scholarly journals The Challenge of Illusory Perception of Animals: The Impact of Methodological Variability in Cross-species Investigation

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 1618
Author(s):  
Maria Santacà ◽  
Christian Agrillo ◽  
Maria Elena Miletto Petrazzini

Although we live on the same planet, there are countless different ways of seeing the surroundings that reflect the different individual experiences and selective pressures. In recent decades, visual illusions have been used in behavioural research to compare the perception between different vertebrate species. The studies conducted so far have provided contradictory results, suggesting that the underlying perceptual mechanisms may differ across species. Besides the differentiation of the perceptual mechanisms, another explanation could be taken into account. Indeed, the different studies often used different methodologies that could have potentially introduced confounding factors. In fact, the possibility exists that the illusory perception is influenced by the different methodologies and the test design. Almost every study of this research field has been conducted in laboratories adopting two different methodological approaches: a spontaneous choice test or a training procedure. In the spontaneous choice test, a subject is presented with biologically relevant stimuli in an illusory context, whereas, in the training procedure, a subject has to undergo an extensive training during which neutral stimuli are associated with a biologically relevant reward. Here, we review the literature on this topic, highlighting both the relevance and the potential weaknesses of the different methodological approaches.

e-Finanse ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 67-76
Author(s):  
Piotr Bartkiewicz

AbstractThe article presents the results of the review of the empirical literature regarding the impact of quantitative easing (QE) on emerging markets (EMs). The subject is of interest to policymakers and researchers due to the increasingly larger role of EMs in the world economy and the large-scale capital flows occurring after 2009. The review is conducted in a systematic manner and takes into consideration different methodological choices, samples and measurement issues. The paper puts the summarized results in the context of transmission channels identified in the literature. There are few distinct methodological approaches present in the literature. While there is a consensus regarding the direction of the impact of QE on EMs, its size and durability have not yet been assessed with sufficient precision. In addition, there are clear gaps in the empirical findings, not least related to relative underrepresentation of the CEE region (in particular, Poland).


Author(s):  
V.V. Verna

The article provides a rationale for methodological approaches to assessing the effectiveness of outsourcing in organizations of the construction industry using the example of outsourcing schemes to perform personnel functions. The conditional example shows the impact of the use of outsourcing on reducing the costs of a construction organization. The main prerequisites for the use of outsourcing in the activities of enterprises in the construction industry are identified, methodological approaches to assessing the cost-effectiveness of personnel outsourcing in the construction industry enterprises are substantiated.


2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Pérez-González

While the growing ubiquitousness of translation and interpreting has established these activities more firmly in the public consciousness, the extent of the translators’ and interpreters’ contribution to the continued functioning of cosmopolitan and participatory postmodern societies remains largely misunderstood. This paper argues that the theorisation of translation and interpretation as social phenomena and of translators/interpreters as agents contributing to the stability or subversion of social structures through their capacity to re-define the context in which they mediate constitutes a recent development in the evolution of the discipline. The consequentiality of the mediators’ agency, one of the most significant insights to come out of this new body of research, is particularly evident in situations of social, political and cultural confrontation. It is contended that this conceptualisation of agency opens up the possibility of translation being used not only to resolve conflict and tension, but also to promote them. Through a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches, the contributing authors to this special issue explore a number of sites of linguistic and cultural mediation across a range of institutional settings and textual/interactional genres, with particular emphasis on the contribution of translation and interpreting to the genealogy of conflict. The papers presented here address a number of overlapping themes, including the dialectics of governmental policy-making and translation, the interface between translation, politics and the media, the impact of the narrative affiliation of translators and interpreters as agents of mediation, the frictional dynamics of interpreter-mediated institutional encounters and the dynamics of identity negotiation.


