Why the gap? Practice and policy in civil commitment hearings.

The failure of civil commitment procedures to meet statutory requirements is one of the more reliable findings in the applied social sciences. Most states now require specific legal procedures and behavioral standards for involuntary hospitalization. Nonetheless, empirical studies have demonstrated that commitment hearings are rarely adversarial and clinical concerns continue to take precedence over legal issues. These findings are analyzed in the context of three related issues: the grounds for commitment that are used in civil commitment hearings, the particular difficulties of recommitment hearings, and the shortcomings of the national policy of deinstitutionalization. The authors conclude that a primary cause of the gap between legal standards and actual practice is the absence of viable, less restrictive alternatives to inpatient treatment.     

Comparative analysis of the risk-handling procedures for gene technology applications in medical and plant science

In this paper we analyse how the risks associated with research on transgenic plants are regulated in Sweden. The paper outlines the way in which pilot projects in the plant sciences are overseen in Sweden, and discusses the international and national background to the current regulatory system. The historical, and hitherto unexplored, reasons for the evolution of current administrative and legislative procedures in plant science are of particular interest. Specifically, we discuss similarities and differences in the regulation of medicine and plant science, and we examine the tendency towards dichotomizing risk — focusing on social/ethical risks in medicine and biological risks in plant science. The context of this article is the Synpraxia research project, an inter-disciplinary program combining expertise in sciences and the humanities.     

An overview of applied robust methods

Data in social sciences are typically non-normally distributed and characterized by heavy tails. However, most widely used methods in social sciences are still based on the analyses of sample means and sample covariances. While these conventional methods continue to be used to address new substantive issues, conclusions reached can be inaccurate or misleading. Although there is no ‘best method’ in practice, robust methods that consider the distribution of the data can perform substantially better than the conventional methods. This article gives an overview of robust procedures, emphasizing a few that have been repeatedly shown to work well for models that are widely used in social and behavioural sciences. Real data examples show how to use the robust methods for latent variable models and for moderated mediation analysis when a regression model contains categorical covariates and product terms. Results and logical analyses indicate that robust methods yield more efficient parameter estimates, more reliable model evaluation, more reliable model/data diagnostics, and more trustworthy conclusions when conducting replication studies. R and SAS programs are provided for routine applications of the recommended robust method.     

多水平随机中介效应估计及其比较

本文在综述各类多水平中介模型的基础上, 聚焦于自变量、中介变量、因变量都来自多水平结构中较低水平的多水平随机中介效应模型, 通过蒙特卡洛模拟研究比较该模型与简化的多水平固定中介效应模型、传统中介效应模型的差别, 并考察了目前用于多水平随机中介效应的三种参数估计方法：限制性极大似然、极大似然、最小方差二次无偏估计在不同情况下对随机中介效应估计的优劣。研究结果显示：当数据符合多水平随机中介效应模型时, 使用简化模型将错误估计中介效应及其标准误, 得到不正确的统计检验结果; 使用多水平随机中介效应模型能够实现对中介效应的正确估计和检验, 其中限制性极大似然或极大似然估计方法优于最小方差二次无偏估计方法。     

Just because you're imaging the brain doesn't mean you can stop using your head: a primer and set of first principles

Developments within the neurosciences, cognitive sciences, and social sciences have contributed to the emergence of social neuroscience. Among the most obvious contemporary developments are brain-imaging procedures such as functional magnetic resonance imaging. The authors outline a set of first principles designed to help make sense of brain-imaging research within the fields of cognitive and social neuroscience. They begin with a principle few would debate--that social cognition, emotion, and behavior involve the brain--but whose implications might not be entirely obvious to those new to the field. The authors conclude that (a). complex aspects of the mind and behavior will benefit from yet a broader collaboration of neuroscientists, cognitive scientists, and social scientists, and (b). social psychologists bring important theoretical, methodological, and statistical expertise to this interdisciplinary enterprise.     

Pairwise multiple comparisons: A model comparison approach versus stepwise procedures

Researchers in the behavioural sciences have been presented with a host of pairwise multiple comparison procedures that attempt to obtain an optimal combination of Type I error control, power, and ease of application. However, these procedures share one important limitation: intransitive decisions. Moreover, they can be characterized as a piecemeal approach to the problem rather than a holistic approach. Dayton has recently proposed a new approach to pairwise multiple comparisons testing that eliminates intransitivity through a model selection procedure. The present study compared the model selection approach (and a protected version) with three powerful and easy‐to‐use stepwise multiple comparison procedures in terms of the proportion of times that the procedure identified the true pattern of differences among a set of means across several one‐way layouts. The protected version of the model selection approach selected the true model a significantly greater proportion of times than the stepwise procedures and, in most cases, was not affected by variance heterogeneity and non‐normality.     

