正常视野与实验性暗区的多焦视诱发电位特征分析

目的分析正常眼不同视野区域的mfVEP波形特征及实验性暗区对结果的影响,探讨mfVEP用于客观评定视野的可行性。方法以正常青年男性51眼为实验对象,应用四通道mfVEP记录系统进行mfVEP检测,30眼行实验性暗区测试。统计组合反应波振幅、峰时及振幅密度的均数、标准差。组问比较采用单因素方差分析,不同刺激野遮盖前、后mfVEP振幅比较采用配对t检验。结果正常眼mfVEP各位点均能引出较明确的VEP波：其中鼻下、颞下象限组合反应波振幅密度（8．68±3．67、7．84±3．32nV／deg2）较鼻上、颞上象限（5．55±2,22、5．08±1．85nV／deg2）大;反应波从黄斑中心凹向周边逐渐降低（240．36±96．60nV／deg2-1．83±O．73nV／deg2）。遮盖颞下象限及外周3个环刺激野造成形成实验性暗区时,对应区域mfVEP组合反应波多数呈熄灭型（70％及80％）;而遮盖鼻下方某两个位点时,对应区域波振幅显著降低（P〈0．05）。结论mfVEP能较准确、客观反映视野不同区域的视功能差异,有望成为法医学客观视野检测手段。     

Petitioning in the Scottish church courts, 1638–1707

ABSTRACT

This article explores the use of petitions in, and by, the courts of the Church of Scotland. It distinguishes between routine petitions and addresses concerning matters of national significance. The former were submitted to the church courts by individuals or groups, and requested that the courts take decisions or perform particular actions. These petitions reveal much about the exercise of discipline, poor relief and ecclesiastical administration, and provide rich evidence of the engagement of ordinary people with the church courts. The second type of petition was usually addressed to parliament or another secular body by one of the higher church courts. In studying petitions on national affairs, we can identify how the formulae of humble supplication were adapted for the purpose of protest, and thus comment on the tensions between the ecclesiastical and civil authorities of early modern Scotland.     

Public councils in Kazakhstan: a case of emergent participative democracy?

As Kazakhstan aims to become one of the top 30 developed countries by 2050, it is increasingly turning to ways which will improve its governance, one of which is greater participation by its citizens in the decision-making processes of state agencies. A new initiative aimed at doing just that, the establishment of public councils, received legal backing in January 2016. The aim of public councils is to ‘strengthen democracy and the quality and responsiveness of public polices’ through the ‘public expression of matters of concern to Kazakh citizens’. This article offers a formative evaluation of the role performed by public councils and questions the extent to which they have achieved this aim. It draws on primary data from public officials, non-governmental organizations, ministries, and non-participant observation of public councils in Kazakhstan. It finds limited evidence of their effectiveness to date.     

Election observer effects: A field experiment in the Russian Duma election of 2011

The literature on elections and election monitoring is divided between those who take a skeptical view, suggesting that monitors are often political rather than objective in their judgments, and those who see monitors as a real force for cleaner, more honest elections. Studies that use field experiments to look for the effect of monitors generally support the optimists, indicating that the mere presence of election observers can have powerful effects. This is surprising given the extent of the resources available to incumbents who wish to conduct electoral fraud. We present the results of an experiment in which 768 observers were randomly assigned to polling stations in 21 cities in Russia in the 2011 parliamentary elections. Unlike most previous studies of election observers, our results suggest that observer effects on turnout and vote for the ruling party are small. The results suggest the need to study more carefully the circumstances that shape the impact of observation missions.     

How do prospects of EU membership influence support for secession? A survey experiment in Catalonia and Scotland

The past years have been eventful for secessionist movements in Europe and in particular in Scotland and Catalonia. Supporters and opponents of secession of both stateless nations considered their prospects for future EU membership as an important part of the campaigns leading to the referendums. The article’s aim is to explore whether international factors influence domestic support for secession. In order to answer this puzzle, an on-line survey experiment (n = 2408) was carried out in Catalonia and Scotland in which respondents were confronted with different scenarios concerning the EU membership of their hypothetical new state (inclusion or exclusion). Contrary to the general perception, the prospects of EU membership had only a limited effect on support for the creation of a sovereign state. Moreover, it was found that the impact was strongly mediated by the participants’ previous degree of nationalism and their attitudes with respect to the EU.     

