Contingent Rules Research Articles

Activation of prefrontal cortex and striatal regions in rats after shifting between rules in a T-maze.

Prefrontal cortical and striatal areas have been identified by inactivation or lesion studies to be required for behavioral flexibility, including selecting and processing of different types of information. In order to identify these networks activated selectively during the acquisition of new reward contingency rules, rats were trained to discriminate orientations of bars presented in pseudorandom sequence on two video monitors positioned behind the goal sites on a T-maze with return arms. A second group already trained in the visual discrimination task learned to alternate left and right goal arm visits in the same maze while ignoring the visual cues still being presented. In each experimental group, once the rats reached criterion performance, the brains were prepared after a 90-min delay for later processing for c-fos immunohistochemistry. While both groups extinguished a prior strategy and acquired a new rule, they differed by the identity of the strategies and previous learning experience. Among the 28 forebrain areas examined, there were significant increases in the relative density of c-fos immunoreactive cell bodies after learning the second rule in the prefrontal cortex cingulate, the prelimbic and infralimbic areas, the dorsomedial striatum and the core of the nucleus accumbens, the ventral subiculum, and the central nucleus of the amygdala. These largely correspond to structures previously identified in inactivation studies, and their neurons fire synchronously during learning and strategy shifts. The data suggest that this dynamic network may underlie reward-based selection for action-a type of cognitive flexibility.

An Empirical Study on the Use of Digital Technologies to Achieve Cost-Effectiveness in Healthcare Management.

Objectives: Healthcare cost reduction is one of the major challenges of the current era. This study was based on the general system theory-based view to assess the significance of sensing communication technologies and processing actuation technologies in improving healthcare quality, leading to cost reduction. Moreover, the contingent rule of healthcare supply chain management in enhancing the influence of improved quality on healthcare cost reduction was also empirically tested. Methods: The sample of the study comprised 337 middle and senior healthcare managers employed in various government and private hospitals and health institutions in Jakarta, Indonesia. The administrative departments of each hospital and health institution was visited to take their consent to conduct this survey at their clinical and non-clinical departments. The data collected was analyzed using SmartPLS ver. 4 software. Results: Results reveal a significant direct and indirect influence of sensing communication technologies and processing actuation technologies on achieving cost-effectiveness in the healthcare sector, in the presence of perceived quality improvement as a mediator. However, the strength of the associations varied and was based on highly reliable and familiar nature of sensing communication technologies compared to processing actuation technologies which were emerging and gaining popularity in recent years. Conclusion: Considering the healthcare cost as a critical factor based on limited resources in emerging economies, healthcare institutions/centers should use digital technologies to achieve cost-effectiveness for providing healthcare facilities in the industry 4.0 era.

Feeble rules: one dual-use sanctions regime, multiple ways of implementation and application?

ABSTRACT Export controls of dual-use products and sanctions on respective items are highly regulated in the European Union (EU). However, we find multiple instances of implementation and application problems of dual-use control in the Member States. To explain this puzzling observation, we investigate the relationship between the institutional design of sanctions and their subsequent implementation and application. Drawing on rational design theory, we argue that even if coherence is the EU’s stated goal, the institutional design of the current dual-use export control regime is inadequate to provide for coherence. National licensing decisions and a constant need for the interpretation of contingent rules in the implementation and application of dual-use sanctions are structural challenges to establish a coherent European policy. The relationship between institutional design and coherence, which we investigate in the context of sanctions, is not specific to the EU. Instead, we offer a novel conceptual and analytical tool to study the expected degree and causes of (in-)coherence in the implementation and application of any regime of international sanctions.

A contingency perspective on learning and instruction in physical education

In this article, we focus on the contingency between learning and instruction in physical education (PE). We argue that the complex interconnectedness of teachers’ instruction and students’ learning processes should be studied using a unit of analysis that expresses the relationship between the two factors. A contingency perspective foregrounds the individual differences between different learners and how a teacher regards these differences. Furthermore, it has the potential to provide a precise lens for empirical research on how the students’ situations shape the evolution of the teaching--learning process. Based on scaffolding research and adaptive teaching research, which draws on socio-constructivist foundations, we call this unit of analysis ‘contingency’. We outline a framework of research that suggests depicting contingency dimensions, respective instructional continua, and contingency rules when investigating contingency in PE. Furthermore, autonomy as a core contingency dimension for PE and methodological issues will be discussed.

