Showing papers on "Perspective (graphical) published in 2010"

Neural Mechanisms for Interacting with a World Full of Action Choices

Abstract: The neural bases of behavior are often discussed in terms of perceptual, cognitive, and motor stages, defined within an information processing framework that was originally inspired by models of human abstract problem solving. Here, we review a growing body of neurophysiological data that is difficult to reconcile with this influential theoretical perspective. As an alternative foundation for interpreting neural data, we consider frameworks borrowed from ethology, which emphasize the kinds of real-time interactive behaviors that animals have engaged in for millions of years. In particular, we discuss an ethologically-inspired view of interactive behavior as simultaneous processes that specify potential motor actions and select between them. We review how recent neurophysiological data from diverse cortical and subcortical regions appear more compatible with this parallel view than with the classical view of serial information processing stages.

Path Dependence or Path Creation

Abstract: We discuss the assumptions that underlie path dependence, as defined by Vergne and Durand, and then provide the outlines of an alternative perspective which we label as path creation Path creation entertains a notion of agency that is distributed and emergent through relational processes that constitute phenomena Viewed from this perspective, ‘initial conditions’ are not given, ‘contingencies’ are emergent contexts for action, ‘self-reinforcing mechanisms’ are strategically manipulated, and ‘lock-in’ is but a temporary stabilization of paths in-the-making We develop these points using a narrative approach and highlight the theoretical and methodological implications of our perspective

Letting Stories Breathe: A Socio-Narratology

Abstract: Stories accompany us through life from birth to death. But they do not merely entertain, inform, or distress us - they show us what counts as right or wrong and teach us who we are and who we can imagine being. Stories connect people, but they can also disconnect, creating boundaries between people and justifying violence. In "Letting Stories Breathe", Arthur W. Frank grapples with this fundamental aspect of our lives, offering both a theory of how stories shape us and a useful method for analyzing them. Along the way he also tells stories: from folktales to research interviews to remembrances. Frank's unique approach uses literary concepts to ask social scientific questions: how do stories make life good and when do they endanger it? Going beyond theory, he presents a thorough introduction to dialogical narrative analysis, analyzing modes of interpretation, providing specific questions to start analysis, and describing different forms analysis can take. Building on his renowned work exploring the relationship between narrative and illness, "Letting Stories Breathe" expands Frank's horizons further, offering a compelling perspective on how stories affect human lives.

Seeing it their way : evidence for rapid and involuntary computation of what other people see

Abstract: In a series of three visual perspective-taking experiments, we asked adult participants to judge their own or someone else's visual perspective in situations where both perspectives were either the same or different. We found that participants could not easily ignore what someone else saw when making self-perspective judgments. This was observed even when participants were only required to take their own perspective within the same block of trials (Experiment 2) or even within the entire experiment (Experiment 3), i.e. under conditions which gave participants a clear opportunity to adopt a strategy of ignoring the other person's irrelevant perspective. Under some circumstances, participants were also more efficient at judging the other person's perspective than at judging their own perspective. Collectively, these results suggest that adults make use of rapid and efficient processes to compute what other people can see.

The Valued Living Questionnaire: Defining and measuring valued action within a behavioral framework.

Abstract: A number of cognitive-behavior therapies now strongly emphasize particular behavioral processes as mediators of clinical change specific to that therapy. This shift in emphasis calls for the development of measures sensitive to changes in the therapies’ processes. Among these is acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), which posits valued living as one of its primary core processes. This article offers a definition of values from a behavioral perspective and describes the Valued Living Questionnaire (VLQ) as a first attempt at assessment of valued living. The VLQ is a relatively brief and easily administered instrument derived directly from the primary text on ACT. Initial psychometric support for the VLQ suggests that valued living can be measured, even with the most simple of instruments, in such a way as to consider it a possible mechanism of change in ACT and related approaches.

