Collaborative healthcare research: Some ethical considerations

This article reviews some of the ethical aspects of collaborative research. Scientific collaboration has known potential benefits but it’s a challenging task to successfully accomplish a collaborative venture on ethically sound grounds. Current trends in international healthcare research collaboration reflect limited benefits for the majority of world population. Research collaboration between scientists of academia and industry usually has financial considerations. Successful cross-cultural and international collaborations have to overcome many regional and global barriers. Despite these difficulties, many scientific collaborations usually begin with an informal meeting or contact. With advancement in global communications, scientists have greater responsibility towards the world community while considering the impact of their collaborative partnerships. I review the basic factors that are required for forging a collaborative partnership and responsible attitudes to sustain the relationship. Finally I conclude that scientists in healthcare research can play important roles beyond collaborations and contribute to bringing harmony, resolving differences across the nations and countries in today’s troubled world.     

Early development program: Collaborative structures and processes

The Early Development Program (EDP) provides and coordinates interdisciplinary mental health and developmental assessment/intervention for children ages zero through 3 years and their families. EDP's interdisciplinary team includes faculty in child and adolescent psychiatry, developmental pediatrics, pediatrics, psychology, developmental psychology, education, nursing, social service, speech and language, and occupational and physical therapy plus trainees in psychiatry, pediatrics, psychology, and education. Children are referred largely by pediatrics; two-thirds are insured by Medicaid and one-third by HMOs and private insurance. Local foundations help support ongoing assessment/intervention. Disruptive behavior is the most frequent referral problem; almost half of those presenting with disruptive behavior also have delays. Using the Diagnostic Classification: 0-3 (DC: 0-3), Disorders of affect, regulatory disorders, traumatic stress disorder, and relationship disorders are most often diagnosed; comorbid diagnoses are common. Family-centered intervention includes family-psychodynamic and interactional approaches and facilitated use and development of community resources. © 1997 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health     

Video games as research tools: The Space Fortress game

From 1983 through 1986, several laboratories investigated the role of practice in skill acquisition in a joint project called theLearning Strategies Program. The principal research tool for this project was a video game calledSpace Fortress. The present article summarizes the major findings obtained with Space Fortress, and examines several problems that arise in choosing a video game for use as a research tool.     

Argus: A suite of tools for research in complex cognition

Argus simulates a radar-like target classification task. It was developed to support research in measuring and modeling cognitive work load. Argus is used in both single-subject and team modes. However, the Argus systemis more than just a simulated task environment. Argus features flexible experimenter control over cognitive work load, as well as extensive data collection and data playback facilities to support the iterative nature of research in complex behaviors. In addition, embodied computational models interact with Argus using the same interface as do human subjects. In this paper, we describe these features, as well as the task simulation. In addition, we describe how the system has been used for experimentation. We conclude with a comparison of Argus with other complex task environments.     

Parental beliefs and practices concerning motor development: Testing new tools

The parental beliefs on motor development (PB-MD) and the motor habits (MOHAB) questionnaires are new instruments measuring parental beliefs, practices, infant MOHAB, and environmental features regarding motor development. Psychometric properties of these questionnaires were tested using data of parents of 268 Dutch and Israeli infants aged 1-to-8-months. Face- and convergent validity of both questionnaires, as well as internal consistency and test–retest reliability of the PB-MD were satisfactory. Exploratory factor analysis revealed five factors in the PB-MD. Altogether, both questionnaires are valid, reliable and culturally sensitive instruments potentially useful for research and clinical practice.     

Implicit cognitive development in cultural tools and children: lessons from Maya Mexico

Zinacantec Maya weaving tools and apprenticeship practices contain an implicit theory of cognitive development that corresponds to Piaget and Inhelder’s explicit theory of cognitive development [The Child’s Conception of Space, London, Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1956]. A set of preoperational and concrete operational spatial problems from the weaving domain provided empirical support for the ethnotheory of cognitive development implicit in Zinacantec weaving tools and their developmental sequencing. A structurally similar set of preoperational and concrete operational spatial problems were adapted from Piaget and Inhelder’s Swiss research. Both sets of problems were presented to children aged 4–13 in Nabenchauk, a Zinacantec hamlet in Chiapas, Mexico, and in Los Angeles, CA, USA. While the sequence of operational development was the same across both domains and both cultures, Zinacantec children were more precocious with the weaving problems, whereas U.S. children were more precocious with the spatial problems adapted from Piaget and Inhelder. After a brief instructional procedure, children in both Nabenchauk and Los Angeles improved on the weaving problems only, within the maturational constraints typical of concrete operational development. Nonetheless, the brief learning experience could not reverse the advantage of long-term cultural familiarity with backstrap-loom weaving. Our conclusions are threefold: (1) An implicit ethnotheory of cognitive development, built into the sequencing of cultural tools, can be as developmentally valid as an explicit formal theory. (2) Culture-general Piagetian stages are harnessed in culture-specific situations. (3) Maturational readiness interacts with both long-term cultural experience and short-term learning experience to actualize concrete operations in a specific context. Cross-context generalization of Piagetian stages is far from automatic; it requires cultural learning.     

