A survey of student personnel and educational research facilities.

"In an effort to secure some understanding of the ways in which institutions of higher learning staff, organize, administer, and finance research activities in the branch of the behavioral sciences which we think of as education, the present writer surveyed 28 agencies in 10 universities." Information was obtained for most of these agencies concerning "a picture of the development of research activities within the agency, its present staff structure, administrative and policy control, amount and method of financing, and the nature of the research being carried on." Multiple staff appointments, temporary research personnel, basic, applied and service research, research talent in administration, and the impact of the work of research centers are briefly considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A national survey of group psychotherapy services in correctional facilities.

Facilitating group psychotherapy in correctional settings presents dilemmas and concerns that are unmatched in other environments, often leaving clinicians grasping for therapeutic advantages. This article provides information regarding national practices of group psychotherapy services for male inmates in state correctional facilities (n?=?79) as reported by correctional mental health providers (n?=?162). The general findings of this study will be of interest to group psychotherapy providers employed in correctional facilities; however, of particular importance for doctoral-level psychologists is their potential role in fulfilling a need for the active development and evaluation of group psychotherapy programs in correctional settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A survey of behavior modification training opportunities in APA-approved internship facilities.

Administered a questionnaire to 103 American Psychological Association approved internship training facility directors to assess behavior modification training opportunities. Results are presented in a tabular format indicating program name, number of psychology staff, their orientations, number of behavioral psychologists, didactic training availability, practice opportunities, and supervision opportunities. Results indicate that opportunities do exist for clinical training in behavior modification at the internship level. Behavior modification is generally perceived as only one aspect of the training necessary for the well-rounded clinician. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Research training in forensic psychology: National survey of forensic facilities.

A survey was sent to the 103 directors of public forensic facilities in the United States. Responses were received from 68, a response rate of 66%. Information on the facilities' involvement in training and research in forensic psychology was obtained. A number of facilities reported involvement in psychology training at different levels; graduate practicum (43%) and predoctoral internship (41%) were among the most common. Forensic psychological research was either "encouraged" or "strongly encouraged" by 59% of responding facilities. Some institutional support was also available for research. Results suggest that forensic facilities have a largely untapped potential for helping to meet the growing research and training needs in forensic psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Animal abuse issues in therapy: A survey of therapists' attitudes.

Animal abuse issues can have implications for therapy as a possible predictor of future violence toward humans, as a diagnostic indicator, and sometimes as a feature of a client's abuse history. The authors used a survey to examine the experiences and attitudes of 174 therapists dealing with animal abuse issues in therapy. The authors found that 28% encountered animal abuse issues in the past 5 years and 87% viewed animal abuse as a mental health issue. Attitudes about changing mandated abuse reporting laws to include animal abuse were assessed. Dilemmas therapists face are discussed and suggestions for addressing animal abuse issues are offered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Program evaluation in Canadian rehabilitation facilities for physically disabled persons: A national survey.

Surveyed the program-evaluation practices of 64 Canadian rehabilitation facilities (RFs) serving physically disabled children and/or adults. Of 14 program evaluation activities assessed, most RFs had implemented fewer than half as of mid-1982, although 62% of the RFs reported that they planned to implement additional evaluation elements by the end of 1983. Mean differences in current and planned evaluation activity levels between RFs located in different regions, serving different age groups, or of different facility types were modest. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Biofeedback training opportunities in clinical internship facilities: An extension of the Feuerstein and Schwartz survey.

Surveyed 227 American Psychological Association (APA)-approved and non-APA-approved clinical internship agencies and found that most respondents were interested in training interns in the clinical application of biofeedback. This supports findings of M. Feuerstein and G. E. Schwartz (see record 1978-08510-001). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

National survey of mammographic facilities in 1985, 1988, and 1992

PURPOSE: To determine trends in mammography in the United States. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A sample of mammographic facilities was selected for each year of the Nationwide Evaluation of X-ray Trends. The same protocol was followed for the 1985, 1988, and 1992 surveys. Data were collected with use of the same imaging phantom for all three surveys and also with a different phantom in the 1988 and 1992 surveys. RESULTS: Of the 356 facilities surveyed in 1992, 59% claimed to be in compliance with the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) mammography requirements, 42% were accredited by the American College of Radiology (ACR), and 23% did not hold credentials from either the HCFA or the ACR. Since 1985, there has been a 34% improvement in acceptable phantom image quality score and a 20% decrease in the mean glandular dose. CONCLUSION: Mammography as practiced today is essentially a screen-film technique. Mammographic phantom image quality has improved considerably. The overall mean glandular dose has decreased primarily because of the elimination of xeroradiography.     

