that assess people's many social identities.
CENTRAL CHOLINERGIC SYSTEMS AND COGNITION
Authors: Everitt Barry J. , Robbins Trevor W.
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  The organization and possible functions of basal forebrain and pontine cholinergic systems are reviewed. Whereas the basal forebrain cholinergic neuronal projections likely subserve a common electrophysiological function, e.g. to boost signal-to-noise ratios in cortical target areas, this function has different effects on psychological processes dependent upon the neural network operations within these various cortical domains. Evidence is presented that (a) the nucleus basalis-neocortical cholinergic system contributes greatly to visual attentional function, but not to mnemonic processes per se; (b) the septohippocampal projection is involved in the modulation of short-term spatial (working) memory processes, perhaps by prolonging the neural representation of external stimuli within the hippocampus; and (c) the diagonal band–cingulate cortex cholinergic projection impacts on the ability to utilize response rules through conditional discrimination. We also suggest that nucleus basalis–amygdala cholinergic projections have a role in the retention of affective conditioning while brainstem cholinergic projections to the thalamus and midbrain dopamine neurons affect basic arousal processes (e.g. sleep-wake cycle) and behavioral activation, respectively. The possibilities and limitations of therapeutic interventions with procholinergic drugs in patients with Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders in which basal forebrain cholinergic neurons degenerate are also discussed.
SIBLING RELATIONSHIP QUALITY: Its Causes and Consequences
Authors: Brody Gene H.
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  Current work on children's individual characteristics and family processes that contribute to variation in sibling relationship quality is reviewed. Findings from these studies are summarized in a heuristic model that specifies hypothesized links among family processes, intrapersonal characteristics, and variations in sibling relationship quality. The model is designed to provide researchers with a host of hypotheses to test and refine in future studies. The contributions that sibling relationships may make to cognitive and psychosocial development are then reviewed, with a suggestion that sibling relationships comprised of a balance of both prosocial and conflicted interactions create experiences that are most likely to nurture children's social, cognitive, and psychosocial development.
PERCEPTUAL LEARNING
Authors: Goldstone Robert L.
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  Perceptual learning involves relatively long-lasting changes to an organism's perceptual system that improve its ability to respond to its environment. Four mechanisms of perceptual learning are discussed: attention weighting, imprinting, differentiation, and unitization. By attention weighting, perception becomes adapted to tasks and environments by increasing the attention paid to important dimensions and features. By imprinting, receptors are developed that are specialized for stimuli or parts of stimuli. By differentiation, stimuli that were once indistinguishable become psychologically separated. By unitization, tasks that originally required detection of several parts are accomplished by detecting a single constructed unit representing a complex configuration. Research from cognitive psychology, psychophysics, neuroscience, expert/novice differences, development, computer science, and cross-cultural differences is described that relates to these mechanisms. The locus, limits, and applications of perceptual learning are also discussed.
Evaluation Methods for Social Intervention
Authors: Lipsey Mark W. , Cordray David S.
Published: July 2002

Experimental design is the method of choice for establishing whether social interventions have the intended effects on the populations they are presumed to benefit. Experience with field experiments, however, has revealed significant limitations relating chiefly to (a) practical problems implementing random assignment, (b) important uncontrolled sources of variability occurring after assignment, and (c) a low yield of information for explaining why certain effects were or were not found. In response, it is increasingly common for outcome evaluation to draw on some form of program theory and extend data collection to include descriptive information about program implementation, client characteristics, and patterns of change. These supplements often cannot be readily incorporated into standard experimental design, especially statistical analysis. An important advance in outcome evaluation is the recent development of statistical models that are able to represent individual-level change, correlates of change, and program effects in an integrated and informative manner.
Adult Psychopathology: Issues and Controversies
Authors: Widiger T. A. , Sankis L. M.
Published: July 2002

