WAIS-R Information subtest item bias for Canadian high school students.

The WAIS-R Information subtest was combined with 21 potential substitute Canadian content items and group-administered to 119 high school students ranging in age from 16 to 19 years. Seven acceptable substitute items were identified. Mean scores on the American items for the 16-17 and 18-19 age groups suggested that Canadians of these ages are not penalized by American content with respect to either Verbal or Full Scale IQ. Nevertheless, the research identified eight Information items, four easier and four more difficult than the standard WAIS-R implies. Similar results were noted in two previous studies of the WAIS-R, and indicate the extreme caution required for the clinical interpretation of intra test scatter. There is also evidence that item difficulty within the Information subtest may vary with the age of the subject. These results were considered indicative of the necessity for Canadian content Information items and the development of Canadian norms for an adapted WAIS-R Information subtest. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Education-Stratified Base-Rate Information on Discrepancy Scores Within and Between the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition and the Wechsler Memory Scale-Third Edition.

The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale--Third Edition (WAIS-III; D. Wechsler, 1997a) and the Wechsler Memory Scale--Third Edition (WMS-III; D. Wechsler, 1997b) are 2 of the most frequently used measures in psychology and neuropsychology. To facilitate the diagnostic use of these measures in the clinical decision-making process, this article provides information on education-stratified, directional prevalence rates (i.e., base rates) of discrepancy scores between the major index scores for the WAIS-III, the WMS-III, and between the WAIS-III and WMS-III. To illustrate how such base-rate data can be clinically used, this article reviews the relative risk (i.e., odds ratio) of empirically defined "rare" cognitive deficits in 2 of the clinical samples presented in the WAIS-III--WMS-III Technical Manual (The Psychological Corporation, 1997). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measurement invariance of the Gifted Rating Scales—School Form across five cultural groups.

This study examined measurement invariance of the Gifted Rating Scales—School Form (GRS–S) across the United States, Puerto Rico, China, South Korea, and Turkey, using multigroup confirmatory factor analysis. A total of 1,817 students were rated by 287 teachers using either translated versions of GRS–S or the original English GRS–S. Results indicate a similar factor structure for the GRS–S across the five locations; six factors with each of the 72 items equivalently loaded to the same latent variable across groups. The metric invariance test and the factor variance and covariance invariance tests reveal that the patterns of factor loadings and the factor variances and covariances are invariant across the five groups. Moreover, the scalar invariance test indicates that item means are equivalent across the groups. These results suggest that the GRS–S has intercultural utility and can be similarly interpreted. Implications and limitations of the present research for gifted identification are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparing the Canadian and American WAIS-III normative systems in inpatient neuropsychiatry and forensic psychiatry.

Canadian clinicians have used American norms for adult intelligence tests for more than 60 years. However, the availability of the Canadian norms for the WAIS-III prompts clinicians in Canada to make a decision regarding which norms to use in clinical practice. The purpose of this study is to compare the interpretive effects of applying American and Canadian normative systems in a sample of 100 forensic psychiatry and neuropsychiatry inpatients. The Canadian normative system yielded scores that were systematically lower than the American scores. Thus, clinicians may conclude greater impairment in intellectual ability when using Canadian norms. The index scores that were most similar were Processing Speed followed by Verbal Comprehension. With the exception of these two indices, clinically different conclusions might be derived on 13-21% of individual IQ or Index scores for these patients. The scores that differed the most were the Full Scale IQ and the Performance IQ. The subtests, in general, were highly similar across the normative systems, although scores using the Canadian norms were systematically lower. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

WISC-III and CAS: Which Correlates Higher with Achievement for a Clinical Sample?

The relationships between Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III) and the Cognitive Assessment System (CAS) with the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement (WJ-III) were examined for a sample of 119 children (87 males and 32 females) ages 6 to 16. The sample was comprised of children who were referred to a specialty clinic for evaluation. Participants were administered the WISC-III, the CAS, and the WJ-III, in that order. Results indicated that CAS/WJ-III correlations were consistently significantly higher than those found for the WISC-III/WJ-III. The four separate CAS scales added more variance above and beyond the four separate WISC-III scales than the WISC-III added above and beyond the CAS. In addition, the CAS Full Scale accounted for more unique variance and was a stronger predictor of WJ-III Academic Skills Cluster than the WISC-III Full Scale IQ. These results support the validity of the Planning, Attention, Simultaneous, and Successive theory as measured by the CAS in relation to the general intelligence model measured using the WISC-III for explaining variance in achievement for this clinical sample. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Errors in intelligence estimation with short forms of the WAIS.

