Number words in young children's conceptual and procedural knowledge of addition, subtraction and inversion

Three studies addressed children's arithmetic. First, 50 3- to 5-year-olds judged physical demonstrations of addition, subtraction and inversion, with and without number words. Second, 20 3- to 4-year-olds made equivalence judgments of additions and subtractions. Third, 60 4- to 6-year-olds solved addition, subtraction and inversion problems that varied according to the inclusion of concrete referents and number words. The results indicate that number words play a different role in conceptual and procedural development. Children have strong addition and subtraction concepts before they can translate the physical effects of these operations into number words. However, using number words does not detract from their calculation procedures. Moreover, consistent with iterative relations between conceptual and procedural development, the results suggest that inversion acquisition depends on children's calculation procedures and that inversion understanding influences these procedures.     

An exploratory analysis of task-interspersal procedures while teaching object labels to children with autism

Research has demonstrated that interspersing mastered tasks with new tasks facilitates learning under certain conditions; however, little is known about factors that influence the effectiveness of this treatment strategy. The initial purpose of the current investigation was to evaluate the effects of similar versus dissimilar interspersed tasks while teaching object labels to children diagnosed with autism or developmental delays. We then conducted a series of exploratory analyses involving the type of reinforcer delivered for correct responses on trials with unknown or known object labels. Performance was enhanced under the interspersal condition only when either brief praise was delivered for all correct responses or presumably more preferred reinforcers were provided for performance on known trials rather than on unknown trials.     

Using goal setting, task clarification, and feedback to increase the use of the hands-free technique by hospital operating room staff

We evaluated the effects of a behavioral treatment on the safe passing of sharp instruments using the hands-free technique among hospital operating room personnel during surgical procedures. Treatment consisted of participative goal setting, task clarification, and feedback. The average percentage of sharp instruments passed safely increased from 32% to 64% and 31% to 70% between baseline and treatment phases in the inpatient and outpatient surgery units, respectively. Five-month follow-up data suggested maintenance of treatment effects. These findings suggest the utility of organizational behavior management strategies in reducing risky behavior in hospital settings.     

The making of an analyst: from 'ideal' to 'good-enough'

This paper addresses the issue of variances in training modalities and how this is linked to one's personal experience of training and to one's analytic lineage. The author, who bases his reflections on discussions held during the yearly directors of training meeting of the North American Jungian Societies, suggests that, while each institute aims to provide an 'ideal' training programme for its candidates, the philosophy underlying how this ideal is defined depends, in large part, on the theoretical and philosophical orientation of the founding fathers and mothers. This results in a form of analytic lineage that necessarily impacts on the form and content of the 'ideal' programme. Shadow issues related to analytic lineage in the admissions procedures, case consultation, exam committees and review committees are presented. Motivation for why we choose to train and reflections on what makes an analyst 'Jungian' are explored.     

骨盆测量在直肠癌手术中的应用进展

回顾当前各种骨盆测量手段,分析骨盆径线与直肠癌手术难度的关系。CT和MRI是目前直肠癌骨盆测量的较好选择,坐骨棘间径、坐骨结节间径、上耻骶尾骨最短径、骶尾骨长度和骶尾骨弯曲度等径线对直肠癌手术难度的影响已经得到了证实。未来的研究需要建立骨盆测量评价标准以指导临床医师制定手术方案。     

医疗决策的程序公正

由于社会满足不了所有的医疗需求,医疗决策问题变成了确定医疗的限度问题。由于社会对于限度决定很难获得共识,医疗决策要通过公正的程序获得。医疗决策不能由某个人或某个团体或权力机构做出,而应该通过民主协商来做出,否则,人们会质疑医疗决策的合法性。     

SOME DIRECT AND GENERALIZED EFFECTS OF REPLACING AN AUTISTIC MAN'S ECHOLALIA WITH CORRECT RESPONSES TO QUESTIONS

We extended the use of operant procedures to decrease immediate echolalia and increase the appropriate responding to questions of a 21-year-old autistic man. Three experiments were conducted in which the overall plan was to (a) encourage the subject to remain quiet before, during, and after the presentation of questions and (b) teach him to use environmental cues (i.e., word cards or a model's responses) to increase the likelihood of responding correctly. Multiple baseline designs demonstrated that echolalia was rapidly replaced with correct stimulus-specific responses. In addition, there were a variety of generalized improvements in the subject's verbal responses to questions. The procedures and results are contrasted to previous research in an attempt to explain the encouraging findings.     

Police interviewing: The identification of vulnerabilities

Failure to identify potential psychological vulnerabilities of people entering the Criminal Justice System continues to present a serious problem for the police and other agencies. This paper reviews some of the problems involved which include: the nature of the handicap itself, current guidelines and definitions, and somewhat arbitrary legal interpretations by the courts. An experiment is described in which police officers chose not to identify someone as vulnerable or ‘at risk’, despite information in all conditions having been biased towards eliciting a positive judgement.     

A COMPARISON OF THREE STAFF-MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES

Even though administrators must have effective staff-management procedures to ensure implementation of desired programs, many traditional staff-management procedures remain unevaluated. This study investigated the effectiveness of three such procedures. The administrator of an institution for the retarded (1) sent a memo instructing all staff to lead daily recreational activities, (2) sponsored a workshop teaching staff to lead such activities, and (3) assigned staff activity leaders and provided performance feedback to staff by publicly posting the daily average number of active residents on each ward. Neither the memo nor the workshops motivated staff to lead activities, but after staff were scheduled to lead such activities and given performance feedback, the average daily number of residents engaged in activities on four wards for 95 retarded persons increased from seven to 32. The administration of this facility has adopted similar procedures to maintain such activities on all wards.     

THE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL PUNISHMENT ON NONCOMPLIANCE: A COMPARISON WITH TIMEOUT AND POSITIVE PRACTICE

The effects of social punishment, positive practice, and timeout on the noncompliant behavior of four mentally retarded children were assessed in a multitreatment withdrawal design. When programmed, the experimental procedure occurred contingent on noncompliance to experimenter-issued commands. Commands were given at 55-sec intervals throughout each experimental session. The results showed (1) lower levels of noncompliance with social punishment than with the positive-practice or timeout conditions, and (2) that relatively few applications of social punishment were required to obtain this effect. The advantages of social punishment over other punishment procedures, considerations to be made before using it, and the various aspects of the procedure that contribute to its effectiveness were discussed.