Differentiating conscientious from indiscriminate responders in existing NEO-Five Factor Inventory-3 data

The mean Inter-Item Standard Deviation (M-ISD; i.e., the mean of several single-scale ISDs) is a post-hoc validity index that statistically differentiates conscientious responders (CRs) from indiscriminate responders (IRs) in psychological questionnaire data. We compared the M-ISD’s effectiveness against four other post-hoc indexes and an embeddable validity scale in three sets of NEO-Five-Factor Inventory-3 data. Results showed the M-ISD has superior classification ability over all other post-hoc indexes and even outperformed the embeddable validity scale. The average classification accuracy of the M-ISD and embeddable scale was 97% and 93%, respectively, whereas only one of the four remaining post-hoc indexes exceeded our classification accuracy criterion of 80%. These findings suggest researchers can use the M-ISD to differentiate valid from invalid data.     

癌症筛查中的医学伦理问题探究

癌症筛查是实现癌症早诊早治的有效手段。与临床医疗行为类似,癌症筛查存在医学伦理问题。根据当代医学伦理学自主、不伤害、有利和公正的四大基本原则,构建癌症筛查的医学伦理问题分析框架,对由癌症筛查技术本身直接引发的筛查受益与风险等实质伦理问题以及应用过程引发的知情同意、自主性、隐私性、分配公平性、社会包容与歧视等程序伦理问题进行探究。重视伦理问题,规避伦理风险,将提高癌症筛查受益,促进人群健康,需要多方利益相关者共同努力。

     

Diagnostic efficiency of several methods of identifying socially rejected children and effect of participation rate on classification accuracy

Social rejection is associated with a wide variety of negative outcomes. Early identification of social rejection and intervention to minimize its negative impact is thus important. However, sociometric methods, which are considered high in validity for identifying socially rejected children, are frequently not used because of (a) procedural challenges, (b) community apprehension, and (c) sensitivity to missing data. In a sample of 316 students in grades K through 8, we used receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analyses to compare the diagnostic efficiency of several methods for identifying socially rejected children. When not using least-liked nominations, (a) most-liked nominations yielded the greatest diagnostic efficiency (AUC = .96), (b) peer ratings were more efficient (AUC = .84 to .99) than teacher ratings (AUC = .74 to .81), and (c) teacher report of social status was more efficient (AUC = .81) than scores from teacher behavior rating scales (AUC = .74 to .75). We also examined the effects of nominator non-participation on diagnostic efficiency. At participation as low as 50%, classification of sociometric rejection (i.e., being rejected or not rejected) was quite accurate (κ = .63 to .77). In contrast, at participation as high as 70%, classification of sociometric status (i.e., popular, average, unclassified, neglected, controversial, or rejected) was significantly less accurate (κ = .50 to .59).     

乳腺病变的常规影像学筛查方法的合理性分析

乳腺癌是妇女最常见的恶性肿瘤之一,在我国,乳腺癌的发病率和死亡率已成为城市女性恶性肿瘤的首位,且每年以3％～5％速度增长。目前乳腺癌防治日益受到重视。然而,为了阻断高危险性的乳腺向乳腺癌发展,乳腺影像学筛查正在被越来越多的女性接受。本文就各种影像检查手段对乳腺疾病特别是乳腺癌诊断的优缺点进行简要的总结,旨在指导临床医师...     

Destruction reconceived: On Winnicott's ‘The Use of an Object and Relating through Identifications’

‘The Use of an Object and Relating through Identifications’ is a landmark contribution that I find very difficult to write about because so much of what lies at its core is merely suggested. It is necessary for the reader not only to read the paper, but also to write it. In my reading/writing of the paper, the mother becomes real for the infant in the process of his actually destroying her as an external object (destroying her sense of herself as an adequate mother), and his perceiving that destruction. She also becomes a real external object for the infant in the process of his experiencing the psychological work involved in surviving destruction, a form of work that does not occur in the world of fantasied objects. The analyst or mother may not be able to survive destruction. It is essential that the analyst be able to acknowledge to himself his inability to survive and, if necessary, to end the analysis because of the very damaging effects for both patient and analyst of prolonged experience of this sort. The author presents clinical discussions of analyses in which the analyst survives destruction and is unable to survive destruction.     

