Subsequent Judgments Research Articles

Testing for sequential bias in school inspections

ABSTRACT Inspectors are tasked with judging the quality of provision based on visits to schools. They conduct these inspections sequentially, completing one before moving on to the next. However, empirical research in a range of settings outside education suggests that prior judgements in a sequence can influence subsequent judgements, despite being logically irrelevant. We investigate whether school inspectors in England display such sequential bias by testing whether they judge similar schools differently, depending on the judgements they reached in prior inspections. We find only limited evidence of sequential bias in primary school inspections. In particular, an inspector reaching an ‘Inadequate’ judgement in their previous inspection is associated with a 42 per cent reduction in the odds of reaching another ‘Inadequate’ judgement in their next inspection. Only around 5 per cent of inspection judgements result in an ‘Inadequate’ and we do not find consistent evidence of sequential bias at other grades, meaning this bias only affects a small minority of judgements. We also do not find the same results for secondary schools, albeit in a much smaller sample.

The development of indirect discrimination law in India: Slow, uncertain, and unsteady

ABSTRACT On 25 March 2021, the Supreme Court of India formally recognized the legal concept of indirect discrimination in Lt Col Nitisha v Union of India. This article uses Nitisha as a point of inflexion to study the development of Indian indirect discrimination law and Nitisha’s contribution to this development. It shows that indirect discrimination law is more complex and contested than it appears when focusing solely on Nitisha. By zooming out and considering what Nitisha adds to pre-existing law and how it has been received in subsequent judgments, the article argues for a measured view of Nitisha’s contribution and, in turn, of the state of Indian indirect discrimination law. Importantly, judicial recognition of indirect discrimination remains slow, uncertain, and unsteady. Even in the few cases where it has been recognized, the concept of indirect discrimination remains abstract and indeterminate, and questions on its adjudication remain far from resolved.

Prior brief meditation reduces distractor inhibition during cognitive interference.

Mindfulness meditation, comprising focused attention and open monitoring meditations, has been shown to enhance performance on cognitive interference tasks. While this enhancement has been considered not to result from distractor inhibition, no empirical evidence has been provided through behavioral data. In this study, we investigated whether 30-min interventions of focused attention and open monitoring meditations could reduce distractor inhibition in 72 meditation-naïve participants divided into focused attention meditation, open monitoring meditation, and control groups. We employed a task set that combined a cognitive interference task with subsequent preference judgment and surprise recognition tasks, utilizing the mere exposure effect paradigm, along with state and trait questionnaires. The mere exposure effect shows that repeated exposure to face images increases one's preference for them. However, this effect is reduced if participants consciously or unconsciously try to inhibit the face images during stimulus processing. In the cognitive interference task, they judged the direction of the letter superimposed on a distractor face image. In the subsequent preference judgment task, they were asked to rate the preference of face images, half of which were presented in the interference task and the remaining half were not presented. We hypothesized that inhibiting face images presented as distractors would lead to a decrease in preference for them. We found that the mere exposure effect was observed in focused attention meditation and open monitoring meditation groups but not in the control group, indicating that compared to the control, focused attention and open monitoring meditations reduce inhibition processes for distractors during cognitive interference tasks. Furthermore, we found a positive correlation between the intensity of the mere exposure effect and state relaxation before the cognitive interference task as well as a negative correlation between the intensity of the mere exposure effect and state anxiety in the focused attention meditation group, but not in the open monitoring meditation group. This suggests that the processes of reducing inhibition in focused attention and open monitoring meditations differ. Our findings contribute to understanding the attentional mechanisms underlying mindfulness meditation during cognitive interference.

