The definition of “boycott” attracts controversy in legislation, case law, and dictionaries. The paper questions what the worthy legal definition of “boycott” is. It examines and analyzes various sources on “boycott”. We conclude that the most distinctive characteristic of a “boycott” is omissions, such as refusal to provide services. The antithesis of omission is commission. Omissions signify allowing something to happen, whereas commissions signify causing it to happen. Because boycotts concern omissions, they entail less legislative interference with the boycotter’s right of autonomy. Yet, the autonomy of the boycotters should be restrained when they coerce the boycott’s targets; coerce others into boycotting; or target innocent third parties. We propose to adopt the following definition: a boycott is an intentional refusal to participate in a certain activity as a voluntary statement of disapproval that targets the disapproved-of party. It does not necessarily include coercion. It may be conducted in combination with others or individually. Simply labeling a certain behavior as a “boycott” does not make it one. It is critical to determine whether the protest in question is a boycott.

Error Augmentation training using a robotic interface is thought to promote motor recovery by enhancing proprioceptive feedback, which motivates and challenges patients to optimize their performance during training. Here, we investigated the effectiveness of robotic Error Augmentation training on motor recovery after a stroke, compared to standard robotic training in a null field. Post-stroke patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups: a study group (n=9) that was trained on a 3D robotic system applying Error Augmentation forces, and a control group (n=7) that carried out the same protocol in null field conditions. The robotic rehabilitation intervention was applied in addition to the standard rehabilitation protocol of the rehabilitation center. Error Augmentation training increased clinical scores compared to standard robotic training by 266% on the Motor Assessment Scale, and 88% on the Fugl-Meyer scale. The Motor Assessment Scale scores were significantly correlated with the Fugl-Meyer scores (p=0.03, r=0.541). There were more movement errors on the initial trials of the game sequence using the DeXtreme robotic device with Error Augmentation compared to trials with no force field. This difference vanished however after 10 trials. Error Augmentation training decreased the number of movement units and jerkiness compared to the control treatment. These findings suggest that Error Augmentation training may enhance motor performance possibly through motor adaptation.

Goal: Fast Fourier transform (FFT), has been the main tool for EEG spectral analysis (SPA). As EEG can show nonlinear and non-stationary behavior, FFT may at times be meaningless. A novel method was developed for analyzing nonlinear and non-stationary signals using the Hilbert-Huang transform. Methods: We compared spectral analyses of EEG using FFT with Hilbert marginal spectra (HMS) with a multivariate empirical mode decomposition algorithm. Segments of continuous 60-sec EEGs recorded from 19 leads of 47 healthy volunteers were studied. Results: HMS showed a reduction of the alpha activity (-5.64%), with increments in the beta-1 (+1.67%), and gamma (+1.38%) fast activity bands, an increment in theta (+2.14%), and in delta (+0.45%) bands, and vice versa for the FFT method. For weighted mean frequencies, insignificant mean differences (lower than 1Hz) were observed between both methods for delta, theta, alpha, beta-1 and beta-2 bands, and only for gamma band values. The HMS were 3 Hz higher than the FFT method. Conclusion: HMS may be considered a good alternative for SPA of the EEG when nonlinearity or non-stationarity may be present.