This review discusses issues and controversies with respect to the construct of a mental disorder, models of etiology and pathology, and domains of psychopathology. Fundamental to the science of psychopathology is a conceptualization of mental disorder, yet inadequate attention is being given to the differentiation of normal and abnormal psychological functioning in current research. The boundaries between mental and physical disorders are equally problematic. Neurophysiological models are receiving particular emphasis in large part because of the substantial progress being made in documenting and clarifying the important role of neurophysiological structures and mechanisms in etiology and pathology. However, this attention might be at the expense of the recognition of equally valid psychological models. Problematic diagnostic boundaries are also considered, including those within and between different classes of disorder. Dimensional models may offer a more precise and comprehensive classification of psychopathology.
Scientific and Social Significance of Assessing Individual Differences: “Sinking Shafts at a Few Critical Points”
Authors: Lubinski David
Published: July 2002

This chapter reviews empirical findings on the importance of assessing individual differences in human behavior. Traditional dimensions of human abilities, personality, and vocational interests play critical roles in structuring a variety of important behaviors and outcomes (e.g. achieved socioeconomic status, educational choices, work performance, delinquency, health risk behaviors, and income). In the review of their importance, the construct of general intelligence is featured, but attributes that routinely add incremental validity to cognitive assessments are also discussed. Recent experimental and methodological advances for better understanding how these dimensions may contribute to other psychological frameworks are reviewed, as are ways for determining their scientific significance within domains where they are not routinely assessed. Finally, some noteworthy models are outlined that highlight the importance of assessing relatively distinct classes of individual-differences attributes simultaneously. For understanding fully complex human phenomena such as crime, eminence, and educational-vocational development, such a multifaceted approach is likely to be the most productive.
The Social Environment and Health: A Discussion of the Epidemiologic Literature
Authors: Yen I. H. , Syme S. Leonard
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  The environment can be thought of in terms of physical and social dimensions. The social environment includes the groups to which we belong, the neighborhoods in which we live, the organization of our workplaces, and the policies we create to order our lives. There have been recent reports in the literature that the social environment is associated with disease and mortality risks, independent of individual risk factors. These findings suggest that the social environment influences disease pathways. Yet much remains to be learned about the social environment, including how to understand, define, and measure it. The research that needs to be done could benefit from a long tradition in sociology and sociological research that has examined the urban environment, social areas, social disorganization, and social control. We summarize this sociological literature and discuss its relevance to epidemiologic research.
Selected Statistical Issues in Group Randomized Trials
Authors: Feng Ziding , Diehr Paula , Peterson Arthur , McLerran Dale
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  Group randomized trials (GRTs) in public health research typically use a small number of randomized groups with a relatively large number of participants per group. Two fundamental features characterize GRTs: a positive correlation of outcomes within a group, and the small number of groups. Appropriate consideration of these fundamental features is essential for design and analysis. This paper presents the fundamental features of GRTs and the importance of considering these features in design and analysis. It also reviews and contrasts the main analytic methods proposed for GRTs, emphasizing the assumptions required to make these methods valid and efficient. Also discussed are various design issues, along with guidelines for choosing among them. A real data example illustrates these issues and methods.
Confounding in Health Research
Authors: Greenland Sander , Morgenstern Hal
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  Consideration of confounding is fundamental to the design, analysis, and interpretation of studies intended to estimate causal effects. Unfortunately, the word confounding has been used synonymously with several other terms, and it has been used to refer to at least four distinct concepts. This paper provides an overview of confounding and related concepts based on a counterfactual model of causation. In this context, which predominates in nonexperimental research, confounding is a source of bias in the estimation of causal effects. Special attention is given to the history of definitions of confounding, the distinction between confounding and confounders, problems in the control of confounding, the relations of confounding to exchangeability and collapsibility, and confounding in randomized trials.
Talking Back to Sociology: Distinctive Contributions of Feminist Methodology
Authors: DeVault Marjorie L.
Published: July 2002