The impact of descriptor identicalness on investors' judgements of managers’ opportunistic estimation choices

We conduct two experiments to examine how descriptor identicalness influences investors' assessments of managers' opportunistic estimation choices. We manipulate the identicalness of descriptors (identical versus non-identical) and managers' opportunistic estimation choices (more versus less opportunistic). We find that investors are better able to integrate information when managers use identical descriptors in their disclosures than when managers use non-identical descriptors. We also find that investors who observe identical descriptors tend to make less favorable investment judgments when managers' estimation choices are more (versus less) opportunistic, whereas those presented with non-identical descriptors are less likely to discern between more and less opportunistic estimation choices. Lastly, our supplemental analyses indicate that descriptor identicalness facilitates information integration, which in turn moderates the impact of managers' estimation choices on investors’ credibility assessments and subsequent investment judgments. Our findings have important implications for regulators, managers, and investors, shedding light on how investors use and incorporate accounting disclosures into their investment decision-making processes.

Analysis of Unemployment in Chimborazo Post Pandemic

This is a literature review study, of unemployment which is widespread in today's societies, where individuals with work capacity, find themselves without employment activity due to a lack of opportunities or simply because they cannot find a job. The research aims to learn and understand the causes of unemployment and underemployment in Ecuador, particularly in the Province of Chimborazo during the years 2021-2022. To achieve this we have relied on the collection of statistical data and its subsequent analysis, interpretation, judgment, and prospection, which provides a base tool for decision-making, as well as for academic and business deepening.

The impact of task measurements on sequential dependence: a comparison between temporal reproduction and discrimination tasks

Decisions about a current stimulus are influenced by previously encountered stimuli, leading to sequential bias. However, the specific processing levels at which serial dependence emerges remain unclear. Despite considerable evidence pointing to contributions from perceptual and post-perceptual processes, as well as response carryover effects impacting subsequent judgments, research into how different task measurements affect sequential dependencies is limited. To address this gap, the present study investigated the role of task type in shaping sequential effects in time perception, employing a random-dot kinematogram (RDK) in a post-cue paradigm. Participants had to remember both the duration and the direction of the RDK movement and perform the task based on a post-cue, which was equally likely to be direction or duration. To delineate the task type, we employed the temporal bisection task in Experiment 1 and the duration reproduction task in Experiment 2. Both experiments revealed a significant sequential bias: durations were perceived as longer following longer previous durations, and vice versa. Intriguingly, the sequential effect was enhanced in the reproduction task following the same reproduction task (Experiment 2), but did not show significant variation by the task type in the bisection task (Experiment 1). Moreover, comparable response carryover effects were observed across two experiments. We argue that the differential impacts of task types on sequential dependence lies in the involvement of memory reactivation process in the decision stage, while the post-decision response carryover effect may reflect the assimilation by subjective, rather than objective, durations, potentially linking to the sticky pacemaker rate and/or decisional inertia.

Budgetary Cycle and late accountability: diagnosis regarding the political judgment of government financial statements within the scope of the States

The normative scenario configured by the 1988 Constitution, in matters of public finances, reveals a dynamic structured based on the notion of budget cycle. However, the materialization of the processes that make up this cycle is permeated by decision-making operated from a perspective of supervision of social bodies and institutionalized control. In this sense, the theoretical framework regarding horizontal accountability emerges, according to O'Donnell's (1998) categorization, which translates in the issuance of the preliminary opinion by the Audit Courts and the subsequent political judgment issued of Parliament. Having as its object of work the temporal profile of the political judgment of government accounts, this paper proposes to investigate the existence of empirical distortions concerning the process of assessment and judgment of the accounts of the head of the Executive Branch of the States, and where possible delays arise – whether in the assessment and sending of the preliminary opinion by the accounting body or in the processing of the document in the legislative houses. Therefore, in methodological terms, for the purpose of articulating the diagnosis on a legal-exploratory basis, we opted for a sample selection stratified into subgroups referring to the five historically recognized regions, choosing the most populous federated entity in each region as a critical case for analysis, which takes place through the mobilization of qualitative data, extracted from primary sources (legislative decrees, draft legislative decrees and previous opinions), with a documentary analytical focus, taking as a focus the period referring to the accounts from 2010 to 2020.

