A multicriteria assignment problem

Our objective in this paper is to propose a procedure for solving a multicriteria assignment problem. Given qualitative and quantitative data, the proposed procedure makes assignments taking into consideration the multicriteria aspect of the problem. As an illustrative example, we consider the assignment of referees to the football matches in an Italian championship. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Body Image: A Study in a Tri-Ethnic Sample of Low Income Women

This study was designed to examine the evaluative, affective, and behavioral components of body image among 1,217 low-income European American, African American, and Latina women. Participants completed a multidimensional body image questionnaire while awaiting an outpatient clinic appointment. Body mass index (BMI) was determined by medical chart review. Nearly all normal weight and a number of overweight and obese African Americans characterized their weight as normal. In contrast, nearly all overweight and obese European Americans and Latinas regarded themselves as overweight as did over 30% of those of normal weight. European Americans and Latinas with higher BMIs reported more appearance shame than their lower BMI peers did; this pattern was not observed among African Americans. Among Latinas, body image was influenced by length of residency in the U.S. Dr. Berenson is supported by Grant Number K24HD043659, a Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research, from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Heather Littleton is now at Sam Houston State University.     

Psychological Sequelae in Parents of Extreme Low and Very Low Birth Weight Infants

The current study evaluated the psychological sequelae in 66 parents of extreme low and very low birth weight infants (mean weight of 842 g). Parents who had given birth within a 3-year period prior to the study were chosen from the archives of a neonatal ward and surveyed regarding posttraumatic stress, coping strategies, and social support. Thirty-five percent of the parents reported that their child had a handicap. Twenty percent of the women met the criteria of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at the time of the study, and an additional 10% met the criteria for a subclinical PTSD diagnosis. Female gender, handicap of the child, general distress during hospitalization, distressing contact with hospital staff, experienced distress at homecoming, and emotional coping, explained 72% of the degree of traumatization. Psychological support and intervention is recommended during the hospital stay of a premature infant who has a handicap and after the homecoming to prevent the development of chronic PTSD and reduce the associated distress.     

脑电双频指数（BIS）对脊柱侧凸矫正术中唤醒时间的影响

探讨脑电双频指数（bispectral index,BIS）监测不同镇静深度对脊柱侧凸矫正术中唤醒时间的影响,60例行脊柱侧凸矫正手术的患者随机分为三组,Ⅰ组BIS30～40,Ⅱ组BIS40～50和Ⅲ组BIS50～60,评价各组患者的唤醒时间及不良事件发生率。结果显示Ⅰ组唤醒时间为（18．13±2．3）min,明显长于Ⅱ组和Ⅲ组的唤醒时间。而当BIS为40～50时,患者术中的不良事件发生率明显低于另外两组。所以,使用BIS进行全麻镇静深度的监测,在唤醒前将镇静深度维持在BIS40～50是合适的。     

Body appreciation, media influence, and weight status predict consideration of cosmetic surgery among female undergraduates

The current study examined the association between consideration of cosmetic surgery, body appreciation, media influence, and participant demographics. In total, 322 female university students completed the Consider subscale of the Acceptance of Cosmetic Surgery Scale, the third revision of Sociocultural Attitudes Toward Appearance Scale (SATAQ-3), the Body Appreciation Scale (BAS), and provided their demographic details. Bivariate correlations showed that consideration of cosmetic surgery was significantly and positively correlated with three of the SATAQ-3 subscales and negatively correlated with BAS scores, age, and body mass index (BMI). A multiple regression showed that the only significant predictors of consideration of cosmetic surgery were greater media influence, less body appreciation, and lower BMI. These results are discussed in relation to the extant literature on attitudes towards cosmetic surgery.     

面试考官的权重策略对评分和录用的影响

从个体水平研究面试考官的有效性是面试研究的一个热点问题．本研究对面试考官权重策略的类型及类型的比较进行了实证研究。研究运用线性规划策略捕捉方法,分析了公务员考试中28名考官在结构化面试和无领导小组讨论中的权重策略,研究了权重策略对评分和录用的影响,结果发现：（1）在结构化面试中存在三种策略,在无领导小组讨论中存在两种策略,这些策略大部分是规范的（符合评分规则的要求）,它们会随面试情景发生变化;（2）权重策略影响了考官的评分区分度和最终考生的录用结果,规范性策略具有较高的区分度和录用预测效度。研究最后对结果的理论和实践意义进行了讨论。     

Visual configural processing in adults born at extremely low birth weight

Being born at extremely low birth weight (ELBW; ≤1,000 g) is associated with enduring visual impairments. We tested for long‐term, higher order visual processing problems in the oldest known prospectively followed cohort of ELBW survivors. Configural processing (spacing among features of an object) was examined in 62 adults born at ELBW (M_age = 31.9 years) and 82 adults born at normal birth weight (NBW; ≥2,500 g: M_age = 32.5 years). Pairs of human faces, monkey faces, or houses were presented in a delayed match‐to‐sample task, where non‐matching stimuli differed only in the spacing of their features. Discrimination accuracy for each stimulus type was compared between birth weight groups, adjusting for neurosensory impairment, visual acuity, binocular fusion ability, IQ, and sex. Both groups were better able to discriminate human faces than monkey faces (p < .001). However, the ELBW group discriminated between human faces (p < .001), between monkey faces (p < .001), and to some degree, between houses (p < .06), more poorly than NBW control participants, suggesting a general deficit in perceptual processing. Human face discrimination was related to performance IQ (PIQ) across groups, but especially among ELBW survivors. Coding (a PIQ subtest) also predicted human face discrimination in ELBW survivors, consistent with previously reported links between visuo‐perceptive difficulties and regional slowing of cortical activity in individuals born preterm. Correlations with Coding suggested ELBW survivors may have used a feature‐matching approach to processing human faces. Future studies could examine brain‐based anatomical and functional evidence for altered face processing, as well as the social and memory consequences of face‐processing deficits in ELBW survivors.     

Kelley's formula as a basis for the assessment of reliable change

In the literature on the measurement of change,reliable change is usually determined by means of a confidence interval around an observed value of a statistic that estimates thetrue change. In recent literature on the efficacy of psychotherapies, attention has been particularly directed at the improvement of the estimation of the true change. Reliable Change Indices, incorporating thereliability-weighted measure of individual change, also known as Kelley's formula, have been proposed. According to current practice, these indices are defined as the ratio of such an estimator and an intuitively appealing criterion and then regarded as standard normally distributed statistics. However, because the authors fail to adopt an adequate standard error of the estimator, the statistical properties of their indices are unclear. In this article, it is shown that this can lead to paradoxical conclusions. The adjusted standard error is derived.     

5, 7-dihydroxytryptamine lesions: Effects on body weight,irritability, and muricide

Forty-four male rats were subjected to injections of 5,7dhydroxytryptamine (40 μg/4 μ1) in the ascending 5-hydroxytryptamine projection or control operations. The injections resulted in depletion of forebrain 5-hydroxytryptamine, weight loss, irritability, and muricide. No significant correlations were found between any of these effects. It is suggested that the neural systems mediating regulation of body weight and muricide are substantially distinct.