2006 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 467-468
Author(s):  
Dieter H.H. Hoffmann

The primary goal of Laser and Particle Beams as part of the Cambridge University Press is the dissemination of knowledge in our research field. How effective we are in this respect is not easy to determine. But the impact factor published annually in June by Thomson ISI® 2005 Journal Citation Reports (JCR), gives at least an indication and a method to compare other journals in the field. In this respect, Laser and Particle Beams is a journal with a very high ranking in the field of applied physics, but it also compares very well to journals in other field of physics. The impact factor of a journal gives an account of how often an average paper in the journal is referred to, in a two year time span after publication. The current impact factor of 2.59 is based on an evaluation conducted in 2005 of Laser and Particle Beams publications of 2003 and 2004. During the evaluation period (2005), Laser and Particle Beams publications were cited about 1000 times. The topics that attracted most attention were Fast Ignition (Deutsch, 2004; Mulser & Schneider, 2004a; Hora, 2004; Mulser & Bauer, 2004b), Inertial Fusion Targets (Borisenko et al., 2003), and Ion and Electron Acceleration in laser plasma and Ultrashort Pulses (Shorokhov & Pukhov, 2004; Osman et al., 2004; Malka & Fritzler, 2004; Limpouch et al., 2004; Pegoraro et al., 2004). However, the editorial boards of Laser and Particle Beams strongly encourage authors to submit their results in High Energy Density Physics, the emerging field of Warm Dense Matter, Pulsed Power and Accelerator Physics and Technology.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 47
Author(s):  
Julian Schütt ◽  
Rico Illing ◽  
Oleksii Volkov ◽  
Tobias Kosub ◽  
Pablo Nicolás Granell ◽  
...  

The detection, manipulation, and tracking of magnetic nanoparticles is of major importance in the fields of biology, biotechnology, and biomedical applications as labels as well as in drug delivery, (bio-)detection, and tissue engineering. In this regard, the trend goes towards improvements of existing state-of-the-art methodologies in the spirit of timesaving, high-throughput analysis at ultra-low volumes. Here, microfluidics offers vast advantages to address these requirements, as it deals with the control and manipulation of liquids in confined microchannels. This conjunction of microfluidics and magnetism, namely micro-magnetofluidics, is a dynamic research field, which requires novel sensor solutions to boost the detection limit of tiny quantities of magnetized objects. We present a sensing strategy relying on planar Hall effect (PHE) sensors in droplet-based micro-magnetofluidics for the detection of a multiphase liquid flow, i.e., superparamagnetic aqueous droplets in an oil carrier phase. The high resolution of the sensor allows the detection of nanoliter-sized superparamagnetic droplets with a concentration of 0.58 mg cm−3, even when they are only biased in a geomagnetic field. The limit of detection can be boosted another order of magnitude, reaching 0.04 mg cm−³ (1.4 million particles in a single 100 nL droplet) when a magnetic field of 5 mT is applied to bias the droplets. With this performance, our sensing platform outperforms the state-of-the-art solutions in droplet-based micro-magnetofluidics by a factor of 100. This allows us to detect ferrofluid droplets in clinically and biologically relevant concentrations, and even in lower concentrations, without the need of externally applied magnetic fields.


2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 531-541 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Rumpf ◽  
Christoph Breuer

Current knowledge on the behavioral response to sponsorship is to a large degree based on field studies measuring self-reported purchase intentions. In an effort to provide more solid evidence for the impact of sponsorship-linked communication on brand choice behavior, a controlled lab study was carried out. A fictitious brand was created and virtually embedded into real sport broadcasts serving as stimulus clips. To measure the cognitive, affective, and behavioral outcomes, multiple methods such as eye tracking, a brand feeling scale, and a spontaneous choice test were applied. Compared with the control group, participants in the stimulus group were significantly more likely to choose the fictitious target brand. Moreover, the study finds that brand choice behavior is sensitive to changes in brand feelings. The results can be regarded as a next step in predicting the behavioral outcomes from sponsorship as the basis to calculate its financial return.


PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e8075
Author(s):  
Matteo Rolla ◽  
Sofia Consuegra ◽  
Eleanor Carrington ◽  
David J. Hall ◽  
Carlos Garcia de Leaniz

Invasion facilitation, whereby one species has a positive effect on the establishment of another species, could help explain the rapid colonisation shown by some freshwater invasive species, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We employed two-choice test arenas to test whether the presence of zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) could facilitate the establishment of the killer shrimp (Dikerogammarus villosus). Killer shrimp preferred to settle on mats of zebra mussel, but this was unrelated to mat size, and was not different from attraction shown to artificial grass, suggesting that zebra mussel primarily provides substrate and refuge to the killer shrimp. Killer shrimp were strongly attracted to water scented by zebra mussel, but not to water scented by fish. Chemical attraction to the zebra mussel’s scent did not differ between sympatric and allopatric populations of killer shrimp, suggesting that chemical attraction is not an acquired or learned trait. Our study shows, for the first time, chemical attraction between two highly invasive freshwater species, thereby providing a plausible mechanism for invasion facilitation. This has implications for managing the spread of killer shrimp, and perhaps other freshwater invasive species, because chemical attraction could significantly increase establishment success in mutualistic systems. Failure to consider invasion facilitation may underestimate the risk of establishment, and likely also the impact of some aquatic invaders.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2042 (1) ◽  
pp. 012116
Author(s):  
Pierson Clotilde ◽  
Soto Magán Victoria Eugenia ◽  
Aarts Mariëlle ◽  
Andersen Marilyne

Abstract Recent developments in the lighting research field have demonstrated the importance of a proper exposure to light to mediate several of our behavioral and physiological responses. However, we spend nowadays around 90% of our time indoors with an often quite limited access to bright daylight. To be able to anticipate how much the built environment actually influences our light exposure, and how much it may ultimately impact our health, well-being, and productivity, new computational tools are needed. In this paper, we present a first attempt at a simulation workflow that integrates a spectral simulation tool with a light-driven prediction model of alertness. The goal is to optimize the effects of light on building occupants, by informing the decision makers about the impact of different design choices. The workflow is applied to a case study to provide an example of what learnings can be expected from it.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 55-62
Author(s):  
V. P. Asovskiy ◽  
A. S. Kuzmenko ◽  
O. V. Khudolenko

The authors considered the use of unmanned aerial vehicles as one of the promising innovative directions for the development of economic and social sectors. The authors touched upon the prospects for their use in agriculture, especially for pesticide and agrochemical application, where accuracy, quality and timeliness are important. The relevance of multicopter performance assessment was noted. (Research purpose) The authors aim to develop and test a methodology for the evaluation of multicopters’ performance indicators for pesticide and agrochemical application in the agricultural industry. (Materials and methods) The authors used scientific and technical information and experimental materials, applied methods of system, statistical and functional-cost analysis, mathematical modeling, object and process parameter optimization, as well as previously developed methodological approaches to studying the aerial distribution of substances. (Results and discussion) The authors presented a general description and content of the developed methodology and means for assessing multicopter performance when applying working solutions that provide for an estimation error of up to 7 percent.The typical options for field plots and their treatment were specified. The authors analyzed the results of testing the methodology and software for a typical hexacopter with the payload of up to 10 kilograms. The authors analyzed the impact of working speed of up to 10 meters per second, application rates of 2-30 liters per hectare, the size and characteristics of the field plot up to 200 hectares, traffic patterns and other factors on productivity and multicopter treatment cost.  (Conclusions) The authors confirmed the efficiency of implementing complex multi-factor assessment of multicopter performance indicators for working fluids application in agricultural production. The authors determined the appropriate area of  applying multicopters with a payload of up to 10 kilograms in the field plots up to 50-60 hectares with a rut length of up to 800-900 meters with different treatment performance: flight – up to 10.5 hectares per flight hour, working – up to 7.5 hectares per hour, daytime – up to 55 hectares. Proposals and recommendations for the provision, organization and implementation of this work were formulated. 


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