Does Beauty Matter to Service Consumers? The Influence of Visual Appeal on Self-Service Technology (SST) Acceptance

The visual appeal of self-service interfaces is known to influence consumers’ subsequent evaluations of the system’s other features and enjoyment; however, the impact of visual appeal on subsequent judgments of system and information quality and hedonic motivation, and consequently on shaping behavioral intentions to use a particular self-service, has not been specifically studied. Therefore, this study examines the impact of visual appeal on the acceptance of self-service technologies using meta-analytic structural equation modeling with 63 independent samples (26,144 cumulative respondents) drawn from 58 empirical studies. As a result, visual appeal demonstrates strong correlations with system quality, information quality, and hedonic motivation and appears to indirectly influence perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and behavioral intention to use new SST. The findings shed light on the primacy effect of visual appeal on consumers’ acceptance of SSTs and the substantive effect of visual appeal in shaping perceptions of system and information quality.

Distinct neural markers of evidence accumulation index metacognitive processing before and after simple visual decisions.

Perceptual decision-making is affected by uncertainty arising from the reliability of incoming sensory evidence (perceptual uncertainty) and the categorization of that evidence relative to a choice boundary (categorical uncertainty). Here, we investigated how these factors impact the temporal dynamics of evidence processing during decision-making and subsequent metacognitive judgments. Participants performed a motion discrimination task while electroencephalography was recorded. We manipulated perceptual uncertainty by varying motion coherence, and categorical uncertainty by varying the angular offset of motion signals relative to a criterion. After each trial, participants rated their desire to change their mind. High uncertainty impaired perceptual and metacognitive judgments and reduced the amplitude of the centro-parietal positivity, a neural marker of evidence accumulation. Coherence and offset affected the centro-parietal positivity at different time points, suggesting that perceptual and categorical uncertainty affect decision-making in sequential stages. Moreover, the centro-parietal positivity predicted participants' metacognitive judgments: larger predecisional centro-parietal positivity amplitude was associated with less desire to change one's mind, whereas larger postdecisional centro-parietal positivity amplitude was associated with greater desire to change one's mind, but only following errors. These findings reveal a dissociation between predecisional and postdecisional evidence processing, suggesting that the CPP tracks potentially distinct cognitive processes before and after a decision.

Przerywanie ciąży (aborcja) w świetle orzecznictwa polskiego Trybunału Konstytucyjnego

The purpose of this study is primarily to analyse the jurisprudence of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal regarding the compliance with constitutional norms of the conditions for the admissibility of termination of pregnancy (abortion). The Constitution of the Republic of Poland provides every person with legal protection of life. Although its provisions do not explicitly specify that it is about the legal protection of life from conception to natural death, this type of interpretation seems to be adopted by the Constitutional Tribunal, which results in subsequent judgments on the assessment of compliance with this constitutional model of the conditions for the admissibility of abortion in Poland. In its jurisprudence, the Constitutional Tribunal first drew attention to the constitutional guarantees for the protection of human life at every stage of its development, and thus questioned the admissibility of termination of pregnancy due to difficult living conditions or the difficult personal situation of a pregnant woman, as well as in the case when prenatal examinations or other medical conditions indicate a high probability of severe and irreversible impairment of the fetus or an incurable disease threatening its life. In this context, however, it is worth noting that abortion is permissible when a high probability of severe and irreversible impairment of the fetus or an incurable disease threatening its life simultaneously poses a substantial risk to the life and health of the mother. The analysis of the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Tribunal therefore allows to formulate a conclusion on the conservative and restrictive approach of this body regarding the conditions for the admissibility of abortion in Poland and the recognition of the legal protection of life as a cardinal constitutional value of the Polish legal system.

Investigating implicit emotion processing in autism spectrum disorder across age groups: A cross-modal emotional priming study.

