Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Effects Of Acute Ethyl Alcohol Consumption On A Psychophysical Measure Of Lateral Inhibition In Human Vision., Kevin D Johnston, Brian Timney

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Acute consumption of ethyl alcohol affects a variety of visual functions. However, there have been few systematic attempts to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying these effects. Here, we employed the Westheimer paradigm to investigate the hypothesis that alcohol reduces lateral inhibition within human "perceptive fields", the psychophysical analogue of physiological receptive fields. Westheimer functions obtained under alcohol and no-alcohol conditions at photopic, mesopic, and scotopic levels of adaptation showed changes consistent with an alcohol-induced decrease in lateral inhibition. We conclude that this decrease in lateral inhibition may be responsible for some of the changes in visual perception that result from …

Updating The Farm Bill Safety Net In An Expanding Sea Of Risk, Wes Harris, Bradley Lubben, James Novak, Larry Sanders

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Several months past due, the Food, Conservation and Energy Act (FCEA) of 2008 (P.L. 110-246) is now law. Reform, budget, and national and international politics were central issues fueling a debate that resulted in this new bill. Whether this new Farm Bill will ultimately succeed in providing an adequate farm and food safety net and whether it is a “good” or “bad” bill depends on one’s perspective. As to cost, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) scores the bill at $307 billion for a 5–year period (2008–2012), with 68% going to nutrition, 11% to commodity programs, 8% of estimated expenditures to …

Trafficking In Persons Report, June 2008, Us Department Of State

Human Trafficking: Data and Documents

The Department of State is required by law to submit a Report each year to the U.S. Congress on foreign governments’ efforts to eliminate severe forms of traffi cking in persons. This Report is the eighth annual TIP Report. It is intended to raise global awareness, to highlight efforts of the international community, and to encourage foreign governments to take effective actions to counter all forms of traffi cking in persons.

Contents
Introduction 4-37 The 2008 Trafficking in Persons Report 5-18
Purpose 5
Human Trafficking Defined 6
The Scope and Nature of Modern-Day Slavery 7
Focus of the 2008 TIP …

Response To Taylor And Platt, Norman E. Whitten Jr

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

No abstract provided.

Train For Life, Randy Borum

Mental Health Law & Policy Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Forbidden City By Barmé—Don’T Leave For The “Great Within” Without It

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

“I think there’s a lack of books that serious, educated non-specialists can pick up…I’ve read a lot of great books recently by academics but few that I could recommend, say, to my father.” These lines come from an interview with the Wall Street Journal’s Ian Johnson that “China Beat” ran at the end of January, back when our site was still young (now that we’ve been going for more than a third-of-a-year, we hardly count as youthful anymore, so quickly does the blogosphere change). He was responding to a question Nicole Barnes had put to him about what he’d like …

Editor's Notebook: A Politcal Reality Check, Michael Kryzanek

Bridgewater Review

No abstract provided.

Boston's Big Dig Project: A Cautionary Tale, Wendy Haynes

Bridgewater Review

No abstract provided.

Web 2.0 Inspirations: Collaborative Chapter Event Planning Using Wikis And Google Docs, Karen Krasznavolgyi, Mls, Karen S. Silverman, Ms

Academic Commons and Scott Memorial Library Staff Papers and Presentations

Background Philadelphia Chapter--Special Libraries Association • Founded in 1919 • ~ 300 Members • Includes greater Philadelphia region (aka the Delaware Valley): Philadelphia, southeastern Pennsylvania, northern Delaware, and southern New Jersey. • Chapter members serve large (QVC) to small (CFAR) companies, universities (TJU), hospitals (Chestnut Hill) and everything in between. • Active student chapter at Drexel University (DUSLA). We also draw library school students from Clarion. Events Traditionally, the Chapter has held 5-8 events per year. Three of these are Chapter traditions: • Annual Banquet (Spring) • Wine & Cheese Reception (Fall) • Holiday Party/Silent Auction (December) We also include …

