Impact of an organizational control policy on absenteeism, performance, and satisfaction.

Examined the impact of an organizational control policy based on the concept of "legal compliance" with established organizational norms on 2 behavioral measures--absenteeism and performance--and 2 attitudinal measures of satisfaction. The control policy was experimentally manipulated in each of 2 experimental groups totaling 297 undergraduates. In one group, a compulsory attendance policy followed by a noncompulsory policy was employed, while in the other the sequence of administering the policies was reversed. Attendance, performance, and satisfaction measures were used as criteria in analyses of variance. Results indicate that a control policy based on legal compliance significantly improved attendance and performance and did not alter satisfaction levels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Wailing Babies in Her Wake.

The scientific study of child witnesses has influenced both developmental science and jurisprudence concerning children. Focusing on the author's own studies, 4 categories of research are briefly reviewed: (a) children's eyewitness memory and suggestibility; (b) memory for traumatic events in childhood; (c) disclosure of child sexual abuse; and (d) experiences of child victim/witnesses within the legal system. Implications for psychology and for legal practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pregnancy, drug testing, and the Fourth Amendment: Legal and behavioral implications.

In its efforts to protect the health of unborn children, the government is increasingly attempting to regulate pregnant women's conduct. As with other policies affecting pregnant women's autonomy, these policies have constitutional overtones. In Ferguson v. City of Charleston (2001), the Supreme Court struck down a South Carolina hospital's policy of testing pregnant women for cocaine and turning positive results over to law enforcement for prosecution. This article discusses the basis of the decision and its legal and behavioral implications. Although the decision came down on the side of pregnant women's rights, it left unresolved the issue of whether a similar policy could be constructed that would pass constitutional muster. The article concludes with a consideration of the likely effects of, and alternatives to, such a policy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Risk factors in the relationship between gender and crack/cocaine.

Female inner-city substance users evidence greater crack/cocaine use and are more likely to be dependent on this drug than on any other drug. Additionally, female inner-city substance users evidence greater crack/cocaine use and are more likely to be dependent on this drug than their male counterparts, despite no consistent difference demonstrated in use and dependence across other drugs. Because no published work has empirically examined the factors underlying this link between females and crack/cocaine, the current study examined the role of theoretically relevant personality and environmental variables. Among 152 (37% female) individuals in a residential substance-use treatment program, females evidenced greater use of crack/cocaine (current and lifetime heaviest) and were significantly more likely to evidence crack/cocaine dependence than their male counterparts. In contrast, no gender differences were found for any other substance across alcohol, cannabis, and hallucinogens (including PCP). Surprisingly, females were more impulsive than their male counterparts, with impulsivity serving as a risk factor in the relationship between gender and crack/cocaine dependence and lifetime heaviest use. Females also evidenced higher levels of negative emotionality and childhood abuse, but neither variable served as a risk factor in the relationship between gender and crack/cocaine dependence or use. Limitations and future directions are discussed, including the need for further exploration of impulsivity across its various dimensions as well as the inclusion of additional variables such as social context variables to account more fully for this complex link between gender and crack/cocaine. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The collision of economics and politics in Medicaid managed care: reflections on the course of reform in Maryland

One of the most dynamic areas of health policy is the transition of Medicaid programs to managed care and market competition. Maryland has been a leader in this trend, initiating three different systems of managed care for the Medicaid population during the 1990s as it searched for an ideal plan. The Maryland experience illustrates the complex new demands that policy makers are facing. Health plans are expected not only to deliver budgetary savings, but also to improve the quality of their services and guarantee a place for safety-net providers in their delivery systems. As a result, there is a sizable gap between the original savings projected for the new Maryland system and its actual capacity for cost containment. The apparent collision between economic assumptions and political realities, however, may point the way to a constructive synthesis--a form of managed care that balances economy with important community, professional, and personal values.     

Fifteen things you should know about new Maryland laws when making health care decisions

Recent dramatic changes to Maryland law regarding health care decision making for incapacitated patients will have significant impact on the role of physicians in making these decisions. On October 1, 1993, the newly passed Maryland Health Care Decision Act took effect, and revisions to state guardianship laws were implemented. The laws, which Governor Schaefer approved on May 11, 1993, modify existing statutory language pertaining to the four legal tools available for making health care decisions for a person when he or she becomes incapacitated: (1) living wills, (2) substituted consents for medical procedures, (3) health care power of attorney appointments, and (4) guardianship proceedings. This article summarizes 15 important points in these new or revised Maryland laws on health care decision making.     