Intervention development and cultural adaptation research with diverse families

This article provides an introduction to the special issue on intervention development and cultural adaptation research with diverse families. The need for research on intervention development and on cultural adaptation of interventions is presented, followed by a discussion of frameworks on treatment development. Seven articles included in this special issue serve as examples of the stages of treatment and intervention development, and of the procedures employed in the cultural adaptation with diverse families. An overview of the seven articles is provided to illustrate the treatment development process and the use of pluralistic research methods. We conclude with a call to the field for creative and innovative intervention development research with diverse families to contribute to the body of evidence-based practice with these populations.     

高压氧医学与康复医学的协同发展

随着医学理论与实践的不断创新和发展,中国也正在努力寻求一种具有中国特色的现代医学发展模式.高压氧医学与康复医学都是新兴的边缘交叉性学科,具有广阔的发展潜能和空间;然而,两者在快速发展的同时也突显了一些问题,如:后续动力不足、发展方向不明确等.本文从哲学中联系与发展的角度出发,通过机制探讨及发展趋势的分析,试图寻找两者共同发展的结合点,为推动康复医学与高压氧医学在临床工作中的继续向前发展提供一种借鉴与参考.     

Action planning with two-handed tools

In tool use, the intended external goals have to be transformed into bodily movements by taking into account the target-to-movement mapping implemented by the tool. In bimanual tool use, this mapping may depend on the part of the tool that is operated and the effector used (e.g. the left and right hand at the handle bar moving in opposite directions in order to generate the same bicycle movement). In our study, we investigated whether participants represent the behaviour of the tool or only the effector-specific mapping when using two-handed tools. In three experiments, participants touched target locations with a two-jointed lever, using either the left or the right hand. In one condition, the joint of the lever was constant and switching between hands was associated with switching the target-to-movement-mapping, whereas in another condition, switching between hands was associated with switching the joint, but the target-to-movement-mapping remained constant. Results indicate pronounced costs of switching hands in the condition with constant joint, whereas they were smaller with constant target-to-movement mapping. These results suggest that participants have tool-independent representations of the effector-specific mappings.

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Children's scale errors with tools

Children sometimes make scale errors, attempting to interact with tiny object replicas as though they were full size. Here, we demonstrate that instrumental tools provide special insight into the origins of scale errors and, moreover, into the broader nature of children's purpose-guided reasoning and behavior with objects. In Study 1, 1.5- to 3.5-year-olds made frequent scale errors with tools in a free-play session. Study 2 utilized a novel forced-choice method, representing a stronger test by handing 2-year-olds a feasible alternative for goal achievement, but children continued to make scale errors. Study 3 confirmed that errors were not based in perceptual immaturity. Results are explained using a framework of teleofunctional (purpose-based) reasoning as a powerful and early developing influence on children's actions.     

The Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study: development, aims, design, and sample characteristics

This paper describes the aims, background, design, and methods used in a collaborative longitudinal study of Axis II personality disorders (PDs). This study examines the putative stability of selected PD diagnoses and criteria, what factors affect their course, and whether their stability and course distinguishes them from a representative Axis I disorder. This article also describes the acquisition and demographics of the sample on whom the study is being done. A prospective, repeated measures investigation of the stability of PDs is now underway at multiple clinical settings in four collaborating urban sites in Boston. New Haven, New York, and Providence. Diagnostic assignments are based on semistructured interview assessments (by clinically trained raters) and confirmed by at least one additional contrasting diagnostic method. The sample consists of 668 treatment seeking and reliably diagnosed adults recruited from a broad range of clinical sites. By design, patients in the sample met standards for one of five diagnostic subgroups: (a) schizotypal (N = 86); (b) borderline (N = 175); (c) avoidant (N = 157); (d) obsessive-compulsive (N = 153) personality disorders or a control group having (e) major depressive disorder without personality disorder (N = 97).     

Co-Training: A Collaborative Model

In personal growth groups, collaborative co-training means not only the presence of two or more leaders, but also an interaction between or among the leaders that provides the groups with a model of cooperation and mutual learning. A synergy results that energizes the group. Necessary skills for collaborative co-trainers are flexibility, consensual decision making, the ability to learn from one another, and the ability to develop an intimate communication system. This article describes a collaborative model, the skills needed, the advantages of co-training, and the dimensions of co-trainer selection.     