Individual and Corporate Social Responsibility

Abstract: Society's demands for individual and corporate social responsibility as alternative responses to market and distributive failures are becoming increasingly prominent. We draw on recent developments in the psychology and economics of prosocial behaviour to shed light on this trend and the underlying mix of motivations. We then link individual concerns to corporate social responsibility, contrasting three possible understandings of the term: firms' adoption of a more long-term perspective, the delegated exercise of prosocial behaviour on behalf of stakeholders, and insider-initiated corporate philanthropy. We discuss the benefits, costs and limits of socially responsible behaviour as a means to further societal goals.

Exploring open search strategies and perceived innovation performance from the perspective of inter‐organizational knowledge flows

Abstract: Based on theories of inter-organizational knowledge flows and organizational learning, we argue that intensively accessing knowledge from a limited number of external channels, i.e., open search depth, can facilitate the innovating company's incremental innovation performance. We also argue that accessing knowledge from a broad range of external channels, i.e., open search breadth, can enhance the innovating firm's radical innovation performance. Using hierarchical regressions to analyze survey data collected from 184 Taiwanese electronic product manufacturers, we found that open search depth is positively related to the innovating firm's incremental innovation performance, and that open search breadth is positively related to radical innovation performance. As our results differ from those of previous studies, we provide a possible explanation for the discrepancy. Examining the effect of open search strategy from a theoretical angle not yet explored before, our findings can contribute to both scholarly and practitioner knowledge of open innovation.

Innovation and Economic Development

Abstract: Innovation is often seen as carried out by highly educated labor in R&D intensive companies with strong ties to leading centers of excellence in the scientific world. Seen from this angle innovation is a typical “first world” activity. There is, however, another way to look at innovation that goes significantly beyond this high-tech picture. In this broader perspective, innovation—the attempt to try out new or improved products, processes, or ways to do things—is an aspect of most if not all economic activities. In this sense, Section 1 puts forward the idea that innovation may be as relevant in the developing part of the world as elsewhere. Section 2 discusses the existing theoretical and empirical literature on the subject. An important conclusion is that to be able to exploit technology to their own advantage, developing countries need to develop the necessary capabilities for doing so. But what are these capabilities and how can they be measured? Section 3 surveys attempts to identify and measure capabilities at the national level. However, the development of such capabilities, it is argued, depends in important ways on what firms do. Section 4, therefore, focuses on recent attempts to survey innovation activity in firms in developing countries and what can be learnt from that. Section 5 discusses the role of domestic versus foreign sources in fostering innovation in the developing part of the world. The final section summarizes the main lessons.

Risks and safety on the internet: the perspective of European children: key findings from the EU Kids Online survey of 9-16 year olds and their parents in 25 countries

Abstract: Šioje ataskaitoje pateikiami naujos ir unikalios apklausos, parengtos ir vykdomos vadovaujantis griežtais ES Vaikai Internete tinklo standartais, rezultatai. Tyrimas buvo finansuojamas Europos Komisijos Saugesnio interneto programos siekiant sustiprinti saugumo internete užtikrinimo politikai reikalingą įrodymų bazę.  2010 m. pavasarį/vasarą buvo apklausta 25.142 vaikų atsitiktinė sluoksninė imtis. Apklausti 9-16 metų internetu besinaudojantys vaikai bei vienas iš tėvų. Šioje ataskaitoje pateikti 25 Europos šalių duomenys.  Apklausos būdu buvo tiriamos pagrindinės su interneto naudojimu susijusios rizikos: pornografija, patyčios, seksualinio turinio žinučių gavimas, kontaktai su nepažįstamais žmonėmis, susitikimai su asmenimis, su kurias kontaktas buvo užmegztas internete, kitų interneto vartotojų sukurto potencialiai žalingo turinio informacija, piktnaudžiavimas asmeniniais duomenimis.  Šioje ataskaitoje terminas "vaikai" reiškia Europos 9-16 metų amžiaus internetu besinaudojančius vaikus. "Interneto naudojimas" reiškia prisijungimą prie interneto bet kuriais prietaisais ir bet kurioje vietoje.

