Clustering Policies in Japan as an Example of Clustering Strategy

Clustering as a competitive tool allows companies to be in an advantageous position in the sector by cooperating on various issues, especially the exchange of information with each other. Organizations move forward with the cooperation they develop through clusters. In the literature, it has been seen that clusters are considered as a strategy and Competition model tool, considering the benefits they provide. In this study, the concept of clustering is explained within the framework of the concepts of trust and cooperation. Cluster expectations and cooperation in cluster networks are maintained according to the trust relationship between them. In the studies on this subject, it is observed that the clustering policies in Japan, which successfully implement cooperation as a strategy in accordance with the obligations of mutual trust, are taken as an example. For this reason, research on the clustering policies of Japan was included in the continuation of the study. It is believed that the study will contribute to the literature with conceptual explanations.

VIII Grounds Excluding Responsibility (‘Defences’)

This chapter provides first the groundwork of any analysis of ‘defences’, namely the broad or narrow meaning of the concept (substantive vs. procedural defences) and the different types or forms of defences, including their effect and procedural implications (standard and burden of proof). This contributes to a better understanding and proper interpretation that suggest major differentiation criteria with regard to ICL. Then, a detailed analysis of the substantive and procedural defences relevant in ICL is offered. This analysis starts with conceptual explanations (e.g. regarding the relevant point in time) and examines, on the basis of a thorough comparative law research, most important and well known defences like mental disease, intoxication, self-defence, duress and necessity, mistake of fact and law, superior order, immunities, but also looks at less prominent ones such as consent, reprisals or abuse of process.

Tau, XMAP215/Msps and Eb1 co-operate interdependently to regulate microtubule polymerisation and bundle formation in axons

The formation and maintenance of microtubules requires their polymerisation, but little is known about how this polymerisation is regulated in cells. Focussing on the essential microtubule bundles in axons of Drosophila and Xenopus neurons, we show that the plus-end scaffold Eb1, the polymerase XMAP215/Msps and the lattice-binder Tau co-operate interdependently to promote microtubule polymerisation and bundle organisation during axon development and maintenance. Eb1 and XMAP215/Msps promote each other’s localisation at polymerising microtubule plus-ends. Tau outcompetes Eb1-binding along microtubule lattices, thus preventing depletion of Eb1 tip pools. The three factors genetically interact and show shared mutant phenotypes: reductions in axon growth, comet sizes, comet numbers and comet velocities, as well as prominent deterioration of parallel microtubule bundles into disorganised curled conformations. This microtubule curling is caused by Eb1 plus-end depletion which impairs spectraplakin-mediated guidance of extending microtubules into parallel bundles. Our demonstration that Eb1, XMAP215/Msps and Tau co-operate during the regulation of microtubule polymerisation and bundle organisation, offers new conceptual explanations for developmental and degenerative axon pathologies.

Dynamics of the Auditory Continuity Illusion

Illusions give intriguing insights into perceptual and neural dynamics. In the auditory continuity illusion, two brief tones separated by a silent gap may be heard as one continuous tone if a noise burst with appropriate characteristics fills the gap. This illusion probes the conditions under which listeners link related sounds across time and maintain perceptual continuity in the face of sudden changes in sound mixtures. Conceptual explanations of this illusion have been proposed, but its neural basis is still being investigated. In this work we provide a dynamical systems framework, grounded in principles of neural dynamics, to explain the continuity illusion. We construct an idealized firing rate model of a neural population and analyze the conditions under which firing rate responses persist during the interruption between the two tones. First, we show that sustained inputs and hysteresis dynamics (a mismatch between tone levels needed to activate and inactivate the population) can produce continuous responses. Second, we show that transient inputs and bistable dynamics (coexistence of two stable firing rate levels) can also produce continuous responses. Finally, we combine these input types together to obtain neural dynamics consistent with two requirements for the continuity illusion as articulated in a well-known theory of auditory scene analysis: responses persist through the noise-filled gap if noise provides sufficient evidence that the tone continues and if there is no evidence of discontinuities between the tones and noise. By grounding these notions in a quantitative model that incorporates elements of neural circuits (recurrent excitation, and mutual inhibition, specifically), we identify plausible mechanisms for the continuity illusion. Our findings can help guide future studies of neural correlates of this illusion and inform development of more biophysically-based models of the auditory continuity illusion.