Cumulating evidence suggests that atypical emotion processing in autism may generalize across different stimulus domains. However, this evidence comes from studies examining explicit emotion recognition. It remains unclear whether domain-general atypicality also applies to implicit emotion processing in autism and its implication for real-world social communication. To investigate this, we employed a novel cross-modal emotional priming task to assess implicit emotion processing of spoken/sung words (primes) through their influence on subsequent emotional judgment of faces/face-like objects (targets). We assessed whether implicit emotional priming differed between 38 autistic and 38 neurotypical individuals across age groups as a function of prime and target type. Results indicated no overall group differences across age groups, prime types, and target types. However, differential, domain-specific developmental patterns emerged for the autism and neurotypical groups. For neurotypical individuals, speech but not song primed the emotional judgment of faces across ages. This speech-orienting tendency was not observed across ages in the autism group, as priming of speech on faces was not seen in autistic adults. These results outline the importance of the delicate weighting between speech- versus song-orientation in implicit emotion processing throughout development, providing more nuanced insights into the emotion processing profile of autistic individuals.

Automatic Detection of Cast Billet Dendrite Based on Improved Hough Transform

Primary dendrite information is one of the most important metrics to measure the quality of continuous cast slabs. The contrast of low magnification images is very low under the influence of illumination and sampling devices, so the traditional dendrite detection method has the problem of missed detections. We propose an automatic dendrite detection method based on an improved Hough transform, which effectively improves the accuracy and efficiency of primary dendrite detection. By using the local grayscale features of the image, a genetic algorithm-based local contrast enhancement algorithm is proposed. Compared with the traditional contrast enhancement algorithm, it can retain all the information of the dendrites. Combined with the image binarization method based on Hessian matrix, we can obtain more detailed information about the dendrites. According to the continuity and solidification characteristics of dendrites, the Hough transform is improved to extract dendrite information, which effectively reduces the computational cost of the Hough transform. The experimental results show that the method of this paper has versatility, and the error is four pixels compared with the manual method, which can provide a reliable basis for the subsequent judgement of the quality of cast billets.

The Left Amygdala and Right Frontoparietal Cortex Support Emotional Adaptation Aftereffects.

Adaptation aftereffects-in which prolonged prior experience (adaptation) can bias the subsequent judgment of ambiguous stimuli-are a ubiquitous phenomenon. Numerous studies have found behaviorally stable adaptation aftereffects in a variety of areas. However, it is unclear which brain regions are responsible for this function, particularly in the case of high-level emotional adaptation aftereffects. To address this question, the present study used fMRI technology to investigate the neural mechanism of emotional adaptation aftereffects. Consistent with previous studies, we observed typical emotional adaptation effects in behavior. Specifically, for the same morphed facial images, participants perceived increased sadness after adapting to a happy facial image and increased happiness after adapting to a sad facial image. More crucially, by contrasting neural responses to ambiguous morphed facial images (i.e., facial images of intermediate morph levels) following adaptation to happy and sad expressions, we demonstrated a neural mechanism of emotional aftereffects supported by the left amygdala/insula, right angular gyrus, and right inferior frontal gyrus. These results suggest that the aftereffects of emotional adaptation are supported not only by brain regions subserving emotional processing but also by those subserving cognitive control.

