Role of maternal depression in perceptions of child maladjustment.

We investigated (a) the relation of maternal depression to perceptions of externalizing and internalizing disorders in children and (b) quality of communication in a mother–child interaction task as a function of maternal depression and perceptions of the child. 64 children of unipolar or bipolar mothers, chronic medically ill or normal mothers were studied; clinical diagnoses, children's reports, and teachers' ratings served as objective criteria of children's maladjustment. Maternal depression defined by current symptomatology on the Beck Depression Inventory and by psychiatric status was not associated with misperceptions of psychopathology. Maternal depression interacted with children's actual behaviors to predict mothers' perceptions: nondepressed mothers were less accurate reporters of problems in children than were depressed mothers. Depressed mothers who perceived maladjustment in their disturbed children made more negative comments in interactions than did nondepressed mothers of disturbed children. The apparent mutual impact of mothers' and children's maladjustment requires fuller exploration in offspring studies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evidence for superantigen involvement in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus aetiology

Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) is a T-cell-mediated autoimmune disease whose onset is believed to be triggered by unknown environmental factors acting on a predisposing genetic background. Islet-infiltrating T (IIT) cells from two IDDM patients, who had died at the onset of the disease from brain swelling as a complication of ketoacidosis, were analysed. The results provided evidence for the involvement of a pancreatic islet cell membrane-bound superantigen as a diabetes aetiopathogenetic factor. There was a selective expansion of a T-cell receptor (TCR) variable segment of the beta-chain (V beta 7) in these IIT cells in association with unselected V alpha-chain segments; extensive junctional diversity of the TCR V beta 7 chains; and evidence of positive selection, after exposure to diabetic islet cell membrane preparations, of V beta 7+ T-cell clones among peripheral blood lymphocytes from non-diabetic individuals.     

The US market for SO2 permits: Policy implications of the low price and trading volume

The price of SO₂ permits and the volume of trading under the US Acid Rain Program have been lower than expected. This can be explained by the creation and distribution of more permits than were initially authorized, by the sale of permits by high cost abaters who are subject to more stringent local emission constraints or who have irreversibly invested in high cost abatement technologies and by the deregulation of the natural gas and railroad industries which, in combination with incentives for cost-cutting under the new market approach to SO₂ control, has lowered marginal costs of abatement curves and made them more uniform across powerplants. The low price of permits and low trading volume are evidence that market approaches to pollution control can be more cost-effective than command and control regulations. The effect of public policies and technological changes on the allowance market are usefully examined in the context of an ideal market, in which the equilibrium price of allowances equals the marginal cost of abatement of individual powerplants. Using recent data from Coggins and Swinton (1996), we are able to explain the current price of permits with some accuracy.     

Personality and the predisposition to engage in risky or problem behaviors during adolescence.

Longitudinal data from a representative sample of 1,978 Black and White adolescents were used to examine the role of personality in multiple risk or problem behaviors. Results indicate that covariation among diverse behaviors (educational underachievement, delinquent behavior, substance use, sexual behavior) can be adequately modeled by a single higher order factor, and that impulsivity and avoidance coping serve as generalized risk factors for involvement in these behaviors. Whereas none of the personality variables examined explained change in problem behaviors once established, avoidance coping prospectively predicted involvement among a subgroup of adolescents with little or no prior involvement. Results suggest that dysfunctional styles of regulating emotions and emotionally driven behaviors are core features of risky or problem behaviors during adolescence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Safe and effective navigation of autonomous robots in hazardous environments

The development of autonomous mobile machines to perform useful tasks in real work environments is currently being impeded by concerns over effectiveness, commercial viability and, above all, safety. This paper introduces a case study of a robotic excavator to explore a series of issues around system development, navigation in unstructured environments, autonomous decision making and changing the behaviour of autonomous machines to suit the prevailing demands of users. The adoption of the Real-Time Control Systems (RCS) architecture (Albus, 1991) is proposed as a universal framework for the development of intelligent systems. In addition it is explained how the use of Partially Observable Markov Decision Processes (POMDP) (Kaelbling et al., 1998) can form the basis of decision making in the face of uncertainty and how the technique can be effectively incorporated into the RCS architecture. Particular emphasis is placed on ensuring that the resulting behaviour is both task effective and adequately safe, and it is recognised that these two objectives may be in opposition and that the desired relative balance between them may change. The concept of an autonomous system having “values” is introduced through the use of utility theory. Limited simulation results of experiments are reported which demonstrate that these techniques can create intelligent systems capable of modifying their behaviour to exhibit either ‘safety conscious’ or ‘task achieving’ personalities.     

