Clinically useful,research validated assessment of persons with alcohol problems

Advances in treatment approaches available for persons with alcohol problems, particularly the advent of cognitive behavioral and motivational approaches, have made systematic assessment of these problems more important than ever for clinicians. There is a plethora of assessment instruments available, and it is a difficult task for clinicians to conceptualize, select and use these instruments in a coherent fashion. Particularly important in this task is the identification of research validated instruments that provide both clinically useful and psychometrically sound data. This paper presents a model of alcohol assessment and reviews selected research validated instruments that can be assembled into an assessment battery that provides useful data to guide treatment of alcohol problems while also addressing practical concerns encountered by clinicians in practice.     

Relative reinforcing effects of different oral ethanol doses in rhesus monkeys

The relative reinforcing effects of different doses of orally delivered ethanol were evaluated. Mouth-contact responding by rhesus monkeys was measured under concurrent fixed-ratio fixed-ratio schedules of liquid delivery (0.67 ml/delivery) from each of two spouts during daily 3-hr sessions. Experiment 1 examined persistence of responding with ethanol (2%, 8%, and 32% wt/vol) and water available. When fixed-ratio values from 8 to 128 were tested, the number of ethanol deliveries obtained per session decreased as the response requirement increased. The decrease in deliveries was less at higher than at lower ethanol concentrations, however. Experiment 2 examined choice between two ethanol concentrations under concurrent fixed-ratio 16 schedules (4% vs. 8%, 4% vs. 16%, 8% vs. 16%, 2% vs. 8%, 2% vs. 32%, 8% vs. 32%). Higher concentrations (16%, 32%) generally maintained more responding than concurrently available concentrations of 8% or less. An exception was the observation of a preference for 8% over 32% ethanol. When the fixed-ratio value was increased, however, the relative preference for these two doses was reversed so that 32% ethanol maintained more responding than 8% ethanol. Thus, the direction of the preference depended on the size of the response requirement. These results indicate that the reinforcing effects of ethanol increase with dose.     

Worlds within Worlds: Kabbalah and the New Scientific Paradigm

Beginning with relativity and quantum theory, the deterministic view that has dominated and shaped Western culture for more than 2,500 years has begun to unravel, leading to the emergence of a new paradigm. This new paradigm effectively reformulates the project of science, conceiving of existence as an interpenetrating web of coevolving, cocreative relationships. By exploring Kabbalah and the new scientific paradigm within the context of shared evolutionary principles, I seek to demonstrate a viable alternative to the prevailing deterministic worldview. By going beyond the limits of determinism and re–visioning existence as an evolutionary, emergent phenomenon, we can establish a new basis for an authentic dialogue between science and religion.     

汉语言语产生中的词长效应

采用启动条件下的词汇命名和图片命名范式, 探讨在汉语言语产生中词长效应的产生机制, 考察概念激活、词条提取和语音编码对词长效应的影响。实验1和实验2表明, 词条提取过程并不影响在词汇命名中的词长效应, 支持多词素词整词通达表征的理论。实验3显示, 概念激活和语音编码共同影响在图片命名中的词长效应, 被试对长词的命名时间显著地长于对短词的命名时间, 对下属水平概念的词汇提取显著地慢于对基本水平概念的词汇提取。研究结果支持多词素词语音编码的序列性和基本水平类别优先习得的观点。     

Inhibition of irrelevant category–response mappings

When switching tasks, performance tends to be worse for n – 2 repetitions than with n – 2 switches. This n – 2 repetition cost has been hypothesized to reflect task-set inhibition: specifically, inhibition of irrelevant category–response mappings involved in response selection. This hypothesis leads to divergent predictions for situations in which all tasks involve the same stimulus categories: An n – 2 repetition cost is predicted when response sets differ across tasks, but not when the response set stays the same. The authors tested these predictions by having subjects perform relative judgements with different reference points. In Experiment 1, the stimulus categories were the same across reference points, but the response set either differed or stayed the same (the multiple- and single-mapping conditions, respectively). An n – 2 repetition cost was found in the multiple-mapping condition but not in the single-mapping condition. Experiment 2 provided evidence against the possibility that these divergent effects reflected differences in memory load. These findings confirm predictions that link n – 2 repetition costs to inhibition of irrelevant category–response mappings.     

Contemplating an Evolutionary Approach to Entrepreneurship

This artical explores that application of evolutionary approaches to the study of entrepreneurship. It is argued an evolutionary theory of entrepreneurship must give as much concern to the foundations of evolutionary thought as it does the nature of entrepreneurship. The central point being that we must move beyond a debate or preference of the natural selection and adaptationist viewpoints. Only then can the interrelationships between individuals, firms, populations and the environments within which they interact be better appreciated.