Peer interaction in young deaf children: The effect of partner hearing status and familiarity.

14 deaf 54–83 mo olds were videotaped playing once with each of 4 partners: a familiar deaf playmate, a familiar hearing playmate, an unfamiliar hearing child who was a playmate of another deaf child, and an unfamiliar hearing child who had little experience playing with deaf children. 21 hearing and 7 deaf playmates participated. Deaf Ss rarely used language, and formal language use was not related to measures of interaction or play even when playing with another deaf child. Instead, interaction and pretense seemed to be related to the deaf Ss' nonlinguistic communication abilities. Partner hearing status primarily affected communication, with communication between deaf playmates being more visual (both linguistic and nonlinguistic) and less object-based than communication between deaf and hearing playmates. Familiarity played a larger role than experience in improving interaction between deaf and hearing children. The hearing children were more responsive to and used more visual communication devices with their deaf playmate than an unfamiliar deaf child. But the hearing playmates were no better at playing with an unfamiliar deaf child than were hearing children who had little experience playing with deaf children. Implications for the understanding of young children's communication abilities and for deaf educational programs are discussed. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cost-effectiveness of providing insurance benefits for posthospital psychiatric halfway house stays.

A model insurance benefit package for posthospitalization psychiatric halfway house care was developed and administered to 32 hospitalized mentally ill persons. The therapeutic and cost effectiveness of providing a 120-day benefit package was examined over a 14-mo posthospitalization period. This was compared with the effectiveness of hospitalization benefits alone for the same patients over the 42 mo prior to halfway house admission. In terms of therapeutic efficacy, there was no significant deterioration after hospitalization release in either the symptom or behavioral coping scales, except for an increase in somatization. Yearly hospital recidivism rates fell from 79% to 29%, and the average yearly length of hospital stay per patient fell from 83 days to 18 days. In terms of cost-effectiveness, halfway house benefits saved the insurers 59% of their hospitalization costs. The implications of these findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a neuropsychological model of functional disability after mild traumatic brain injury.

Discusses investigations into the nature, causes, predictors, and treatment of functional disability after minor traumatic brain injury (TBI). Distinctions among minor head injury, mild traumatic brain injury, postconcussion syndrome, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are clarified, and methodological and information-processing issues in minor TBI are identified. Four stages of clinical research related to minor TBI are described: identification of functional scenarios (1983–1987), development of educational materials (1985–1986), ongoing research (1988–1992), and clinical applications (1992 and continuing). Finally, a neuropsychological model of functional disability after minor TBI is presented, with implications for assessment and treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Unilateral vs. bilateral carpal tunnel: challenges and approaches

Conditions affecting either or both extremities offer unique opportunities and challenges for investigators and clinicians. When the condition is purely unilateral, observations on the unaffected extremity may be used as a within-patient control, and thereby strengthen the ability to identify changes in the affected limb. However, such use presumes that the condition will not subsequently develop in the unaffected extremity. Bilateral presentations or subsequent development of disease in the unaffected extremity is common in conditions such as the carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Treatment of one extremity may lead to development or aggravation of CTS in the other extremity. Since both extremities may be necessary to perform certain activities, it can be difficult to clearly identify treatment effects when looking at functional outcomes. In an effort to avoid these complexities, investigators have used one of two approaches in studying CTS: either selecting only those patients with unilateral disease, or analyzing results by extremity, often avoiding any outcome measures that might depend upon both extremities (such as driving). We illustrate some of the shortcomings of this approach, such as loss of patients and data, with preliminary information from our ongoing prospective study of carpal tunnel surgery outcomes. We develop a dynamic model that incorporates etiologic factors and treatment effects to describe changes in CTS over time. This model accounts for extremity-specific and systemic factors, as well as possible interaction of the disease process in both hands. The advantages of this model include a more rational approach to research and care of extremity disorders, and research strategies which address a wider scope of patients and outcomes; however, its application is limited by the need for more extensive data collection.     

PCB布线设计(之六)

对于12位传感系统的布线，应用的电路是一负载单元电路，该电路可精确测量传感器上施加的重量，然后将结果显示在LCD显示屏上。系统电路原理图如图1所示。采用的负载单元是Omega公司的LCL-816G。LCL-816G传感器模型是由四个电阻元件组成的桥，需电压激励。将5V激励电压加在传感器     

Interpersonal betrayal and cooperation: Effects on self-evaluation in depression.

Assessed the effect of interpersonal betrayal and cooperative social interaction on self-evaluation processes among 54 female undergraduates scored as depressed or nondepressed on the Self-Rating Depression Scale. Depressed Ss who experienced interpersonal betrayal in a prisoner's dilemma game were more critical of their performance on a subsequent task than were nondepressed Ss or depressed Ss who had experienced a cooperative interaction. Depressed Ss in the betrayal condition also behaved more aggressively toward their betraying partner than did nondepressed betrayed Ss. Depressed Ss were more critical of their own personality characteristics than were nondepressed Ss, regardless of condition. Results suggest that some negative cognitive schema among depressed persons may be altered by interpersonal factors, although it is not clear whether such effects are secondary to increases in self-criticism after conflict or to decreases in self-critical tendencies after positive interaction. Researchers are urged to use multiple, diverse measures of self-evaluation in future efforts to study variability in self-appraisal. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological responses to BRCA1 mutation testing: Preliminary findings.

The short-term psychological responses of 60 adult women tested for a BRCA1 gene mutation associated with a high risk of breast and ovarian cancer were investigated. Participants were members of a large kindred enrolled in an ongoing prospective study of the psychosocial impact of genetic testing. Initial results from participants who completed both the pretest baseline and the 1-2 week posttest follow-up interviews are reported. Gene mutation carriers manifested significantly higher levels of test-related psychological distress, as measured by the Impact of Event Scale, when compared with noncarriers. The highest levels of test-related distress were observed among mutation carriers with no history of cancer or cancer-related surgery. Although general distress (state anxiety) declined after testing, carriers were more distressed than noncarriers at follow-up. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-efficacy for recovery from a lapse after smoking cessation.

Self-efficacy for avoiding any lapse after smoking cessation has often been found to predict maintaining abstinence. The authors measured recent ex-smokers' self-efficacy for recovery of abstinence (SER) after an initial lapse by using the articulated thoughts during simulated situations (G. C. Davison et al, 1983) paradigm. Ss with moderate SER maintained abstinence nonsignificantly longer than did those with high SER, significantly longer than those with low SER. This result is consistent with A. Bandura's (1986) hypothesis that SER should be high enough that ex-smokers do not become hopeless if a lapse occurs, yet not so high that they are tempted to experiment with smoking. The discussion focuses on measurement and conceptualization of SER, in particular its distinctiveness from response–outcome expectations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Knowledge Management Focus in US and Canadian Firms

Experts predict that as we approach the year 2000, employee brainpower and other knowledge resources are rapidly becoming the most important factors driving business profitability. The challenge for organizations over the next decade will be to understand the role of knowledge resources in creating value for firms. This article provides three perspectives to understand the notion of knowledge management. The first section provides an overview of trends and issues that highlight the emergence of the knowledge era. The second section of the article recaps the results of a survey of Fortune 500 and Post 300 firms that the authors conducted to learn about knowledge management practices. The last section of the article provides guidelines for getting started in knowledge management.