Career Experiences and Scientific Performance: A Study of Social,Physical, Life,and Health Sciences

The experiences people have over the course of their careers are commonly held to contribute to creative achievement. In this study, an attempt was made to identify the career events contributing to creative achievement in the sciences. Prior theoretical and empirical work was used to identify relevant career events in the areas of education, domain exposure, mentoring, adversity, work procedures, collaboration, laboratory leadership, and organizational influences. Obituaries were obtained for 499 scientists working in multiple fields in the social, physical, life, and health sciences and were used to assess whether these events were evident in scientists' careers. Comparisons of high achieving and low achieving scientists with regard to these events indicated that multiple events lying in each of these general areas contributed to career achievement. The nature of the events yielding significant differences were discussed regarding their implications for the development of creative potential in scientific fields.     

A Comparison of Heuristic Procedures for Minimum Within-Cluster Sums of Squares Partitioning

Perhaps the most common criterion for partitioning a data set is the minimization of the within-cluster sums of squared deviation from cluster centroids. Although optimal solution procedures for within-cluster sums of squares (WCSS) partitioning are computationally feasible for small data sets, heuristic procedures are required for most practical applications in the behavioral sciences. We compared the performances of nine prominent heuristic procedures for WCSS partitioning across 324 simulated data sets representative of a broad spectrum of test conditions. Performance comparisons focused on both percentage deviation from the “best-found” WCSS values, as well as recovery of true cluster structure. A real-coded genetic algorithm and variable neighborhood search heuristic were the most effective methods; however, a straightforward two-stage heuristic algorithm, HK-means, also yielded exceptional performance. A follow-up experiment using 13 empirical data sets from the clustering literature generally supported the results of the experiment using simulated data. Our findings have important implications for behavioral science researchers, whose theoretical conclusions could be adversely affected by poor algorithmic performances.     

The relations between neuroscience and human behavioral science.

Neuroscience seeks to understand how the human brain, perhaps the most complex electrochemical machine in the universe, works, in terms of molecules, membranes, cells and cell assemblies, development, plasticity, learning, memory, cognition, and behavior. The human behavioral sciences, in particular psychiatry and clinical psychology, deal with disorders of human behavior and mentation. The gap between neuroscience and the human behavioral sciences is still large. However, some major advances in neuroscience over the last two decades have diminished the span. This article reviews the major advances of neuroscience in six areas with relevance to the behavioral sciences: (a) evolution of the nervous system; (b) visualizing activity in the human brain; (c) plasticity of the cerebral cortex; (d) receptors, ion channels, and second/third messengers; (e) molecular genetic approaches; and (f) understanding integrative systems with networks and circadian clocks as examples.     

A meta-analysis and conceptual critique of research on role ambiguity and role conflict in work settings

Although role ambiguity and role conflict have been studied extensively in the organizational sciences, there remain numerous empirical discrepancies among the reported research results. Consequently, disagreement exists as to what can be concluded about the role ambiguity and role conflict research. Coupled with this empirical impasse has been a persistent and relatively singular approach to conceptually studying role ambiguity and role conflict. In response to this empirical and conceptual situation, a meta-analysis and a conceptual reevaluation of the role ambiguity and role conflict research were performed. Using the Hunter, Schmidt, and Jackson (1982, Meta-analysis: Cumulating research findings across studies, Beverly Hills, CA: Sage) meta-analysis procedures, this study analyzed 29 correlates of role ambiguity and role conflict. These correlates include ten organizational context variables, five individual characteristics, ten affective reactions, and four behavioral reactions. Meta-analysis procedures were used to measure the strength and consistency of the relationship found between each of the 29 correlates and role ambiguity and role conflict. Meta-analysis was also used to determine where moderator variables should play a critical part in future role ambiguity and role conflict research. Based on the results of the meta-analysis, several empirical summaries and conclusions are presented. Along with these, several conceptual observations and reconceptualizing suggestions are offered. It is concluded that while a great deal is known about role ambiguity and role conflict in the organizational sciences much remains to be learned.     

Computerized hypertextual strategy and personal construction of meaning

The aim of this study is to provide information about the effects of strategic training in the area of social sciences (1) on the real level, as well as perceived competence in terms of the students' skills to select, organise and produce information; and (2) on their attitude and motivation towards working in this area of the curriculum. 107 students took part in this study, 57 of whom were the control group and 50 the experimental one. They were all enrolled in the third year of secondary school (9th year). The teachers and students who took part in this experience followed an on-line course to manage the strategy for approximately three months. Subsequently, the teacher introduced the tool in class, applying it both from a conceptual and a procedural point of view. The results show that the strategic training implemented in this study greatly improved written understanding procedures (both literal and inferential), increased perceived competence to manage internal information (selection, organization, and elaboration), and generated positive changes in terms of students' attitude and motivation towards working in the area of social sciences.     