This essay characterizes “feminist methodology” as a field of inquiry rooted in feminist activism and in feminists' critiques of the standard procedures of social science. Feminist methodologists do not use or prescribe any single research method; rather, they are united through various efforts to include women's lives and concerns in accounts of society, to minimize the harms of research, and to support changes that will improve women's status. Recent writing on feminist methodology has addressed the uses of qualitative and quantitative research tools, possibilities and problems of research relations, epistemologies for feminist research, and strategies for developing more inclusive methodologies.
An Introduction to Categorical Data Analysis
Authors: Sloane Douglas , Morgan S. Philip
Published: July 2002

Log-linear methods provide a powerful framework and the statistical apparatus for rigorously analyzing categorical data. These methods were introduced and developed by Leo Goodman and others in the early 1970s. In the late 1970s and the early 1980s, Goodman, Alan Agresti, Clifford Clogg, Otis Dudley Duncan, and others showed how these models could help us to estimate associations between discrete variables, including ordered and unordered polytomies. The last decade has witnessed a set of diverse extensions of these techniques. This paper reviews the basic log-linear strategy and illustrates key concepts. Citations are given to other articles on these topics, many of which are nontechnical and contain substantive sociological applications.
Sociology of Markets
Authors: Lie John
Published: July 2002

This paper surveys sociological approaches to the study of markets. Afte considering the economic approach, I delineate the wide range of theoretical schools, including alternative schools in economics, economic anthropology, cultural sociology, the embeddedness approach, and the new political economy. I also briefly discuss recent debates on the transition from planned economy to market and on globalization. I conclude by noting the difficulties of theorizing about the historical and institutional complexity of markets.
People's Accounts Count: The Sociology of Accounts
Authors: Orbuch Terri L.
Published: July 2002

Humans are inexorably driven to search for order and meaning in their own and others' lives; accounts are a major avenue for sociologists to depict and understand the ways in which individuals experience and identify with that meaning and their social world. The accounts concept has a solid foundation and history in early sociological analysis and research. The current work on accounts focuses on “story-like” interpretations or explanations and their functions and consequences to a social actor's life. The concept is useful for gaining insight into the human experience and arriving at meanings or culturally embedded normative explanations. This concept deserves greater explicit attention in sociology and is in need of further theoretical development and stimulation. I argue that sociologists should embrace the concept of accounts; the foundation is set for a resurgence of work on accounts in sociology.
Computerization of the Workplace
Authors: Burris Beverly H.
Published: July 2002

Divergent conceptualizations of the recent changes in work organization that have accompanied computerization include neo-Bravermanian analyses, postindustrial analyses, and contingency analyses. To make sense of these differing views, the paper surveys sociological research on computerization and its impact on three analytically separate dimensions of the workplace: organizational restructuring, changes in worker skill, and power and authority relationships. The review reveals that computerized work organizations typically have fewer hierarchical levels, a bifurcated workforce, frequently with race and sex segregation, a less formal structure, and diminished use of internal labor markets and reliance instead on external credentialing. Variable patterns of centralization and decentralization occur, and workplace power relationships interact with technological change to produce variable political outcomes. With regard to worker skills, recent evidence suggests aggregate upskilling with some deskilling and skill bifurcation. Future research should more closely analyze the process of technological design and implementation.
Contemporary Developments in Sociological Theory: Current Projects and Conditions of Possibility
Authors: Camic Charles , Gross Neil
Published: July 2002

This paper characterizes the field of sociological theory since the mid-1980s as the site of eight active and diverse intellectual projects. These projects are (I) to construct general analytical tools for use in empirical social research, (II) to synthesize multiple theoretical approaches; (III) to refine existing theoretical research programs; (IV) to stimulate dialogue among different theoretical perspectives; (V) to enlarge and reconstruct current theoretical approaches conceptually, methodologically, socially, and politically; (VI) to analyze a range of past theoretical ideas; (VII) to offer a diagnosis of contemporary social conditions; and (VIII) to dissolve the enterprise of sociological theory. We discuss the contours of these projects and identify some of the major ideas and theorists associated with each. We conclude with a brief discussion of the organizational structure of the contemporary theory field, observing that most current theoretical projects are formulated with insufficient attention to their conditions of possibility.
PERSPECTIVES ON TECHNOLOGY AND WORK ORGANIZATION
Authors: Liker Jeffrey K. , Haddad Carol J. , Karlin Jennifer
Published: July 2002

