Medical education: The training of ethical physicians

This paper suggests that medical education be revised to assist in diffusing potential ethical dilemmas that arise during health care provision. A revised medical education would emphasize the role of the humanities in the training of physicians, especially in light of recent critiques of the canonical scientific model in general, and more specifically in the use of that model for medical training and practice.I wish to thank Dr. Mary Ann Cutter and Melissa M. Amaro for their critical suggestions.     

The myth of science education

It is argued that the manner in which we teach science in the high schools represents an outdated positivistic conception of science. The standard presentation of a year of each of chemistry, biology and physics should be replaced by an integrated science plus history, philosophy, and sociology of science which would take a total of three years to complete. A proper appreciation for the true nature of science is essential to the continued health of the scientific enterprise.     

RELATING THE PHYSICS AND RELIGION OF DAVID BOHM

Abstract. David Bohm's thinking has become widely publicized since the 1982 performance of a form of the Einstein-Podolsky- Rosen (EPR) experiment. Bohm's holomovement theory, in particular, tries to explain the nonlocality that the experiment supports. Moreover, his theories are close to his metaphysical and religious thinking. Fritjof Capra's writings try something similar: supporting a theory (the bootstrap theory) because it is close to his religious beliefs. Both Bohm and Capra appear to use their religious ideas in their physics. Religion, their source for physical hypotheses, provides the motivation to develop and uphold them.     

Whose Gene Is It? A Case Discussion About Familial Conflict over Genetic Testing for Breast Cancer

A multidisciplinary group of genetic and other professionals discuss a complex case of familial conflict over access to genetic information. One twin wishes to know the results of her deceased mother's tests for BRCA1 mutations; a second twin objects to researchers making this information available. As the case discussion unfolds, the apparent facts of this case are called into question and the lines of ethical certainty become less clear.     

Natural ways are better: Adolescents and the ‘anti-obesity’ gene

Empirical research with young people in Finland, Germany, Spain and Britain was carried out as part of the BIOCULT project funded by the European Union. The project focused on their attitudes to biotechnology and, in particular, the formation of arguments about risk and safety. This paper looks at the responses of 14–18 year olds to a story about the so called anti-obesity gene, in the form of advice to a friend who is taking it. The majority advised against taking it with some differences by gender and country. Most reservations were on grounds of safety and the feeling that ‘natural’ ways to lose weight are better: A minority questioned the idea of striving for a ‘perfect’ body. The types of arguments used by the young people reveal underlying perspectives on the place of human beings in the world and whether they have a right to manipulate nature and their own bodies. Marie Levitt is a sociologist with research interests in attitudes and values in relation to biotechnology, health and religion.     

自由回忆和线索回忆测验中的系列位置效应

本文以96个中国汉字为材料,使用自由回忆和线索回忆测验方法,对20名被试进行6组分测验和最后所有汉字的总测验。发现自由回忆分测验中存在明显的系列位置效应,总测验出现负近因现象;线索回忆分测验也表现出明显的系列位置效应,但最后的总测验没有出现负近因现象。上述结果验证了Bjork和Whitten（1974）提出的顺序或情景理论。     

大学生解决物理问题的表征层次的实验研究

设计了两个实验,探讨优、差生物理问题表征层次的特点。结果表明,优、差生物理问题表征层次有差异。优生侧重于科学理论表征,表现为以物理原理分类,在科学理论表征层次上多为正向推理：差生则受初始表征的影响,以表面特征分类,在科学理论表征层次上多为逆向推理。     

Shrinkage estimation of linear combinations of true scores

This paper is concerned with combining observed scores from sections of tests. It is demonstrated that in the presence of population information a linear combination of true scores can be estimated more efficiently than by the same linear combination of the observed scores. Three criteria for optimality are discussed, but they yield the same solution which can be described and motivated as a multivariate shrinkage estimator.Input from Eric Bradlow, Charles Lewis, and Linda Zeger is acknowledged. Research for this paper was funded by the Program Research Council (ETS). Suggestions of the Editor and of anonymous referees were instrumental in several improvements of the paper.     

A Logic for Reasoning about Relative Similarity

A similarity relation is a reflexive and symmetric binary relation between objects. Similarity is relative: it depends on the set of properties of objects used in determining their similarity or dissimilarity. A multi-modal logical language for reasoning about relative similarities is presented. The modalities correspond semantically to the upper and lower approximations of a set of objects by similarity relations corresponding to all subsets of a given set of properties of objects. A complete deduction system for the language is presented.