Sex differences and driving impairment related to psychoactive substances

Objective The first aim of the study was to identify sex differences in the use of psychoactive substances among subjects with a previous driving under the influence (DUI) episode. The secondary objective was to propose specific strategies for medico-legal improvements. Methods This was a retrospective observational study that took place between June 1, 2019, and August 31, 2023. It was conducted on DUI subjects examined for reinstatement of their driver’s license using an integrated medico-legal and toxicological approach. Ethyl glucuronide (EtG) and illicit psychoactive substances were determined from hair samples. We performed descriptive statistical analyses for the entire sample as well as separately by sex. Additionally, we conducted binary logistic regression analyses separately for males and females to identify protective/risk factors associated with previous road accidents and judgments of unfitness to drive due to excessive alcohol consumption (EtG ≥ 30 pg/mg). Results The study included 2,221 subjects, comprising 1,970 men and 251 women. Men exhibited a higher prevalence of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit psychoactive substance use. Women were more frequently co-users of alcohol and psychoactive substances and involved in road accidents at the time of DUI. Among the men, being married or having a partner was found to be a protective factor concerning past traffic accidents. For both sexes, a DUI episode with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) exceeding 1.5 g/L or the co-ingestion of alcohol and drugs was identified as a risk factor for road accident involvement. For men, smoking more than 20 cigarettes per day and, for women, having a DUI episode with a BAC over 1.5 g/L were the main factors indicating unfitness to drive, as determined through high hair EtG levels (> 30 pg/mg). Women with a previous history of road accidents were less likely to have EtG levels of 30 pg/mg or more. Conclusions The study confirmed sex differences in subjects with a previous DUI episode. A BAC exceeding 1.5 g/L or the simultaneous use of alcohol and drugs at the time of DUI necessitate careful assessment of both men and women seeking driver’s license reinstatement. In women, a BAC exceeding 1.5 g/L is considered a risk factor for a subsequent judgment of unfitness to drive. The medico-legal assessment should also involve a thorough investigation of smoking habits in men, as these habits could be related to an increased risk of excessive alcohol consumption.

Too close for comfort? Social distance and emotion perception in remitted bipolar I disorder

Introduction: Bipolar disorder (BD) is a chronic psychiatric disorder that is associated with heightened and persistent positive emotion (Gruber, 2011; Johnson, 2005). Yet, we know little about how troubled emotion responding may translate into dynamic face-to-face interactions involving others, especially in contexts where automatic social regulation of personal distance from others is key to maintaining social boundaries. Method: Using a novel social distance paradigm adapted from a prior work (Kennedy et al., 2009), participants with a clinical history of bipolar I disorder (n = 30) and healthy controls (CTL; n = 31) provided online measurements of social distance preferences in response to positive, negative, and neutral facial images, as well as subsequent social judgment and emotion perception ratings. Results: Results suggest no group differences on social distance, social perception, or general emotion perception ratings. However, exploratory analyses suggest that the BD group rated positive images higher in happiness, but lower in amusement, compared to the CTL group. Conclusion: These findings contribute to a growing literature on socioemotional processes in BD.

Striking a balance: the interplay of CJEU rulings and international human rights obligation with national constitutional identities

The article examines approaches to the interaction of decisions of the Court of the European Union (CJEU) and international obligations in the field of human rights with the constitutional identity of states. Attention is focused on the concepts of “national identity” and “constitutional identity”, their relationship, and the introduction of the concept of “national identity” into the European legal order after the signing of the Maastricht Treaty (1993). Attention is drawn to the fact that the primary law of the EU does not contain the concept of “constitutional identity”, but this term is widely used in the decisions of the constitutional courts of several EU member states. In these decisions, the constitutional courts raised the issue of the protection of the constitution and constitutionality in the EU member state given the harmonization of legislation and/ or ultra vires decisions.
 The article notes that the concept of constitutional identity is broad, it covers the historical, political, cultural, and legal identity of the state, as well as the connection of national law with the international and autonomous legal order of the EU. The idea of constitutional identity is dynamic and constantly evolving due to the continuous development of the states themselves.
 The analysis of various approaches to this interaction based on the German Federal Constitutional Court, Hungarian Constitutional Court, and Italian Constitutional Court was carried out. It is noted that the interaction of CJEU rulings with constitutional identities is based on the principle of primacy of the EU law, and international human rights obligations are based on the conventional feature of the “obligation of uniform interpretation” and universal standards while ignoring the constitutional tradition of the states. It means that CJEU judgments have a higher legal force than national court judgments, while international human rights obligations should become precedents for subsequent national court judgments, not lowering the national standards of human rights protection.