Clear and Unambiguous Language of the Contract Nixes Delay Claim

To many civil engineers, the legal aspects of contracts are confusing and the outcome of a court proceeding appears to be a chance circumstance. Nothing could be further from the truth. Legal decisions are guided by fundamental principles that are always applied. The recent case of Costello Construction of Maryland v. J. D. Long Masonry (Costello Construction of Maryland v. J. D. Long) affords an opportunity to discuss and reinforce several of these principles.     

Divorce mediation.

Mediation is a growing alternative to the adversarial settlement of divorce disputes that is part of a broader movement toward the private ordering of divorce. Problems with the indeterminant "best interests" standard and evidence from psychological research make mediation particularly appealing for settling child-custody disputes. Although some encouraging evidence is available on diversion of disputes from courts and consumer satisfaction with mediation, there is a considerable need for further research. Moreover, a number of practical, legal, and ethical questions about mediation remain unanswered. Psychologists can play a vital role in systematically evaluating divorce mediation and in shaping policy in regard to its practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Investigation of Large Web Fractures of Welded Steel Plate Girder Bridge

Constructed in 1972 with ASTM A36 (250 MPa) steel, a highway bridge in Maryland is comprised of seven welded steel plate girders of a constant web depth of 2,286 mm (90 in.). In March 2003, the web fractures of two steel girders were discovered in a three-span continuous superstructure unit. A full-height web fracture occurred in an interior girder at a cross frame connection plate; and a partial-height web fracture occurred in an exterior girder at an intermediate transverse stiffener next to a cross frame. The investigation of the girder fractures involved fracture surface examination, material testing, fracture mechanics analysis, and comprehensive finite-element modeling for fracture driving forces. The fracture mechanics analysis indicated that a brittle web fracture could occur at a high stress level with either a surface crack or a through-thickness crack of certain dimensions. Finite-element analysis using a global model and submodels investigated three possible causes: (1) localized distortion of the unsupported web gap due to the lateral forces of cross frame members; (2) fabrication induced out-of-flatness of the web plate under in-plane loading; and (3) residual stresses at the fracture origin area due to the stiffener-to-web welds. The investigation concluded that one or a combination of these can result in the high local tensile stresses triggering a brittle web fracture with certain crack dimensions at the fracture origin area. Several retrofit concepts were investigated for their effectiveness in reducing stresses in the fracture origin area. Bridge inspections in the subsequent 6 years after the web fractures have not reported any other cracks in the bridge.     

Crystallographic fatigue crack growth in incompatible Aluminum Bicrystals: Its Dependence on Secondary Slip

The secondary slip behavior ahead of crystallographic fatigue cracks and its effect on the crack growth near the grain boundaries (GBs) in\([12\bar 1]\) tilt nonsymmetrical aluminum bicrystals under constant cyclic stress amplitude have been systematically examined. The displacement field ahead of short crack tips near the interfaces in two specimens has been measured by using a microfiducial grid technique. It has been observed that the critical persistent slip band (PSB) ahead of a short crack tip near the GB in a middle misoriented bicrystal was able to develop as long as the primary one and resulted in a temporary stage II growth. As a longer crystal- lographic crack grew into the grain boundary affected zone (GBAZ), activation of the critical slip ahead of the crack front and crack branching along the critical PSB occurred in all groups of the aluminum bicrystals, which reveals a crucial role of the critical slip in increasing the crack opening and triggering the slip in the adjacent grain. On the other hand, cross slip became the dominant slip mode ahead of the crystallographic crack front near the GB in a bicrystal of larger misfit angles and drove the crack along the cross PSB, a steep path with a remarkably high growth rate, until it propagated into the GBAZ. The resultant stress on the secondary slip system ahead of a crack front near the interface contributed by the internal stress due to both intergranular and intragranular incompatible strain, as well as the enhanced crack tip stress, has been evaluated and rationalizes the activation of the secondary slip systems.     

The case against corporal punishment of children: Converging evidence from social science research and international human rights law and implications for U.S. public policy.