Coupling citizens and elites in deliberative systems: The role of institutional design

A significant shortcoming in contemporary deliberative systems is that citizens are disconnected from various elite sites of public deliberation. This article explores the concept of ‘coupling’ as a means to better link citizens and elites in deliberative systems. The notion of ‘designed coupling’ is developed to describe institutional mechanisms for linking otherwise disconnected deliberative sites. To consider whether it is possible and indeed desirable to use institutional design to couple different sites in a deliberative system, the article draws on insights from a case study in which a mini‐public was formally integrated into a legislative committee. The empirical study finds that it is not only feasible to couple mini‐publics to legislative committees, but when combined, the democratic and deliberative capacity of both institutions can be strengthened. To be effective, ‘designed coupling’ requires more than establishing institutional connections; it also requires that actors to step outside their comfort zone to build new relationships and engage in new communicative spaces with different sets of ideas, actors and rules. This can be facilitated by institutional design, but it also requires leaders and champions who are well‐placed to encourage actors to think differently.     

Journeys to the limits of first-hand knowledge: politicians’ on-site visits in zones of conflict and intervention

ABSTRACT

This article explores the practice and political significance of politicians’ journeys to conflict zones. It focuses on the German example, looking at field trips to theatres of international intervention as a way of first-hand knowledge in policymaking. Paying tribute to Lisa Smirl and her work on humanitarian spaces, objects and imaginaries and on liminality in aid worker biographies, two connected arguments are developed. First, through the exploration of the routinized practices of politicians’ field trips the article shows how these journeys not only remain confined to the ‘auxiliary space’ of aid/intervention, but that it is furthermore a staged reality of this auxiliary space that most politicians experience on their journeys. The question is then asked, second, what politicians actually experience on their journeys and how their experiences relate to their policy knowledge about conflict and intervention. It is shown that political field trips enable sensory/affectual, liminoid and liminal experiences, which have functions such as authority accumulation, agenda setting, community building, and civilizing domestic politics, while at the same time reinforcing, in most cases, pre-existing conflict and intervention imaginaries.     

Assessing “Global Lithuania”: the strengths and weaknesses of Lithuanian diaspora engagement strategy

Diasporas participate in the home country’s development through remittances, philanthropy, knowledge transfer, investment, and political engagement. Based on the theoretical perspective of network governance, this paper argues that governments can enhance diaspora contributions by offering incentives to engage with the homeland. The paper then applies this perspective to assess the effectiveness of Lithuania’s diaspora engagement policy. Based on successful strategies adopted by other countries, the paper makes recommendations on how to strengthen the incentives for the diaspora to participate in Lithuania’s political, social, economic, and cultural life, and on how to create a better environment for the diaspora’s contributions.     

A new conceptual framework to strengthen internal corporate image: A stakeholder-inclusive perspective

The potential influence that internal stakeholders’ image of the organisation could have on external stakeholders’ image of the organisation, is strongly supported in the literature. This research project attempted to address the need for an approach that facilitates employee engagement, coupled with a leadership approach that allows collaboration, inclusion and cooperation within the organisation, to strengthen internal corporate image. This article reports on the results of the second phase of this research project, where a proposed stakeholder-inclusive conceptual framework for strengthening the internal corporate image, built from a stakeholder-inclusive perspective as depicted in the King III report on corporate governance, was explored in practice. A quantitative, self-administered web-based survey was conducted with the 2014 winners of the Deloitte Best Company to Work For (BCTWF) survey. The results not only indicated that these organisations’ practices resonate with the proposed stakeholder-inclusive framework, but also that the principles of the framework, namely stakeholder theory; integrated internal communication; peace arena; stakeholder engagement by means of the AA1000 Stakeholder Engagement Standard (AA1000SES) and responsible leadership and stewardship correlate with one another. The stakeholder-inclusive conceptual framework expands on the body of knowledge on corporate image and provides corporate communication professionals with a guide for strengthening their organisation’s internal corporate image, which could serve as starting point for strengthening the external corporate image and eventual corporate reputation.     

A 2‐Year Study of Δ 9‐tetrahydrocannabinol Concentrations in Drivers: Examining Driving and Field Sobriety Test Performance,,

From November 1, 2010 through November 30, 2012, 1204 whole‐blood samples were confirmed to contain THC alone or in combination with other drugs out of nearly 5000 Orange County, California, drivers suspected of driving under the influence of drugs. The goal of this study was to examine police reports and drug recognition expert evaluations of THC‐positive samples within this 2‐year time frame to determine whether there is a correlation between whole‐blood THC concentrations and field sobriety tests performance on DRE and non‐DRE evaluations. The FSTs prove to be sensitive to impairment by marijuana although as suspected, the findings of this study did not find a correlation between performance on field sobriety tests and the concentration of THC tested in whole‐blood samples. Driving behaviors were also examined and found to be similar to those seen in alcohol impairment. Future studies examining DRE findings are needed to confirm the results.