The EffectLiteR Approach for Analyzing Average and Conditional Effects

We present a framework for estimating average and conditional effects of a discrete treatment variable on a continuous outcome variable, conditioning on categorical and continuous covariates. Using the new approach, termed the EffectLiteR approach, researchers can consider conditional treatment effects given values of all covariates in the analysis and various aggregates of these conditional treatment effects such as average effects, effects on the treated, or aggregated conditional effects given values of a subset of covariates. Building on structural equation modeling, key advantages of the new approach are (1) It allows for latent covariates and outcome variables; (2) it permits (higher order) interactions between the treatment variable and categorical and (latent) continuous covariates; and (3) covariates can be treated as stochastic or fixed. The approach is illustrated by an example, and open source software EffectLiteR is provided, which makes a detailed analysis of effects conveniently accessible for applied researchers.     

Publication trends in 25 years of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis

All articles published in the first 25 years of JABA (1968 to 1992) were reviewed to classify the percentage of articles published in the following categories: (a) type of article, (b) subjects, (c) setting, (d) behavior-change agent, (e) target behavior, (f) use of basic principles, and (g) miscellaneous procedures. Overall percentages and trends are reported in each category. Results indicate an increase in the percentage of articles with participants and target behaviors in developmental disabilities and a decrease in the percentage of studies targeting academic behavior, verbal behavior, and other child behavioral excesses. The most frequent setting continues to be a school; however, there is a clear trend towards community and other naturalistic settings. Results also highlight the increasing complexity and multicomponent nature of JABA interventions. Potential implications for future applications are discussed.     

A Recourse Stochastic Goal Programming Approach for the Multi‐objective Stochastic Vehicle Routing Problem

This paper addresses a multi‐objective stochastic vehicle routing problem where several conflicting objectives such as the travel time, the number of vehicles in use and the probability of an accident are simultaneously minimized. We suppose that demands and travel durations are of a stochastic nature. In order to build a certainty equivalent program to the multi‐objective stochastic vehicle routing problem, we propose a solution strategy based on a recourse approach, a chance‐constrained approach and a goal‐programming approach. The resulting certainty equivalent program is solved to optimality using CPLEX. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

我国医疗技术人体试验立法的若干思考

我国的医疗技术管理立法处于起步阶段。从比较法的角度,提出了我国医疗技术人体试验立法的建议：构建伦理审查委员会审查与行政机关许可的双审制度;国家适度干预伦理审查委员会的设置;主管机关设置与非主管机关设置、外审型与内审型伦理审查委员会建设并行;构建多方位监管模式。     

生物医学人体受试者研究未来面临的挑战

人体受试者研究的伦理问题在今后将会愈益引起关注,如何看待知情同意的代理权？如何处理不同文化背景下的知情同意原则？在商业利益诱惑下背离本人健康利益和知情同意是否有效？受试者的利益回报,以及体试验研究要求的双盲,随机、对照等原则可能面临的新问是,都是人体受试者研究未来面临的挑战。     

高一学生认知方式与学科内容对文章阅读迁移的影响

以高一学生为被试,考察了不同认知方式学生对不同学科文章以及有无清晰结构条件下的阅读迁移效果。结果表明,(1)在文章结构清晰条件下学生的阅读迁移效果明显好于结构模糊条件下的阅读迁移效果。(2)不同认知方式学生对不同学科的阅读迁移无明显差异。(3)在有清晰结构条件下,场独立者与场依存者的阅读迁移成绩无显著差异;在结构模糊的条件下,场独立者的迁移成绩优于场依存者。     

Measuring stress in clinical and nonclinical subjects using a German adaptation of the Perceived Stress Scale

Background/Objective: Stress is perceived differently across individuals, which might be particularly true for nonclinical and clinical subjects. For this reason, we tested a German adaption of the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) for model fit and measurement invariance in a big nonclinical and clinical sample. Method: We (1) conducted multiple confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in 1,248 nonclinical subjects and 575 outpatients, (2) measurement invariance with multigroup CFA, (3) assessed correlations with relevant constructs and (4) calculated internal consistencies for overall stress and the subscales Helplessness and Self-efficacy. Results: In both samples, CFA revealed a robust two-factorial structure with an excellent model fit. Group comparisons revealed strict measurement invariance. Correlations with associated measures support validity. Internal consistencies were good to very good. Conclusions: We show highly satisfactory psychometric properties of the German PSS-10 for nonclinical and clinical individuals. Measurement invariance analyses demonstrated that varying stress levels of people with a different mental health status are due to true interindividual differences.     

Stochastic Dominance and Opaque Sweetening

This paper addresses the problem of opaque sweetening and argues that one should use stochastic dominance in comparing lotteries even when dealing with incomplete orderings that allow for non-comparable outcomes.     

The Emergence of Clinical Research Ethics Consultation: Insights From a National Collaborative

The increasing complexity of human subjects research and its oversight has prompted researchers, as well as institutional review boards (IRBs), to have a forum in which to discuss challenging or novel ethical issues not fully addressed by regulations. Research ethics consultation (REC) services provide such a forum. In this article, we rely on the experiences of a national Research Ethics Consultation Collaborative that collected more than 350 research ethics consultations in a repository and published 18 challenging cases with accompanying ethical commentaries to highlight four contexts in which REC can be a valuable resource. REC assists: 1) investigators before and after the regulatory review; 2) investigators, IRBs, and other research administrators facing challenging and novel ethical issues; 3) IRBs and investigators with the increasing challenges of informed consent and risk/benefit analysis; and 4) in providing flexible and collaborative assistance to overcome study hurdles, mediate conflicts within a team, or directly engage with research participants. Institutions that have established, or plan to establish, REC services should work to raise the visibility of their service and engage in open communication with existing clinical ethics consult services as well as the IRB. While the IRB system remains the foundation for the ethical review of research, REC can be a valuable service for investigators, regulators, and research participants aligned with the goal of supporting ethical research.