▪ Abstract  This chapter summarizes and synthesizes some major perspectives on the relationship between technology and the nature of work. Given the complexity of technology and its impacts, the chapter elucidates different perspectives on this topic rather than summaries of detailed findings in a particular area of technology. The central thesis of the chapter is a follows: Technology's impact on work is contingent on a broad set of factors, including the reasons for its introduction, management philosophy, the labor-management contract, the degree of a shared agreement about technology and work organization, and the process of technology development and implementation. How this is viewed varies with different theoretical paradigms. Looking through a variety of paradigms provides a richer view of the phenomenon, though integrating these perspectives remains problematic. Historically, technology was treated as a deterministic causal force with predictable impacts. More recently there is a recognition of the complexity of technology and its relationship to work which is both bi-directional and dependent on a number of contingent factors. One set of factors integral to the “impact” of technology is the dynamics of the change process and in fact the change process and “outcomes” are inextricably linked. We conclude that the social reality of technology implementation is highly complex. Very different technologies are brought into very different social settings for very different reasons, often with completely opposite effects and thus complex theories that recognize the emergent and socially constructed nature of technology are needed.
Schools and Communities: Ecological and Institutional Dimensions
Authors: Arum Richard
Published: July 2002

Research on the relationship between schools and communities has reemerged as a principal focus of the sociology of education. Current research, however, rejects earlier conceptualizations of school communities as being organized locally and identifiable by reference to demographic and neighborhood characteristics. Neoinstitutional research on schools has focused examination instead on school communities defined as organizational fields. From this perspective, state regulation, professional associations, and market competition are institutional forces that combine with local neighborhood characteristics to shape school-level practices. The historical development of this theoretical approach is first discussed; current research on neighborhood effects is then critiqued for ignoring how schools vary in response to institutional environments; finally, examples of the utility of a broader institutional conceptualization of community are suggested in five current areas of educational research: racial segregation, resource inequality, curriculum variation, school-to-work transitions, and school discipline.
Virtual Resources: International Relations Research Resources on the Web
Authors: Deibert Ronald J.
Published: July 2002

The explosive growth of the Internet and the World Wide Web in recent years has produced not only the trivial and bizarre, but also information useful for social science research and teaching. Yet most of this information is difficult to locate, particularly for those unfamiliar with the Web, primarily because of its nonlinear architecture—called “hypertext.” The purpose of this research note is to give scholars a sense of what is unique about research resources on the Web and an indication in general terms of what types of information and materials can be accessed through it. First, I describe primary and secondary materials, teaching resources, reference material, and news sources. I then suggest several guidelines for Web site development that I believe will improve the potential for social science research on the Web. Finally, I conclude by outlining some directions for further analysis raised by the widespread use of the Web for academic research and teaching. A companion guide to research resources on the Web will be posted on the International Organization Web site through which the material here (and much more) can then be accessed.
Inward Bound: Domestic Institutions and Military Conflicts
Authors: Auerswald David P.
Published: July 2002

In this article I explore the propensity of democracies to use military force when involved in international disputes. I argue that the use of force by democracies in large part results from the domestic circumstances confronting their chief executives and that those circumstances vary predictably across democracies based on the structure of their domestic institutions. For example, U.S. presidents must garner public support before elections and maintain widespread congressional support if they involve the country in long-term military conflicts. Conflicts are risky without either of these domestic prerequisites. Consider President Lyndon Johnson's decision to escalate U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Johnson and his advisors reached their decision in 1964 but waited until early 1965, after the November 1964 national election, to announce this decision publicly and implement it on the ground. President George Bush's 1990 decision to double the number of troops deployed to Kuwait and move from deterring an attack on Saudi Arabia to compelling an Iraqi withdrawal was made in a similar manner. The Bush administration decided on its new policy in early October but announced that decision only after Congress recessed and the midterm elections were completed.
Experimental Visual Experience Devices
Authors: Levine Joshua
Published: July 2002