The Contribution Of The Dorsal Root Reflex And The Sympathetic Nervous System In Formalin-Evoked Neurogenic Inflammation, Lara A. Kachlic

Psychology Theses - Archive

The present study investigated the role of dorsal root reflex (DRR), which is characterized as antidromic firing via primary afferent fibers towards the periphery, and the sympathetic nervous system in neurogenic inflammation. Neurogenic inflammation is defined as inflammation that is caused by substances released from sensory nerve terminals (Willis Jr., 1999). The first objective of the study was to determine bilateral blood perfusion, a measure of redness, one of the cardinal signs of inflammation, following a formalin injection with the use of laser Doppler imaging. The hypothesis stated that there would be a bilateral increase in blood perfusion, following formalin. …

Transforming Caregiving: African American Custodial Grandmothers And The Child Welfare System, S. Yvette Murphy, Andrea G. Hunter, Deborah J. Johnson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Growing numbers of African American grandmothers are raising grandchildren under the auspices of the child welfare system; however, little is known about the manner in which child welfare policies and practices impact custodial grandparenting. Based on focus groups with African American grandmothers who are raising grandchildren as formal kinship caregivers, this study explored the ways in which the new formalized relationship between the child welfare system and African American custodial grandmothers is transforming the meanings and practices related to intergenerational caregiving in African American families. Drawing on cultural and historical traditions, grandmothers forge a transformative partnership with child welfare that …

Potential Impact Of Eitc Adjustments On Financial Self-Sufficiency Among Low-Income Families: A Simulation Model, Younghee Lim, Catherine Lemieux

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Policies that help low-income mothers find and keep employment as a means of obtaining self-sufficiency have been a focal point of the welfare reform debate in the past decade. In the midst of this dialogue, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) has gained popularity as one of the core work support programs for America's low- and moderately low-income families with children. This study compares the estimated effects of EITC when its value deteriorated in the late 1990s with that of a simulated EITC for which the real value kept pace with the actual cost of living on welfare caseload reductions. …

Documentary Photography In American Social Welfare History: 1897-1943, Peter Szto

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This is a study of documentary photography in American social welfare history. The study examines the emergence of photography as a tool of social policy, and in particular, key practitioners who shaped the perception of American social welfare. Within the social welfare literature, this topic is largely unexamined yet invaluable to an understanding of American social welfare. Photography performed a highly instrumental role by providing visual evidence as an innovative way of seeing and analyzing social problems. This image-based approach to social welfare analysis influenced how society viewed itself and the social environment. The goal of this study is to …

Review Of Social Work With Latinos: A Cultural Assets Paradigm. Melvin Delgado. Reviewed By Barbara J. Robles., Barbara J. Robles

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Melvin Delgado. Social Work with Latinos: A Cultural Assets Paradigm. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. $35.00 hardcover.

A Difusão Do Orçamento Participativo Brasileiro: ‘Boas Práticas' Devem Ser Promovidas?, Brian Wampler

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

The "third wave" of democratization has been accompanied by the spread of new institutions that allow citizens to deliberate and decide policy outcomes. Leading international organizations, such as the World Bank and the United Nations, have disseminated "best practice" programs identified with "good government" policy reform efforts. One of the most well-known programs, Participatory Budgeting (PB), was first adopted by Brazil's Workers' Party (PT) in 1989 as a means to promote social justice, accountability, and transparency. There has been widespread adoption of PB in Brazil, led by the PT. Yet, by 2001, nearly half of PB programs had been adopted …

Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Developments 2007-2008, Bruce Johnson, Ben Blomendahl, Ryan Lukassen

Nebraska Farm Real Estate Reports

In this, the 30th year of the UNL Farm Real Estate Market Developments Survey and report series, some of the most dramatic changes ever in the market have occurred. During the year ending February 1st 2008, the average value of Nebraska farmland rose 23%, the largest annual increase in the series. Virtually every region of the state experienced strong cropland value increases. Cash rental rates experienced record advances as well, with 2008 levels for the cropland classes being 17% to 24% higher than 2007 levels. Clearly, the agricultural real estate market has responded to crop commodity prices which have shot …

June Roundtable: Introduction

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

"A Screaming Start: The UN and Human Rights." The Economist. April 24, 2008.

