Modest difference in individual decisional skills may warrant substantial inequality in power. This claim has been illustrated in Ben Yashar and Nitzan (Economics Letters 174:93–95, 2019), applying the symmetric uncertain dichotomous choice setting and focusing on the skill-dependent (s-d) power of the decision-makers under the optimal decision rule. The same claim is valid when one focuses on the relationship between skill heterogeneity and the distribution of the second type of power, viz., the group members' marginal contribution (mc). This has been (...) shown in Ben Yashar et al. (Journal of Theoretical Politics 33(2):225–235, 2021), where mc has been formally related to s-d power. A preliminary study of the relationship between inequality of the distributions of the two measures has also been presented. The current paper considerably expands this investigation by applying simulations and sheds light on the reason for the increased inequality of the two types of power. Since reward (in terms of status, payment or both) depends on s-d power and mc, inequality of the distribution of rewards depends on the inequality of the two types of power. Comparison of the two types of power inequality is therefore interesting if one wishes to shed light on the role of the two types of power on reward inequality. In particular, the results of the comparison may clarify the effectiveness of the incentives to invest in skills, dependent on the prevailing norms and the institutional characteristics that determine the relationship between rewards and the two types of power. For this reason, the current study focuses on the comparison between inequality of s-d power and marginal contributions showing that, in small (large) groups, on average, the latter is more (less) unequal than the former and both are more unequal than the optimal weights of the decision-makers and much more unequal than their skills. The robustness of these findings is shown by applying alternative symmetric probability distribution functions. Another novel task undertaken in the current study is the sensitivity analysis of inequality of the power measures with respect to changes in the size of the group and the skills of the group members. (shrink)

We examined the differences between estimating the emotions of protagonists and evaluating those of readers in narrative comprehension. Half of the participants read stories and rated the emotional states of the protagonists, while the other half of the participants rated their own emotional states while reading the stories. The results showed that reading comprehension was facilitated when highly extraverted participants read stories about, and rated the emotional experiences of, extraverted protagonists, with personalities similar to their own. However, the same facilitative (...) effect was not observed for less extraverted participants, nor was it observed for either type of participants under the condition in which participants rated their own emotional experiences. Thus, at least for highly extraverted participants, readers both facilitated the construction of a situation model and correctly estimated the emotional states of protagonists who were similar to themselves, perhaps due to empathy. (shrink)

The chromosomes of eukaryotic cells possess many potential DNA replication origins, of which a subset is selected in response to the cellular environment, such as the developmental stage, to act as active replication start sites. The mechanism of origin selection is not yet fully understood. In this review, we summarize recent observations regarding replication origins and initiator proteins in various organisms. These studies suggest that the DNA‐binding specificities of the initiator proteins that bind to the replication origins and promote DNA (...) replication are primarily responsible for origin selection. We particularly focus on the importance of transcription factors in the origin selection process. We propose that transcription factors are general regulators of the formation of functional complexes on the chromosome, including the replication initiation complex. We discuss the possible mechanisms by which transcription factors influence the selection of particular origins. BioEssays 27:1107–1106, 2005. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (shrink)

Summary This paper offers a positive identification of Sahl ibn Bishr's Kitāb al-˒ aḥkām ˓alā ˒n-niṣba al-falakiyya as the Arabic source text for what is perhaps the most characteristic feature of the medieval Perso-Indian style of astrology known as tājika: the sixteen yogas or types of planetary configurations. The dependence of two late sixteenth-century tājika works in Sanskrit – Nīlakaṇṭha's Tājikanīlakaṇṭhī and Gaṇeśa's Tājikabhūṣaṇa – on Sahl, presumably through one or more intermediary texts, is demonstrated by a comparison of the (...) terminology and examples employed; and the Indian reception of Arabic astrology is discussed, including reinterpretations of technical terms occasioned partly by corrupt transmission. (shrink)