This article introduces the concept of Experimental Visual Experience Devices (EVEDs), which the author defines as artistic inventions that alter the participant's visual perceptions of the external real world. The aim of EVEDs is to place the participant in a slightly altered visual reality in order to cause him or her to see real things anew. The article describes several works of participation art that can be seen as historical precedents to EVEDs. The author discusses two EVEDs that he invented: Whirld is a cylindrical room mounted on an axle that functions as a spinning camera obscura; Portable Whirld is a hood that functions as a portable camera obscura. The author describes how the two sculptures reshape the spectator's visual perceptions, and suggests some forms that future EVEDs might take.
On Anamorphosis: Setting Some Things Straight
Authors: Topper David
Published: July 2002

Recently there has been a revival of anamorphic imagery, notably in its use as a metaphor by postmodern theorists. But often, discussions of anamorphosis are confused, and even wrong. In this article, the author not only focuses upon correcting these errors, but also analyzes our perception of anamorphic images, since there is a dearth of such in the literature. The resulting discussion points out aspects of how we see anamorphs that have never been pointed out before.
Overt Scope Marking and Covert Verb-Second
Authors: Epstein Samuel David
Published: July 2002

In this article I investigate certain phenomena relating to superiority, the Empty Category Principle (ECP), and scope. I propose a chain-based scope-marking convention and a new analysis of adjunction, and hypothesize that English is a covert verb-second grammar. The analysis is couched within checking theory and ultimately within the bare theory of phrase structure. I propose category-neutral(-ized) LF representations, displaying VP-recursion but lacking functional heads and their projections, and I suggest that this, in turn, allows significant simplification of index-sensitive head government conditions appearing in many contemporary formulations of the ECP.
Fine Discrimination of Faces can be Performed Rapidly
Authors: Lehky Sidney R.
Published: July 2002

Here we measure the smallest change in a face that can be discriminated. A morphing algorithm mixed two faces in variable proportions to create a series of synthetic faces that each differed by a tiny amount. By selecting from this series, a test face could be chosen so as to reach a just noticeable difference from a sample face. Face-discrimination thresholds were about 7% of the average difference between two faces, as quantified by coefficients of a principal components decomposition. This threshold remained constant as the duration of the test face was reduced from 1,000 to 100 msec, and rose quickly for shorter stimulus durations. The behavioral evidence presented here indicates that complex visual processing can be completed within the first 100 msec of the signal, suggesting involvement of feedforward neural mechanisms, and placing constraints on possible computational algorithms employed within the ventral visual pathways.
Grammatical Distinctions in the Left Frontal Cortex
Authors: Shapiro Kevin A. , Pascual-Leone Alvaro , Mottaghy Felix M. , Gangitano Massimo , Caramazza Alfonso
Published: July 2002

Selective deficits in producing verbs relative to nouns in speech are well documented in neuropsychology and have been associated with left hemisphere frontal cortical lesions resulting from stroke and other neurological disorders. The basis for these impairments is unresolved: Do they arise because of differences in the way grammatical categories of words are organized in the brain, or because of differences in the neural representation of actions and objects? We used repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to suppress the excitability of a portion of left prefrontal cortex and to assess its role in producing nouns and verbs. In one experiment subjects generated real words; in a second, they produced pseudowords as nouns or verbs. In both experiments, response latencies increased for verbs but were unaffected for nouns following rTMS. These results demonstrate that grammatical categories have a neuroanatomical basis and that the left prefrontal cortex is selectively engaged in processing verbs as grammatical objects.
Categorical Perception of Happiness and Fear Facial Expressions: An ERP Study
Authors: Campanella S. , Quinet P. , Bruyer R. , Crommelinck M. , Guerit J.-M.
Published: July 2002

Behavioral studies have shown that two different morphed faces perceived as reflecting the same emotional expression are harder to discriminate than two faces considered as two different ones. This advantage of between-categorical differences compared with within-categorical ones is classically referred as the categorical perception effect.

