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Cautious
Terms modified by Cautious Selected AbstractsPsychometric Correlates of FIRO-B Scores: Locating the FIRO-B scores in personality factor spaceINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SELECTION AND ASSESSMENT, Issue 1 2008Adrian Furnham This paper investigated the relationship between the six Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation (FIRO)-B scales, the Big Five Personality traits assessed by the NEO PI-R, the Hogan Development Survey (HDS) and two measures of cognitive ability (Watson Glaser; Graduate and Managerial Assessment). It examined the concurrent and construct validity of the measure in various adult groups attending assessment centres in order to locate the FIRO-B dimensions in established personality factor space. The FIRO-B was consistently correlated with Extraversion, though analysis at the primary factor (facet) level showed many traits from all five factors were strongly correlated with the six FIRO-B scores. Regressing the six FIRO-B facets onto each of the Big Five in turn showed all were significant particularly for Expressed Inclusion and Wanted Control. The second study also showed considerable and logical overlap between the six FIRO-B scales and the 11 dysfunctional personality strategies as measured by the HDS. There were also strong correlational patterns for the Cautious, Reserved, Colourful and Dutiful type disorders. The third study showed the FIRO-B was statistically associated with both cognitive ability tests though it only accounted for small percentages of the explained variance. Expressed Control was the most consistently correlated of the intelligence test scores. Despite the fact that many explicable associations were found between the FIRO-B and other measure the effect sizes were not large. Thus only 4% of the trait facet scores and 4.5% of the HDS showed medium effect sizes. Results are discussed in terms of the usefulness and possible discriminant validity of the instrument for use in selection and assessment. [source] Methodological issues in the epidemiological study of the teratogenicity of drugsCONGENITAL ANOMALIES, Issue 2 2005Bengt A.J. Källén ABSTRACT The review presented here discusses and exemplifies problems in epidemiological studies of drug teratogenesis according to methodology: case,control studies, cohort studies, or total population studies. Sources of errors and the possibility of confounding are underlined. The review stresses the caution with which conclusions have to be drawn when exposure data are retrospective or other possible bias exists. It also stresses the problem with the multiple testing situation that is usually present in the studies. It is therefore difficult to draw any firm conclusion from single studies and still more difficult to draw conclusions on causality. As randomized studies are in most cases out of the question, one has to rely on the type of studies which can be made, but the interpretation of the results should be cautious. The ideal study, next to a randomized one, is a large prospective study with detailed exposure information and detailed and unbiased outcome data. Even so, such a study can mainly be used for identifying possible associations which have to be verified or rejected in new studies. Nearly every finding of a risk increase, if not extremely strong, should only be regarded as a tentative signal to be tested in independent studies. [source] MENTAL HEALTH AND JUVENILE ARRESTS: CRIMINALITY, CRIMINALIZATION, OR COMPASSION?,CRIMINOLOGY, Issue 3 2006PAUL HIRSCHFIELD Juveniles in secure confinement allegedly suffer from more mental health problems than their peers. This may reflect background and behavioral characteristics commonly found in clients of both mental health and juvenile justice systems. Another explanation is that mental disorders increase the risk of arrest. These interpretations were tested on a sample of Pittsburgh boys (n = 736). Findings indicate that arrested youth exhibit more attention deficit hyperactivity (ADH) problems, oppositional defiant (OD) problems, and nondelinquent externalizing symptoms prior to their first arrests compared to their never-arrested peers. However, arrested and nonarrested youth score similarly on prior affective and anxiety problems and internalizing symptoms. Net of delinquency, substance use, and other selection factors, internalizing problems lower the risk of subsequent arrest, whereas OD problems and nondelinquent externalizing symptoms increase it. ADH problems have no effect on arrest net of delinquency and substance use. These findings lend only partial support to the criminalization hypothesis. Whereas some mental health symptoms increase the risk of arrest, others elicit more cautious or compassionate official responses. [source] A Case of Aptos Thread Migration and Partial ExpulsionDERMATOLOGIC SURGERY, Issue 3 2005José G. Silva-Siwady