Making risks visible: Identifying and interpreting threats to airline flight safety

This research investigated how new or previously unrecognized risks are identified in organizations by risk managers. Managing risk is an increasingly important and widespread task in modern organizations, and the initial identification of risks is one of the key challenges of risk management. However, the psychological processes through which risks are initially identified and interpreted in organizations remain unclear. This paper presents a qualitative study of airline flight safety investigators. The interpretive processes, knowledge, and assumptions underlying risk identification in this setting were examined. The findings suggest that risks were initially identified through an interpretive process of finding gaps or inadequacies in investigators' current knowledge. Investigators engaged in interpretive processes that aimed to construct small moments of doubt, where current knowledge was found to be questionable or suspect in some way. These interpretive processes were underpinned by assumptions that organizational knowledge was inherently limited, partial, and fallible. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to theories of organizational sensemaking, decision‐making, and expertise, and practices of risk management.     

A question of intention in motor imagery

We examined the question—is the intention of completing a simulated motor action the same as the intention used in processing overt actions? Participants used motor imagery to estimate distance reachability in two conditions: Imagery-Only (IO) and Imagery-Execution (IE). With IO (red target) only a verbal estimate using imagery was given. With IE (green target) participants knew that they would actually reach after giving a verbal estimate and be judged on accuracy. After measuring actual maximum reach, used for the comparison, imagery targets were randomly presented across peripersonal- (within reach) and extrapersonal (beyond reach) space. Results indicated no difference in overall accuracy by condition, however, there was a significant distinction by space; participants were more accurate in peripersonal space. Although more research is needed, these findings support an increasing body of evidence suggesting that the neurocognitive processes (in this case, intention) driving motor imagery and overt actions are similar.     

Phallometric assessment of rapists: A critical review of the research

There is disagreement in the literature as to utility of phallometry with rapists. The present article attempts to shed light on the basis for these contradictory conclusions. First, the theoretical rationale for assessing sexual interest via phallometry is discussed. Second, all the recent (i.e., since 1994) studies that have used phallometric assessment to measure sexual arousal in convicted rapists or self-identified sexual aggressors are individually reviewed and critiqued. Following critiques of individual studies, strengths and weaknesses of the literature are listed and overall conclusions are drawn. Lastly, needed improvements and directions for future research as to sexual preferences of rapists are discussed.     

Die Yamamoto-Neue-Schädelakupunktur (YNSA)

YNSA oder Yamamoto-Neue-Sch?delakupunktur wurde von dem japanischen Chirurgen, Geburtshelfer und An?sthesisten Dr. Toshikatsu Yamamoto in den 70er Jahren entwickelt. Gearbeitet wird mit Somatotopen, die sich im Wesentlichen an der Stirn, an der Schl?fe und am Hinterkopf befinden. Seit den 90er Jahren sind auch an anderen Regionen des K?rpers Somatotope hinzugekommen. YNSA wird in der Regel von ?rzten als erg?nzende Therapiemethode zur K?rperakupunktur oder als alleinige Therapiema?nahme angewendet. ?rzte nutzen YNSA in der Praxis besonders zur Behandlung von chronischen Schmerzen und neurologischen Erkrankungen – hier vor allem bei Schlaganfallpatienten in der Rehabilitation. Therapeuten k?nnen YNSA auch mit anderen komplement?rmedizinischen Verfahren kombinieren.     

