An experimentally confirmed statistical model on arm movement

The purpose of this research work was to develop a methodology to model arm movement in normal subjects and neurologically impaired individuals through the application of a statistical modelling method. Thirteen subjects with Parkinson's disease and 29 normal controls were recruited to participate in an arm motor task. An infrared optoelectronic kinematic movement analysis system was employed to record arm movement at 50 times per second. This study identified the modified extended Freundlich model as one that could be used to describe this task. Results showed that this model fit the data well and that it has a good correspondence between the observed and the predicted data. However, verification of the model showed that the residuals contained a sizeable autocorrelation factor. The Cochrane and Orcutt method was applied to remove this factor, which improved the fit of the model. Results showed that Parkinson's disease subjects had a higher autocorrelation coefficient than the normal subjects for this task. A positive correlation (r(s) = 0.72, p < 0.001) was found between the Langton-Hewer stage and the autocorrelation coefficient of PD subjects. This finding suggests that if autocorrelation is positively correlated with disease progression, clinicians in their clinical practice might use the autocorrelation value as a useful indicator to quantify the progression of a subjects' disease. Significant differences in model parameters were seen between normal and Parkinson's disease subjects. The use of such a model to represent and quantify movement patterns provides an important base for future study.     

中文阅读及发展性阅读障碍眼动研究新进展

中文阅读眼动特征的评估参数主要包括注视点停留位置、眼跳、回视和注视时间等。基于眼动技术,并结合生理技术,研究者已揭示出正常读者中文阅读的多方面特点和规律。但对发展性阅读障碍的眼动研究,国内还没有开展起来。从上述两个角度出发,这里总结了正常读者中文阅读的眼动研究,并探讨了发展性阅读障碍者的眼动特征及机制。     

Models for the statistics and mechanisms of response speed and accuracy

Van Breukelen offers a promising method for modeling both response speed and response accuracy. However, the underlying conception of both dependent measures is somewhat flawed, leading the author to conclude that the approach possesses limitations that, under revised assumptions, may not hold. The central misconception, and a set of related misconceptions, is addressed, and it is suggested that this approach holds a good deal of promise for application in the perceptual and cognitive sciences.     

Religious belief and intelligence: Worldwide evidence

Is there a positive impact of intelligence on religious disbelief after we account for the fact that both average intelligence and religious disbelief tend to be higher in more developed countries? We carry out four beta regression analyses and conclude that the answer is yes. We also compute impact curves that show how the effect of intelligence on atheism changes with average intelligence quotients. The impact is stronger at lower intelligence levels, peaks somewhere between 100 and 110, and then weakens. Bootstrap standard errors for our point estimates and bootstrap confidence intervals are also computed.     

Towards a Relational Affective Theory of personality disorder

This paper introduces a Relational Affective Formulation of severe narcissistic and borderline disorders. The formulation is grounded in psychoanalytic and neuroscientific theory, clinical observation and therapeutic work with hospitalised patients. It provides a conceptual framework for psychodynamic psychiatrists, therapists and psychosocial practitioners working in teams. Paying particular attention to the central place of affect, projective and introjective processes, claustro-agoraphobic phenomena, regression and the place of both deficits and dynamic defences in the failure of symbolisation, the case is made that this framework is suited to therapeutic work with patients who are highly suicidal and complex. The application of this formulation to service design and treatment pathways is described along with a summary of the body of psychoanalytic thinking which contributed to its development. The formulation is the cornerstone of a practice guide currently under development.     

IRT_Δb法和修正LR法对矩阵取样DIF检验的有效性

矩阵取样测验包含多个题册,单个题册的总分不能直接作为匹配变量用于 DIF 检测。本研究首先基于模拟数据,同时采用 I RT_Δb法,以及用 I RT模型估计的考生能力作为匹配变量修订后的 L R法对矩阵取样测验进行DIF检测,分析二者进行DIF检测的有效性及其相关影响因素;并根据已有的LR法DIF判断标准划定出I RT_Δb法分类标准;最后使用实证数据加以验证。结果显示：矩阵取样测验中, I RT_Δb法和修正LR法均能较好地区分DIF量不同的题目;样本量、题册中DIF题目的比例和考生群体间真实能力的差异对两种方法的检验力、犯I类错误的概率和分类结果都有较大影响。     

The impact of the health professional on the individual's experience of cancer: A psychodynamic perspective

Abstract

This paper examines how interactions with health professionals may come to influence the patient's experience of cancer. It considers the idea that the experience of cancer returns an individual to a state of dependence and lack of integration similar to that of the young infant. The subsequent interactions with health professionals can then be considered in light of its ability to hold the patient's un-integrated self and facilitate its re-integration.     

Direction of Effects in Multiple Linear Regression Models

Previous studies analyzed asymmetric properties of the Pearson correlation coefficient using higher than second order moments. These asymmetric properties can be used to determine the direction of dependence in a linear regression setting (i.e., establish which of two variables is more likely to be on the outcome side) within the framework of cross-sectional observational data. Extant approaches are restricted to the bivariate regression case. The present contribution extends the direction of dependence methodology to a multiple linear regression setting by analyzing distributional properties of residuals of competing multiple regression models. It is shown that, under certain conditions, the third central moments of estimated regression residuals can be used to decide upon direction of effects. In addition, three different approaches for statistical inference are discussed: a combined D’Agostino normality test, a skewness difference test, and a bootstrap difference test. Type I error and power of the procedures are assessed using Monte Carlo simulations, and an empirical example is provided for illustrative purposes. In the discussion, issues concerning the quality of psychological data, possible extensions of the proposed methods to the fourth central moment of regression residuals, and potential applications are addressed.     

Meta-Analysis of Pragmatic and Theoretical Research: A Critique

Meta-analysis refers to a set of statistical procedures used to summarize and integrate many empirical studies that focus on one issue. This numerical method of integrating research findings is said to be superior to the narrative type of reviews because it is more objective, reliable, and rigorous. Moreover, the meta-analytic approach is supposedly capable of resolving research controversies, strengthening empirical hypotheses, and discovering new relationships among variables. In this study, these claims are examined and found to be wanting. Some objections to the use of meta-analysis as a means of substantiating theoretical assertions are raised with reference to the rationale of experimentation and to how knowledge evolves. It is concluded that it is inappropriate to apply meta-analysis to integrate theoretical research.