Showing papers by "Paul J. Taylor published in 2010"

Measurement of protein phosphorylation stoichiometry by selected reaction monitoring mass spectrometry.

Abstract: The stoichiometry of protein phosphorylation at specific amino acid sites may be used to infer on the significance of the modification, and its biological function in the cell. However, detection and quantification of phosphorylation stoichiometry in tissue remain a significant challenge. Here we describe a strategy for highly sensitive, label-free quantification of protein phosphorylation stoichiometry. Method development included the analysis of synthetic peptides in order to determine constants to relate the mass spectrometry signals of cognate peptide/phosphopeptide pairs, and the detection of the cognate peptides by using high resolution Fourier Transform mass spectrometry (FTMS) and selected reaction monitoring mass spectrometry (SRM). By analyzing extracted ion currents by FTMS, the phosphorylation stoichiometries of two tyrosine residues (tyrosine-194 and tyrosine-397) in the protein tyrosine kinase Lyn were determined in transfected human HEK293T cells and two cultured human multiple myeloma strains. To achieve high sensitivity to measure phosphorylation stoichiometry in tissue, SRM methods were developed and applied for the analysis of phosphorylation stoichiometries of Lyn phospho-sites in multiple myeloma xenograft tumors. Western immuno-blotting was used to verify mass spectrometry findings. The SRM method has potential applications in analyzing clinical samples wherein protein phosphorylation stoichiometries may represent important pharmacodynamic biomarkers.

Patterns of Interaction in Police Interviews : The Role of Cultural Dependency

Abstract: The authors analyzed authentic, videotaped police interviews (N = 27) to examine how the use of different influencing behaviors by police officers affects the provision of information by suspects. The analysis focused on variations in cue-response patterns across suspects from cultures that tend to use more direct and content-oriented communication (i.e., low-context cultures) and cultures in which communication is typically more indirect and context orientated (i.e., high-context cultures). As expected, rational arguments were more effective in eliciting case-related personal information from low-context suspects than from high-context suspects. Contrary to the authors’ expectations, high-context rather than low-context suspects seemed to respond negatively in terms of explicitly refusing to give information to police behavior coded as being kind. Additional analyses considered the effects of two types of intimidating behavior (intimidating the individual vs. the context) across the low- and high-context suspects. Results showed that intimidating the individual was more effective at eliciting case-related personal information from low-context suspects, whereas intimidating the context appeared to be more effective in eliciting case-related contextual information for high-context suspects.

System-Level Analysis of Neuroblastoma Tumor–Initiating Cells Implicates AURKB as a Novel Drug Target for Neuroblastoma

Abstract: Purpose: Neuroblastoma (NB) is an aggressive tumor of the developing peripheral nervous system that remains difficult to cure in the advanced stages. The poor prognosis for high-risk NB patients is associated with common disease recurrences that fail to respond to available therapies. NB tumor-initiating cells (TICs), isolated from metastases and primary tumors, may escape treatment and contribute to tumor relapse. New therapies that target the TICs may therefore prevent or treat tumor recurrences. Experimental Design: We undertook a system-level characterization of NB TICs to identify potential drug targets against recurrent NB. We used next-generation RNA sequencing and/or human exon arrays to profile the transcriptomes of 11 NB TIC lines from six NB patients, revealing genes that are highly expressed in the TICs compared with normal neural crest-like cells and unrelated cancer tissues. We used gel-free two-dimensional liquid chromatography coupled to shotgun tandem mass spectrometry to confirm the presence of proteins corresponding to the most abundant TIC-enriched transcripts, thereby providing validation to the gene expression result. Results: Our study revealed that genes in the BRCA1 signaling pathway are frequently misexpressed in NB TICs and implicated Aurora B kinase as a potential drug target for NB therapy. Treatment with a selective AURKB inhibitor was cytotoxic to NB TICs but not to the normal neural crest-like cells. Conclusion: This work provides the first high-resolution system-level analysis of the transcriptomes of 11 primary human NB TICs and identifies a set of candidate NB TIC-enriched transcripts for further development as therapeutic targets. Clin Cancer Res; 16(18); 4572–82. ©2010 AACR.