The association between the behavior rating inventory of executive functioning and cognitive testing in children diagnosed with a brain tumor

Pediatric brain tumor survivors (PBTS) suffer from cognitive late effects, such as deteriorating executive functioning (EF). We explored the suitability of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) to screen for these late effects. We assessed the relationship between the BRIEF and EF tasks, and between the BRIEF-Parent and BRIEF-Teacher, and we explored the clinical utility. Eighty-two PBTS (8–18 years) were assessed with EF tasks measuring attention, cognitive flexibility, inhibition, visual-, and working memory (WM), and with the BRIEF-Parent and BRIEF-Teacher. Pearson’s correlations between the BRIEF and EF tasks, and between the BRIEF-Parent and BRIEF-Teacher were calculated. The BRIEF-Parent related poorly to EF tasks (rs < .26, ps > .01), but of the BRIEF-Teacher the WM-scale, Monitor-scale, Behavioral-Regulation-Index, and Meta-cognition-Index, and Total-score (rs > .31, ps < .01) related significantly to some EF tasks. When controlling for age, only the WM scale and Total score related significantly to the attention task (ps < .01). The inhibit scales of the BRIEF-Parent and BRIEF-Teacher correlated significantly (r = .33, p < .01). Children with clinically elevated scores on BRIEF scales that correlated with EF tasks performed worse on all EF tasks (ds 0.56–1.23, ps < .05). The BRIEF-Teacher Total and Index scores might better screen general EF in PBTS than the BRIEF-Parent. However, the BRIEF-Teacher is also not specific enough to capture separate EFs. Solely relying on the BRIEF as a screening measure of EFs in BPTS is insufficient. Questionnaires and tasks give distinctive, valuable information.     

Ethical issues in genetic counseling: A comparison of M.S. counselor and medical geneticist perspectives

New technologies available in the field of medical genetics have increased the importance of responsible ethical decision-making among genetic counselors. A 1985 national survey of M.D. and Ph.D. genetic counselors assessed ethical attitudes using case scenarios designed to simulate dilemmas faced in genetic counseling (Wertz and Fletcher, 1988b). The current study focuses on attitudes of M.S. genetic counselors using similar scenarios, allowing for effective comparisons. M.S. counselors were more willing than M.D. and Ph.D. counselors to maintain patient confidentiality when screening for Huntington's Disease and occupational diseases, and a greater number would agree to counsel patients pursuing prenatal testing for sex selection. A majority of M.S. counselors would disclose an XY karyotype to a phenotypically female patient. M.S. counselors reasoned that respect for patient autonomy and patient confidentiality justified their decisions in many cases. The importance of these principles is discussed and questioned.     

Job Analysis of United States Air Force Military Training Instructor Duty: Identification of Screening Criteria for Instructor Candidate Suitability

Initial military training-instructor duty places noncommissioned officers (NCOs) in a critical position of trust to safely, effectively train and transition recruits into military service. In this context, ineffective or inappropriate behavior by instructors has been shown to impact trainee mental health, unit cohesion, and integration ( Foran &; Adler, 2013 Foran, H. M., &; Adler, A. B. (2013). Trainee perceptions of drill sergeant qualities during basic combat training. Military Psychology, 25, 577–587. 10.1037/mil0000023[Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Abuse of power, specifically exploitative and criminally and sexually abusive behavior by even a small number of instructors, as occurred in United States Air Force (USAF) basic military training (BMT) between 2010 and 2012, may result in a broad loss of public trust. Assessment of suitability for these duties is not consistently pursued across military services, with scant empirical work to best target what is necessary for safe, effective service as a BMT instructor. This article describes 3 job-analytic studies conducted to identify criteria for screening NCOs for USAF military training-instructor duty, as well as planned methods for evaluation.     

La prorogation de l’application de l’accord ADPIC : une brève histoire de temps

The implementation of the Agreement on Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) has recently been the subject of another extension. Indeed, in a decision of 6 November 2015, the Council for TRIPS granted to the least developed countries, additional time to transpose its provisions on patents for pharmaceutical products. Consequently, least developed countries have the ability to import or manufacture locally, generic drugs, regardless of the rules on pharmaceutical patents until 1st January 2033. Such a decision is not unprecedented but it raises questions about the effectiveness of the agreement.     

Combined stimulus control over time allocation in response-independent schedules

Rats were exposed to concurrent schedules in which reinforcers occurred independently of behavior. In Experiment 1, rats could control time spent in the following conditions: (1) a light, (2) white noise, and (3) the absence of both light and noise. Response-independent reinforcers occurred at the same rate during the light and the noise and at either a higher rate or not at all in the absence of both stimuli. In subsequent tests, the rats spent more time in a light and noise compound than in either light or noise alone after the absence of both stimuli had signaled no reinforcers. When the absence of both stimuli had signaled a higher rate of reinforcement, however, the rats typically spent less time in the compound than in light or noise alone. In Experiment 2, rats could control time spent in the presence of a light and of a buzzer. The reinforcement rate in the light was twice that in the buzzer. In a later test, the rats spent more time in a light and buzzer compound than in the buzzer, but less time in the compound than in the light. The results show that additive summation, suppressive summation, and stimulus averaging of time allocation occur and that response rate differences between training stimuli are not necessary for these phenomena.