MD Background In our practice, the use of dented polypropylene suture has become a very simple, conservative, and effective procedure for lifting flabby ptosed facial tissue, improving it without surgery. As with some cosmetic procedures, we have seen complications with this technique. Objective To present a case report of migration and partial expulsion of Aptos thread (TOTAL Charm, Moscow, Russia). Methods After successful fixation of facial tissue with 10 Aptos threads (5 on each side, 3 in the upper and central cheek, and 2 in the mandibular area), the patient returned 28 days later owing to migration and partial expulsion of one of the Aptos threads. Results The expulsed thread was easily removed, and the patient was treated with antibiotic therapy without further complications. Conclusion After this experience, we can conclude that Aptos threads are an additional tool in our arsenal for the treatment of facial aging. We must be especially cautious and aware that our patients can present with previously unknown complications secondary to newly described procedures, as with this recent technique. JOSé G. SILVA-SIWADY, MD, CELINA DÍAZ-GARZA, AND JORGE OCAMPO-CANDIANI, MD, HAVE INDICATED NO SIGNIFICANT INTEREST WITH COMMERCIAL SUPPORTERS. [source] Extraorbital Sebaceous Carcinoma With Rapidly Developing Visceral MetastasesDERMATOLOGIC SURGERY, Issue 9 2003Deniz Güney Duman MD Background. Extraorbital sebaceous carcinoma (SC) is a rare carcinoma of the skin but is known to have a good prognosis in terms of metastasis and survival. Objective. To discuss and emphasize through the clinical and histopathologic findings and the aggressive potential of extraorbital SC and to review the corresponding literature. Methods. We present an unusual form of extraorbital SC that has followed an aggressive course and that has metastasized rapidly. Results. Local excision of the primary cutaneous tumor with negative margins did not prevent the rapid and fatal internal organ metastases. The patient did not benefit from the docetaxel chemotherapy regimen applied after the distant metastases were developed. Conclusion. Extraorbital SC may show a poor prognosis. Both the dermatologic surgeon and the dermatologist should be cautious of the risk of local recurrence and distant metastasis when dealing with extraorbital SC. [source] Evolving Themes in Rural Development 1950s-2000sDEVELOPMENT POLICY REVIEW, Issue 4 2001Frank Ellis This article provides a brief overview of the major switches in rural development thinking that have occurred over the past half-century or so. Dominant and subsidiary themes are identified, as well as the co-existence of different narratives running in parallel. The continuing success of the long-running ,small-farm efficiency' paradigm is highlighted. The article concludes by asking whether sustainable livelihoods approaches can be interpreted as providing a new or different way forward for rural development in the future. The answer is a cautious ,yes', since these approaches potentially permit the cross-sectoral and multi-occupational character of contemporary rural livelihoods in low-income countries to be placed centre-stage in efforts to reduce rural poverty. [source] Constitutivism, Belief, and EmotionDIALECTICA, Issue 4 2008Larry A. Herzberg Constitutivists about one's cognitive access to one's mental states often hold that for any rational subject S and mental state M falling into some specified range of types, necessarily, if S believes that she has M, then S has M. Some argue that such a principle applies to beliefs about all types of mental state. Others are more cautious, but offer no criterion by which the principle's range could be determined. In this paper I begin to develop such a criterion, arguing that although the principle applies when M is a belief, it does not apply when M is an emotion. I account for this asymmetry by focusing on differences in the commitments that belief and emotion conceptually involve, and briefly sketch out a psychological explanation of those differences. I conclude that one can reasonably split one's epistemological loyalties between constitutivism regarding meta-beliefs and non-constitutivism regarding beliefs about one's emotions. [source] Determination of bankfull discharge magnitude and frequency: comparison of methods on 16 gravel-bed river reachesEARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, Issue 11 2006O. Navratil Abstract Bankfull discharge is identified as an important parameter for studying river morphology, sediment motion, flood dynamics and their ecological impacts. In practice, the determination of this discharge and its hydrological characteristics is not easy, and a choice has to be made between several existing methods. To evaluate the impact of the choice of methods, five bankfull elevation definitions and four hydrological characterizations (determination of duration and frequency of exceedance