Although support for corporal punishment of children remains widespread in the United States, there is a substantial body of research from psychology and its allied disciplines indicating corporal punishment is ineffective as a disciplinary practice and can have unintended negative effects on children. At the same time, there is a growing momentum among other countries to enact legal bans on all forms of corporal punishment, bolstered by the fact that the practice has come to be regarded as a violation of international human rights law. The authors summarize these developments in research and law as well as the current legal status of corporal punishment of children in the United States. The authors conclude with 4 proposed program and policy strategies to reduce the use of corporal punishment in the United States by both parents and school personnel. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mechanical behavior of the ceramics based on ZrO2

Conclusions Following a single procedure, we studied the strength, the deformability, and the crack resistance of a number of ceramics based on zirconium dioxide containing stabilizing additives (magnesium oxide or yttrium oxide); their mechanical behavior was found to differ significantly. In particular, zirconium dioxide containing yttrium oxide (a brittle material with X=1) is linear-elastic up to its fracture; on the other hand, zirconium dioxide containing magneisum oxide (a relatively brittle material having <1) exhibits nonlinear behavior. In view of this, the resistance to crack growth, the temperature dependence of the deformation diagrams, and the other specific features of mechanical behavior of these types of ceramics differ significantly.Translated from Poroshkovaya Metallurgiya, No. 10 (346), pp. 51–56, October, 1991.     

Predicting sentencing for low-level crimes: Comparing models of human judgment.

Laws and guidelines regulating legal decision making are often imposed without taking the cognitive processes of the legal decision maker into account. In the case of sentencing, this raises the question of whether the sentencing decisions of prosecutors and judges are consistent with legal policy. Especially in handling low-level crimes, legal personnel suffer from high case loads and time pressure, which can make it difficult to comply with the often complex rulings of the law. To understand the cognitive processes underlying sentencing decisions, an analysis of trial records in cases of larceny, fraud, and forgery was conducted. Applying a Bayesian approach, five models of human judgment were tested against each other to predict the sentencing recommendations of the prosecution and to identify the crucial factors influencing sentencing decisions. The factors influencing sentencing were broadly consistent with the penal code. However, the prosecutors considered only a limited number of factors and neglected factors that were legally relevant and rated as highly important. Furthermore, testing the various cognitive judgment models against each other revealed that the sentencing process was apparently not consistent with the judgment policy recommended by the legal literature. Instead, the results show that prosecutors’ sentencing recommendations were best described by the mapping model, a heuristic model of quantitative estimation. According to this model, sentencing recommendations rely on a categorization of cases based on the cases’ characteristics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Editorial.

Psychology, Public Policy, and Law focuses on the links between psychology as a science, relevant information derived from related disciplines as sciences, and public policy and law. It will publish articles that (1) critically evaluate the actual and potential contributions of psychology to public policy and legal issues, (2) assess the desirability of different public policy and legal alternatives in light of the scientific knowledge base in psychology, (3) articulate research needs that address public policy and legal issues for which there is currently insufficient theoretical and empirical knowledge, and (4) examine public policy and legal issues relating to the conduct of psychology and of related disciplines where relevant to psychology. The goals for the journal are to (1) provide a multidisciplinary forum for scholarship and interchange relevant to the mission of the journal, (2) provide a forum for the publications of comprehensive, scholarly articles that critically consider theoretical, conceptual, and doctrinal issues or that critically review the literature on topics relevant to the mission of the journal, and (3) provide a forum for the publication of comprehensive, scholarly articles that report the results of programs of research or large-scale empirical studies relevant to the mission of the journal. This particular issue provides a forum for critical discussion of the implications of using a social science amicus brief in court cases. It also demonstrates the opportunity that this journal will provide to social scientists to critically evaluate their colleagues' work when those colleagues attempt to offer their science and opinions in the legal or public policy arenas. Finally, this issue reflects the journal's desire to be a flexible forum for scholarly interchange. Rather than always publishing articles that are relatively independent of each other, the journal will also publish issues devoted to a single theme (as occurred in the first issue of this volume), and, as in the case of this issue, to interchange about one theme when it is appropriate for advancing the field. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Approach-related results following acetabular fractures

Acetabular fractures are severe injuries. Making a diagnosis and deciding on therapy are difficult because of the complexity of the anatomic structure and because of the soft tissues. Choosing the most suitable approach is the most important problem when deciding on the operative treatment. Besides standard approaches (Kocher/Langenbeck, ilioinguinal and extended iliofemoral), the "Maryland approach" has been established in the last few years. Modifying the steps of preparation, it is possible to begin the operation with a Kocher/Langenbeck approach (with variation on where the skin incision is made) and to extend the approach step by step to achieve optimal exposure. Here we describe the results of acetabular fractures treated between 1989 and 1994 (n = 159) in our clinic related to the surgical approach. The "modified Maryland approach" as used in our clinic, starts with exposure of the dorsal column, offering the possibility of a universal exposure.     

