Why be my colleague’s keeper? Moral justifications for peer review

Justifying ethical practices is no easy task. This paper considers moral justifications for peer review so as to persuade even the sceptical individualist. Two avenues provide a foundation for that justification: self-interest (the right behaviour is that which maximally serves one’s own interests) and social contract theory (the right behaviour is that which best meets obligations set in binding social contracts). A wider notion of “interest” permits the self-interest approach to justify not only submitting one’s own work to peer review but also removing oneself momentarily from the production of primary knowledge to serve as a rigorous, independent, and honest referee. The contract approach offers a non-selfish alternative and relies on four types of binding social contracts: those implicit in accepting funds, those implicit in asserted professional status, those to contribute what is of most value to society, and those to defend the ideals of the Academy. Efforts to restore respect for rigorous, independent, honest peer review should begin in earnest.     

Cooperative learning in the classroom: Contingencies,group interactions,and students with special needs

Cooperative learning activities play a significant role in the schools. As such, these activities should be of interest to applied behavior analysts concerned with educational interventions. A number of factors appear to contribute to the impact of cooperative group activities, including the level of individual accountability, group contingencies, and the types of interactive behaviors in which students engage during group activities. This paper reviews current research on cooperative learning, focusing on the relationships between student behaviors, contingencies of reinforcement and group outcomes. The social and academic skills with which students enter cooperative learning activities, and the impact of these skills on students' behavior within groups and on the social and academic outcomes of groups is considered. Problems associated with the failure of cooperative groups are also addressed. The research potentials for applied behavior analysts are discussed.     

How is Systemic and Constructionist Therapy Change Process Narrated in Retrospective Accounts of Therapy? A Systematic Meta‐synthesis Review

Despite the considerable potential of qualitative approaches for studying the systemic and constructionist therapy process due to shared theoretical and epistemological premises, to date there is lack of a comprehensive qualitative synthesis of how change process is experienced and conceptualized by clients and therapists. To address this evidence gap, we performed a systematic meta‐synthesis review of 30 studies reporting clients’ and therapists’ retrospective narratives of change process across systemic and constructionist models and across a range of client configurations, including individuals, couples, families, and groups. The studies were identified following a systematic search in PsycINFO and MEDLINE resulting in 2,977 articles, which were screened against eligibility criteria. Thematic analysis led to the identification of four main themes: (1) navigating through differences, (2) toward nonpathologizing construction of problems, (3) navigating through power imbalances, and (4) toward new and trusting ways of relating. Findings illustrate the multifaceted aspects of systemic and constructionist change process, the importance for their reflexive appraisal, and the need for further research contributing to the understanding of the challenges inherent in the systemic and constructionist therapeutic context.     

A methodological review of preference displacement research

The purpose of this review was to identify and compare methodological components of preference displacement research and outcomes. We coded, categorized, and defined patterns of preference displacement for a total of 133 participants across 10 studies. We found that patterns of displacement differed within and across studies, and over 46% of participants did not engage in patterns of displacement. Therefore, the commonly held notion that edible stimuli are more likely to displace tangible stimuli is not as ubiquitous as once thought. However, due to considerable variation in methodology and reporting across reviewed studies, it is difficult to determine what variables may be responsible for obtained study outcomes. We conclude that future researchers consider the importance of each methodological variable coded in our review, and make methodological decisions in the context of the research question they are looking to answer. We also provide additional suggestions for future research and clinical practice.     

Generalized Anxiety Disorder in Older Medical Patients: Diagnostic Recognition, Mental Health Management and Service Utilization

Background Primary care physicians often treat older adults with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Objective To estimate physician diagnosis and recognition of anxiety and compare health service use among older adults with GAD with two comparison samples with and without other DSM diagnoses. Methods Participants were 60+ patients of a multi-specialty medical organization. Administrative database and medical records were reviewed for a year. Differences in frequency of health service use were analyzed with logistic regression and between-subjects analysis of covariance. Results Physician diagnosis of GAD was 1.5% and any anxiety was 9%, and recognition of anxiety symptoms was 34% in older adults with GAD. After controlling for medical comorbidity, radiology appointments were increased in the GAD group relative to those with and without other psychiatric diagnoses, χ² (2, N = 225) = 4.75, p < .05. Conclusions Most patients with anxiety do not have anxiety or symptoms documented in their medical records.     

Private Interests Count Too

Along with concerns about the deleterious effects of politically driven government intervention on science are the intrusion of private sector interests into the conduct of research and the reporting of its results. Scientists are generally unprepared for the challenges posed by private interests seeking to advance their economic, political, or ideological agendas. They must educate and prepare themselves for assaults on scientific freedom, not because it is a legal right, but rather because social progress depends on it.

评论效价、新产品类型与调节定向对在线评论有用性的影响

对于新产品推出的成功与否, 较早采用者的评论和建议的影响相当巨大, 本研究通过两个实验研究评论效价(正面评论/负面评论)、新产品类型(渐进性新产品/革新性新产品)和调节定向(促进定向/防御定向)对新产品在线评论有用性的影响。实验1设计为2(新产品类型：渐进性新产品/革新性新产品)×2(评论效价：正面/负面)的组间操控设计, 结果表明：相对于渐进性新产品, 负面评论对革新性新产品的有用性更高, 正面评论对渐进性新产品和革新性新产品的有用性差异不显著。实验2设计为2(新产品类型：渐进性新产品/革新性新产品)×2(评论效价：正面/负面)×2(调节定向：促进/防御)的组间操控设计, 结果表明：促进定向的个体认为正负面评论有用性差异不大, 而防御定向的个体认为负面评论有用性显著高于正面评论; 对于促进定向的个体来说, 新产品类型对于评论效价对评论有用性的影响有调节作用, 而对于防御定向的个体来说, 新产品类型的这种调节作用则不存在。     

The European school of MCDA: Emergence,basic features and current works

Multiple-criteria decision analysis has evolved considerably since its birth during the 1960s. As part of this evolution, several schools of thought have developed emphasizing different techniques and, more generally, different attitudes as to the way of supporting or aiding decision making. One of these schools is now commonly referred to as the ‘European School’, its members being part of a European Working Group entitled ‘Multicriteria Aid for Decisions’. In the first part of this paper (Section 1) we follow a historical perspective in order to trace the emergence of the European School. Its distinctive features and main ideas are then outlined in Section 2. Finally we provide a general review of the current major research topics developed within this framework (Section 3).