Informing consumer decisions in health care: implications from decision-making research

Despite the wider dissemination of health plan report cards, little is known about whether consumers will use this information in making plan and provider choices. Studies of human judgment and decision making are reviewed, as are their implications for devising strategies to inform consumers. The limitations of human information processing suggest that many consumers will not use performance information in making choices. Strategies are needed to support consumers who prefer to rely on intermediaries as well as those who wish to apply the information for their own use. Many current strategies are based on assumptions not supported by existing decision-making research. Although there is much to learn about assisting consumers in making informed choices, a great deal is known from decision-making research. Our approaches and our research agenda must be based on this existing foundation of knowledge.     

Laboratory and field tests with the synthetic sex pheromone of threeMatsucoccus 1 pine bast scales

Matsunone, (2E,4E)-4.6,10,12-tetramethyl-2,4-tridecadien-7-one, is the primary sex pheromone ofMatsucoccus resinosae, M. thunbergianae, andM. matsumurae. The synthetic compound was tested in the laboratory and in field tests with all three species, and significantly more males responded to synthetic matsuone than to controls. The attraction of synthetic matsuone to males in field tests was not significantly different from that of virgin females at the same matsuone release rate. An analog of matsuone previously shown to be biologically active was also tested in the laboratory withM. resinosae andM. thunbergianae, and field tested withM. resinosae. The active analog required a dose approximately 100 times greater than matsuone to yield maximum laboratory bioassay response, and in field tests, attraction was not significantly different from controls at doses at which matsuone was significantly attractive.Homoptera: Coccoidea: Margarodidae.Deceased.     

Stochastic honeycomb sandwich cores

This study presents a new type of cellular material that is simpler to make than conventional honeycombs and foams, while possessing many of the exceptional mechanical properties that make foams and honeycombs valuable as low density structural materials. The stochastic honeycombs had relative densities ranging from 7% to 13% with compressive strengths between 1 and 3 MPa, and compressive stiffnesses between 60 and 130 MPa. These values are comparable to those seen for commercial polypropylene honeycombs and significantly higher than those of commercial polypropylene foams. Rigid sandwich panels could be fabricated by reinforcing the stochastic honeycomb cores with external polypropylene face sheets. The panels could be assembled without adhesives, creating a rigid sandwich made entirely of a single material.     

Notes for a Substantive Theory of Rural Planning: Evidence from the US Experience

Rural areas are the locus of many pressing planning issues, pointing to the need for and possibility of a substantive theory of rural planning. In this article we develop a framework for such a theory. We begin by outlining the emergence of planning and the marginalization of ‘the rural,’ by investigating aspects of existing planning theory. Then we explain the framework and apply it to a small set of critical cases in deep rural areas of the U.S. To conclude, we summarize our findings and propose future directions for theory in rural planning.     

Axis I psychopathology in individuals with traumatic brain injury

OBJECTIVES: To assess the incidence, comorbidity, and patterns of resolution of DSM-IV mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders in individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI). DESIGN: The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Diagnoses (SCID) was utilized. Diagnoses were determined for three onset points relative to TBI onset: pre-TBI, post-TBI, and current diagnosis. Contrasts of prevalence rates with community-based samples, as well as chi-square analysis and analysis of variance were used. Demographics considered in analyses included gender, marital status, severity of injury, and years since TBI onset. SETTING: Urban, suburban, and rural New York state. PARTICIPANTS: 100 adults with TBI who were between the ages of 18 and 65 years and who were, on average, 8 years post onset at time of interview. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: SCID Axis I mood diagnoses of major depression, dysthymia, and bipolar disorder; anxiety diagnoses of panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and phobia; and substance use disorders. RESULTS: Prior to TBI, a significant percentage of individuals presented with substance use disorders. After TBI, the most frequent Axis I diagnoses were major depression and select anxiety disorders (ie, PTSD, OCD, and panic disorder). Comorbidity was high, with 44% of individuals presenting with two or more Axis I diagnoses post TBI. Individuals without a pre-TBI Axis I disorder were more likely to develop post-TBI major depression and substance use disorders. Rates of resolution were similar for individuals regardless of previous psychiatric histories. Major depression and substance use disorders were more likely than were anxiety disorders to remit. CONCLUSION: TBI is a risk factor for subsequent psychiatric disabilities. The need for proactive psychiatric assessment and timely interventions in individuals post TBI is indicated.     

A validity study of two projective object representations measures.

Two projective measures of object representations, the Concept of the Object on the Rorschach (H. Rorchach, 1942) and the Social Cognition and Object Relations Scales (D. Westen, 1993) were compared with each other, with measures of intelligence (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised; D. Wechsler, 1981), and measures of pathology (Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory [T. Millon, 1983], Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory [S. R. Hathaway & J. McKinley, 1983] Axis 11 diagnoses). Analyses focused on the construct validity of object representations and the implications of structural and affective aspects of object representations for psychopathology. Results support the construct validity of object representations and an affective, but not a cognitive–structural, linkage between object representations and pathology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Improving psychologists' contributions to the policymaking process.

Psychologists might contribute to policymaking as advocates or as technicians, but it is sometimes difficult to keep these roles separate. As they approach the policy arena, psychologists need to look at societal outcomes of policies as well as at organizational processes, at the values of interest groups supporting policies, at their own possible proclivities toward narrow thinking, and at research on the nature of society and the ultimate consumers of policies. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Orthogonality of information structures

Summary In the mathematical framework of data spaces the paper develops some important general principles of information structuring. These principles are related to the notions of redundancy of information, completeness of a set of access paths, information sharing and compounding, and virtual access to information. The results are relevant to both sequential and concurrent processing.This research is supported in part by the Office of Naval Research under Contract No. N00014-77-C-0536 through the University of Southern CaliforniaA version of this paper was presented at the Conference on Theoretical Computer Science, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, Aug. 15–17, 1977     

Design and Operating Experience with Electronic Systems for High Rate Liquid Argon Calorimeters

A number of experiments have been instrumented by an ADC scheme utilizing an integrated amplifier, a packaged delay line, the difference of two samples taken Before and After the signal exits the delay, and a multiplexer to a single ADC for a system. This paper discusses design features, operating peculiarities, and experience to date.