Crystallographic fatigue crack growth in incompatible aluminum bicrystals: Its dependence on secondary slip

The secondary slip behavior ahead of crystallographic fatigue cracks and its effect on the crack growth near the grain boundaries (GBs) in tilt nonsymmetrical aluminum bicrystals under constant cyclic stress amplitude have been systematically examined. The displacement field ahead of short crack tips near the interfaces in two specimens has been measured by using a microfiducial grid technique. It has been observed that the critical persistent slip band (PSB) ahead of a short crack tip near the GB in a middle misoriented bicrystal was able to develop as long as the primary one and resulted in a temporary stage II growth. As a longer crystallographic crack grew into the grain boundary affected zone (GBAZ), activation of the critical slip ahead of the crack front and crack branching along the critical PSB occurred in all groups of the aluminum bicrystals, which reveals a crucial role of the critical slip in increasing the crack opening and triggering the slip in the adjacent grain. On the other hand, cross slip became the dominant slip mode ahead of the crystallographic crack front near the GB in a bicrystal of larger misfit angles and drove the crack along the cross PSB, a steep path with a remarkably high growth rate, until it propagated into the GBAZ. The resultant stress on the secondary slip system ahead of a crack front near the interface contributed by the internal stress due to both intergranular and intragranular incompatible strain, as well as the enhanced crack tip stress, has been evaluated and rationalizes the activation of the secondary slip systems. On leave from Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030024, People’s Republic of China.     

"Evaluation of child witnesses for confrontation by criminal defendants": Erratum.

Reports an error in the original article by M. A. Small and G. B. Melton (Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 1994[August], Vol 25[3], 228–233). Footnote 1 incorrectly indicates that the Craig brief was written without the aid of private legal counsel. Though the brief in question was written with more APA member involvement than has been the case for other briefs, private legal counsel participated and was listed as a coauthor. (The following abstract of this article originally appeared in record 1994-43476-001.) States have passed legislation governing the procedures by which children may testify in cases of child abuse. In Maryland v. Craig (1990), the US Supreme Court reviewed the constitutionality of these procedures. As a result, psychologists may be asked to perform evaluations regarding the potential trauma a child faces in confronting a defendant in a criminal case. Specifically, opinions of psychologists may be sought as to the potential trauma a child may endure as a result of a face-to-face confrontation with a defendant. Research relevant to this assessment is reviewed, and it is suggested that psychologists may be of most help in preparing children to testify.… (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sexual Harassment and Social Justice: Reflections on the Distance Yet to Go.

Despite progress, protections remain inadequate for victims who bring legal claims of sexual harassment. The process for damages determination frequently increases harm and undercuts the policy initiatives enshrined in Title VII. The author critiques this process, focusing on misuse of psychological examinations and failure of the federal "rape shield" law to adequately protect plaintiffs. The author suggests possible reforms, including removing caps on Title VII damages, minimum awards (i.e., liquidated damages) upon proof of liability, and strategies for educating juries on the harms of harassment that do not exacerbate them, and concludes with a call for professional guidelines for conducting forensic evaluations in sexual harassment cases, thus advancing the policy goal of combating discrimination by encouraging victims to come forward. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of chronic hemodialysis on thyroid function tests in patients with end-stage renal disease

The Maryland Dentist's Well-Being Committee was formed in 1980 as a standing committee of the Maryland State Dental Association. The committee has assisted many dentists over the years with problems such as stress, alcoholism, drug dependence, psychiatric disorders, medical problems, HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) disease, neurological disorders, and other illnesses that cause impairment. Key elements of the committee include confidentiality, a good working relationship with the Maryland State Board of Dental Examiners, advocacy efforts, and a paid clinical coordinator with special expertise in mental health and addiction treatment.