The Human Rights Council: A Failure In Global Governance, Eric K. Leonard

Human Rights & Human Welfare

“The UN and Human Rights: A Screaming Start,” makes several valid points of concern in regards to the recently formed Human Rights Council. As the article stipulates, in many ways the Council does not look radically different from its predecessor, the Human Rights Commission, in that it fails to provide membership regulations that would keep “not free” states of the Council (with only twenty-three out of forty-seven states defined as free) and it lacks the clout in the political hierarchy to truly accomplish anything of substance. However, the article does point out that the one mechanism that could prove useful …

The Myth Of Membership: Reforming The U.N. Human Rights Council, Sonia Cardenas

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The purportedly new-and-improved Human Rights Council is, by most accounts, failing to live up to its promise. Critics accuse the Council of following in the footsteps of its predecessor the U.N. Human Rights Commission because it permits rights abusers among its ranks and it focuses overwhelmingly on Israel. The dominant assumption, articulated by the United States, is that this is a problem of membership; more stringent criteria would result in a less biased body. This, however, is wishful thinking. Changing the rules of membership would only substitute one set of biases for another. A productive dialogue about reforming the Human …

A Short Form Of The Maximization Scale: Factor Structure, Reliability And Validity Studies, G. Y. Nenkov, M. Morrin, Andrew Ward, Barry Schwartz, J. Hulland

Psychology Faculty Works

We conducted an analysis of the 13-item Maximization Scale (Schwartz et al., 2002) with the goal of establishing its factor structure, reliability and validity. We also investigated the psychometric properties of several proposed refined versions of the scale. Four sets of analyses are reported. The first analysis confirms the 3-part factor structure of the scale and assesses its reliability. The second analysis identifies those items that do not perform well on the basis of internal, external, and judgmental criteria, and develops three shorter versions of the scale. In the third analysis, the three refined versions of the scale are cross-validated …

Stepping Up The Pressure: Arousal Can Be Associated With A Reduction In Male Aggression, Andrew Ward, T. Mann, E. H. Westling, J. D. Creswell, J. P. Ebert, Matthew Richard Wallaert , '05

Psychology Faculty Works

The attentional myopia model of behavioral control [Mann and Ward, 2007] was tested in an experiment investigating the relationship between physiological arousal and aggression. Drawing on previous work linking arousal and narrowed attentional focus, the model predicts that arousal will lead to behavior that is relatively disinhibited in situations in which promoting pressures to aggress are highly salient. In situations in which inhibitory pressures are more salient, the model predicts behavior that is relatively restrained. In the experiment, 81 male undergraduates delivered noise-blasts against a provoking confederate while experiencing either high or low levels of physiological arousal and, at the …

Volume 28, Number 2, June 2008 Olac Newsletter, Amy K. Weiss, Jay Weitz, Jan Mayo, Barbara Vaughan, Douglas King

OLAC Newsletters

Digitized June 2008 issue of the OLAC Newsletter.

Graph Summaries For Subgraph Frequency Estimation, Angela Maduko, Kemafor Anyanwu, Amit P. Sheth, Paul Schliekelman

Kno.e.sis Publications

A fundamental problem related to graph structured databases is searching for substructures. One issue with respect to optimizing such searches is the ability to estimate the frequency of substructures within a query graph. In this work, we present and evaluate two techniques for estimating the frequency of subgraphs from a summary of the data graph. In the first technique, we assume that edge occurrences on edge sequences are position independent and summarize only the most informative dependencies. In the second technique, we prune small subgraphs using a valuation scheme that blends information about their importance and estimation power. In both …

Coalition For Prisoners' Rights Newsletter, Vol. 33, No. 1, Coalition For Prisoners' Rights

Coalition for Prisoners' Rights Newsletters

Fairness and Justice?