Motivational Interviewing with Progressive Muscle Relaxation for Anxiety Disorders in Tuberculosis

Background:Individuals with Tuberculosis (TB) may experience anxiety due to the disease's uncertain treatment, prognosis, and subsequent social judgment. It may affect the patient's motivation to engage in the treatment, boosting its effectiveness and reducing tuberculosis transmission. Interventions are required to help people alleviate their anxiety about tuberculosis. Objective:The primary objective of this study is to investigate how motivational interviewing and progressive muscle relaxation impact anxiety levels among individuals with tuberculosis. Methods:The study employed a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control group design. Participants were chosen through convenience sampling based on specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. Atotal of 60 clients participated, with 30 assigned to the intervention groups and 30 to the control groups. This study used the Zung Anxiety Self-Assessment instrument. An analysis of differences in anxiety used Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney. Results: In the pre-test, the majority of participants had mild anxiety levels; 70% (49.30 ± 8.526) in the intervention groups and 63.3% (45.43± 8.423) in the control groups. In the post-test, there has been a decrease in anxiety levels in the intervention group at 93.3% (30.90 ± 7.572), but anxiety levels remained the same in the control group of 66.7% (43.97±7.346). According to the statistical analysis, the intervention group achieved a p-value of 0.000, indicating a substantial variance in anxiety levels before and after the intervention. In contrast, the control group recorded a p-value of 0.785, suggesting that there was no significant alteration in anxiety levels before and after the intervention. Conclusion:Progressive muscle relaxation can alleviate tension, and motivational interviewing can boost motivation and help clients deal with anxiety triggers. Both interventions can be considered as extra treatments for tuberculosis patients who experience anxiety

Unmasking excessive pricing: evolution of EU law on excessive pricing from United Brands to Aspen

ABSTRACT It has been argued that the test for excessive pricing set out in United Brands is vague in a number of aspects and subsequent judgments of the EU courts have not provided much clarity on the matter. This article examines the evolution of the EU case law on excessive pricing for the last four decades including the most recent excessive pricing case investigated by the European Commission in the Aspen case. In particular, the article discusses the important question of what constitutes an excessive price that is “unfair in itself” and the question of how economic value is to be assessed. The article concludes that, although the abuse of unfair excessive pricing is likely to remain a difficult area for regulators to handle, the Commission’s commitment decision in Aspen, despite the fact that it cannot change or replace judicial decisions, provides very important clarification of the legal test for excessive pricing.

“Do you have kids? Do you have kids? How many kids do you have?” the enforcement of hegemonic gender in Australian society

ABSTRACT This research explored women’s lived experiences of societal enforcement of motherhood through mechanisms of surveillance and judgement. Using a descriptive qualitative phenomenological design, 24 Australian women were interviewed about their lived experiences as women within society. Thematic analysis revealed five themes: women’s enforcement of hegemonic gender; the enforcement of motherhood in public and private spaces; labelling to control women; the gendered nature of social control; and the impacts of enforcement of motherhood. Overall, this study’s findings draw attention to how the surveillance, and subsequent judgement, of women within society plays an important role in maintaining the unrealistic expectations placed on women to become mothers and adhere to the ideology of good motherhood. Competition, surveillance and judgement are central to keeping women subordinate and distracting them from the ways in which structures of hegemonic gender function to oppress them within society. If freed from the constraints of hegemonic gender, mothering could be a site of equality where power is shared between parents rather than a site for continued oppression.

Research on the Anchoring Effect in the Judicial Field

The anchoring effect is essentially a cognitive bias in which people tend to overly rely on the first piece of information they receive (the anchor) when making decisions, or are influenced by the first piece of information they received, which further leads to obvious deviations in subsequent judgments. This phenomenon is evident in multiple fields, including the legal field. This article will comprehensively introduce the mechanism of anchoring effect in the judicial field by collecting, analyzing, and integrating existing research results. It will also draw conclusions on the size of initial anchor values and how they can have a negative impact on judicial decision-making. Finally, potential solutions will be provided.