Labor Noncompete Agreements: Tool for Economic Efficiency or Means to Extract Value from Workers?

A number of theoretical arguments have been offered in favor of noncompete provisions in labor agreements. While there has been considerable empirical research on the effects of those provisions, there has been little direct evaluation of the arguments themselves. In this article, I lay out and evaluate three commonly heard arguments, namely, (1) the voluntary nature of labor agreements justifies a strong inference that the terms of those agreements, including noncompete provisions, are beneficial for both workers and firms and that they are economically efficient, 2( A) noncompetes facilitate efficient knowledge transfer from firms to workers, and 2( B) noncompetes encourage efficient firm-sponsored investment in worker training. These arguments, though not entirely without merit, mostly do not survive close scrutiny, and in fact such scrutiny reveals strong arguments that point in the opposite direction. In addition, noncompetes may cause important additional harms that are not measured in conventional economic research.

Need for Cognition Is Positively Related to Promotion Focus and Negatively Related to Prevention Focus

Need for cognition (NFC) and regulatory focus (RF) are important variables with individual differences relevant to motivation and goal pursuit. These constructs are widely used in the literature, often separately; no work has simultaneously examined the need for cognition scale (NCS) and Lockwood’s general regulatory focus measure (GRFM). Here, we explore shared theoretical underpinnings of the two constructs and assess whether they may be driven by common underlying factors. Considering purported overlaps between these scales and other constructs (e.g., personality and cognitive processes), we take a strong inference approach to test hypothesized bridges between the two measures. In a large (N = 853) sample, we found NCS to be related positively to GRFM promotion and negatively to GRFM prevention scores, suggesting mutual ties with behavioral inhibition system/behavioral activation system, intrinsic motivation, openness, and creativity. A generalized approach motivation, as well as intrinsic motivation, may thus drive both NFC and RF.

Germination ecology of Trachycarpus fortunei (Arecaceae), a species with morphophysiological and shoot dormancy

Beyond strong inference that most of the 2600 known species of Arecaceae produce diaspores with an underdeveloped embryo and therefore have morphological (MD) or morphophysiological dormancy (MPD), little is known about the specific dormancy class or sub-class, and how dormancy-break occurs under ecological conditions. Here, we found that mature seeds of Trachycarpus fortunei collected at the time of natural dispersal had an underdeveloped embryo that was 10% of total seed length. No diaspores germinated over a wide range of temperatures in either light or darkness. Cold-stratification at 4 °C for 1, 2, and 3 months or treatment with 100, 500, and 1000 ppm gibberellic acid (GA3) improved germination percentages, with 3 months cold-stratification or 1000 ppm GA3 resulting in highest germination. The embryo grew inside the seeds during cold-stratification. However, warm stratification did not improve germination. Therefore, seeds of T. fortunei have intermediate complex MPD. Cold stratified seeds moved to spring conditions (15/20 °C) had cotyledonary petiole (CP) elongated, but leaves developed only when the CP elongated seeds were moved to summer temperatures (25/30 °C), suggesting the presence of shoot dormancy. The seedlings are remote-tubular type. This is the first report for Arecaceae indicating the presence of complex MPD.

Behaviour-driven Arc expression is greater in dorsal than ventral CA1 regardless of task or sex differences

Evidence from genetic, behavioural, anatomical, and physiological study suggests that the hippocampus functionally differs across its longitudinal (dorsoventral or septotemporal) axis. Although, how to best characterize functional and representational differences in the hippocampus across its long axis remains unclear. While some suggest that the hippocampus can be divided into dorsal and ventral subregions that support distinct cognitive functions, others posit that these regions vary in their granularity of representation, wherein spatial-temporal resolution decreases in the ventral (temporal) direction. Importantly, the cognitive and granular hypotheses make distinct predictions on cellular recruitment dynamics under conditions when animals perform tasks with qualitatively different cognitive-behavioural demands. The cognitive function account implies that dorsal and ventral cellular recruitment differs depending on relevant behavioural demands, while the granularity account suggests similar recruitment dynamics regardless of the nature of the task performed. Here, we quantified cellular recruitment with the immediate early gene (IEG) Arc across the entire longitudinal CA1 axis in female and male rats performing spatial-and fear-guided memory tasks. Our results show that recruitment is greater in dorsal than ventral CA1 regardless of task or sex. This experimentum crucis leads to the strong inference that the granularity hypothesis for functional differences across the longitudinal axis in the rodent hippocampus is correct.

Wind plays a major but not exclusive role in the prevalence of insect flight loss on remote islands

Terrestrial species on islands often show reduced dispersal abilities. For insects, the generality of explanations for island flight loss remains contentious. Although habitat stability is considered the most plausible explanation, others are frequently highlighted. Adopting a strong inference approach, we examined the hypotheses proposed to account for the prevalence of flightlessness in island insect assemblages, for a region long suspected to be globally unusual in this regard—the Southern Ocean Islands (SOIs). Combining comprehensive faunal inventories, species' morphological information, and environmental variables from 28 SOIs, we provide the first quantitative evidence that flightlessness is exceptionally prevalent among indigenous SOI insect species (47%). Prevalence among species which have evolved elsewhere is much lower: Arctic island species (8%), species introduced to the SOIs (17%), and globally (estimated as approx. 5%). Variation in numbers of flightless species and genera across islands is best explained by variation in wind speed, although habitat stability (thermal seasonality proxy) may play a role. Variables associated with insularity, such as island size, are generally poor predictors of flightlessness. The outcomes redirect attention to Darwin's wind hypothesis. They suggest, however, that wind selects for flightlessness through an energy trade-off between flight and reproduction, instead of by displacement from suitable habitats.

Canalization and Robustness in Human Genetics and Disease

Canalization refers to the evolution of populations such that the number of individuals who deviate from the optimum trait, or experience disease, is minimized. In the presence of rapid cultural, environmental, or genetic change, the reverse process of decanalization may contribute to observed increases in disease prevalence. This review starts by defining relevant concepts, drawing distinctions between the canalization of populations and robustness of individuals. It then considers evidence pertaining to three continuous traits and six domains of disease. In each case, existing genetic evidence for genotype-by-environment interactions is insufficient to support a strong inference of decanalization, but we argue that the advent of genome-wide polygenic risk assessment now makes an empirical evaluation of the role of canalization in preventing disease possible. Finally, the contributions of both rare and common variants to congenital abnormality and adult onset disease are considered in light of a new kerplunk model of genetic effects.

On the fallacy of manipulation "checks" and the road towards strong inference

Manipulation checks are often included in studies to boost confidence in a particular causal explanation. As a general principle, it is worthwhile to have some degree of certainty that a manipulation or treatment caused variation in the independent variable of interest. However, this paper purports that manipulation checks do not pave the way towards inferential confidence. This paper posits that a) manipulation checks do not improve our causal explanations, and b) that they are potential threats to internal validity. Rather than useful, manipulation checks are at best uninformative, but more likely compromise the interpretation of experimental results. The second half of this paper advocates alternative approaches to test a causal explanation, emphasizing a need to focus on the exclusion of rival explanations. I conclude that rather than relying on manipulation checks as a ‘Band-Aid’ method to alleviate validity concerns, inferential rigor can be improved by generating and excluding alternative explanations for a given effect.