DAMPAK KRISIS KEUANGAN GLOBAL TERHADAP STABILISASI HARGA DAN OUTPUT DI INDONESIA: Analisis Bauran Kebijakan Sederhana

The enactment of the ITF, which has been strengthened by the FITF framework since 2010 amid the global financial crisis, is a test for the Central Bank in using interest rates as the only monetary policy operational target. The decline in liquidity in the Indonesian economy from the impact of the global financial crisis must be responded by Bank Indonesia to maintain credit growth. The monetary and macroprudential policy mix is carried out to maintain the momentum of economic growth with controlled inflation at low and stable levels while at the same time under pressure in the banking sector after the 2008 global financial crisis. This research directly examines the macroeconomic structural model by incorporating the crisis value into exogenous and credit-efficient variables. as a proxy for macroprudential policy. The purpose of this research is related to looking at the monetary policy response of the operational interest rate target as the optimal policy rule for the stabilization of prices and output in Indonesia from the impact of the global financial crisis using a macro structural cointegrating VAR design model State Contingent Rule (SCR). The results showed that the 2008 global financial crisis affected the optimal policy response through a simple policy mix in stabilizing prices and output. Monetary policy through the BI Rate operational target can stabilize prices in a relatively fast time given the size of its contribution in shaping the price component, but not better for output. The credit gap instrument in macroprudential can stabilize output in a fast and permanent time but with a very small contribution but it is not effective for price stabilization. The effective time of monetary policy in influencing price and output stabilization is up to 2.5 years.

Contingency rules for pathogen competition and antagonism in a genetically based, plant defense hierarchy.

Plant defense against pathogens includes a range of mechanisms, including, but not limited to, genetic resistance, pathogen‐antagonizing endophytes, and pathogen competitors. The relative importance of each mechanism can be expressed in a hierarchical view of defense. Several recent studies have shown that pathogen antagonism is inconsistently expressed within the plant defense hierarchy. Our hypothesis is that the hierarchy is governed by contingency rules that determine when and where antagonists reduce plant disease severity.Here, we investigated whether pathogen competition influences pathogen antagonism using Populus as a model system. In three independent field experiments, we asked whether competition for leaf mesophyll cells between a Melampsora rust pathogen and a microscopic, eriophyid mite affects rust pathogen antagonism by fungal leaf endophytes. The rust pathogen has an annual, phenological disadvantage in competition with the mite because the rust pathogen must infect its secondary host in spring before infecting Populus. We varied mite–rust competition by utilizing Populus genotypes characterized by differential genetic resistance to the two organisms. We inoculated plants with endophytes and allowed mites and rust to infect plants naturally.Two contingency rules emerged from the three field experiments: (a) Pathogen antagonism by endophytes can be preempted by host genes for resistance that suppress pathogen development, and (b) pathogen antagonism by endophytes can secondarily be preempted by competitive exclusion of the rust by the mite. Synthesis: Our results point to a Populus defense hierarchy with resistance genes on top, followed by pathogen competition, and finally pathogen antagonism by endophytes. We expect these rules will help to explain the variation in pathogen antagonism that is currently attributed to context dependency.

Struggles for Life: Smallholder Farmers’ Resistance and State Land Relations in Contemporary Cambodia

Struggles revolving around questions of land access and control occupy a central place in the political and social life of contemporary Cambodia. In this study, we examine three cases of struggles against economic [State] land concessions. In a context of unequal power distribution among the actors involved, we elicit the place of the peasantry and its agency to resist and engage in negotiations with multi-level State authorities and market actors. We show how conflict management occurs through hybrid institutions to produce contingent rules that are specific outcomes of the negotiation between actors. Despite the shrinking space of contestation in Cambodia, these contingent rules reveal that opportunities for negotiation can be created for smallholder farmers to protect their land resources. Beyond the specificities of each particular conflict transformation trajectory, we also argue that State land management is a dynamic process that combines a calculus by authorities to retain social legitimacy and reproduce their sovereign power in respect of land.

