• Emotions, Social Activity and Neuroscience: The Cultural-Historical Formation of Emotion

  Burkitt, Ian (2019-08)

  This article challenges the use of cognitive-behavioural psychological models underpinning many of the dominant and popular accounts of emotion in the neurosciences. Acknowledging that neurobiology is important for any understanding of emotion, an alternative model of neuropsychology is sought in the work of theorists of the cultural-historical school, particularly A. N. Leontyev and A. R. Luria. The importance of their work in stressing the key role of intentional social activity, culture, and language in the formation of human neuropsychological functions is developed into a theory of emotions that can provide an alternative for emotion studies. In this theory, activity, culture, history, and individual ontogeny play the defining role in structuring the neurobiological systems that underlie emotions, as opposed to the evolution of behaviours that are hard-wired into the brain and function as automatic responses. Instead, it is understood that there is a continuum between evolution and human social and cultural development.
• 3D printed elastic mould granulation

  Okeyo, Clint; Chowdhury, D.F.; Cheung, K.; Rahmanian, Nejat (2018)

  In the pharmaceutical industry, enhanced process understanding resulting in superior control of product attributes, has the potential to save up to 20% of process engineering and product development costs during drug development. With the aim of achieving enhanced process understating, a novel approach for granulation of fine powders is presented. First, a mould with the desired particle shape and size is created using 3D printing followed by casting using elastomeric material. The formulation is prepared through wet massing and tested as a thin film on flat elastomeric membranes. The thin film itself can be a product but it also gives a good indication of coating performance before coating the patterned elastic membrane with the formulation i.e., 3D printed elastic mould granulation. Results show that following granulation and drying, granules of controlled size and shape (e.g. cubic and 500 μm), strength, friability and flowability can be formed. The method presented may allow for more robust process development in particle engineering.
• Relating optical coherence tomography to visual fields in glaucoma: structure–function mapping, limitations and future applications

  Denniss, Jonathan; Turpin, A.; McKendrick, A.M. (2018)

  Combining information from optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging and visual field testing is useful in the clinical assessment and monitoring of patients with glaucoma. Measurements of retinal nerve fibre layer thickness or neuroretinal rim width taken around the optic nerve head may be related to the visual field using a structure–function map. In this review, the structure–function mapping methods in clinical use are discussed. Typical clinical maps provide a population average, ‘one size fits all’ representation, but in recent years methods for customising structure–function maps to individual eyes have been developed and these are reviewed here. In the macula, visual field stimuli stimulate photoreceptors for which associated retinal ganglion cells are peripherally displaced. Recently developed methods that relate OCT measurements to visual field test locations in the macula are therefore also reviewed. The use of structure–function maps to relate OCT measurements to localised visual field sensitivity in new applications is also explored. These new applications include the selection of visual field test locations and stimulus intensities based on OCT data, and the formal post‐test combination of results across modalities. Such applications promise to exploit the structure–function relationship in glaucoma to improve disease diagnosis and monitoring of progression. Limitations in the validation and use of current structure–function mapping techniques are discussed.
• Value co-creation: The role of actor competence

  Waseem, Donia; Biggemann, S.; Garry, T. (2018-04)

  Adopting a Service-Dominant Logic lens, recent research within industrial marketing contexts increasingly recognizes the role of operant resources in value co-creation. Incumbent within operant resources is actor competence. Despite this, an investigation into the role of actor competence in value co-creating processes is scant and the competence literature, in general, has tended to concentrate on specialized knowledge and skills based interpretations that potentially restrict our understanding of the construct. To address this gap, this research adopts a phenomenological approach to explore perceived behavioral attributes of competent actors. Findings confirm two broad behaviorally based conceptualizations of competence: 1) extra-role behavior demonstrated through organizational citizenship behavior, and 2) in-role behavior demonstrated through understanding of work, and engagement behavior. To this end, the contribution of this research is twofold. First and from a theoretical perspective, it offers empirical insights into a relational based framework of competency within industrial marketing contexts. Second, and from a pragmatic perspective, this framework may aid managers in developing a broader understanding of actor competence and how such competencies may be enhanced within the workplace to optimize value co-creation.
• Dividend policy in the banking sector in G-7 and GCC countries: A comparative study

  Hanifa, H.; Hamdan, M.; Haffar, Mohamed (2018-11)

  Dividend policy has been a puzzling question for many years. This study attempts to identify the key factors affecting it in the financial sector that have been neglected in the literature. Using panel data on 621 Group of Seven (G-7) banks and 68 Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) banks, five main factors namely, banks’ size, profitability, growth, leverage, and last year’s dividend were empirically tested regarding their impact on dividend payout ratios. In addition to comparing the two economies descriptively, the researchers employed panel data analysis using multiple regression with random effects. The findings revealed that the dividend payout ratio for the GCC countries is higher than G-7 countries in every year of the examined period (2010-2015). Furthermore, for both G-7 and GCC banks, profitability and last year dividend had a significant positive influence while banks’ leverage had a significant negative influence on the dividend payout. It was found also that banks’ size is an important dividend determinant in the G-7 countries only.

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