The temporal course of this effect on fear and happiness facial expressions has been explored through event-related potentials (ERPs). Three kinds of pairs were presented in a delayed same–different matching task: (1) two different morphed faces perceived as the same emotional expression (within-categorical differences), (2) two other ones reflecting two different emotions (between-categorical differences), and (3) two identical morphed faces (same faces for methodological purpose).

Following the second face onset in the pair, the amplitude of the bilateral occipito-temporal negativities (N170) and of the vertex positive potential (P150 or VPP) was reduced for within and same pairs relative to between pairs. This suggests a repetition priming effect. We also observed a modulation of the P3b wave, as the amplitude of the responses for the between pairs was higher than for the within and same pairs. These results indicate that the categorical perception of human facial emotional expressions has a perceptual origin in the bilateral occipito-temporal regions, while typical prior studies found emotion-modulated ERP components considerably later.
Neural Mechanisms of Involuntary Attention to Acoustic Novelty and Change
Authors: Escera Carles , Alho Kimmo , Winkler István , Näätänen Risto
Published: July 2002

Behavioral and event-related brain potential (ERP) measures were used to elucidate the neural mechanisms of involuntary engagement of attention by novelty and change in the acoustic environment. The behavioral measures consisted of the reaction time (RT) and performance accuracy (hit rate) in a forced-choice visual RT task where subjects were to discriminate between odd and even numbers. Each visual stimulus was preceded by an irrelevant auditory stimulus, which was randomly either a “standard” tone (80%), a slightly, higher “deviant” tone (10%), or a natural, “novel” sound (10%). Novel sounds prolonged the RT to successive visual stimuli by 17 msec as compared with the RT to visual stimuli that followed standard tones. Deviant tones, in turn, decreased the hit rate but did not significantly affect the RT. In the ERPs to deviant tones, the mismatch negativity (MMN), peaking at 150 msec, and a second negativity, peaking at 400 msec, could be observed. Novel sounds elicited an enhanced N1, with a probable overlap by the MMN, and a large positive P3a response with two different subcomponents: an early centrally dominant P3a, peaking at 230 msec, and a late P3a, peaking at 315 msec with a right-frontal scalp maximum. The present results suggest the involvement of two different neural mechanisms in triggering involuntary attention to acoustic novelty and change: a transient-detector mechanism activated by novel sounds and reflected in the N1 and a stimulus-change detector mechanism activated by deviant tones and novel sounds and reflected in the MMN. The observed differential distracting effects by slightly deviant tones and widely deviant novel sounds support the notion of two separate mechanisms of involuntary attention.
Incremental Active Learning for Optimal Generalization
Authors: Sugiyama Masashi , Ogawa Hidemitsu
Published: July 2002

The problem of designing input signals for optimal generalization is called active learning. In this article, we give a two-stage sampling scheme for reducing both the bias and variance, and based on this scheme, we propose two active learning methods. One is the multipoint search method applicable to arbitrary models. The effectiveness of this method is shown through computer simulations. The other is the optimal sampling method in trigonometric polynomial models. This method precisely specifies the optimal sampling locations.
Online Model Selection Based on the Variational Bayes
Authors: Sato Masa-aki
Published: July 2002

The Bayesian framework provides a principled way of model selection. This framework estimates a probability distribution over an ensemble of models, and the prediction is done by averaging over the ensemble of models. Accordingly, the uncertainty of the models is taken into account, and complex models with more degrees of freedom are penalized. However, integration over model parameters is often intractable, and some approximation scheme is needed.

Recently, a powerful approximation scheme, called the variational bayes (VB) method, has been proposed. This approach defines the free energy for a trial probability distribution, which approximates a joint posterior probability distribution over model parameters and hidden variables. The exact maximization of the free energy gives the true posterior distribution. The VB method uses factorized trial distributions. The integration over model parameters can be done analytically, and an iterative expectation-maximization-like algorithm, whose convergence is guaranteed, is derived.