Social Ventures from a Resource–Based Perspective: An Exploratory Study Assessing Global Ashoka Fellows:

Abstract: This study aims to discover relationships using a resource–based view of entrepreneurship and the social value creation characteristics of 70 social entrepreneurs. This study builds on existing res...

Viewing leaf structure and evolution from a hydraulic perspective

Abstract: More than 40 000 km3 year–1 of water flows through the intricate hydraulic pathways inside leaves. This water not only sustains terrestrial productivity, but also constitutes nearly 70% of terrestrial evapotranspiration, thereby influencing both global and local climate (Chapin et al. 2002). Thus, the central role played by leaf vascular systems in terrestrial biology provides an important context for research into the function and evolution of water transport in leaves. Significant progress has been made recently towards understanding the linkages between anatomy and water transport efficiency in leaves, and these discoveries provide a novel perspective to view the evolution of land plants.

High performance work system and collective OCB: a collective social exchange perspective

Abstract: Despite an increasing number of studies showing a positive relationship between collective organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) and unit or organisational performance, relatively little is known about the antecedents of collective OCB. In this study, we developed a collective social exchange approach to collective OCB. We hypothesised that a high performance work system (HPWS) is positively related to collective OCB through collective affective commitment (AC). We obtained data on HPWS, collective AC and collective OCB, all at the middle management group level, from 454 firms in China. Empirical results support the hypotheses.

Semantic Networks: Structure and Dynamics

Abstract: During the last ten years several studies have appeared regarding language complexity. Research on this issue began soon after the burst of a new movement of interest and research in the study of complex networks, i.e., networks whose structure is irregular, complex and dynamically evolving in time. In the first years, network approach to language mostly focused on a very abstract and general overview of language complexity, and few of them studied how this complexity is actually embodied in humans or how it affects cognition. However research has slowly shifted from the language-oriented towards a more cognitive-oriented point of view. This review first offers a brief summary on the methodological and formal foundations of complex networks, then it attempts a general vision of research activity on language from a complex networks perspective, and specially highlights those efforts with cognitive-inspired aim.

Humanitarian Space as Arena: A Perspective on the Everyday Politics of Aid

Abstract: 'Humanitarian space' denotes the physical or symbolic space which humanitarian agents need to deliver their services according to the principles they uphold. This concept, which separates humanitarian action from its politicized environment, is widely used in policy documents and academic texts, even though empirical evidence abounds that this space is in fact highly politicized. To some extent the uncritical use of the concept of humanitarian space is understandable because of its aspirational character. This article explores a different angle: how different actors use the concept and the language of humanitarian space and principles in the everyday politics of aid delivery. It proposes an empirical perspective that approaches humanitarian space from the perspective of everyday practices of policy and implementation. It maintains that the humanitarian space is an arena where a multitude of actors, including humanitarians and the disaster-affected recipients of aid, shape the everyday realities of humanitarian action. The paper develops this perspective for two humanitarian operations: a protracted refugee camp in Kakuma, Kenya, and the tsunami response in Sri Lanka.

Social inequalities in facing old-age dependency: a bi-generational perspective

Abstract: Summary P opulation ageing implies the ageing of family and kinship networks. Because the absolute number of the frail elderly is set to increase, notwithstanding the increase in life expectancy in good health, a top-heavy intergenerational chain is likely both to put stress on the middle generation, and result in the older and younger generations competing for their support. Thus, issues of the redistribution of financial and time resources become relevant in the middle and younger generations when frailty emerges in the older generation. This article adopts a bi-generational perspective in order to examine not only whether social inequality affects resources available to the dependent elderly, but also whether and how a frail elderly person’s demands impact differently on children’s resources and life chances across gender and social classes, as well as what the impact of specific patterns of public care provision (other than healthcare) is on these inequalities.