Physical activity and motor skills in children: A differentiated approach

Being physically active plays an essential role in a child's physical development. While there is ample evidence for a positive association between physical activity (PA) and motor skills in children, the question of how PA should be implemented to optimally foster motor skill proficiency is less clear. To address this gap, the current longitudinal study compared four groups of children with different patterns of leisure-time PA engagement—namely children engaging in either structured PA, unstructured PA, a combination of structured and unstructured PA, or no PA at all—with respect to their gross and fine motor skill development. Results of repeated measures mixed modeling procedures revealed that engaging in structured PA—either exclusively or in combination with unstructured PA—is beneficial for children's gross motor development, whereas engaging in unstructured PA lacks such effectiveness. As to fine motor skills, a beneficial tendency of structured PA was observed as well. Hence, PA seems to be beneficial for motor skill development particularly when implemented in a formal setting with guided opportunities for practice. In conclusion, regularly engaging in structured PA constitutes a promising way to promote motor skills and support motor development over the long term.     

Study of unique merging behavior under mixed traffic conditions

Roads in developing countries carry mixed traffic with wide variations in static and dynamic characteristics of vehicles. The traffic flow is also generally devoid of lane discipline, with vehicles occupying any available road space ahead. In such a regime of traffic flow, the phenomena of merging of vehicles at intersections of two roads is complex, warranting further study. The merging maneuvers at T-intersections under congested traffic conditions were studied microscopically through video-recording. In congested situations, the merging vehicle attempts a complex merging maneuver to enter the main traffic stream. Two unique merging processes are commonly observed in mixed traffic: group and vehicle cover merging (these are generally not observed in countries such as US). The author is using these words first time in this study. These reflect the different types of driver behavior – merging in groups, and by taking cover of another vehicle. Probabilistic models for group and vehicle cover merging are developed that capture this unique merging behavior. Comprehensive microscopic data collection and extraction were carried out to study the merging process at T-intersection under congested conditions. Merging models were then estimated using maximum likelihood method with disaggregate data that was collected for a case study T-intersection in Chennai city, India. Such models can find applications in simulation of highly congested traffic flow in a realistic manner under mixed traffic conditions. They can also give insights on devising better traffic control measures at such intersections.     

A preliminary validation of a Norwegian version of the Tinnitus Sample Case History Questionnaire

At present there is no validated tinnitus questionnaire available in Norway. The aim of the present study was to psychometrically evaluate and report on a Norwegian translation of the Tinnitus Sample Case History Questionnaire (TSCHQ). Furthermore, the results were compared to those of a recent Swedish validation of TSCHQ. More than two hundred (N = 218) participants with tinnitus participated in the study, of which 78% completed the Norwegian TSCHQ on two occasions so that test-retest reliability could be evaluated. Results show that the Norwegian TSCHQ has acceptable test-retest reliability with the exception of 10 items, which is slightly better than the recent Swedish validation of TSCHQ. At the item level, there were both similarities and differences between the Norwegian and Swedish validation studies. It is concluded that the Norwegian TSCHQ is an appropriate measure of patients’ history and experience of tinnitus, and while we recommend further validation of the Norwegian TSCHQ, we encourage Norwegian researchers and clinicians to use the Norwegian translation of TSCHQ.     

Child witness statements about sexual abuse in day‐care: reports from a case with confessions from the suspect

Evaluation of alleged sexual abuse at day‐care centres usually has to be based mainly on child statements about their own victimisation. This study points at other possible sources of information. Thus, the child may give contributions to the investigative procedure also as a witness of abuse of other children, as a participator of group interaction related to abuse and as a receiver of a disclosure about abuse from another child. Data are presented from a case where the suspect had confessed. A quarter of the children at the day‐care centre had given information about other children's exposure. For more than half of the children, there were witness statements that reflected what these particular children might have been exposed to. Context and statement characteristics seemed to make an evaluation of some of these statements possible. Information about interaction between children and about disclosures between children was strikingly scarce which was probably due to the lack of questions from parents and investigators in these areas. Witness statements from children about other children's exposure to abuse stand out as an interesting complementary source of information in investigations of abuse at day‐care centres and may also provide a basis for interpretations at a group level. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An application of visual interactive goal programming: a case in vendor selection decisions

This article presents the vendor selection problem of the hydraulic pump division of a US original equipment manufacturing company. The division wants to identify appropriate vendors and allocate purchase orders among them while minimizing product acquisition costs and maximizing total product quality and delivery reliability. Visual interactive goal programming is used as a multi‐criteria decision analysis tool. Interaction with decision makers during the model building and solution process, and implications are discussed. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

From single case to database: A new method for enhancing psychotherapy, forensic, and other psychological practice

This article proposes a new model for knowledge generation in applied and professional psychology—the pragmatic case study (PCS) method. Drawing from both psychology's traditional, quantitative and alternative, qualitative approaches, the PCS method involves the creation of systematic, peer-reviewed case studies (in all areas of applied psychology) that follow D. Peterson's “disciplined inquiry” epistemological model. The studies would be organized into “journal-databases” that combine (a) individual studies; (b) articles that address epistemological, theoretical, methodological, logistical, economic, political, and ethical issues in the PCS method; and (c) substantive cross-case analyses of groups of individual cases already published in the database. To lay out the proposal's arguments, the article begins by setting forth relevant historical and philosophical context, and then examines a possible set of initial methodological guidelines for ensuring rigorous quality in each case study. Next the PCS method's value in creating new and useful applied knowledge is demonstrated for two areas: psychotherapy efficacy research and forensic psychology. Finally, the implications of the present proposal are explored. Throughout, the emphasis is on creating an integrative, pragmatic alternative for gaining new useful knowledge in our discipline.