A multiple-objective dispersion problem

In this paper we study a multiple-objective dispersion problem from an efficient solution and value function perspective. A general fundamental theorem on non-dominance is given and a polar co-ordinate elimination heuristic is given for the case of R². Some general results are given for the existence of a linearly weighted objective function whose maximal value will give a most preferred solution, for convex or concave value functions, and a heuristic is developed for the case where these conditions do not hold.     

Referees, editors, and publication practices: Improving the reliability and usefulness of the peer review system

The documented low levels of reliability of the peer review process present a serious challenge to editors who must often base their publication decisions on conflicting referee recommendations. The purpose of this article is to discuss this process and examine ways to produce a more reliable and useful peer review system. The author is a Senior Research Scientist & Biostatistician, Child Study Center and Department of Psychiatry in the Yale University School of Medicine. Note: The main points of this report were presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Baltimore, Maryland, on February 9, 1996.     

The Effects of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia on Multidimensional Perfectionism

Perfectionism is related to insomnia and objective markers of disturbed sleep. This study examined whether multidimensional perfectionism is related to dysfunctional beliefs about sleep, sleep-effort, pre-sleep arousal, and polysomnography-determined markers of sleep among individuals with insomnia. The effects of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) on perfectionism was also examined. This was a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial on CBT-I. Forty-three insomnia patients were randomized to treatment (receiving CBT-I) or waitlist control groups. Sleep was recorded using polysomnography at baseline. Participants completed measures of perfectionism, dysfunctional beliefs about sleep, sleep-effort and pre-sleep arousal at baseline and posttreatment. Total perfectionism scores and doubts about action, concern over mistakes and personal standards were each significantly related to increased sleep effort, pre-sleep arousal and dysfunctional beliefs about sleep at baseline. Patients receiving treatment displayed increased total perfectionism scores posttreatment d = .49. In those receiving treatment, levels of organization d = .49 and parental expectations d = .47 were significantly increased posttreatment, relative to baseline. In line with the literature, our results confirm that perfectionism is related to insomnia. Here, insomnia was related to increased sleep effort, pre-sleep arousal and dysfunctional beliefs about sleep. The propensity to maintain a high standard of order and organization may be elevated following CBT-I, considering the treatment protocol expects patients to strictly adhere to a set of clearly defined rules. Levels of parental expectations may be increased following CBT-I since the patient-therapist-relationship may trigger implicit expectations in patients which are reminiscent of their relationship to their parents.     

L’expertise psychologique, élément de preuve du jugement judiciaire ?

With the psychological report, the French justice system seeks, not to reach a verdict, but to assess the defendant's penal responsibility (liability) and to adapt the sanction accordingly. The aim of this article is to examine, as part of the French penal procedure, the effect of an expert's psychological report, revealing material and moral elements relevant to the case that are incriminating the defendant or not, on objective, subjective, and general responsibility attribution. The results of an experimental study carried out among students, in ecological conditions, show that the psychological report is taken more as evidence about the case then as subjective information about the defendant. These results are discussed in light of recent judicial events.     

The Effects of Social Status and Culture on Delay Discounting

People generally tend to discount future outcomes in favor of smaller but immediate gains (i.e., delay discounting). This study examines the hypothesis that culture and social status moderate this tendency, as well as the alternative hypothesis that social status and culture influence delay discounting independently of each other. American and Japanese adults were asked to choose receiving hypothetical monetary rewards either immediately or receiving rewards of different amounts with a delay of 1 year. The results replicated previous findings and supported the alternative hypothesis. Delay discounting was lower when subjective socioeconomic status (i.e., an individual’s perception of her or his social rank) was higher. Also, the Japanese were less likely to discount future rewards than the Americans. However, there was no interaction between social status and culture in influencing the rates of delay discounting.     

The Crucial Importance of Nancey Murphy’s Deployment of Lakatos’s Methodology for Theology and Science

Russell's paper explores the astonishing fruitfulness of Nancey Murphy’s use of Imre Lakatos’s philosophy of science in the field of “theology and science.” Murphy’s work can be used to choose between competing theologies according to the theologians’ willingness to engage with science, their ability to continue the engagement as scientific theories change, and their ability to make empirical predictions based on this engagement. Topics range from creation and cosmology, the “cosmic Christ”, and non-interventionist objective divine action in quantum mechanics and evolution. Russell has followed Murphy’s lead and used Lakatos to place theology and science into “creative mutual interaction” (CMI).     

The self, the psyche and the world: a phenomenological interpretation

Abstract :  This paper takes as its starting point Jung's definition of the self as the totality of the psyche. However, because the term psyche remains conceptually unclear the concept of the self as totality, origin and goal, even centre, remains vague. With reference to Heidegger's analysis of human being as  Dasein , as well as Jung's writings, it is argued that Jung's concept of psyche is not a synonym for mind but is the world in which we live psychologically. An understanding of the psyche as existentially situated requires us to rethink some features of the self. For instance, the self as origin is thus not a pre-existential integrate of pure potentiality but the original gathering of existence in which, and out of which, personal identity is constituted. The ego emerges out of the self as the development and ownership of aspects of an existence that is already situated and gathered. Relations between the ego and the self are about what is known, or admitted, and its relation with what is already being lived within the gathering that is existence. The self as psyche, origin, and centre are discussed, as well as the meaning of interiority. Epistemological assumptions of object relations theory are critically discussed. The paper also includes critical discussions of recent papers on the self.     

Quality of Life and Multiple Sclerosis: Comparison Between People with Multiple Sclerosis and People from the General Population

This paper evaluated the quality of life (QOL) of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and people from the general population. Gender differences between the 2 groups of respondents and the influence of coping style on adjustment were also evaluated. The participants were 381 (144 males, 237 females) people with MS, and 291 (101 males, 190 females) people from the general population. The results demonstrated that people with MS experienced lower levels of QOL than people from the general population for both the objective and subjective dimensions of all domains (physical health, psychological adjustment, social relationships, environmental adjustment). All coping strategies (problem-focused, focusing on the positive, detachment, wishful thinking, seeking social support) were important predictors of QOL for both males and females with MS, with wishful thinking being the strongest predictor of poor QOL. These results are discussed in terms of the various factors that impact on QOL among people with MS, and the types of coping strategies that are most adaptive in improving the QOL of people with this illness.     

A dynamic systems approach to the feeling toned complex

A review of Jung’s writing on the ‘feeling‐toned complex’ shows that he considered it to comprise independent, split‐off, psychic elements. Modern advances in scientific thinking and technology, namely Dynamic Systems Theory and neuro‐imaging, allow us to better define and explore this psychic phenomenon. Considering the constellation of the complex as a hierarchy of dynamic systems allows for a prediction of the timing of brain activity. This has been confirmed by two independent studies using fMRI and QEEG while administering the Word Association Experiment, the tool Jung used to investigate brain/psychic functioning over a century ago. Using as a framework the stages of the constellation of a complex viewed as a hierarchy of dynamic systems, I review the neuro‐imaging studies reported by Petchkovsky et al. (2013, 2017) and Escamilla et al. (2018), concluding that quantitative theoretical predictions and experimental results are in agreement within an order of magnitude. The change in attention caused by the constellation of the complex can also be conceived as the switching from a default neuro‐network, a startle response activating executive functioning in the frontal cortex of either the ego‐complex or an autonomous complex.