浅议生物医学研究中不同主体的利益冲突

作为医学伦理学研究的重要内容,生物医学研究中的利益冲突问题日益受到公众、研究机构和管理部门的关注。探讨生物医学活动中研究者、研究机构、学术期刊三种不同主体利益冲突的表现、危害及其特点,以期有针对性地促进人们对该领域利益冲突问题的认识。     

加强医疗资源整合 发展医院优势学科

科学合理地实施医疗资源整合,是现代医院管理者要完成的重要课题。其主要形式有:成立技术协作组,设立独立专科,建立专科技术中心。医疗资源整合不是形式上的算术叠加,而是将管理理念与医院实际相结合,对医院人、财、物等进行有效地调整和组合,使其产生最大的综合效益。科学的论证、有力的政策机制和有效的管理手段是医疗资源整合成功的可靠保证。     

Ecological and ethical issues in virtual reality research: A call for increased scrutiny

We argue that moral judgment studies currently conducted utilizing virtual reality (VR) devices must confront a dilemma as a result of how virtual environments are designed and how those environments are experienced. We first begin by describing the contexts present in paradigmatic cases of naturalistic moral judgments. We then compare these contexts to current traditional (vignette-based) and VR-based moral judgment research. We show that, contra to paradigmatic cases, vignette-based and VR-based moral judgment research often fails to accurately model the situational features of paradigmatic moral judgments. In particular, we compare and contrast six recent VR studies to support our view that only simulations high in context-realism and perspectival-fidelity can produce “virtually-real experiences.” After analyzing the constituents of a virtually-real experience, we go on to propose guidelines for the creation of VR studies. These guidelines serve two purposes. First, we aim to increase the ecological validity of such studies to advance our understanding of moral judgments. Second, we believe that such guidelines should inform how Institutional Review Boards assess VR research. We show that our guidelines are urgently needed, given the current lax review standards in place.     

熟悉性对被试操作效应的作用:来自无线索回忆再认的证据

在动作事件的再认记忆中,被试操作后的记忆成绩优于单纯的词语记忆(SPT效应)。人们认为操作促进了回想加工,而熟悉性是否对SPT效应起作用仍然存在分歧。研究采用无线索回忆再认范式,考察了信息提取失败时熟悉性对SPT效应的作用。结果显示:(1)SPT和VT两种编码都引发了稳定的无线索回忆再认效应(RWCR效应)。(2)与VT编码相比,SPT编码引发更强的熟悉性加工,表现出无线索回忆再认的记忆优势。上述结果表明,即使无法正确提取细节信息,在SPT编码中被试凭借熟悉性辨认的能力仍然高于VT编码。该结果从信息提取失败的视角为熟悉性对SPT效应的作用提供了更为直接的证据。     

Instructions as discriminative stimuli (2): A within‐subject examination of the effect of differential reinforcement on establishing novel instructional control1

Abstract: Six undergraduates were exposed to a fixed‐ratio schedule with an instruction to respond slowly and to a differential‐reinforcement‐of‐low‐rate schedule with an instruction to respond rapidly when a white circle was presented on a display monitor. When a yellow circle was presented, however, the subjects were exposed to the fixed‐ratio schedule with the instruction to respond rapidly and to the differential‐reinforcement‐of‐low‐rate schedule with the instruction to respond slowly. Following this, a fixed‐interval schedule was in effect during those stimuli and instructions. Under the white circle, response rates were higher with the instruction to respond slowly than with the instruction to respond rapidly during the fixed‐interval schedule. Such control by instructions was not observed under the yellow circle. A previous study examined establishment of novel instructional control by between‐subject comparisons and found that for three of four subjects ( Okouchi, 1999 ). In contrast, the present results demonstrate the instructional control through within‐subject comparisons for all six subjects.     

Supervisors as SMEs: The Relationship Between Supervisor Job Experience and Ratings of Subordinate Skill Importance

This study investigated the relationship between supervisor job experience and ratings of the importance of eight skill components for performing subordinates' jobs. When examining these correlations, statistical control was utilized to ensure that supervisor and subordinate characteristics confounded with supervisor job experience were not affecting hypothesized relationships. As predicted, there were statistically significant positive correlations between supervisor job experience and ratings on 6 of the 8 components. Also as predicted, controlling for the characteristics confounded with supervisor job experience made a substantial difference in results; 13 of the 16 correlations using statistical control significantly differed from correlations that did not. This illustrates that future research on SME characteristics should consider controlling variables confounded with the focal characteristic(s) under study in order to more thoroughly understand characteristic–rating relationships. Implications of these findings for research and practice are discussed and suggestions for future research are offered.     

G.A.T.S. and universities: Implications for research

The likely impact of applying the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) to higher education are examined. GATS aims to “open up” services to competition: no preference can be shown to national or government providers. The consequences for teaching are likely to be that private companies, with degree-awarding powers, would be eligible for the same subsidies as public providers. Appealing to the inadequate recently introduced “benchmark” statements as proof of quality, they would provide a “bare bones” service at lower cost. Public subsidies would go: education being reduced to that minimum which could be packaged in terms of verifiable “learning outcomes”. The loss of “higher” aspirations, such education of critically-minded citizens of a democratic and civilised society would impoverish the university’s research culture which demands honesty and openness to public scrutiny. Most university research is substantially supported by public subsidy. Under GATS discipline, commercial providers of research services could be entitled to similar public subsidies. Publicly funded fundamental research would fade, leaving university research totally dependent for funds upon the good will of industry and commerce. Present problems, such as the suppression of unwelcome results and the use of questionable results to manipulate public opinion, would considerably increase. The public would lose a prime source of trustworthy knowledge, needed in political discourse, legal disputation, consumer protection and in many other contexts.     

操作表征在被试操作效应中的调节作用：ERPs研究

本研究考察操作表征(operational representation)在被试操作效应中的调节作用。选取结构性/功能性操作表征短语各160个,分析再认判断中的脑电差异。结果表明,动作编码比语词编码诱发更显著的P1、N2pb和N400;在500~700ms时间窗,相比于语词编码,对结构性和功能性操作表征短语进行动作编码均可显著诱发了中央区更负的平均波幅;在700~900ms时间窗,仅对于结构性操作表征短语,动作编码比语词编码诱发了前额叶更正的平均波幅。研究为动作编码的语义反馈加工机制提供了数据支撑,也为动作信息再激活与动作表征观点的整合提供解释方向。     

Do we need visual subjects?

It is widely accepted within contemporary philosophy of perception that the content of visual states cannot be characterized simply as a list of represented features. This is because such characterization leads to the so-called ‘Many Properties’ problem, that is, it does not allow us to explain how the visual system is able to distinguish between scenes containing different arrangements of the same features. The usual solution to the Many Properties problem is to characterize some basic elements of content as subjects, to which features are attributed by a predication-like relation. In this paper, I reconsider this solution and claim that the Many Properties problem can be solved without postulating such subjects. What is more, I argue that an alternative approach has stronger justification given the empirical data concerning human vision.