Dynamics of the auditory continuity illusion

ABSTRACTIllusions give intriguing insights into perceptual and neural dynamics. In the auditory continuity illusion, two brief tones separated by a silent gap may be heard as one continuous tone if a noise burst with appropriate characteristics fills the gap. This illusion probes the conditions under which listeners link related sounds across time and maintain perceptual continuity in the face of sudden changes in sound mixtures. Conceptual explanations of this illusion have been proposed, but its neural basis is still being investigated. In this work we provide a dynamical systems framework, grounded in principles of neural dynamics, to explain the continuity illusion. We construct an idealized firing rate model of a neural population and analyze the conditions under which firing rate responses persist during the interruption between the two tones. First, we show that sustained inputs and hysteresis dynamics (a mismatch between tone levels needed to activate and inactivate the population) can produce continuous responses. Second, we show that transient inputs and bistable dynamics (coexistence of two stable firing rate levels) can also produce continuous responses. Finally, we combine these input types together to obtain neural dynamics consistent with two requirements for the continuity illusion as articulated in a well-known theory of auditory scene analysis: sustained responses occur if noise provides sufficient evidence that the tone continues and if there is no evidence of discontinuities between the tones and noise. By grounding these notions in a quantitative model that incorporates elements of neural circuits (recurrent excitation, and mutual inhibition, specifically), we identify plausible mechanisms for the continuity illusion. Our findings can help guide future studies of neural correlate of this illusion and inform development of more biophysically-based models of the auditory continuity illusion.

THE LIBERAL CONCEPT OF RUSSIAN HISTORY

Historical science in Russia was formed and developed under the influence of European socio-political thought, in which liberalism was understood as an ideology, socio-political movement, a set of democratic institutions, procedures and principles of governance. Liberal historians searched for interrelations between socio-political and economic aspects of historical development, and paid attention to the need to study state, political and cultural history. In line with the liberal paradigm, the stages of human history are considered from the position of priority of personal development, ensuring its individual freedoms, and Russia, as a potentially European country, with a catch-up type of development. A liberal view of history presupposes the presence of intellectual polyphony, competition of conceptual explanations. To represent the liberal version of Russian history, the article uses the cognitive capabilities of several concepts existing in the modern historiographic space: «patrimonial state», «totalitarianism», «socio-cultural split», «Russian system», «distribution economy», «catching up development, backwardness», «servile and contractual Russia», «non-modern country». Based on them, a liberal interpretation of the content of various stages of Russian history is presented.

The associations between spatial skills and specific components of physics knowledge: a primary school classroom study on sound propagation

Previous research demonstrates an association between spatial ability and science achievement in primary school aged children. However, little is known about the mechanisms driving this relationship. We therefore investigated the associations between children’s spatial skills and components of physics learning (knowledge retrieval vs. conceptual knowledge [predictions and explanations]). Participants (N = 107; mean age: 9.2 years) completed a set of spatial tasks based on the ‘2 x 2’ (intrinsic-extrinsic; static-dynamic) model. They also participated in a whole-class science lesson about sound, followed by an assessment of science knowledge. After controlling for vocabulary and prior knowledge, spatial ability was not associated with knowledge retrieval scores. Mental rotation was most closely associated with conceptual predictions (r 2 = 4-7%). However, mental folding was most strongly associated with conceptual explanations (r 2 = 9-14%). These findings suggest that future spatial intervention studies designed to enhance children’s science learning should target these intrinsic-dynamic spatial skills.

Factors Influencing Quality of Team Discussion: Discourse Analysis in an Undergraduate Team-Based Learning Biology Course

Group activities as part of active-learning pedagogies are thought to be effective in promoting student learning in part because of the quality of discussion they engender in student teams. Not much is known, however, about which instructional factors are most important in achieving productive conversation or how these factors may differ among different collaborative pedagogies. We explored what provokes meaningful group discussions in a university physiology course taught using team-based learning (TBL). We were most interested in discussions that evoke explanations that go beyond statements of basic facts and into disciplinary reasoning. Using transcribed conversations of four randomly selected teams three times throughout the semester, we analyzed three distinct discursive phenomena—conceptual explanations, re-evaluations, and co-construction—that occurred in productive conversations. In this paper, we provide examples from student discussions showing the role of each of these elements in moving students toward conceptual understanding. These phenomena were more likely to occur in response to higher-order questions in Bloom’s taxonomy. Preclass preparation and student accountability as part of TBL may be important factors in this finding. We share implications for practice based on our results.