Review of The achievement test desk reference: A guide to learning disability identification, second edition.

Reviews the book, The achievement test desk reference: A guide to learning disability identification, second edition by Dawn P. Flanagan, Samuel O. Ortiz, Vincent C. Alfonso, and Jennifer T. Mascolo (2006). The Second Edition of the Achievement test desk reference comes only four years after its first edition. Its content echoes the first edition, with the chapters now re-organized and updated. However, this edition is also timely; its significant contributions are its theoretical and practical model for defining and assessing learning disabilities (LD) and its update of practical information for interpreting many of the new standardized achievement tests. The goal for this edition was to provide an integrated and systematic framework for achievement testing within the framework of the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory of human cognitive abilities and the Response to Intervention (RTI) movement. Part 1 of provides an update of the theories, definitions, assessment, interpretation, and identification of LD. Part 2 describes and reviews the psychometric, theoretical, and qualitative features of achievement tests published between 1996 and 2006 and normed on people from the United States. Part 3 provides a comprehensive, step-by-step process for assessing learning disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA 2004). This volume guides practitioners to choose the best achievement tests to use. It shows how to get the most efficient and effective evaluations of students' academic skills that could account for their difficulties and possible learning disabilities. This book will be essential reference material for effective LD assessments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Juror competence in civil trials: Effects of preinstruction and evidence technicality.

48 jury-eligible adults heard 1 of 4 versions of a tort trial. The design combined high and moderate levels of evidence technicality and the placement of substantive judicial instructions either before or after evidence presentation. Jurors given instructions before hearing the evidence for liability and before the evidence for compensation made clear distinctions among 4 differentially worthy plaintiffs, whereas jurors instructed after evidence presentation were not able to distinguish among the plaintiffs. Preinstructions enabled jurors to devise a causal model, as measured by both verbal representation of the evidence and recognition tests, that contained more probative evidence and less nonprobative and evaluative information than the models constructed by jurors who were postinstructed. Preinstructed jurors were better able than postinstructed jurors to correctly reject recognition items not part of the trial text and to correctly identify items from the trial. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Antecedents and outcomes of work-family conflict: Testing a model of the work-family interface.

A comprehensive model of the work–family interface was developed and tested. The proposed model extended prior research by explicitly distinguishing between work interfering with family and family interfering with work. This distinction allowed testing of hypotheses concerning the unique antecedents and outcomes of both forms of work–family conflict and a reciprocal relationship between them. The influence of gender, race, and job type on the generalizability of the model was also examined. Data were obtained through household interviews with a random sample of 631 individuals. The model was tested with structural equation modeling techniques. Results were strongly supportive. In addition, although the model was invariant across gender and race, there were differences across blue- and white-collar workers. Implications for future research on the work–family interface are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Kundenkarten und Rabattsysteme

Zusammenfassung  Der Wandel der Gesellschaft im Umgang mit personenbezogenen Daten sowie die stete Entwicklung technischer M?glichkeiten in der Datenverarbeitung haben l?ngst dazu beigetragen, dass Verbraucherinnen und Verbraucher im Wege der Erstellung umfassender Konsumentenprofile immer st?rker in die Rolle gl?serner Kunden gedr?ngt werden. Daten sammelnde Unternehmen stellen insoweit eine Gefahr für das Recht der Einzelnen auf informationelle Selbstbestimmung dar. Vor diesem Hintergrund befasst sich der Beitrag mit den datenschutzrechtlichen Anforderungen an Kundenbindungsprogramme und zeigt, wie sie datenschutzgerecht und verbraucherfreundlich gestaltet werden k?nnen.