A Novel Control Architecture for Hybrid Power Plants to Provide Coordinated Frequency Reserves

The inertia reduction suffered by worldwide power grids, along with the upcoming necessity of providing frequency regulation with renewable sources, motivates the present work. This paper focuses on developing a control architecture aimed to perform frequency regulation with renewable hybrid power plants comprised of a wind farm, solar photovoltaic, and a battery storage system. The proposed control architecture considers the latest regulations and recommendations published by ENTSO-E when implementing the first two stages of frequency control, namely the fast frequency response and the frequency containment reserve. Additionally, special attention is paid to the coordination among sub-plants inside the hybrid plant and also between different plants in the grid. The system’s performance is tested after the sudden disconnection of a large generation unit (N-1 contingency rules). Thus, the outcome of this study is a control strategy that enables a hybrid power plant to provide frequency support in a system with reduced inertia, a large share of renewable energy, and power electronics-interfaced generation. Finally, it is worth mentioning that the model has been developed in discrete time, using relevant sampling times according to industrial practice.

Under threat: Rules-based fiscal policy and how to preserve it

Rules-based fiscal policy is under threat. Over the last two decades, it proved frustratingly complicated to strike the right balance between three essential properties of sound fiscal policy rules: simplicity, flexibility, and enforceability. Simplicity has been sacrificed to ensure that more contingent (i.e. flexible) rules remained enforceable. The resulting arrangements have failed to adequately guide fiscal policy, undermining formal compliance, and ultimately, popular and political support for rules. To mitigate the risk that countries abandon rules-based policymaking, we suggest downplaying enforceability—i.e. the role of formal sanctions through enforcement—and enhancing the reputational costs of breaching rules. At the limit, the rule could consist of a simple quantitative benchmark for a key fiscal indicator. To boost reputational effects, independent fiscal councils should focus on debunking the “fiscal alchemy,” clearing the public debate from partisan smokescreens, and fostering popular support for sound fiscal policies.

Omnicom's No-No (A)

In February 2001, Omnicom, Inc.'s CFO Randall Weisenberger restructured Omnicom's liabilities by replacing a plain-vanilla convertible bond with a liquid yield option note (LYON). Omnicom's LYON was a “No-No,” a name that reflects the fact that the bond sold for par (NO accretion) even though it paid a 0% coupon (NO coupon) in most scenarios. To entice investors to buy this security, the LYON contained a conversion feature whereby investors could convert their bonds into common equity under certain circumstances. In addition, the Omnicom LYON contained a “co-pay” feature that reflected the fact that the interest rate payable to investors was contingent on Omnicom's stock price. The co-pay feature was a central issue in the case, as it allowed the corporation to treat the bonds under the Internal Revenue Service's Contingent Payment Debt Instrument rules. This effectively allowed the corporation to take large interest expense tax deductions even though no cash coupons were paid. The tax shield existed only as long as the bonds remained outstanding. However, the Omnicom LYON was putable and callable annually. In the event that investors put the bonds back to the company, the tax shield would be extinguished.To describe Omnicom's No-No and to provide a rich example for exploring the economic rationale for including various provisions in bond indentures.

Parallel temporal dynamics in hierarchical cognitive control

Cognitive control allows us to follow abstract rules in order to choose appropriate responses given our desired outcomes. Cognitive control is often conceptualized as a hierarchical decision process, wherein decisions made at higher, more abstract levels of control asymmetrically influence lower-level decisions. These influences could evolve sequentially across multiple levels of a hierarchical decision, consistent with much prior evidence for central bottlenecks and seriality in decision-making processes. However, here, we show that multiple levels of hierarchical cognitive control are processed primarily in parallel. Human participants selected responses to stimuli using a complex, multiply contingent (third order) rule structure. A response deadline procedure allowed assessment of the accuracy and timing of decisions made at each level of the hierarchy. In contrast to a serial decision process, error rates across levels of the decision mostly declined simultaneously and at identical rates, with only a slight tendency to complete the highest level decision first. Simulations with a biologically plausible neural network model demonstrate how such parallel processing could emerge from a previously developed hierarchically nested frontostriatal architecture. Our results support a parallel processing model of cognitive control, in which uncertainty on multiple levels of a decision is reduced simultaneously.