Career development of special populations: A framework for research

In view of the recent interest in the career behaviors of diverse groups of individuals, this article presents a model for conducting research on the career development of special populations. Available research paradigms are reviewed in terms of their potential impact on such efforts. An alternative framework, designed to make maximum use of available data sources while minimizing potential theoretical bias, is offered. An illustration of research conducted within the recommended framework is presented in which the impact of a variety of career-related variables on the attitudinal and cognitive aspects of vocational maturity is examined from the perspective of two special population groups, disabled and disadvantaged college students. Drawing upon previous research findings, variables under consideration included level of scholastic achievement and endorsement of rational, intuitive, and dependent decision-making styles. Also included were two population-specific variables related to the characteristics of membership in each of the two special groups. The regression analyses conducted to explore the relationships between vocational maturity and these predictor variables indicate, in general, that variance in the attitudinal and cognitive factors of vocational maturity can be at least partially explained by the variables considered. However, the relative contributions of the predictors and the resulting proportions of variance explained differs according to which population and which criterion factor is under examination. These findings are compared with those emerging from previous research, and implications for future efforts are discussed.     

The development of sex typing: Themes from recent research

A conceptual framework for organizing the constructs and content areas included in research on sex typing is presented in this review of recent research on the development of sex typing. Two major themes are discussed. First, sex-typed play activities and interests emerge clearly in the first few years of life. Both play activities and peer preferences are sex typed earlier and more definitely than are personality traits and social behaviors such as aggression or dependency. It is suggested that researchers have underemphasized the importance of interests, activities, and peer associations while overemphasizing personality attributes as the core of sex typing. The second theme is that cognitions and concepts about sex typing are important in the acquisition of gender typing, but they are not sufficient by themselves for understanding the process by which sex-typed behavior is acquired. Children's sex-role concepts are sometimes related to their behavioral preferences, but other factors are also important influences on behavior.     

Measuring individual research productivity: A review and development of the integrated research productivity index

The purpose of the present study was to investigate methods of measuring individual research productivity for counseling psychologists. Using the 60 members of the Journal of Counseling Psychology editorial board, the authors computed a comparison of 6 popular indices of productivity, revealing considerable levels of positive skewness, kurtosis, and overlap with each other. Combining the strengths of the 6 indices, the authors developed a new productivity index entitled the Integrated Research Productivity Index (IRPI). The IRPI measures individual productivity by statistically combining an individual's author-weighted publications, average times cited by other publications, and years since first publication into a comprehensive score. Productivity values and IRPI scores for 3 groups of counseling psychologists (Tyler Award recipients, Kuder Award recipients, and Division 17 Presidents) were computed to provide evidence of discriminant validity among the indices. In contrast to the other measures examined, the IRPI accounts for productivity per year and years in the field and assesses mean citation count per article as opposed to total citation count, thus yielding similar scores for Tyler (lifetime) and Kuder (early career) research award recipients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).     

Evaluating participatory research supported by the international development research centre

An analysis of IDRC’s experience with participatory research (PR) identifies 145 projects with significant PR content that were supported over the past twenty-five years. An eight-part classification is devised, a scheme which can be applied to contemporary as well as historical projects. A detailed examination of twenty-five projects is used to develop a new framework for assessing PR. This framework involves eight general and thirty specific factors that can influence levels of success. The IDRC projects reveal that PR is changing significantly, that it can be a highly effective approach to achieving sustainable results, and that it requires special forms of planning, training, and evaluation if that success is to be realized.     

Assessment of applied research and development: Diversification for science policy

In this paper a method is outlined for measuring the diversity of the results of applied R&D with the use of IPC (International Patent Classification). The method has been tested in the contexts of the academic physical, engineering, and chemical institutes. The trend of applied research at a given institute increases both at the level of classes and subclasses, and at the IPC level. Inventions developed within specializations at each institute have a greater efficiency than other forms of inventive activity. The objective was to seek the optimal extent of diversification of applied R&D, which would simultaneously ensure the preservation of the scientific specialization of an institute, the high level of scientific research associated with developing innovations, and the high overall efficiency of each institute.     

Cross-cultural research on spatial concept development

I will first review cross-cultural research in the area of culture and cognition, with particular focus on the development of spatial concepts. I propose that the formulation best covering all empirical data is in terms of «cognitive style», i.e., spatial cognitive processes are universally available to all humans, but there are preferences for some spatial frames of reference over others. These cultural differences are under the influence of a number of eco-cultural variables. The second part will illustrate this general conclusion by research on the development of the «geocentric» frame of spatial reference, initially studied by Levinson (Space in language and cognition: explorations in cognitive diversity, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2003). This is a cognitive style in which individuals choose to describe and represent small-scale tabletop space in terms of large-scale geographic dimensions. In Indonesia, India, Nepal and Switzerland, we explore the development with age of geocentric language as well as geocentric cognition, and the relationships between the two, as well as the environmental and socio-cultural variables that favor the use of this frame (Dasen and Mishra, Development of geocentric spatial language and cognition, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2010).