applied to instantaneous or mean daily data) were compared on 16 gravel-bed river reaches located in France (the catchment sizes vary from 10 km2 to 1700 km2). The consistency of bankfull discharge estimated at reach scale and the hydraulic significance of the five elevation definitions were examined. The morphological definitions (Bank Inflection, Top of Bank) were found more relevant than the definitions based on a geometric criterion. The duration of exceedance was preferred to recurrence intervals (partial duration series approach) because it is not limited by the independency of flood events, especially for low discharges like those associated with the Bank Inflection definition. On average, the impacts of the choice of methods were very important for the bankfull discharge magnitude (factor of 1·6 between Bank Inflection and Top of Bank) and duration of exceedance or frequency (respectively a factor 1·8 and 1·9 between mean daily and instantaneous discharge data). The choice of one combination of methods rather than another can significantly modify the conclusions of a comparative analysis in terms of bankfull discharge magnitude and its hydrological characteristics, so that one must be cautious when comparing results from different studies that use different methods. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Coefficient shifts in geographical ecology: an empirical evaluation of spatial and non-spatial regressionECOGRAPHY, Issue 2 2009L. Mauricio Bini A major focus of geographical ecology and macroecology is to understand the causes of spatially structured ecological patterns. However, achieving this understanding can be complicated when using multiple regression, because the relative importance of explanatory variables, as measured by regression coefficients, can shift depending on whether spatially explicit or non-spatial modeling is used. However, the extent to which coefficients may shift and why shifts occur are unclear. Here, we analyze the relationship between environmental predictors and the geographical distribution of species richness, body size, range size and abundance in 97 multi-factorial data sets. Our goal was to compare standardized partial regression coefficients of non-spatial ordinary least squares regressions (i.e. models fitted using ordinary least squares without taking autocorrelation into account; "OLS models" hereafter) and eight spatial methods to evaluate the frequency of coefficient shifts and identify characteristics of data that might predict when shifts are likely. We generated three metrics of coefficient shifts and eight characteristics of the data sets as predictors of shifts. Typical of ecological data, spatial autocorrelation in the residuals of OLS models was found in most data sets. The spatial models varied in the extent to which they minimized residual spatial autocorrelation. Patterns of coefficient shifts also varied among methods and datasets, although the magnitudes of shifts tended to be small in all cases. We were unable to identify strong predictors of shifts, including the levels of autocorrelation in either explanatory variables or model residuals. Thus, changes in coefficients between spatial and non-spatial methods depend on the method used and are largely idiosyncratic, making it difficult to predict when or why shifts occur. We conclude that the ecological importance of regression coefficients cannot be evaluated with confidence irrespective of whether spatially explicit modelling is used or not. Researchers may have little choice but to be more explicit about the uncertainty of models and more cautious in their interpretation. [source] Estimating the number of alcohol-attributable deaths: methodological issues and illustration with French data for 2006ADDICTION, Issue 6 2010Grégoire Rey ABSTRACT Aims Computing the number of alcohol-attributable deaths requires a series of hypotheses. Using French data for 2006, the potential biases are reviewed and the sensitivity of estimates to various hypotheses evaluated. Methods Self-reported alcohol consumption data were derived from large population-based surveys. The risks of occurrence of diseases associated with alcohol consumption and relative risks for all-cause mortality were obtained through literature searches. All-cause and cause-specific population alcohol-attributable fractions (PAAFs) were calculated. In order to account for potential under-reporting, the impact of adjustment on sales data was tested. The 2006 mortality data were restricted to people aged between 15 and 75 years. Results When alcohol consumption distribution was adjusted for sales data, the estimated number of alcohol-attributable deaths, the sum of the cause-specific estimates, was 20 255. Without adjustment, the estimate fell to 7158. Using an all-cause mortality approach, the adjusted number of alcohol-attributable deaths was 15 950, while the non-adjusted estimate was a negative