AIDS 1988: The science and the limits of science.

Reviews the epidemiology, virology, and immunology of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and discusses the limits of current knowledge in these areas. AIDS came to the attention of public health officials in 1981. At 1st confined to homosexual and bisexual males, heterosexual transmission of AIDS has increased. The concept of high-risk group has been replaced by that of high-risk behaviors (e.g., intravenous drug use, intercourse). HIV damages the immune system by selectively infecting and killing T-4 lymphocytes, thus rendering the body susceptible to opportunistic infections. AIDS research has been limited by inadequate funding. Psychologists are urged to become informed about the science of AIDS as generated by their colleagues in medicine, biology, and public health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The practice of psychological science.

Replies to comments made by Tebes (see record 2007-12413-003) and Guyll and Madon (see record 2007-12413-004) on Sue's original article (see record 1999-15532-003), which noted the the paucity of publications and funding for research on ethnic minority populations. It is my belief that theories, models, and assessment instruments should all be rated according to adequacy with different populations. Those that have been used and found to be appropriate and applicable to many different populations should be considered as being more adequate, meeting more stringent requirements, and having greater goodness of fit to human beings than those that have been applied to only a few populations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The greening of relationship science.

This article briefly outlines the salutary implications for psychology of the development of a science of interpersonal relationships, which has emerged as multidiscipinary in nature and international in scope. Discussed are the potentials of relationship science: to unite psychological scholars with other social, behavioral, and biological scientists; to help integrate many subdisciplines within psychology; to bridge the chasm between researcher and practitioner; to extend knowledge of human behavior to people's daily lives and natural surroundings; and to inform issues of national concern. The realization of these potentials, however, requires transcendence of psychologists' traditional individualistic orientation, as well as more research on the impact of affect on cognition and research on the impact of relationships' exterior environments on their interior dynamics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The different prevention science.

Comments on the similarities between prevention research (R. F. Mu?oz [Ed.], 1996; and K. Heller, see record 84-09313) and the field of safety research. Both can be defined as disciplines focused on the systematic study of precursors of risk and protective factors, and both use telic methods of analysis, meaning that they begin with the event to be explained, and use the event to define its antecedent(s). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The science of practice and the practice of science: The scientist-practitioner model in clinical neuropsychology.

Addresses the mutual leavening of, and interplay between, science and practice in clinical neuropsychology in terms of several principles that are thought to have rather general applicability. These principles concern several types of validity; mechanism and dynamics; answers vs questions; the role of insight, model building, and theory in science; and deconstructionism and other ideological fads. An example is provided of the interactions between science and practice in the case of the development of the syndrome of nonverbal learning disabilities and the "white matter" model designed to account for its developmental manifestations and dynamics. It is concluded that clinical practice and the science of neuropsychology should continue to reap considerable benefit from the principles nascent in the scientist–practitioner model. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The science and politics of race-norming.

Disparate impact (racial imbalance) in employee selection constitutes prima facie evidence of unlawful discrimination. Research in personnel psychology has shown, however, that valid and unbiased selection procedures often guarantee disparate impact and that they will continue to do so as long as there remain large racial disparities in job-related skills and abilities. Employers are in a legal bind because often they can avoid disparate impact only by engaging in unlawful disparate treatment (racial preferences). Some personnel psychologists have argued that there is scientific justification for race-based adjustments in test scores that eliminate disparate impact. Analyses of their seemingly scientific reasoning illustrate how personnel selection science is being compromised in an effort to reconcile contradictory legal demands. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The greening of materials science and engineering

The field of materials science and engineering is advancing at a revolutionary pace. It is now generally recognized as being among the key emerging technological fields propelling our world societies into the twenty-first century. The driving forces for this revolutionary pace are at once social, economic, political, and technological. For example, relatively recent changes in United States federal policies in environmental control, hazardous waste management, and energy conservation along with heightened international trade competition have resulted in major changes in material processing and use patterns. These changing patterns are creating new requirements for material developments, substitutions, and associated processes. This paper traces the emergence of materials policy and technological developments through four sub-periods of history: the birth and development of engineering in the United States (1825–1900), the evolution of a national research infrastructure (1900–1945), the evolution of a national science policy (1945–1973), and the intensification of global interdependency (1973-present). Future trends in materials developments and future policy requirements are outlined.     