Because the full Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) generally takes more than an hour of the clinician's time to administer, short forms based on a selection of subscales are often substituted. The present study shows that in many cases such short forms may give seriously inaccurate results. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Discrepancy between predicted and obtained WAIS–R IQ scores discriminates between traumatic brain injury and insufficient effort.

This study examines how well the discrepancy between predicted and obtained Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale–Revised (WAIS–R) scores discriminate between insufficient effort (IE) and traumatic brain injury (TBI). The 27 IE patients performed significantly more poorly on the WAIS–R than the 48 moderate-severe TBI patients. Premorbid IQs were calculated with formulae that use demographics (Barona Index) or demographics and WAIS–R performance (Best-3 and the Oklahoma Premorbid Intelligence Estimation). Predictions were similar on the Barona, but IE patients' predicted IQs were lower than TBIs for measures with a performance component. IE patients demonstrated a greater discrepancy score (i.e., predicted IQ—obtained IQ) than TBIs; variable levels of sensitivity and specificity were obtained when discriminate functions were developed on these scores. The potential advantage of using discrepancy scores versus performance-based measures to detect insufficient effort is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

热轧厂除鳞机的优化设计

根据工艺要求,第一除鳞机安装在加热炉与第一架粗轧机之间,主要功能是通过高压喷水去除板坯表面氧化铁皮,同时应具有良好的密封性,能够挡水、挡渣,改善周围附属设备的工作条件,且为检测仪表提供可靠的工作环境。因而除鳞机的结构优化设计直接关系到其除鳞性能,同时对周围设备的正常运行至关重要。提出的方案结构简单,控制方便,且易于改造和控制效果好。     

Constructing a typology of H2 in cities and regions: An international review

This paper primarily develops a seven-fold conceptual typology of place-based hydrogen initiatives. Through an international review of place-based hydrogen initiatives we reveal a plethora of projects, demonstrations, test-beds, ambitions and expectations at a wide range of spatial scales. We ask whether there is anything distinctive about how these different spatial scales attempt to develop the hydrogen economy. In particular, we seek to identify whether patterns emerge around the social interests involved at different scales of activity and the degree to which hydrogen links to different place-based agendas—political and resource autonomy, economy and employment. The paper addresses these questions and draws out a series of three key conclusions. First, there is wide ranging and significant diversity in the motivations for cities and regions to become involved in hydrogen economy developments—wider than conventional energy policy objectives. Second, there are still significant overlaps between different scales of action. Third, there is a tension between the more bounded concepts of using hydrogen to build self-reliance at a particular scale and those initiatives oriented around developing a more systemic technological system which is rolled out elsewhere. Finally, we argue that a key issue for further research is in understanding the social interests and institutions that attempt to both learn from across these activities at different scales and provide some sense of coordinated action between them. In our review the role of corporates—rather than national government—seems to be critical to such attempt to provide coordination across places and needs to be the focus of further research.     

Prediction of violence and self-harm in mentally disordered offenders: A prospective study of the efficacy of HCR-20, PCL-R, and psychiatric symptomatology.

The efficacy of the Historical, Clinical, and Risk Management Scales (HCR-20; C. D. Webster, D. Eaves, K. S. Douglas, & A. Wintrup, 1995), Psychopathy Checklist--Revised (PCL-R; R. D. Hare, 1991), Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS; A. T. Beck, A. Weissman, D. Lester, & L. Trexler, 1974), and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) to predict violence and self-harm in 34 institutionalized mentally disordered offenders was assessed. Both the HCR-20 and BPRS were strong predictors of violence whereas the PCL-R had moderate predictive ability. BHS was the only variable predictive of self-harm. Although risk assessment measures were successful at predicting in-patient violence, a clinical measure of mental state was at least as effective in these mentally disordered offenders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)