A guideline for integrating dynamic areas of interests in existing set-up for capturing eye movement: Looking at moving aircraft

Today, capturing the behavior of a human eye is considered a standard method for measuring the information-gathering process and thereby gaining insights into cognitive processes. Due to the dynamic character of most task environments there is still a lack of a structured and automated approach for analyzing eye movement in combination with moving objects. In this article, we present a guideline for advanced gaze analysis, called IGDAI (Integration Guideline for Dynamic Areas of Interest). The application of IGDAI allows gathering dynamic areas of interest and simplifies its combination with eye movement. The first step of IGDAI defines the basic requirements for the experimental setup including the embedding of an eye tracker. The second step covers the issue of storing the information of task environments for the dynamic AOI analysis. Implementation examples in XML are presented fulfilling the requirements for most dynamic task environments. The last step includes algorithms to combine the captured eye movement and the dynamic areas of interest. A verification study was conducted, presenting an air traffic controller environment to participants. The participants had to distinguish between different types of dynamic objects. The results show that in comparison to static areas of interest, IGDAI allows a faster and more detailed view on the distribution of eye movement.     

The clinical utility of Piagetian-based scales of infant development

The clinical utility of assessment scales based on Jean Piaget's theory of infant development is described. A clinical process is presented which permits one to determine (a) whether a child is showing delayed or non-delayed sensorimotor performance, (b) whether a child is showing normal or atypical patterns of sensorimotor development, (c) the extent to which deviations in a child's patterns of development are present, (d) the exact nature of such deviations, if any, and (e) what types of interventions are most appropriate for enhancing a child's acquisition of sensorimotor competencies. Four examples of the application of the clinical process are presented.     

Cesarean childbirth in sweden: Effects on the mother and father-infant relationship

The effects of Cesarean delivery on father-infant and mother-infant interaction were studied in a sample of 30 Swedish, two-parent families with a full-term healthy first-born infant. Fifteen infants were delivered vaginally, and 15 infants were delivered under full anesthesia by Cesarean section. The infants and parents were observed at home when the infants were 3 and 8 months old. The findings indicate that mothers of infants delivered by Cesarean section reacted less positively when they saw their infants for the first time and encountered more difficulties breastfeeding than did mothers of vaginally delivered infants. At 3 months post-partum, fathers of infants who were Cesarean-delivered participated in a greater amount of caregiving activities. There were no differences between Cesarean and vaginally delivered mothers at 3 months after delivery. At 8 months, there were no differences between the two groups (Cesarean and vaginal) on either the interview questions or on-any of the behavioral measures. Results from this study do not support reports from the USA of long-lasting effects of Cesarean delivery on parent-infant interaction. The results suggest the need to study cultural variations that surround Cesarean section delivery so as to understand in what way the subsequent parent-infant relationship is influenced by this event.     

A social systems perspective of adolescent pregnancy: Determinants of parent and parent-child behavior

Social systems theory was used as a framework for examining the relationships among demographic characteristics (age, education level, marital status, social class, income), intrapersonal beliefs (self-esteem, locus-of-control, and parent attitudes), social support, and pregnancy, birth-related, and postpartum outcomes. The subjects were 21 teenage mothers who participated in a model-demonstration program designed to provide and mediate support that would decrease stress and foster positive functioning during and after their pregnancies. The findings showed that social support, social class, and locus-of-control were related significantly to the subjects' personal well-being and family climate during the course of their pregnancies. Education level, social class, and social support significantly predicted both birth-related and postpartum outcomes. Participation in the demonstration project had positive influences on self-esteem, locus-of-control, and caregiver styles of interaction. The results are discussed in terms of the need for a broader-based, social systems perspective of the factors that influence positive outcomes among pregnant teenagers.     

A Comparison of Modern and Popular Approaches to Calculating Reliability for Dichotomously Scored Items

Recent work on reliability coefficients has largely focused on continuous items, including critiques of Cronbach’s alpha. Although two new model-based reliability coefficients have been proposed for dichotomous items (Dimitrov, 2003a,b; Green & Yang, 2009a), these approaches have yet to be compared to each other or other popular estimates of reliability such as omega, alpha, and the greatest lower bound. We seek computational improvements to one of these model-based reliability coefficients and, in addition, conduct initial Monte Carlo simulations to compare coefficients using dichotomous data. Our results suggest that such improvements to the model-based approach are warranted, while model-based approaches were generally superior.