In this article, we derive an online version of the VB algorithm and prove its convergence by showing that it is a stochastic approximation for finding the maximum of the free energy. By combining sequential model selection procedures, the online VB method provides a fully online learning method with a model selection mechanism. In preliminary experiments using synthetic data, the online VB method was able to adapt the model structure to dynamic environments.
SMEM Algorithm Is Not Fully Compatible with Maximum-Likelihood Framework
Authors: Minagawa Akihiro , Tagawa Norio , Tanaka Toshiyuki
Published: July 2002

The expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm with split-and-merge operations (SMEM algorithm) proposed by Ueda, Nakano, Ghahramani, and Hinton (2000) is a nonlocal searching method, applicable to mixture models, for relaxing the local optimum property of the EM algorithm. In this article, we point out that the SMEM algorithm uses the acceptance-rejection evaluation method, which may pick up a distribution with smaller likelihood, and demonstrate that an increase in likelihood can then be guaranteed only by comparing log likelihoods.
Learning Curves for Gaussian Process Regression: Approximations and Bounds
Authors: Sollich Peter , Halees Anason
Published: July 2002

We consider the problem of calculating learning curves (i.e., average generalization performance) of gaussian processes used for regression. On the basis of a simple expression for the generalization error, in terms of the eigenvalue decomposition of the covariance function, we derive a number of approximation schemes. We identify where these become exact and compare with existing bounds on learning curves; the new approximations, which can be used for any input space dimension, generally get substantially closer to the truth. We also study possible improvements to our approximations. Finally, we use a simple exactly solvable learning scenario to show that there are limits of principle on the quality of approximations and bounds expressible solely in terms of the eigenvalue spectrum of the covariance function.
Issues in Bayesian Analysis of Neural Network Models
Authors: Müller Peter , Insua David Rios
Published: July 2002

Stemming from work by Buntine and Weigend (1991) and MacKay (1992), there is a growing interest in Bayesian analysis of neural network models. Although conceptually simple, this problem is computationally involved. We suggest a very efficient Markov chain Monte Carlo scheme for inference and prediction with fixed-architecture feedforward neural networks. The scheme is then extended to the variable architecture case, providing a data-driven procedure to identify sensible architectures.
Adaptive Calibration of Imaging Array Detectors
Authors: Budinich Marco , Frison Renato
Published: July 2002

We present two methods for nonuniformity correction of imaging array detectors based on neural networks; both exploit image properties to supply lack of calibrations and maximize the entropy of the output. The first method uses a self-organizing net that produces a linear correction of the raw data with coefficients that adapt continuously. The second method employs a kind of contrast equalization curve to match pixel distributions. Our work originates from silicon detectors, but the treatment is general enough to be applicable to many kinds of array detectors like those used in infrared imaging or in high-energy physics.
The New Global Culture, Somewhere between Corporate Multiculturalism and the Mainstream Bizarre (a border perspective)
Authors: Gómez-Peña Guillermo
Published: July 2002

This writing—part essay, part chronicle, and part performance text—deals with the new “global” culture and what Gómez-Peña perceives to be its main risks and contradictions, artistic and pop cultural products, major philosophical trends, and political dilemmas.
Physiological Studies of Human Fatigue by a Virtual Reality System
Authors: Yamaguchi Takami
Published: July 2002

The safety features of a virtual reality (VR) system were studied from the physiological and psychological viewpoint within an ergonomic framework. The VR was developed for constructing a novel online hospital system using a virtual environment called “Hyper Hospital,” a medical care system constructed in a distributed manner using VR as a human interface to the electronic information network. Ten healthy young male subjects were exposed to the VR system with different intensities of physiological and psychological stimuli. As a psychological stimuli, they underwent an interview with a virtual (electronic) “nurse.” The interview session was divided into two parts, namely one of low stress and one of high stress. Following each interview session, subjects were exposed to a moving scene (similar to a roller coaster ride) of varying intensities. The responses were compared with those obtained in the control experiments in which an environmental video (just a seaside scene) was presented. None of the physiological or psychological parameters (such as urinary catecholamine release, heart rate, blood pressure, etc.) indicated that significant fatigue occurred. This implies that fatigue was not induced by the usage of our VR system when compared with the results of the control experiments.
IDENTITY AND SYMBOLS OF SUSTENANCE: EXPLORATIONS IN SOCIAL MOBILITY OF MEDIEVAL SOUTH INDIA
Authors: Durga P.S. Kanaka
Published: July 2002

