Gentled and non-handled rats in a stressful open-field situation; differences in performance

Open-field behaviour of individually gentled and non-handled adult Wistar rats in a stressful test situation (loud noise with bright light) was studied. The behaviour on the whole of the two groups differed significantly. While the gentled rats showed mainly signs of stress and explorativity, signs of fear beside stress and, on later trials, explorativity were typical of the non-handled animals. On later trials the behaviour of the non-handled rats neared to that of the gentled ones. In the behaviour of the gentled rats there was but little change as a function of trials. We suggest that individual gentling, beside minimizing fear of human contact, also increases the stability of the rat's reactions.     

Material handling device selection in cellular manufacturing

This paper presents a new multi‐criteria decision model for the material handling device (MHD) selection problem in cellular manufacturing systems. Given a set of manufacturing cells based on several automatic work‐centres, the technique makes it possible to select a particular MHD for each cell in an integrated way, with different constraints being taken into consideration. The approach is based on two different multi‐attribute analyses executed with analytic hierarchy process (AHP) methodology, and a final integer linear programming including important limitations faced by the designer when making MHD investment decisions. An example using real data is provided to illustrate this methodology. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effect of mother-infant skin-to-skin contact on plasma cortisol and β-endorphin concentrations in preterm newborns

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of mother-infant skin-to-skin contact on plasma β- endorphin and cortisol concentrations in stable, preterm infants on a newborn intensive care unit. Blood samples were obtained before and at the end of a 20-min period of skin-to-skin contact. Similarly paired samples, obtained at the same times and after the same interval, without skin-to- skin contact, were obtained on another day and served as controls. Both cortisol and β-endorphin concentrations fell significantly after the skin-to-skin session (cortisol: geometric mean change 66%, p=0.008; β-endorphin: geometric mean change 74%, p=0.002). There was also a significant fall in cortisol levels during the control session (geometric mean change 78%, p=0.02), in contrast to β-endorphin levels, in which there was no significant change. Analysis of variance showed that the fall in β-endorphin, but not the fall in cortisol, during the skin-to-skin session was significant when compared with the control session. These results emphasize the hormonal responsiveness of the preterm newborn to relatively minor interventions. We conclude that maternal skin-to-skin contact results in a significant reduction in circulating β-endorphin in the newborn; there was no evidence of any adverse effect.     

An assessment of the role of handling cues in "spontaneous recovery" after extinction

Three experiments examined the assertion that presession handling cues that accompany training with reinforcement might account for spontaneous recovery when they reoccur following extinction. In Experiment 1, after extensive training on a variable-interval schedule, key pecking in pigeons was extinguished following either normal or distinctively different handling and transportational cues. Those cues resulted in enhanced spontaneous recovery 24 hr later when normal cues were reinstated. In Experiment 2, however, subjects tested following the normal handling cues showed no more spontaneous recovery than did subjects that spent the entire extinction-test interval in the experimental chambers and thus were tested without handling cues altogether. In Experiment 3, a group whose test for recovery began 10 min after being placed in the chambers yielded as much spontaneous recovery as did a group tested normally. Furthermore, a group for which extinction began at mid-session and for which handling therefore could not be a discriminative cue for extinction showed no more spontaneous recovery than did the other two groups. Handling cues thus contributed to spontaneous recovery only after explicit discrimination training, as provided in Experiment 1.     

Inconsistency and uncertainty in multi-attribute judgment of human performance

This paper examines the effect of uncertainty and inconsistency on the judgment of human performance. The results indicate that the effect of inconsistency on judgment is not mediated by subjective uncertainty. We find that both the level and the extremity of judgment decrease with uncertainty. These effects are explained, respectively, by uncertainty aversion and by regressiveness. We also find that both the level and the extremity of judgment of human performance increase with inconsistency. These effects are explained by reliance on integration rules in which judgment is based primarily on some aspects of the information, while other aspects are, to some extent, ignored.     

Decision making and strategies in an interaction situation: Collision avoidance at sea

This paper aims at analysing decisions which are actually made by watch officers onboard ferries in the Dover Strait. More precisely, it aims at characterizing the generic situations in which several courses of actions are available and identifying the strategy underlying an action choice. Relying on the RPD model of Klein [Klein, G. (1997). The recognition-primed decision (RPD) model: Looking back, looking forward. In C. E. Zsambok & G. Klein (Eds.), Naturalistic decision making (pp. 285–292). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates], it points out the critical cues, the goals of actors and the rules they use.Two sets of data were processed: motions of vessels observed from the vessel traffic system and verbal protocols recorded onboard a ferry with three watch officers.Logistic regression models show that different types of ships do not act in the same way: the slowest vessels tend to keep their course and speed, even if they have to move. The faster cargo ships such as ferries alter their course in compliance with the regulations. In some situations, a ferry may nevertheless follow informal rules. Onboard a ‘give way’ ferry, a watch officer may – in some conditions – alter his course to port rather than to starboard to reduce the course alteration and the loss of time. On board the ‘stand on’ vessel, he may perform an action in order to master the situation, even if the rule requires him to keep his course and speed.     

Ethical Theory,Completeness &; Consistency

This paper argues that many leading ethical theories are incomplete, in that they fail to account for both right and wrong. It also argues that some leading ethical theories are inconsistent, in that they allow that an act can be both right and wrong. The paper also considers responses on behalf of the target theories.     

Inconsistency as an interactional problem: a lesson from political rhetoric

The classical theory of cognitive dissonance suggests that when two related cognitions are mutually inconsistent, one of them will change to restore consistency. However, Billig suggests that inconsistency is primarily an interactional problem between subjects and not a cognitive problem within a subject. In the current paper, we adopt Billig's rhetorical approach to inconsistency and study inconsistency as an interactional problem in the context of political rhetoric. More specifically, we use Action-Implicative Discourse Analysis to identify the discursive strategies the former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, used to cope with the inconsistency between his national ideology and his contradictory behavior during his short term in office.     

Coping with the Aftermath of Terror-Resilience of ZAKA Body Handlers

Abstract

This study assessed the psychological consequences of body handling in the aftermath of terror attacks on 87 ZAKA volunteers and the implications of coping in attenuating the detrimental effects of prolonged exposure to terror. Subjects reported a low sense of danger and considerable self-efficacy. Only two participants (2.3 percent) met symptom criteria for PTSD, and 16 (18.4 percent) met criteria for sub-clinical posttraumatic disorder. Several possible explanations for the resilience of subjects are altruistic and religious rewards, respect and admiration from society and a tendency for sensation seeking.