Satisfaction in generalist care: An individualist approach

Physician dissatisfaction with primary care practice is influenced by many external factors—income, work hours, and an increased burden of paper work. It may be possible to use psychometric tests to select medical students with a strong internal locus of control who might adapt better to the work of primary care practice.     

Posturally related variations in the hand preferences of the ruffed lemur (Varecia variegata variegata)

The hand preferences of 5 semi-free-ranging black-and-white ruffed lemurs were assessed by using three distinct testing procedures. Testing conditions varied in the extent to which they required animals to make a whole body postural adjustment prior to making a reach. Minimal bodily adjustment was necessary for free foraging, whereas discrete food presentations on land (DFP-land) and in a moat (DFP-moat) promoted a gross reorientation of the animal's entire body. In the DFP-moat condition 4 animals exhibited exclusive use of the left hand, and only 1 of 515 reaches was made with the right hand. Similarly, all 5 animals showed a pronounced left hand preference in the DFP-land condition. The free-foraging condition revealed a hand preference for only 1 of the 5 subjects, and that preference was weak in comparison with those measured in the other two test conditions. These findings indicate that whole body postural adjustments critically influenced the expression of hand preference and should be taken into consideration in future studies of primate hand preferences.     

Mathematical models of central pattern generators in locomotion: II. Single limb models for locomotion in the cat

Three mathematical models of central pattern generation for locomotion in the single limb of the cat are presented. In each model, the activities in populations of neurons controlling limb joint flexors and extensors are described by a system of nonlinear differential equations. Each solution of the system for a different set of parameters corresponds to a simulation of some gait of the cat. Model I is based on unit generators for each limb joint muscle group and assumes that flexors inhibit their paired extensors, but not vice-versa. Model IIa assumes that flexors and extensors are mutually inhibitory, but that only the flexors have inherent oscillatory capability. Model IIb assumes flexors and extensors are mutually inhibitory and that both flexors and extensors have oscillatory capability. The properties of each of these models are explored, compared and contrasted, and discussed in relation to the experimental literature. All three models are shown to be capable of generating patterns consistent with various stepping rates of the cat and to show appropriate muscle sequencing and flexor-extensor interactions. Further, all three models exhibit smooth initiation and termination of stepping. However, Model I seems to provide a more parsimonious account of producing changes in stepping rate and is preferred, therefore, over models IIa and IIb.     

Is the word length effect in STM entirely attributable to output delay? Evidence from serial recognition

Although it is generally accepted that the word length effect in short-term memory operates through output delay or interference, there is less agreement on whether it also influences performance through its impact on rehearsal. We investigated this issue by studying the effect of word length on recall and on a recognition task in which output delay was controlled. Word sequences were repeated exactly, or with one pair of words reversed. Two experiments using auditory presentation showed clear word length effects for both recall and serial recognition, although the magnitude of the effect tended to be less for recognition. A third experiment using visual presentation studied the effect of articulatory suppression during the recognition test; again we found a clear word length effect. It is concluded that the word length effect can influence retention through both rehearsal and output factors, as proposed by the phonological loop hypothesis.     

Sankara's fatal mistake

Sankara's philosophy fails definitively at the point where he leaves the human experience—’sinning and suffering‘—unaccounted for. What in each of us, he asks, sins and suffers? Is it the antahkarana, the ‘mental organ’ giving rise to the series of mental states (buddins) that file by illumined by the atman? Impossible, he says, for the antahkarana by itself is material (jada,) and therefore unconscious (acit). Then is it the ātman, upon which the antahkarana is superimposed? Inconceivable, he says, for the atman is identical with Brahman, and Brahman is by definition pure bliss‐consciousness, as far removed from sin and suffering as can be imagined. Then is the atman in conjunction with the antahkarana—a partnership that Sankara calls the jiva (or soul)—the sinner and sufferer? Yes, he says, as long as you remember that the sin and suffering are ultimately illusory, as illusory as the antahkarana itself. I show why Sankara's answer fails and what the failure implies, then suggest a fruitful way to approach Sankara and teach his philsophy to our students.     

Career indecision in adult women: A comparative and descriptive study

This study compared 66 high-school women, 66 first-year college women, and 66 adult women on four measures of career indecision, the Satisfaction with Career Scale, the Occupational Alternatives Question, the Vocational Decision Making Difficulty Scale, and the Career Decision Scale. The results consistently suggested that the adult women were experiencing more career indecision than the high-school and college women. Intercorrelations among the scales were generally moderate to somewhat low and raised some questions about the use of the Career Decision Scale with adult women. Additional data were gathered on the adult women in an attempt to delineate the sample. Variables included were: marital status, present work experience, the career-related goals and the reasons for pursuing these goals, and possible impediments to reaching the goals. These results are presented and the implications for future research and counseling with adult women are examined.