Pena de muerte aplicada a 1.100 condenados desde que se restablecio en 1976

Executions Resume

Voices From Inside

International Conference on Penal Abolition (ICOPA XII): "Creating a Scandal--Prison Abolition and the Policy Agenda"

Support Funding for the Second Chance Act

Prison Firings

Crime of the Month

Biennale Et Effervescence Artistique Au Sénégal : Conjonctions Et Passerelles, Hélène Tissières

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

The Dakar Biennial, Dak’Art, plays a key role and is the only event of this kind on the african continent. Held in a country where there is an abundant artistic production, it prolongs Senghor’s objectives (underlining the importance of the collective, intertwining art forms, investing mystical positions). Made of an “In” and “Off”, its structure dismantles divisions between popular/theoretical, accessible/obscure, autodidact/trained and promotes a dialog between people and approaches. Many Senegalese artists proceed in a similar fashion, assembling concepts (orality, signs, cultural references, categories), drawing from the world at large. Inscribing memory, they invite us to interrogate our future beyond …

Message In A Bottle: Lyrical Laments And Emotional Expression In Mandopop, Marc L. Moskowitz

Faculty Publications

This article explores the ubiquitous themes of loneliness, isolation and anomie in Mandopop (Mandarin Chinese language pop music). This is not to imply that people in the PRC and Taiwan are lonelier than people from other countries but, rather, that being human they experience these emotions. What is distinctive here is that Mandopop becomes a primary conduit to express feelings that are sanctioned in daily speech. The article addresses these concerns and uses in-depth interviews in Shanghai and Taipei to find out why Mandopop's themes of loneliness and isolation are so resonant to its fans.

Rationalizing Choice With Multi-Self Models, Attila Ambrus, Kareen Rozen

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

This paper studies a class of multi-self decision-making models proposed in economics, psychology, and marketing. In this class, choices arise from the set-dependent aggregation of a collection of utility functions, where the aggregation procedure satisfies some simple properties. We propose a method for characterizing the extent of irrationality in a choice behavior, and use this measure to provide a lower bound on the set of choice behaviors that can be rationalized with n utility functions. Under an additional assumption (scale-invariance), we show that generically at most five “reasons” are needed for every “mistake.”

Robust Implementation In General Mechanisms, Dirk Bergemann, Stephen Morris

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

A social choice function is robustly implemented if every equilibrium on every type space achieves outcomes consistent with it. We identify a robust monotonicity condition that is necessary and (with mild extra assumptions) sufficient for robust implementation. Robust monotonicity is strictly stronger than both Maskin monotonicity (necessary and almost sufficient for complete information implementation) and ex post monotonicity (necessary and almost sufficient for ex post implementation). It is equivalent to Bayesian monotonicity on all type spaces.

Affective Decision Making And The Ellsberg Paradox, Anat Bracha, Donald J. Brown

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

Affective decision-making is a strategic model of choice under risk and uncertainty where we posit two cognitive processes — the “rational” and the “emotional” process. Observed choice is the result of equilibrium in this intrapersonal game. As an example, we present applications of affective decision-making in insurance markets, where the risk perceptions of consumers are endogenous. We derive the axiomatic foundation of affective decision making, and show that affective decision making is a model of ambiguity-seeking behavior consistent with the Ellsberg paradox.

Rationalization And Cognitive Dissonance: Do Choices Affect Or Reflect Preferences?, Keith M. Chen

Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers

Cognitive dissonance is one of the most influential theories in psychology, and its oldest experiential realization is choice-induced dissonance. In contrast to the economic approach of assuming a person’s choices reveal their preferences, psychologists have claimed since 1956 that people alter their preferences to rationalize past choices by devaluing rejected alternatives and upgrading chosen ones. Here, I show that every study which has tested this preference-spreading effect has overlooked the potential that choices may reflect individual preferences. Specifically, these studies have implicitly assumed that subject’s preferences can be measured perfectly, i.e., with infinite precision. Absent this, their methods, even with …