The European Crisis in the Context of the History of Previous Financial Crises

There are some striking similarities between the pre 1914 gold standard and EMU today. Both arrangements are based on fixed exchange rates, monetary and fiscal orthodoxy. Each regime gave easy access by financially underdeveloped peripheral countries to capital from the core countries. But the gold standard was a contingent rule – in the case of an emergency like a major war or a serious financial crisis – a country could temporarily devalue its currency. The EMU has no such safety valve. Capital flows in both regimes fueled asset price booms via the banking system ending in major crises in the peripheral countries. But not having the escape clause has meant that present day Greece and other peripheral European countries have suffered much greater economic harm than did Argentina in the Baring Crisis of 1890.

Rules Rule! Brain Activity Dissociates the Representations of Stimulus Contingencies with Varying Levels of Complexity

The significance of stimuli is linked not only to their nature but also to the sequential structure in which they are embedded, which gives rise to contingency rules. Humans have an extraordinary ability to extract and exploit these rules, as exemplified by the role of grammar and syntax in language. To study the brain representations of contingency rules, we recorded ERPs and event-related optical signal (EROS; which uses near-infrared light to measure the optical changes associated with neuronal responses). We used sequences of high- and low-frequency tones varying according to three contingency rules, which were orthogonally manipulated and differed in processing requirements: A Single Repetition rule required only template matching, a Local Probability rule required relating a stimulus to its context, and a Global Probability rule could be derived through template matching or with reference to the global sequence context. ERP activity at 200-300 msec was related to the Single Repetition and Global Probability rules (reflecting access to representations based on template matching), whereas longer-latency activity (300-450 msec) was related to the Local Probability and Global Probability rules (reflecting access to representations incorporating contextual information). EROS responses with corresponding latencies indicated that the earlier activity involved the superior temporal gyrus, whereas later responses involved a fronto-parietal network. This suggests that the brain can simultaneously hold different models of stimulus contingencies at different levels of the information processing system according to their processing requirements, as indicated by the latency and location of the corresponding brain activity.

The role of parents’ distancing strategies in the development of five-year-old children’s Theory of Mind

The aim of this study was to analyse the relation between parents’ distancing strategies and the performance of five-year-old children (N = 70) in Theory of Mind (ToM) tasks. The children’s performances were assessed during individual sessions held at school. The distancing strategies practiced by the parents (cognitive and linguistic scaffolding, contingency rule and decontextualisation strategies, among others) were assessed through systematic observation carried out in the family home. The results support the relationship between some of these variables (linguistic scaffolding, decontextualisation and contingency rule) and ToM development. The implications of these results are discussed in relation to the need of educational and family intervention programmes which enhance the development of this ability.

Planning without plans? Nomocracy or teleocracy for social-spatial ordering

Debate about social-spatial ordering systems began as the opposition between planning and markets. This symposium discusses a related dichotomy: teleocracy (traditional directive planning) vs. nomocracy: social-spatial ordering by general-relational rules. This debate is not only theory; real institutional proposals and alternative practices demonstrate its practical relevance. In addition to the introduction, three contributions make up this volume.Why Nomocracy elaborates the case for nomocracy, claiming its superior effectiveness and morality. Only general relational rules can guide complex societies and enable spontaneous order in the face of structural ignorance, which defeats teleocratic projects and plans. Normatively, radical pluralism prescribes nomocracy as the preferred alternative to teleocracies that imply a particular vision of the “good society”.Spatial planning rules and regulations distinguishes between planning as a government decision process and planning as a technical activity, emphasising the cyclical character of spatial planning processes and the technical autonomy of rules and regulation. Definitional analysis concludes that spatial planning is essentially nomocratic, with grids and rules determining cities’ morphologies. Though‘nomocracy’ and ‘teleocracy’ may have some heuristic value, this dichotomy is not very helpful for planning practice.Towards a dialectic theory of planning proposes a synthesis that recognises nomocracy and teleocracy as complementary social ordering systems. An association between nomocracy and institutions, and between teleocracy and organisations was found, which has limited analytical value but offers useful normative rules. Whilst ideal types of planning seem associated with teleocracy or nomocracy, the real world demands both, suggesting contingent rules for adopting these modes in planning.Two points of general agreement are:-Nomocracy is the preferred social-spatial ordering approach for regulating complex self-organising systems – societies and cities.-These concepts – nomocracy and teleocracy – have limited use for applied research and empirical analysis of planning practices.But the contributors disagree on definitions, leading to divergent normative conclusions:1.Nomocracy should be the dominant social-spatial ordering system. State planning for other sectors should be limited to nomocratic instruments, defined as universal-general relational laws and rules.2.Rule-based spatial planning can be viewed as a form of nomocracy, necessary for spatial expression of the polity's public interest. Such planning includes schematic spatial topologies (e.g. the urban grid) and regulative planning.3.Nomocracy and teleocracy are complementary social-spatial orders. A planning subject should act as an institution when “planning for others”, using nomocratic tools to promote common values; when “planning for itself” it should use teleocratic tools acting as an organisation to realise its goals.

