325,458 research outputs found
Motivation for alcohol assessed by multiple variable interval schedule behaviour: effects of reward size and alcohol cues
No full textAltered motivation for drugs of abuse is a central feature of most definitions of drug dependence and the impact of drug-related cues on motivation is of current interest. However, since most studies of cue-reactivity have not used behavioural measures of motivation, their results are often difficult to interpret in motivational terms. In the current paper we describe two experiments in which a behavioural technique, based on multiple variable interval (VI) schedules of reinforcement, was used to study motivation for alcohol in human subjects. In both experiments, subjects attended for several sessions and, during each session, were exposed to a 6-ply VI schedule (values ranged from 1 to 720 s), during which they earned points that were later exchanged for a preferred beer or lager. In Experiment 1 the procedure was validated by showing that changes in the magnitude of reinforcement altered behaviour appropriately. In Experiment 2 we found evidence that the presence of an alcohol-related cue increased the value of alcohol rewards. The results are discussed with reference to a model for the behavioural effects of drug-related cues in triggering relapse and a number of problems we found in using the multiple variable interval schedule procedure
Metal nanoparticle-functionalized DNA tweezers: From mechanically programmed nanostructures to switchable fluorescence properties
No full textDNA tweezers are modified with two 10-nm sized Au NPs and one 5-nm sized Au NP. Upon treatment of the tweezers with fuel and antifuel nucleic acid strands, the switchable closure and opening of the tweezers proceed, leading to the control of programmed nanostructures of the tethered NPs. The tweezers are further modified with a single 10-nm sized nanoparticle, and a fluorophore unit (Cy3), positioned at different distinct sites of the tweezers. The reversible and cyclic fluorescence quenching or fluorescence enhancement phenomena, upon the dynamic opening/closure of the different tweezers, are demonstrated. © 2013 American Chemical Society
The Feelings Group: A Quantitative and Qualitative Evaluation of the Outcomes of a Smaller Anger Management Group for Clients who have a Learning Disability
No full textReferrals concerning problems with anger for people with learning disability (LD) are relatively common as they are thought to be prone to difficulty in managing their anger (Willner, et al., 2002), a problem associated with aggressive behaviour (Novaco, 1994). Aggression is also prevalent in this population, with obvious inherent risks to themselves and others (Harris, 1993; Kiely & Pankhurst, 1998).
Research on direct therapy in people with a learning disability (LD) indicates that there was a period of disdain for these types of approaches (Sinason, 1992). This was followed by a period marked by doubt around the value of using cognitive principles in particular (Willner, 2006), which was eventually overcome by a more positive and less discriminatory approach (Willner, 2005). This hesitancy has delayed the generation of robust empirical evaluation, which has yet to catch up (Willner, Jones, Tams & Green, 2002). The guidelines from the NHS are then activated whereby “in the absence of well designed randomised trials, clinicians may legitimately draw upon analysis of expert opinion and past experience” (Department of Health, 1996; p26). In some ways this offers freedom to adopt novel approaches or ones adapted from principle applied in other areas of clinical work, however, it also represents a difficulty in operating using evidence-based practice (Willner, 2005), which to some may represent a ‘professional minefield’ (Mead, 2000).
In the emergent evidence-base for interventions for anger in this group, one important distinction has been made between ‘anger management’ and ‘anger treatment’ (Novaco et al., 2000), where the former is seen as a psycho educational approach whilst the latter explicitly combines assessment with treatment. Anger treatment also “centrally involves substantial cognitive restructuring and the acquisition of arousal reduction and behavioural coping skills” (Rose, et al., 2000, p172)
This article presents the results from a small anger-management group for clients with a learning disability that was to be called “The Feelings Group”, which was based on the “Self awareness group” resource pack from Willner & Tomlinson (Psychology Department, Learning Disabilities Directorate, Bro Morgannwg NHS trust). This intervention boasted effectiveness in an RCT evaluation published in an article by Willner and colleagues (2002).
The data was taken as part of service evaluation for the group. Informed consent was given by the clients involved to write about the group in an article
Diffusive author(s), cohesive author: Analysis of S/N (1994)
No full textThis study indicates the ways in which various aspects of the author(s) are brought forth in Dumb type’s performance art, the S/N production. Previous research has suggested a non-hierarchical organization of Dumb type and the absence of a “privileged author” in Dumb type’s collaborative work, S/N. However, the results that I have investigated from member’s interviews on the creative process of S/N along with my analysis of the recorded images of S/N, indicate a different aspect of the author(s). First, S/N was created through, so to speak, the collective ideas of the members of Dumb type. Further, S/N has at least nine quotations from previous performances, installations, and printed writings, besides the work-in-progress technique. Explicating one of the “author functions” as given by Michel Foucault, each text has plural subjects of the author. However, it has been revealed from members’ interviews that Teiji Furuhashi had a decision-making role in selecting the members’ ideas within the performance. Since then, S/N has had plural subjects of creation; however, Furuhashi is one of the subjects of creation along with the “privileged author.” S/N has plural authors (diffusive authors) yet at the same time, it has a “privileged author,” Teiji Furuhashi (cohesive author)
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Multiple variable interval schedule behaviour in humans: effects of ethanol, mood, and reinforcer size on responding maintained by monetary reinforcement
No full textEthanol is an effective reinforcer but, in common with other drugs of abuse, it may derive some of its reinforcing properties from the effects it has on behaviour maintained by other reinforcers. However, any assessment of ethanol's hypothesized effect on behaviour maintained by other reinforcers must take into account the fact that ethanol may have multiple mechanisms of action. In order to address this problem the experiments reported herein used a procedure based upon Herrnstein's Matching Law which allowed joint assessment of subjects' motor capacity and reinforcer sensitivity. The effect of ethanol (0, 0.3, and 0.6 g/kg) on motor capacity and reinforcer sensitivity was assessed by studying behaviour maintained by monetary reinforcement. In the first experiment the procedure was validated by showing that the behaviour of subjects was sensitive to changes in reinforcer value and in the second experiment 0.6 g/kg ethanol reduced motor capacity but did not affect reinforcer sensitivity. As a secondary hypothesis we also studied the effect of mood on reinforcer sensitivity and motor capacity. It was found that lower mood scores (lower hedonic tone) were associated with reduced reinforcer sensitivity and that male subjects showed higher motor capacity than females. However, there was also a mood by sex interaction, which indicated that higher motor capacity in males was only found in the presence of lower mood scores. The results are discussed in relation to the mechanisms of ethanol's dopaminergic effects, interactions between ethanol and other drugs of abuse, and the changes in reinforcer sensitivity which are thought to occur in depression
Eightfold 40-320 Gbit/s phase-coherent multiplexing and 320-40 Gbit/s demultiplexing using highly nonlinear fibers
No full textWe experimentally demonstrate 40-320 Gbit/s phase-coherent multiplexing based on cross-phase modulation and subsequent 320-40 Gbit/s demultiplexing using cross-phase-modulation-induced frequency shift in highly nonlinear fibers. An average penalty of approximately 7 dB at a 10~-9 bit-error rate is observed after the nonlinear processes. We also show the generation of a phase-coherent 320 GHz optical pulse train. A delay-line interferometer based on differential group delay is used to verify the phase coherence characteristic of the multiplexed 320 Gbit/s signal and the generated 320 GHz pulses. © 2010 Optical Society of America
Does Chilenia exist? : Evidence from the evolution of collisional and coastal accretionary systems between the latitudes 30° S and 35° S
No full textDispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
No full textWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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