Inclusion of fatigue effects in human reliability analysis

The effect of fatigue on human performance has been observed to be an important factor in many industrial accidents. However, defining and measuring fatigue is not easily accomplished. This creates difficulties in including fatigue effects in probabilistic risk assessments (PRA) of complex engineering systems that seek to include human reliability analysis (HRA). Thus the objectives of this paper are to discuss (1) the importance of the effects of fatigue on performance, (2) the difficulties associated with defining and measuring fatigue, (3) the current status of inclusion of fatigue in HRA methods, and (4) the future directions and challenges for the inclusion of fatigue, specifically sleep deprivation, in HRA.     

Examining the correlates of psychological aggression among a community sample of couples.

In this study, the authors examined the correlates of psychological aggression victimization and perpetration among a community sample of 145 heterosexual couples. For both women and men, psychological aggression victimization was associated with greater psychological distress, anxiety, and physical health symptoms beyond the effects of physical aggression. Psychological aggression victimization was also uniquely associated with higher levels of depression for women. Trait anger and poor relationship adjustment were the strongest correlates of psychological aggression perpetration across genders. Childhood father-to-child and father-to-mother aggressions were associated with psychological aggression perpetration for men only, suggesting possible distinct etiologies across genders. These data highlight the importance of the further development of models for psychological aggression in both women and men. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

INCLUDING SOFT INFORMATION IN EISs

Although much of executive decision making is based on soft information—opinions, predictions, news, and even rumors—executive information systems (EISs) have only recently begun to augment factual data with such information. A study of current use of soft information in EISs yields 15 propositions designed to help EIS developers determine what kinds of soft information are most valuable and how best to capture and deliver this information.     

Innovative Food Procurement Strategies of Women Living in Khayelitsha,Cape Town

The combination of persistent levels of inequality and poverty, alongside the advent of rapid urbanisation, mean urban food insecurity is set to be one of the biggest development challenges of this century. As women play a crucial role in the food security status of urban poor households, understanding and supporting the life-sustaining food procurement practices used by women ought to be a key strategy in addressing urban food insecurity. Particularly, the paper draws on primary qualitative research I conducted with women from Khayelitsha, Cape Town’s largest informal settlement. This case study explored the beliefs, practices and preferences that govern women’s food procurement choices. The study found that women adopt a range of innovative food procurement strategies, which significantly improve household food security prospects. These include buying in bulk, skilfully navigating the informal and the formal food economies, utilising their social networks and trading off food with other important non-food expenses. Understanding these practices can provide greater insight into how best to enhance urban food security. The implications are that women need to be better supported rather than, as most mainstream programmes suggest, encouraged to take on more work outside the household, whilst still faced with the lion’s share of housework.     

Posttraumatic stress disorder and intimate relationship problems: A meta-analysis.

Objective: The authors conducted a meta-analysis of empirical studies investigating associations between indices of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and intimate relationship problems to empirically synthesize this literature. Method: A literature search using PsycINFO, Medline, Published International Literature on Traumatic Stress (PILOTS), and Dissertation Abstracts was performed. The authors identified 31 studies meeting inclusion criteria. Results: True score correlations (ρ) revealed medium-sized associations between PTSD and intimate relationship discord (ρ = .38, N = 7,973, K = 21), intimate relationship physical aggression perpetration (ρ = .42, N = 4,630, K = 19), and intimate relationship psychological aggression perpetration (ρ = .36, N = 1,501, K = 10). The strength of the association between PTSD and relationship discord was higher in military (vs. civilian) samples, and when the study was conducted in the United States (vs. other country), and the study represented a doctoral dissertation (vs. published article). The strength of the association between PTSD and physical aggression was higher in military (vs. civilian) samples, males (vs. females), community (vs. clinical) samples, studies examining PTSD symptom severity (vs. diagnosis), when the physical aggression measure focused exclusively on severe violence (vs. a more inclusive measure), and the study was published (vs. dissertation). For the PTSD–psychological aggression association, 98% of the variance was accounted for by methodological artifacts such as sampling and measurement error; consequently, no moderators were examined in this relationship. Conclusions: Findings highlight a need for the examination of models explaining the relationship difficulties associated with PTSD symptomatology and interventions designed to treat problems in both areas. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Incremental Validity in the Psychological Assessment of Children and Adolescents.

Incremental validity in the process of psychological assessment of children and adolescents is explored. The authors highlight the dependence of the incremental validity of assessment information on factors such as goal of assessment, other information available, base rate of the problem or outcome, age or gender of the child, and type of problem being assessed. The authors discuss the incremental validity of assessment information from alternate sources, methods, and constructs. In view of the limited number of studies directly relevant to incremental validity in child clinical assessments, the authors call for more clinically relevant research. To have the greatest impact on child and adolescent services, this research must be readily generalized and immediately relevant to actual clinical practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Selective lesions of the nucleus basalis magnocellularis impair cognitive flexibility.

The authors tested the hypothesis that the cholinergic nucleus basalis magnocellularis (NBM) is involved in solving problems requiring cognitive flexibility. Rats with 192 IgG-saporin lesions of the NBM were assessed for perseveration (i.e., cognitive inflexibility) in the serial reversal of an operant discrimination and during subsequent extinction testing. It was hypothesized that the NBM lesion and control groups would not differ in the acquisition of the initial, simple discrimination, because this task does not demand cognitive flexibility. In contrast, it was hypothesized that the NBM lesion group would show perseveration during serial reversal and extinction testing. Results generally supported these hypotheses, suggesting that the NBM plays an important role in mediating cognitive flexibility. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When Do Visual and Verbal Memories Conflict? The Importance of Working-Memory Load and Retrieval.

Examinations of interference between verbal and visual materials in working memory have produced mixed results. If there is a central form of storage (e.g., the focus of attention; N. Cowan, 2001), then cross-domain interference should be obtained. The authors examined this question with a visual-array comparison task (S. J. Luck & E. K. Vogel, 1997) combined with various verbal memory load conditions. Interference between tasks occurred if there was explicit retrieval of the verbal load during maintenance of a visual array. The effect was localized in the maintenance period of the visual task and was not the result of articulation per se. Interference also occurred when especially large silent verbal and visual loads were held concurrently. These results suggest central storage along with code-specific passive storage. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)