The greening of materials science and engineering

The field of materials science and engineering is advancing at a revolutionary pace. It is now generally recognized as being among the key emerging technological fields propelling our world societies into the twenty-first century. The driving forces for this revolutionary pace are at once social, economic, political, and technological. For example, relatively recent changes in United States federal policies in environmental control, hazardous waste management, and energy conservation along with heightened international trade competition have resulted in major changes in material processing and use patterns. These changing patterns are creating new requirements for material developments, substitutions, and associated processes. This paper traces the emergence of materials policy and technological developments through four sub-periods of history: the birth and development of engineering in the United States (1825–1900), the evolution of a national research infrastructure (1900–1945), the evolution of a national science policy (1945–1973), and the intensification of global interdependency (1973-present). Future trends in materials developments and future policy requirements are outlined. Technical Resources, of TRW, Inc., began his professional career in 1954 as a research metallurgist and reactor project engineer with General Electric Co. at the Hanford Atomic Products Operation in Richland, WA. In 1965 he joined Battelle Memorial Institute as a manager of the metallurgy research department and three years later became manager of the fuels and materials department. In 1970 Dr. Bement joined the faculty of Massachusetts Institute of Technology as professor of nuclear materials. From 1974 to 1976 he served as a member of the U.S.-U.S.S.R. Bilateral Exchange Program in Magnetohydrodynamics and was the organizer and principal investigator of the M.I.T. Fusion Technology Program. In 1976 Dr. Bement became Director of the Materials Sciences Office of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and in 1979 was appointed Deputy Under-Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. Dr. Bement has co-authored one book, edited three books, and authored over 90 articles on materials science, energy, and defense technology. He is a Fellow of the American Nuclear Society, the American Society for Metals, and the American Institute of Chemists. In addition, he is a member of the American Institute for Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers, and the American Society for Testing and Materials. He has received outstanding achievement awards from the Colorado Engineering Council in 1954, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in 1977, and the Colorado School of Mines in 1984. In 1980 he was awarded the Distinguished Civilian Service Medal by the Secretary of Defense. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering. Dr. Bement is chairman of the National Materials Advisory Board and a member of the Board of Army Science and Technology, the Board on Engineering Sciences, the Board on Assessment of National Bureau of Standards Programs, and the Board on Science and Technology for International Development of the National Research Council. Dr. Bement received an Engineer of Metallurgy (E. Met.) degree in 1954 from the Colorado School of Mines. He received an M.S. in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Idaho in 1959, and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1963. He is a Lt. Colonel (ret.) in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Dr. Bement and his family reside in Mayfield Village, OH.     

The science and politics of dental amalgam

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of pediatric practice consultation in reducing missed-opportunity rates at eight pediatric sites in Baltimore, Maryland. The overarching goal was to decrease the occurrence of missed opportunities from 33% to 15% for the first, second, and third diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and pertussis vaccines during visits at which children were eligible for the vaccines. DESIGN: The effect of an in-office educational program alone at four sites is compared with the educational program and a consultation on office vaccination practices at four matched sites. All eight sites received a small grant ($2,000) to fund practice changes. The medical records of children making visits before and after the interventions were audited to determine missed-opportunity rates. The policies and operations and the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of physicians and nurse practitioners at each site were also assessed. RESULTS: The four education-consultation sites experienced a statistically significant 14% net reduction in the missed-opportunity rate relative to the education-only sites. This positive effect, however, was largely due to an increase in missed opportunities at one education-only site. There was a 10% increase in the missed-opportunity rate among the education-only sites and a 4% decrease among the education-consultation sites; neither change was statistically significant. Two of the three sites that reduced missed opportunities were matched health maintenance organizations (HMOs). Shortly after the interventions, both HMOs implemented tracking and follow-up information systems, which were planned before the interventions. CONCLUSIONS: There is no evidence that either the educational program alone or the educational program and consultation combination reduced missed opportunities. The findings suggest that improved tracking and follow-up data systems and vaccination of children at sick visits may reduce missed opportunities.     