Duhem and cartwright on the truth of laws

Nancy Cartwright has drawn attention to how explanations are actually given in mathematical sciences. She argues that these procedures support an antirealist thesis that fundamental explanatory laws are not true. Moreover, she claims to be be essentially following Duhem's line of thought in developing this thesis. Without wishing to detract from the importance of her observations, it is suggested that they do not necessarily require the antirealist thesis. The antirealist interpretation of Duhem is also disputed. It is argued that Duhemian points, often understood antirealistically, bear a realist construal, and that antirealist interpretations of Duhem typically run into problems of consistency or of reducing his position to absurdity.     

Ethical Decision Making and Research Deception in the Behavioral Sciences: An Application of Social Contract Theory

Despite significant ethical advances in recent years, including professional developments in ethical review and codification, research deception continues to be a pervasive practice and contentious focus of debate in the behavioral sciences. Given the disciplines' generally stated ethical standards regarding the use of deceptive procedures, researchers have little practical guidance as to their ethical acceptability in specific research contexts. We use social contract theory to identify the conditions under which deception may or may not be morally permissible and formulate practical recommendations to guide researchers on the ethical employment of deception in behavioral science research.     

老年术后认知功能障碍研究进展及思考

术后认知功能障碍（postoperative cognitive dysfunction,POCD）是临床上老年患者术后常见的并发症,主要表现为精神活动、人格、记忆力和社交活动以及认知能力的异常,渐渐为患者和医学工作者所重视,但其病因和发病机制尚不清楚。运用哲学的基本原理,掌握科学的方法论和辩证思维方法,有助于正确分析POCD的相关病因及其发病机制,从而更好定指导临床工作。     

DNA双螺旋结构模型与生物医学的发展

DNA双螺旋模型的建立大大推进了生物医学的研究,基因工程技术的诞生和临床医学的发展,已经成为生命科学发展史中的一个里程碑,     

Putting the mind back into the body a successor scientific medical model

This paper examines today's received scientific medical model with respect to its ability to satisfy two conditions: (1) its explanatory adequacy relative to the full range of findings in the medical literature, including those indicating a correlation between psychosocial variables and disease susceptibility; and (2) the fit between its physicalist patient and disease concepts and what today's basic sciences, so-called sciences of complexity, tell us about the way matter, notably complex systems (e.g. patients), behave and the nature of scientific explanation. I conclude that the received (biomedical) model falls short on both counts and to satisfy these conditions is to articulate a formal successor model. This successor must be guided by premises consistent with the findings and methods of today's basic sciences on which an applied science like medicine depends for its validity. Additionally, the successor model must be able to explain (and predict) the full range of clinical findings, both those that its predecessors explains and at least some of those that it does not. The aim of the paper is to identify such a model.     

The Rorschach and MMPI: toward a more scientifically differentiated understanding of cross-method assessment

Reasons for Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and Rorschach disagreement at the nomothetic level are explored. Building on an understanding of measurement distinctions from other sciences, it is proposed that the Rorschach and MMPI procedures are differentially sensitive to unique manifestations of personality. By necessity, each method is then also recognized as having a limited scope of effectiveness, such that neither can provide a complete picture of personality in its full complexity. Drawing on the more extensive self-report literature, the idiosyncracies and limited scope of the self-report method are documented. Finally, an ideographically rooted, cross-method, configural model is proposed for validation research in personality assessment. Several examples consistent with this approach are drawn from the assessment literature and discussed.     

The Rorschach and MMPI: Toward a More Scientifically Differentiated Understanding of Cross-Method Assessment

Reasons for Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and Rorschach disagreement at the nomothetic level are explored. Building on an understanding of measurement distinctions from other sciences, it is proposed that the Rorschach and MMPI procedures are differentially sensitive to unique manifestations of personality. By necessity, each method is then also recognized as having a limited scope of effectiveness, such that neither can provide a complete picture of personality in its full complexity. Drawing on the more extensive self-report literature, the idiosyncracies and limited scope of the self-report method are documented. Finally, an ideographically rooted, cross-method, configural model is proposed for validation research in personality assessment. Several examples consistent with this approach are drawn from the assessment literature and discussed.     

„Krise der Medizin“ – Modelle der Reform

In the 1920s and early 1930s there was a heated debate about the importance of the natural sciences for medicine. Prominent physicians, such as Ferdinand Sauerbruch and Wilhelm His in Germany or Richard Cabot and Charles-Edward Amory Winslow in the USA criticized clinical practices, medical education and research for placing too much focus on the natural sciences and the somatic correlates of human disease and for neglecting the psychological and social dimensions. In spite of a similar diagnosis of the problem, the consequences drawn differed considerably between the German and US contexts: in Germany first steps towards the institutionalization of the new field of psychotherapy and psychosomatic medicine and, in parallel, a consolidation of previously existing approaches of complementary medicine were developed, whereas in the USA the discussions led to the introduction and strengthening of social sciences in medicine, particularly in the field of public health. This article reconstructs the historical debate as well as the proposed models of reform and discusses potential implications for present-day medicine.