Animal rights.

As a result of the controversy which has arisen over the use of animals in research, the question of animal rights has emerged as one of several major philosophical issues. In the final analysis, concepts of right and wrong, good or bad, fair or unfair are nothing more than states of mind. These have no tangible empirical status apart from an observer. There are no inherent rights. They are inventions of the human mind. Do animals have rights? Only if we say they do. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

North Carolina stroke prevention and treatment facilities survey: rtPA therapy for acute stroke

BACKGROUND and PURPOSE: North Carolina is situated in the "stroke belt" region of the United States, an area of the country with a particularly high incidence of cerebrovascular disease. The North Carolina Stroke Prevention and Treatment Facilities Survey was carried out to determine the availabilities of a variety of stroke prevention and treatment services throughout the state. The purpose of the present study was to determine how widely recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator (rtPA) has been adopted for the treatment of patients with acute ischemic stroke and to determine the characteristics of the medical facilities in the state offering this therapy. METHODS: A single-page survey was mailed to the medical center directors of each inpatient medical facility in North Carolina. Data collected included questions related to the availability of selected basic and advanced diagnostic tests and procedures, stroke prevention and treatment programs and services (community stroke awareness program, acute stroke identification program, acute stroke team, stroke rtPA protocol, stroke care map, neurologist), and facilities (Stroke Acute Care Unit or equivalent). RESULTS: Responses were obtained from all 125 inpatient medical facilities in North Carolina. rtPA stroke protocols were adopted in 54 facilities located in 46 of the state's 100 counties. Seventy-four percent of the state's population resides in counties with hospitals providing rtPA treatment. Compared with facilities not offering rtPA, those with rtPA protocols more commonly sponsored stroke community awareness programs (41% versus 17%, P=0.003) and more frequently had an organized stroke team (31% versus 8%, P=0. 001), used stroke care maps (56% versus 17%, P<0.001), had rapid stroke identification programs (33% versus 6%, P<0.001), or had a Stroke Acute Care Unit or its equivalent (33% versus 7%, P<0.001). Neurologists were available in 78% of the facilities offering rtPA compared with 38% in facilities without rtPA protocols (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: These data show that this new therapy for ischemic stroke is potentially available to a high proportion of the state's citizens based on their county of residence. However, other services that may improve outcomes and reduce stroke-related costs (eg, stroke teams, stroke units, care maps) are not being widely used, even in centers providing treatment with rtPA. The simple methodology used in this study is potentially applicable in other states and permits targeting of selected centers for development of stroke treatment capabilities.     

Animal research in psychology.

Responds to the comments of Y.-F. Lau and C. Cheney (see record 1998-02643-001) regarding S. Plous's (see records 84-20622 and 84-09797) articles on animal research in psychology. Addressing each of the points raised by Lau and Cheney, Plous summarizes that the methodological critique they offer is flawed on several grounds. Plous agrees, however, with their conclusion that psychologists should make every effort to educate students about animal research and the existing legal regulations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Animal minds and evolution.

Argues that M. Blumberg and E. Wasserman's (see record 1995-20777-001) thesis that animal mentalists are victims of a fallacy akin to W. Paley's argument regarding adaptation by divine design represents a faulty analogy. The polemical use of authorities by Blumberg and Wasserman leaves a false impression of scholarly consensus among the authors cited on behalf of their position. The most salient weakness is said to be their comparison of attributions of design by divine artifice with attribution of behavioral flexibility to animal mind or consciousness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Animal models of relapse.

