Uncovering Substantive Patterns in Student Responses in International Large-Scale Assessments—Comparing a Latent Class to a Manifest DIF Approach

In this study, we contrast results from two differential item functioning (DIF) approaches (manifest and latent class) by the number of items and sources of items identified as DIF using data from an international reading assessment. The latter approach yielded three latent classes, presenting evidence of heterogeneity in examinee response patterns. It also yielded more DIF items with larger effect sizes and more consistent item response patterns by substantive aspects (e.g., reading comprehension processes and cognitive complexity of items). Based on our findings, we suggest empirically evaluating the homogeneity assumption in international assessments because international populations cannot be assumed to have homogeneous item response patterns. Otherwise, differences in response patterns within these populations may be under-detected when conducting manifest DIF analyses. Detecting differences in item responses across international examinee populations has implications on the generalizability and meaningfulness of DIF findings as they apply to heterogeneous examinee subgroups.     

The Ethics of Pharma–Physician Relations in Pakistan: “When in Rome”

This article investigates the pervasive influence of the pharmaceutical industry in Pakistan and primarily the attitudes of the medical community toward such interactions. We used an inductive approach informed by grounded theory principles to analyze interviews and focus groups with consultants, residents, medical students, and a pharmaceutical industry representative in Karachi and Lahore (n = 27), and participant-observation data from two biomedical conferences. Data were then analyzed through a deontological and teleological ethical theoretical framework. Findings highlight the reasons leading to the continuation of norms including weak regulations, physicians’ expectations of receiving favors, and limited exposure to bioethics education. Recommendations for practice, policy, and research are discussed.     

Performance of Faller and Nonfaller Older Adults on a Motor–Motor Interference Task

Typically, falls in older adults occur when 2 tasks are performed simultaneously, due to the increased motor demand required to maintain stability and attention to perform the other task. The authors' purpose was to investigate walking while grasping, transporting, and placing a dowel on a predetermined target while manipulating difficulty levels of the manual task. Faller and nonfaller older adults performed a walking block (manual tasks combined with gait) and a stationary block (upright stance combined with manual tasks). The manual task involved grasping, transporting, and placing the dowel over a target. The results showed that fallers underperformed when compared with nonfallers in the task of placing the dowel over the target. The main difference observed between the groups was found in the condition that required allocation of attention between tasks and greater accuracy in the final placement of the object. Fallers showed gait stability similar to the nonfallers, but fallers were less accurate than nonfallers in the object placement task, especially for the highest level of difficulty. Thus, fallers seem to use a stability-first strategy. Fallers had problems in executing the manual tasks, which suggests a more global change in motor behavior rather than specific changes to balance control.     

Spiritist Hospital Chaplaincy in Brazil: 5 Years of Documented Experience

Spiritist Hospital Chaplaincy in Brazil has been growing significantly in recent years, with the implementation of new services through the work of Spiritist Medical Associations (SMAs) in different regions of the country. This article describes the importance of historical interconnections from the advent of spiritism in the world and its introduction in Brazil to the emergence of Spiritist Hospital Chaplaincy in our country and presents the documented experience over 5 years of spiritist chaplain care, in the period from 2012 to 2016, guided by the SMA of Piracicaba at the Unimed Hospital of Piracicaba (São Paulo). We documented 41,914 visits to 13,983 inpatients and an analysis of these records allowed us to reflect on the importance of this service and confirm its expansion and acceptance by different contemporary religious beliefs.     

Reproductive Decision Support: Preferences and Needs of Couples at Risk for Hereditary Cancer and Clinical Geneticists

For couples at high risk of transmitting a cancer predisposition to offspring, reproductive decision-making can be challenging. As the choice between available reproductive options is preference-sensitive, the use of a decision aid can support these couples in their decisional process. The present study aims to investigate preferences and needs of involved stakeholders regarding the development and implementation of a patient decision aid. Semi-structured interviews assessing the needs and preferences regarding the content and functionalities of a decision support program were conducted among seven couples at risk for hereditary cancer and among eight clinical geneticists involved in oncogenetic counseling. Many similarities were found between the expressed preferences and needs of both stakeholder groups concerning the content, barriers and facilitating factors regarding the use of the decision aid, and its implementation. Emphasis was placed on the use of simple non-medical language, an extensive explanation of the procedures and techniques used in prenatal diagnosis (PND) and preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), and the role of health care providers to refer couples to the decision aid. Both stakeholder groups were in favor of incorporating narrative stories in the decision aid. Integrating the present findings with knowledge on reproductive decisional motives and considerations is essential in guiding the development of a decision aid that corresponds to the preferences and needs of end-users. Trial registration: NTR5467     

Family Exploration: The Contribution of Stability and Change Processes

Building upon the redefinition of exploration as a family process, this study analyses how the processes of family stability and change may favour exploration by members of multiple family relational contexts. Sixty non-clinical family triads (mother, father, child) participated in an experimental observational study and were video-recorded while playing in different interactive configurations. The children (37 females and 23 males) were 4–5 years old (M?=?55 months). The mothers’ ages ranged from 29 to 45 (M?=?38) and the fathers’ ages ranged from 29 to 46 (M?=?39). All the parents were employed and were living together. All participants were Caucasians of Italian nationality. Using the Triadic Interactions Analytical Procedure (TIAP), the family morphostatic processes and the family morphogenetic processes were analysed in relation to the family members’ exploration. Data analyses showed that family stability continual construction (morphostasis) and family change (morphogenesis) involve different interactive and relational dynamics (χ²(8)?=?13.84, p?>?.05; CFI?=?.97, TLI?=?.94, SRMR?=?.06), even if they are intertwined processes (p?<?.001). Both morphostatic and morphogenetic processes were correlated to the level of exploration showed by family members (respectively r?=?.32, p?<?.05, and r?=?.59, p?<?.001), even if the morphogenetic processes had a stronger relation with family exploration (z?=?1.85, p _one-tailed ?<?.05).     

De l’opportunité d’une nouvelle loi sur la fin de vie ?

This paper deals with the end of life issue. It advocates for putting the legislation about end of life a part from bioethics laws and addresses some legal problems.     

Bayesian inference for psychology. Part II: Example applications with JASP

Bayesian hypothesis testing presents an attractive alternative to p value hypothesis testing. Part I of this series outlined several advantages of Bayesian hypothesis testing, including the ability to quantify evidence and the ability to monitor and update this evidence as data come in, without the need to know the intention with which the data were collected. Despite these and other practical advantages, Bayesian hypothesis tests are still reported relatively rarely. An important impediment to the widespread adoption of Bayesian tests is arguably the lack of user-friendly software for the run-of-the-mill statistical problems that confront psychologists for the analysis of almost every experiment: the t-test, ANOVA, correlation, regression, and contingency tables. In Part II of this series we introduce JASP (http://www.jasp-stats.org), an open-source, cross-platform, user-friendly graphical software package that allows users to carry out Bayesian hypothesis tests for standard statistical problems. JASP is based in part on the Bayesian analyses implemented in Morey and Rouder’s BayesFactor package for R. Armed with JASP, the practical advantages of Bayesian hypothesis testing are only a mouse click away.