Selecting a new technology strategy using multiattribute,multilevel decision trees

Research indicates that selecting a strategy to best exploit a new technology is a complex decision-making process. The task involves making a series of decisions with multiple alternatives, each to be evaluated by multiple criteria whose values have high levels of uncertainty. This paper presents a methodology for modelling a new technology decision using decision trees and an optimizing algorithm. A problem of a mining company considering the adoption of new technology is used to illustrate the decision-making task and modelling methodology. A numerical solution to the case demonstrates the potential of the optimizing technique in strategy selection.     

Sex and genes,part 2: A biopsychosocial approach to assess and treat challenging sexual behavior in persons with intellectual disabilities including fragile X syndrome and 22q11.2 deletion syndrome

Individuals with intellectual disabilities (IDs) – and specifically those with genetic disorders – are more prone to medical and psychological challenges that affect their sexual development, experiences, and fertility. In this review paper we first provide an overview of the biopsychosocial (BPS) model and then explain how the model can guide and improve the assessment and treatment of challenging sexual behaviors by persons with IDs. We discuss two genetic conditions – fragile X syndrome and 22q11.2 deletion syndrome – in case studies, showing how the BPS model can be used to assess and treat the sexual problems of individuals with various types of ID. We conclude with BPS-formulated treatment considerations in three key domains: biomedical treatment (e.g., medication side effects; stopping or changing medications), psychological treatment (e.g., providing psychological therapies), and socio-environmental interventions (e.g., providing socio-sexual education and staff training). Together, these treatment interventions can aid clinicians to prevent and/or treat problematic sexual behaviors of people with IDs.     

Assessment of Executive Functions after Treatment of Childhood Acute Lymphoid Leukemia: a Systematic Review

Neuropsychology Review - Individuals treated for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have a high survival rate. This fact, however, may lead to neurocognitive impairments in survivors, as...     

Identification of a reinforcement pathway necessary for operant conditioning of head waving in Aplysia californica

The marine mollusc Aplysia californica exhibits a wide range of nonassociative and associative forms of learning. Recently, we found that the learning repertoire of Aplysia includes operant conditioning (Cook & Carew, 1986, 1989b). The behavior we examined is a naturally occurring, side-to-side head-waving response used by Aplysia in seeking food, obtaining a foothold, and egg laying. Aplysia can be operantly conditioned to reduce head-waving to one side of their body if such a response results in exposure to bright uniform-field illumination, which the animals find aversive. An essential step toward achieving a mechanistic understanding of operant conditioning is to identify and characterize the reinforcement pathway used during the learning. Toward this end, we wished to determine which of the peripheral visual pathways in Aplysia are critical for performance of the operant task. Previous experiments indicated that photic input from the optic and rhinophore nerves functionally inhibited motor neurons that participate in the operant response (head-waving), while photic input from the oral veil nerves excited these same motor neurons (Cook & Carew, 1989c). These findings suggested the hypothesis that one or both of these pathways could play an important role in mediating reinforcement during training. To explore this possibility we operantly trained animals that had received chronic bilateral transections of either the optic and rhinophore nerves or the oral veil nerves C1-C3 (in conjunction with transection of the optic and rhinophore nerves). We found that operant conditioning was not disrupted by ablation of input from the eyes and rhinophores. By contrast, ablation of input from the oral veil (together with that from the eyes and rhinophores) abolished operant conditioning. Thus, the oral veil nerves play a critical modulatory role in operant conditioning of head-waving. This observation further suggested that photic input from the oral veil is conveyed to the CNS via the oral veil nerves. In a final experiment we confirmed that stimulation of the oral veil with light evokes increased afferent activity in the oral veil nerves C1-C2. These results support the idea that the oral veil nerves contain processes that are critical components of the reinforcement pathway for operant conditioning of head-waving.     

An examination of the effectiveness of multiple summary scoring procedures of the BNBAS in detecting group differences

The Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale is the most widely used and accepted tool in the study of the behavior of the human newborn; yet there remains some controversy over the most appropriate way to score the results. The present research compares three a priori methods of scoring. The sample consisted of 43 infants: (a) 11 preterms, (b) 10 fullterms in intensive care, (c) 7 fullterms with sick mothers, and (d) 15 healthy fullterms. BNBAS exams administered to these four groups of infants were scored using the Als (1978), Lester, Als, and Brazelton (1982), and Jacobsen, Fein, Jacobsen, and Schwartz (1984) clusters. The data from these three methods were analyzed by means of one-way ANOVAs for group differences. In addition, a factor analysis on the BNBAS scores was also completed. These three approaches all detected differences between medically at-risk and healthy infants on those items assessing motor maturity and orientation. These results suggest that at this time no one scoring system can capture the richness of behavior of the newborn and address the question by researchers, clinicians, and parents.     

Effects of short-term interaction coaching with mothers of preterm infants

This study examined the effects of eight 40-minute interaction coaching sessions on the mother-infant interaction patterns of mother-preterm infant dyads. Thirty-five preterm infants and their mothers were matched for sex and then were assigned randomly to a treatment and a no-treatment control group. Behavior counts and ratings of maternal and infant interactive behavior (Interaction Rating Scale; Field, 1980) were obtained from naturalistic home observations, precoaching, postcoaching, and at a 2-month follow-up. It was hypothesized that coaching, which was intended to facilitate more sensitive responding by mothers, would positively influence mother-infant interaction and mothers' knowledge of infant development. The only marginally significant difference between the groups that emerged over time was in knowledge of infant development, in which the treatment group surpassed the control group.     

Collisions, logrolls, and psychological science

Relationships among science, public policy, and the media have long been a topic of controversy. A discussion of this controversy serves to place views on the Rind et al. affair in a broader context and set the stage for constructing more effective working relationships between scientists and both policy and media experts. To advance these relationships, the author offers several recommendations that emphasize ongoing institutional activities and encourage collaboration with other professional organizations.     

The moderating roles of personal and social resources on the relationship between dual expectations (for instrumentality and expressiveness) and well-being

The authors examined the roles of self-esteem and perceived social support in moderating the relationship between dual social expectations (instrumentality and expressivity) and well-being. Participants were 166 female and 87 male students in an urban community in the midwestern United States. After the authors controlled for the main effects of instrumental and expressive expectations, social support, as predicted, moderated the relationship between dual expectations and well-being: With higher levels of social support, higher levels of dual expectations were associated with higher levels of well-being; with lower levels of social support, higher levels of dual expectations were associated with lower levels of well-being. Contrary to predictions, however, self-esteem did not moderate the relation between dual expectations and well-being. The discussion focuses on the importance of social resources in enhancing the potential benefits of dual expectations in interpersonal contexts.