Using the Chernobyl Incident to Teach Engineering Ethics

This paper discusses using the Chernobyl Incident as a case study in engineering ethics instruction. Groups of students are asked to take on the role of a faction involved in the Chernobyl disaster and to defend their decisions in a mock debate. The results of student surveys and the Engineering and Science Issues Test indicate that the approach is very popular with students and has a positive impact on moral reasoning. The approach incorporates technical, communication and teamwork skills and has many of the features suggested by recent literature.     

Temporal delays can facilitate causal attribution: Towards a general timeframe bias in causal induction

Does reasoning occur on the Wason selection task, or are card selections determined purely on the basis of heuristic processes? To answer this question two relevance-based theories of reasoning are compared: (1) the theory of Evans (1984, 1989; Evans &; Over, 1996), which takes the heuristic viewpoint, and (2) the theory of Sperber, Cara, and Girotto (1995), which takes the reasoning viewpoint. In three experiments, the effect of removing matching cards from the selection task array is examined. It is argued that the Sperber et al. theory makes clearer predictions about the results of these manipulations, which are confirmed, and that the Evans theory can only accommodate them if it allows the operation of reasoning processes. The results are also discussed in relation to Roth's (1979) account of the selection task, mental models theory, and information gain theory.     

Risk sectors for undesirable behaviour and mobbing

The aim of this short note was to get an impression of risk sectors for the prevalence of undesirable behaviour and mobbing in The Netherlands. Data were collected from 1995 to 1999 with the Questionnaire on The Assessment and Experience of Work (Vragenlijst Beleving en Beoordeling van de Arbeid; VBBA; van Veldhoven & Meijman, 1994). The sample consisted of 66,764 employees representing 11 sectors in The Netherlands. Four questions were indicative of the occurrence of undesirable behaviour and mobbing. The main conclusion of this study is that there are large differences in the occurrence of undesirable behaviour between sectors.     

Misers or lovers? How a reflection on Christian mysticism caused a shift in Jacques Lacan’s object theory

In his sixth seminar, Desire and Its Interpretation (1956–1957), Lacan patiently elaborates his theory of the ‘phantasm’ ($?a), in which the object of desire (object small a) is ascribed a constitutive role in the architecture of the libidinal subject. In that seminar, Lacan shows his fascination for an aphorism of the twentieth century Christian mystic Simone Weil in her assertion: “to ascertain exactly what the miser whose treasure was stolen lost: thus we would learn much.” This is why, in his theory, Lacan conceptualizes the object of desire as the unconsumed treasure—and, in that sense, the “nothing”—on which the miser’s desire is focused. But the more Lacan develops his new object theory, the more he realizes how close it is to Christian mysticism in locating the ultimate object of desire in God, in a sevenfold “nothing” (to quote the famous last step in the ascent of the Mount Carmel as described by John of the Cross). An analysis of Shakespeare’s Hamlet allows Lacan to escape the Christian logic and to rearticulate the object of desire in an ‘unchristian’ tragic grammar. When he replaces the miser by the lover as paradigm of the subject’s relation to its object of desire, he substitutes a strictly Greek kind of love—eros, not agape—for the miser’s relationship to his treasure. Even when, in the late Lacan, “love” becomes a proper concept, its structure remains deeply “tragic.”     

A Review of Single-Case Research in Sport Psychology 1997–2012: Research Trends and Future Directions

Single-case research methods are an important facet of applied sport psychology because they provide a framework for researchers and practitioners to outline intervention effects across time with individuals or groups. This paper reviews the research published since Hrycaiko and Martin's (1996) milestone overview of single-case research in sport psychology. Specifically, we examined the literature between 1997 and 2012 and located 66 studies that met our inclusion criteria of assessing interventions in sport psychology. The review summarizes the body of research, outlines trends, considers the limitations of the extant literature, and identifies areas that require further investigation for future single-case research.     