The greening of materials science and engineering

The field of materials science and engineering is advancing at a revolutionary pace. It is now generally recognized as being among the key emerging technological fields propelling our world societies into the twenty-first century. The driving forces for this revolutionary pace are at once social, economic, political, and technological. For example, relatively recent changes in United States federal policies in environmental control, hazardous waste management, and energy conservation along with heightened international trade competition have resulted in major changes in material processing and use patterns. These changing patterns are creating new requirements for material developments, substitutions, and associated processes. This paper traces the emergence of materials policy and technological developments through four sub-periods of history: the birth and development of engineering in the United States (1825–1900), the evolution of a national research infrastructure (1900–1945), the evolution of a national science policy (1945–1973), and the intensification of global interdependency (1973-present). Future trends in materials developments and future policy requirements are outlined.     

Using a children''s dental health carnival as a primary vehicle to educate children about oral health

Neonatal hypoglycaemia remains a controversial issue. Uncertainty surrounds what constitutes the optimal safe blood glucose for newborn babies. There are good reasons and evidence for maintaining blood glucose greater than 2.5 mmol/L in newborn babies. Since 1986 neonatal paediatricians have changed in their definition of neonatal hypoglycaemia. Ideally, screening of blood glucose in neonatal intensive care units should be done with an on-site glucose analyzer.     

Information processing for masked and unmasked stimuli in schizophrenia and old age.

Compared 36 hospitalized schizophrenics, depressives, and normal elderly Ss (mean ages 24.7, 31.8, and 67.5 yrs) on tasks involving the identification of briefly exposed masked and unmasked stimuli. The critical stimulus duration (CSD), defined as the minimum exposure required to consistently identify a target stimulus without a mask, was obtained for each S. The target stimulus was followed by a pattern mask. Masking functions were estimated at 3 levels of exposure duration, including the S's CSD. At each exposure duration the mask followed at 4 interstimulus intervals. The elderly required longer durations for criterion identification of unmasked stimuli than the other Ss. For masked stimuli, however, the elderly did not differ from depressed inpatients, and both of these groups exceeded the schizophrenics when the test stimulus was exposed at Ss' CSD. Results indicate that when the initial availability of input information is controlled, schizophrenics show a mask-induced deficit relative to depressed inpatients, but the elderly do not. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Where science and magic meet: The illusion of a “science of magic”.

Recent articles calling for a scientific study of magic have been the subject of widespread interest. This article considers the topic from a broader perspective and argues that to engage in a science of magic, in any meaningful sense, is misguided. It argues that those who have called for a scientific theory of magic have failed to explain either how or why such a theory might be constructed, that a shift of focus to a neuroscience of magic is simply unwarranted, and that a science of magic is itself an inherently unsound idea. It seeks to provide a more informed view of the relationship between science and magic and suggests a more appropriate way forward for scientists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The science of infanticide and mental illness.

Women who murder their children have been the subject of intensive media and public scrutiny. Reactions have varied from horror at the cruelty of the act to sympathy for the perpetrator, based on the belief that the mother must have been severely mentally disordered or at least suffering from a diminished mental capacity at the time of the offense. As a result, the English and American legal systems have adopted very different legal responses to this crime. Underlying these legal positions are assumptions about the effect of childbirth on mental status and the relation of mental status to the legal criteria necessary to meet a legal defense (e.g., insanity) or necessary to justify charging the offender with a lesser crime. This article critically considers the scientific knowledge on infanticide and mental illness to determine the appropriateness of these assumptions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)