This review focuses upon an animal model of relapse. The basic model is to establish that a drug is functioning as a reinforcer. Drug is then replaced with vehicle, and responding is allowed to extinguish. Exteroceptive or interoceptive stimuli are then presented to determine whether behavior that was previously reinforced by drug would be reinstated. Experimental attention has been directed toward using interoceptive stimuli (e.g.. priming injections of the self-administered drug, other drugs of abuse or potential treatment drugs) to reinstate extinguished behavior. Drugs that function as reinforcers reinstate responding (relapse), although there have been few reports of reinstatement with drugs that are not reinforcing. Reinstatement usually occurs in a dose-dependent manner with a priming injection of a drug from the same pharmacological class. Restricted feeding and stress enhance relapse in cocaine-trained rats. Relapse occurs over several days or weeks of abstinence. This model is useful for the study of drug abuse treatment by identifying methods of behaviorally extinguishing or pharmacologically blocking relapse. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Animal Behavior Society.

The rapidly expanding field of animal behavior achieved organizational maturity through the formation of the Animal Behavior Society (ABS) in Montreal on December 28, 1964, during the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Discussed here are the officers, membership, and other issues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Animal models of prefrontal-executive function.

Executive function allows us to interact with the world in a purposive, goal-directed manner. It relies on several cognitive control operations that are mediated by different regions of the prefrontal cortex. While much of our knowledge about the functional subdivisions of the prefrontal cortex comes from the systematic assessment of patients with brain damage, animal models have served as the predominant tool for investigating specific structure–function relationships within the prefrontal cortex, especially as they relate to complex executive behaviors. These studies generally involve the targeted disruption of neural circuits combined with behavioral testing using carefully designed cognitive paradigms. In this review, I will describe a broad range of such experiments conducted in rats and monkeys that together reveal the distinct contributions of dorsal, medial, and ventral prefrontal cortex to different aspects of executive function. The effects of lesions and local pharmacological manipulations have provided valuable insights into the neural underpinnings of executive function and its neurochemical modulation. Despite the challenges associated with establishing a precise homology between animal models of prefrontal function and the human brain, such models currently offer the best means to systematically investigate the cognitive building blocks of executive function. This helps define the neural circuits that lead to a range of neurological and psychiatric disorders and facilitate the development of effective therapeutic strategies to ameliorate the associated cognitive impairments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Animal learning comes of age.

The current status of the field of animal learning is described in historical context. Three themes that have provided major impetus for the study of animal learning are identified: comparative cognition, animal models of human behavior, and functional neurology. The historical roots of these themes are described, followed by examples of contemporary research relevant to each theme. Important recent changes in conceptualization of basic conditioning phenomena are also described. The review suggests that the field of animal learning continues to contribute in unique and important ways to the understanding of behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Animal rights: A rejoinder.

Responds to the comments by A. N. Rowan (see record 2009-05603-006) on the current author's original discussion regarding animal rights (see record 2009-05603-005). In his original paper, Gallup maintains that there are no inherent rights; they are inventions of the human mind. Thus, animals only have rights if we say the do. Rowan, however, asserts there is more universal agreement as to why some beings have certain rights (e.g. the right to life, or the weaker right not to be caused unnecessary suffering) than Gallup credits. Here, Gallup suggests that Rowan has sidestepped the issue. If rights (be they human or otherwise) are something other than an invention of the human mind, then what are they, what form do they take, from whence do they come, and how are we to identify them? Contrary to what Rowan implies, Gallup says his intention was not to take a stand on whether or not animals have rights. To reiterate, says Gallup, animals only have rights to the extent that we say they do. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Animal rights: Another view.

Comments on a prior discussion of animal rights (see record 2009-05603-005) by Gordon G. Gallup, Jr. Gallup asserted that there are no inherent rights; they are inventions of the human mind. Thus, animals only have rights to the extent that we say they do. In this comment, Andrew N. Rowan posits that there is more universal agreement as to why some beings have certain rights (e.g. the right to life, or the weaker right not to be caused unnecessary suffering) than Gallup credits. However, even though philosophers have attempted to develop consistent arguments to underpin a "rights" theory, there are still many problems. Some of these problems are briefly touched upon here. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)