Exploration of Predictors of Teaching Effectiveness: The Professor’s Perspective

This research is an exploratory investigation of what attributions college professors place upon the cause of teaching effectiveness and success. Student evaluations of teaching are used as a proxy for teaching effectiveness. The study is supported by Attribution Theory in that perceptions and attributions of causality affect motivation and success. The research evaluates data that supported Attribution Theory. The data was collected using Qualtrics through a web-based survey. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to evaluate the survey data, with interesting conclusions. The most interesting difference was that between the perceptions of causal attribution of tenured and non-tenured professors. The data show that tenured professors attribute teaching effectiveness to factors outside their control such as characteristics of the students and the institution, while non-tenured professors do not attribute teaching effectiveness to external factors. The implications of this study are support for Attribution Theory in the college teaching context, and may be useful for university administration in motivating professors for effective teaching. Future research includes deductive study to further explore the scope and boundary conditions of Attribution Theory in college teaching.     

Factors Associated with Psychological Distress among Women of African Descent at High Risk for BRCA Mutations

Little is known about psychological distress among women of African descent who are at high risk for a BRCA mutation. This is a group for whom breast cancer risk reduction is critical due to the group’s high rates of breast cancer mortality. Distress is important to consider as it may reduce the potential benefit of genetic counseling and negatively affect decision making related to risk reduction. The goals of the current study were to examine breast cancer-specific distress and depressive symptoms in women of African descent at who are at high risk for a BRCA mutation and to identify background factors associated with these outcomes. Participants were 148 high-risk African American and Caribbean women who were part of a larger study that offered participants BRCA counseling at no cost. Participants completed the Impact of Events Scale, which assessed breast cancer-specific distress, and the Center of Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale, which assessed depressive symptoms. Results of analyses revealed that almost half of the sample achieved scores indicating high and clinically significant breast cancer-specific distress, while almost one-third had clinically significant depression scores. Results further showed that low income was significantly associated with cancer-specific distress, while having a cancer diagnosis was significantly associated with depressive symptoms. These results underscore the need for targeted psychological support throughout the genetic risk assessment process for this particular high-risk group.     

NSGC Practice Guideline: Prenatal Screening and Diagnostic Testing Options for Chromosome Aneuploidy

The BUN and FASTER studies, two prospective multicenter trials in the United States, validated the accuracy and detection rates of first and second trimester screening previously reported abroad. These studies, coupled with the 2007 release of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Practice Bulletin that endorsed first trimester screening as an alternative to traditional second trimester multiple marker screening, led to an explosion of screening options available to pregnant women. ACOG also recommended that invasive diagnostic testing for chromosome aneuploidy be made available to all women regardless of maternal age. More recently, another option known as Non-invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) became available to screen for chromosome aneuploidy. While screening and testing options may be limited due to a variety of factors, healthcare providers need to be aware of the options in their area in order to provide their patients with accurate and reliable information. If not presented clearly, patients may feel overwhelmed at the number of choices available. The following guideline includes recommendations for healthcare providers regarding which screening or diagnostic test should be offered based on availability, insurance coverage, and timing of a patient’s entry into prenatal care, as well as a triage assessment so that a general process can be adapted to unique situations.     

Understanding physical activity behavior and cognitions in pregnant women: An application of self-determination theory

ObjectivesAlthough regular exercise during pregnancy is linked with improved health outcomes for both mother and foetus, many pregnant women are inactive. The purpose of this study was to use organismic integration theory (OIT) as the guiding theory for examining the relationship between autonomous and controlled motives for (a) exercise behavior reported over a typical week and barriers to exercise and (b) exercise and stage of pregnancy (i.e., trimester).DesignCross-sectional.MethodsParticipants (N = 75) were pregnant women who completed a multi-component, Internet-based survey.ResultsMultiple regression analyses showed that identified regulation predicted greater exercise behavior and fewer exercise barriers, irrespective of trimester. Further analyses indicated that women in the first trimester reported significantly higher identified regulation compared to women in either second or third trimesters.ConclusionsOverall, these findings reinforce the importance of distinguishing controlled from autonomous exercise motives and demonstrate the tenability of OIT for enhancing our understanding of exercise behavior and barriers during pregnancy.