From the search for natural laws to the discovery of contingent rules in economics

In this article, the author defends the idea that one of the positive results of modern economic analysis is the conviction that there is no natural law in economics. Thus, the most thorough scientific research which has tried to provide an analytical foundation for the mythical invisible hand, the "general equilibrium paradigm," has finally shown that such an equilibration process cannot be formally demonstrated. Hence, we can say that economists cannot demonstrate the existence of a law of "supply and demand" but, more simply, can assert that some causal but contingent relations may exist between price, supply and demand. According to this result, the critical approach of Kenneth John Arrow concludes with the necessity of social and moral rule (for the good functioning of the market). It is, thus, necessary to assume the contingent nature of economic rules, and the absence of natural law, and consequently, to modify economists' theoretical model.

Bankenrettung, „constructive ambiguity“ und moralisches Risiko

Summary Based on the model of Cordella and Yeyati (2003) this paper compares the effect of several bailout strategies of a „lender of last resort“ (LoLR) on a bank’s risk behaviour. We show that both „constructed ambiguity“, defined as a properly mixed strategy, and a pure strategy where a LoLR rescues always or never are not the optimal strategies. The LoLR should rather apply a contingent rule which means that he should announce and commit ex ante to a bailout policy depending on a verifiable state of nature. For this reason the optimal bailout policy should not be case by case, but follow an ex ante defined rule. Consequently, there is no contradiction between incentive efficiency and transparency of an efficient LoLR-policy.

Contingent Rule: Information Aesthetic, Performance and Hypermediacy

This paper proposes a model of information aesthetic performance in the context of hypermediacy. It addresses the need to consider the features of performance in recently emerging information visualization artwork. By analyzing an artwork, the real-time stock market data-based Contingent Rule, the authors discuss aesthetic effects of performance as well as information visualization. The proposed model could contribute to a better understanding of information visualization in terms of Jay David Bolter and Richard Grusin's ‘hypermediacy.’ This research provides a new guideline for reviewing information visualization.

The Humpbacked Species Richness-Curve: A Contingent Rule for Community Ecology

Functional relationships involving species richness may be unimodal, monotonically increasing, monotonically decreasing, bimodal, multimodal, U-shaped, or with no discernable pattern. The unimodal relationships are the most interesting because they suggest dynamic, nonequilibrium community processes. For that reason, they are also contentious. In this paper, we provide a wide-ranging review of the literature on unimodal (humpbacked) species richness-relationships. Though not as widespread as previously thought, unimodal patterns of species richness are often associated with disturbance, predation and herbivory, productivity, spatial heterogeneity, environmental gradients, time, and latitude. These unimodal patterns are contingent on organism and environment; we examine unimodal species richness-curves involving plants, invertebrates, vertebrates, plankton, and microbes in marine, lacustrine, and terrestrial habitats. A goal of future research is to understand the contingent patterns and the complex, interacting processes that generate them.

Parent-Child Perceptions of Parental Behavioral Control Through Rule-Setting for Risky Health Choices During Adolescence

This study of 164 parent-child dyads compared perceptions of the rule-setting processes during the child's adolescence surrounding reported rules for the risky health domains of sexual activity, alcohol use, and tobacco use. Two kinds of rules were identified: abstinence rules and contingency rules. Tobacco use was largely dominated by abstinence rules, whereas sexual activity and alcohol featured both abstinence and contingency rules. Parents perceived that they communicated rules more directly and with greater justification than their adolescents reported, especially for abstinence rules. Parents perceived that their adolescents complied with their rules more so than the adolescents reported complying, especially for abstinence rules. Across health domains, perceptions of rule justification and rule sanctioning predicted perceptions of adolescent rule compliance.