Linkage analysis in cases of serial burglary: comparing the performance of university students, police professionals, and a logistic regression model

Abstract: University students, police professionals, and a logistic regression model were provided with information on 38 pairs of burglaries, 20% of which were committed by the same offender, in order to examine their ability to accurately identify linked serial burglaries. For each offense pair, the information included: (1) the offense locations as points on a map, (2) the distance (in km) between the two offenses, (3) entry methods, (4) target characteristics, and (5) property stolen. Half of the participants received training informing them that the likelihood of two offenses being committed by the same offender increases as the distance between the offenses decreases. Results showed that students outperformed police professionals, that training increased decision accuracy, and that the logistic regression model achieved the highest rate of success. Potential explanations for these results are presented, focusing primarily on the participants' use of offense information, and their implications are discussed.

Communication predictors and social influence in crisis negotiations

Abstract: Influence tactics are tangible messages that may be used to influence the way in which a crisis negotiation unfolds over time. We begin this chapter by placing influence tactics and their use in the broader context of negotiation research and practice. Drawing on contemporary research, we then unpack the role of influence by introducing the Table of Ten, a theoretical classification of influence tactics that distinguishes between relational and content orientated messages. We show how this collection of message tactics may be used to shape a developing negotiation, and consider how research into the Table of Ten has provided insights into the dynamics of interaction across cultures, time periods, and types of crises. We conclude with discussing the use of the Table of Ten in practice. Communication Predictors and Social Influence in Crisis Negotiations An observation often made by police officers during their crisis negotiation training is that experienced negotiators have a natural style of interacting that is engaging, reassuring, and difficult to respond to with anger or violence. To the novice, these negotiators are talented in their ability to build rapport, create an atmosphere conducive to cooperation, and present unwelcome messages in a way that minimizes their negative connotations. In part, these abilities are the result of the experienced negotiator’s use of techniques such as active 1 Authors’ Note: This work was supported by a British Council—NWO Partnership Programme in Science grant (No. PS844), awarded to both authors. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed either to: Ellen Giebels, University of Twente, Faculty of Behavioral Sciences, Organizational Psychology and HRD, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands. E-mail: e.giebels@utwente.nl; or Paul J. Taylor, Department of Psychology, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK. LA1 4YF. E-mail: p.j.taylor@lancaster.ac.uk. 2 Giebels and Taylor listening skills (Rogan, Donohue, & Lyles, 1990; Taylor & Donohue, 2006) and conceptual models such as those that encourage a negotiator to consider emotional, relational, and substantive aspects of the negotiation (Rogan & Hammer, 2002; Taylor, 2002a). However, they are also the result of the negotiator’s knowledge about how to present messages in a way that appeals to, and persuades the perpetrator. For example, a police negotiator’s suggestion to release an elderly hostage is often more effective when it is preceded by conversation about the perpetrators considerate nature and wish not to harm the hostages. Experienced negotiators have learned that messages presented using known persuasive devices—particular phrases or sequences of arguments—can make them more conducive to compliance or cooperation than would otherwise be the case. The use of persuasive messages, known in the negotiation literature as influence tactics, is the focus of this chapter. We define the use of influence tactics as deliberate actions by one individual (e.g., police negotiator) directed at another individual (e.g., perpetrator) that seek to alter the attitudes and/or behaviors of the target in a way that would not have otherwise occurred (cf. Gass & Seiter, 1999). We begin the chapter by mapping out the important role of influence tactics in contemporary crisis negotiation research and practice. We then present a theoretically-derived set of ten influence tactics and discuss how and when these tactics can influence the progress of negotiation. We end by outlining how the effectiveness of influence tactics can differ across cultures and negotiation contexts, and provide some guidelines for negotiators wishing to identify when their messages are having an influence. Understanding Negotiation In reflecting on what we know about negotiation, it can be useful to divide our understanding into two levels. One level of understanding is focused on the interpersonal factors that fuel crisis negotiation and how changes in these factors allow an interaction to Influence Tactics and Communication Patterns 3 begin, unfold and resolve. The need to develop affiliation, reduce crisis intensity, and respond to the perpetrator’s “face” issues, are among the factors that have been shown to play a role in the progress of negotiation (Donohue & Roberto, 1993; Giebels & Noelanders, 2004; Rogan & Hammer, 1994; Taylor, 2002a) and its success (Taylor, 2002b). These factors provide a framework from which a negotiator can begin to understand the issues that drive a crisis negotiation as a whole. By considering these factors, a negotiator is able to construct informed answers to questions such as “what is it I am trying to achieve?”, “what factors are making this individual behave this way?”, and “how should I approach this interaction to gain trust?” This type of understanding is thus orientated towards enhancing strategic decisions. The second level of understanding centers on the cues and responses that underlie and give rise to the patterns found at the strategic level (Giebels & Noelanders, 2004; Taylor & Donald, 2003; Weingart, Prietula, Hyder, & Genovese, 1999). The focus here is toward the interconnections among messages, the responses typically elicited by certain cues, and the way in which these cue-response sequences build to move a negotiation down a particular path. For example, messages that draw on rational persuasion and logic are often effective when presented to a Dutch perpetrator, but they can have a very different effect when presented to a perpetrator who was brought up in a collectivist culture such as China. Understanding such cue-response patterns may be thought of as bottom-up or focused on the building blocks of negotiation. An understanding at this level allows negotiators to respond to messages in ways that have been found to increase persuasion, and as such this knowledge may be seen as orientated toward tactical decisions about how to achieve strategic objectives. The topic of influence tactics fits principally in the second level of understanding. For example, negotiators who want to address the issue of hostage safety may try to elicit a desired response by promising something in return, by referring to their loved ones and their 4 Giebels and Taylor distress, or by warning them of the consequences of not treating the hostage well. These three messages incorporate different types of influence, but each is aimed at achieving the higher level strategic goal of obtaining information and placing the focus of interaction onto the hostages. Thus, strategic goals may be translated into different influence tactics at a micro level. Tactics are message tools that can be applied at particular times to achieve higher level (sub-) goals of negotiation. Messages with Influence A first step in understanding how messages may be designed to influence a perpetrator is to understand the different forms of influence that are available. In the existing literature, three lines of research stand out as relevant to a categorization of influence. The most significant work has been done by experimental social psychologist Robert Cialdini (for a recent discussion, see Cialdini, 2001). Cialdini identifies a number of tactics based on six psychological mechanisms, each of which has been verified through controlled experimental studies. For example, Cialdini showed that people are more likely to take a particular course of action when they believe that others are doing, or would do, the same thing, something he referred to as the principle of social proof. A second area of work stems from communication theory, where researchers have considered influence at the dyadic level, often under the term “compliance-gaining”. For example, in their review of compliance-gaining research, Kellerman and Cole (1994) show that demonstrating some authority on a subject is a good way of encouraging an individual to take your word for it. Finally, organizational psychologists have conducted some research into the effectiveness of different influence tactics on workforce behavior. For example, Higgins, Judge, and Ferris (2003) focus on the relative occurrence and effectiveness of different managerial influence styles in work situations. They find that one effective methods of influencing others to work is for the Influence Tactics and Communication Patterns 5 manager to rationalize or rationally persuade the other as to why a particular piece of work is worthwhile. The Table of Ten The three fields of research described above propose a range of different influence tactics. Some distinguish as few as 6 types of influence, while others distinguish as many as 20 different tactics. Some of these tactics, such as rational persuasion, exerting pressure, and legitimizing, have clear exemplar in the dialogue of crisis negotiations. Others, such as consulting or inspiring, are arguably less applicable to the crisis negotiation context. To determine which influence tactics are most applicable, the first author recently conducted a series of studies involving both interviews with Dutch and Belgian police negotiators and observations of their negotiation behavior in practice (see Giebels & Noelanders, 2004, for details). These analyses suggest that a set of ten categories of influence behavior are most applicable to crisis negotiation. These tactics, known as the “Table of Ten” (Giebels, 2002), are outlined in this section. Table 1 summarizes the ten influence tactics together with the principles of influence on which they are based. To unpack the tactics presented in Table 1, it is useful to distinguish between tactics that are primarily connected with the sender and his or her relationship with the other party (relational tactics), and tactics that are primarily connected with the content of the message and the information conveyed to the other party (content tactics). Importantly, this distinction brings to light a fundamental tension that exists in crisis nego