The Orientalist conceptions on pre-colonial social formations in India as static are reviewed. New studies argue that social mobility occurs in the context of caste-oriented structures. Based on epigraphic and literary sources and kulapurāna (caste myths) concerning the community of oil producers of medieval times known by the caste name Teliki, this paper shows trends for upward mobility from śūdra varna to ksatriya varna. In the case of the peasant-warrior communities (sat śūdras), brāhmins and, in tribal communities, the temples/sectarian leaders acted as the legitimisers. For the Telikis, however, an asat śūdra community, political powers facilitated the process of upward mobility. By observing certain symbolic actions, which are ritually accepted as pure and high, the Telikis tried to sustain their identity. Les conceptions orientalistes qui présentent les structures sociales pré-coloniales en Inde comme des formations immuables sont actuellement révisées. De nouvelles études avancent que la mobilité sociale existe dans le contexte de structures de caste. Fondé sur l'exploitation de sources épigraphiques, littéraires et des kulapurāna (les mythes de caste) portant sur la communauté des producteurs d'huile au Moyen Age connue sous le nom de caste Teliki, cet article met en lumière des tendances vers une amélioration du rang social du śūdra varna au ksatriya varna. Dans le cas des communautés de paysans-guerriers (sat śūdras), les brahmanes et dans celui des communautés tribales, les temples/les dirigeants sectaires assuraient la légitimité. Toutefois, dans le cas des Telikis, une communauté asat/śūdra, les pouvoirs politiques facilitaient un processus d'ascension sociale. De plus, les Telikis, en observant certains actes symboliques considérés rituellement comme purs et élevés, tentaient de maintenir leur identité.
Emily Brontë and Dogs: Transformation Within the Human-Dog Bond
Authors: Adams Maureen
Published: July 2002

This paper examines the bond between humans and dogs as demonstrated in the life and work of Emily Brontë (1818-1848). The nineteenth century author, publishing under the pseudonym, Ellis Bell, evinced, both in her personal and professional life, the complex range of emotions explicit in the human-dog bond: attachment and companionship to domination and abuse. In Wuthering Heights, Brontë portrays the dog as scapegoat, illustrating the dark side of the bond found in many cultures. Moreover, she writes with awareness of connections - unknown in the nineteenth century - between animal abuse and domestic violence. In her personal life, Brontë's early power struggles with her companion animal mastiff, Keeper, evolve into a caring relationship. In a human-dog bond transformation that survives Brontë's death, Keeper, becomes both bridge and barrier to other human relationships. A dog may, and in this case Keeper does, take on a comprehensive role in which he both mourns his own loss and comforts others in their collective grief.
DIE VERGEBLICHE SUCHE NACH GOTT: Traditions- und kompositionsgeschichtliche Überlegungen zu Herkunft und Funktion der Strafvorstellungen in Hos iv 1-vi 6
Authors: Grätz Sebastian
Published: July 2002

Die für den ersten Teil des Hoseabuches (Hos i-iii) bezeichnende Ehebruchmetaphorik hat in Hos iv 1-vi 6 unter dem Thema des falschen Kultes eine Entsprechung, wobei traditionsgeschichtlich passend auf Strafvorstellungen zurückgegriffen wird, die aus dem Umkreis der Morivik des verschwundenen (Wetter-) Gottes stammen. Da diese Strafvorstellungen auch eine deutlich textgliedernde Funktion erfüllen, ist damit zu rechnen, daß in Hos iv 1-vi 6 eine schriftliche Komposition mit dem Thema "Kult" vorliegt. Neben dem v.a. thematisch zu erhebenden Anschluß an Hos i-iii läßt sich eine literarische Verzahnung mit dem in Hos v 8ff. zuerst eingeführten Thema "Krieg" feststellen.