number. Other methodological issues, such as computation based on risk estimates for all causes for ,all countries' or only ,European countries', also influenced the results, but to a lesser extent. Discussion The estimates of the number of alcohol-attributable deaths varied greatly, depending upon the hypothesis used. The most realistic and evidence-based estimate seems to be obtained by adjusting the consumption data for national alcohol sales, and by summing the cause-specific estimates. However, interpretation of the estimates must be cautious in view of their potentially large imprecision. [source] Should we beware of the Precautionary Principle?ECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 33 2001Christian Gollier How should society deal with risks when there is scientific uncertainty about the size of these risks? There has been much recent discussion of the Precautionary Principle, which states that lack of full scientific knowledge should not be used as a reason to postpone cost,effective preventive measures. We show in this paper that the Precautionary Principle contradicts one important intuition about the right way to act in the face of risk, namely the principle of ,looking before you leap'. When we expect to learn more about the future, the effectiveness of our preventive measures will be greater if we learn before we act. However, a number of other ways of taking uncertainty into account are consistent with a reasonable interpretation of the Precautionary Principle. First, postponing preventive measures may increase our vulnerability to damage, which induces a precautionary motive for risk,prevention, similar to the precautionary savings motive. Secondly, stronger preventive actions often yield more flexibility for the future, so that acting early has an option value. Thirdly, when better information comes from a process of learning,by,doing, the risk associated with early events is amplified by the information they yield about the future. This plays a role analogous to that of an increase in risk aversion, making us more cautious. Fourthly, because imperfect knowledge of the risk makes it difficult to insure, the social cost of risk should include a risk premium. Finally, uncertainty about the economic environment enjoyed by future generations should be taken into account. This raises the benefit of acting early to prevent long,term risks. If the Precautionary Principle sometimes gives good and sometimes gives bad advice, there is no escape from the need to undertake a careful cost,benefit analysis. We show that standard cost,benefit analysis can be refined to take account of scientific uncertainty, in ways that balance the Precautionary Principle against the benefits of waiting to learn before we act. Furthermore, it is important that they be used to do so, for instinct is an unreliable guide in such circumstances. Abandoning cost,benefit analysis in favour of simple maxims can result in some seriously misleading conclusions. [source] Navigating toward Fetal and Maternal Health: The Challenge of Treating Epilepsy in PregnancyEPILEPSIA, Issue 10 2004Torbjörn Tomson Summary:, A rational approach to the treatment of women of childbearing potential with epilepsy has been hampered by the lack of conclusive data on the comparative teratogenic potential of different antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). Although, several cohort studies on birth defects associated with AED use during pregnancy have been published, these have generally failed to demonstrate differences in malformation rates between AEDs, probably mainly due to insufficient power. In particular, pregnancies with new generation AEDs have been too few. In recent years, pregnancy registries have been introduced to overcome this problem,EURAP (an international collaboration), the North American, and the U.K. AED and pregnancy registries are observational studies that prospectively assess pregnancy outcome after AED exposure using slightly different methods. Each has enlisted 3,5,000 pregnancies in women with epilepsy, and the North American and the U.K. have released preliminary observations. Thus the U.K. registry reported a higher malformation rate with valproate, 5.9% (4.3,8.2%; 95% CI), than with carbamazepine, 2.3% (1.4,3.7%), and lamotrigine, 2.1% (1.0,4.0%). Most of the more recent cohort studies have also identified a nonsignificant trend toward a higher teratogenicity with valproate. These signals need to be interpreted with some caution since none of the studies to date have fully assessed the impact of possible confounders, such as type of epilepsy, family history of birth defects, etc. However, with increasing number of pregnancies it should be possible in the near future for the pregnancy registries to take such confounding factors into account and thus make more reliable assessments of the causal relationship between exposure to specific AEDs and teratogenic risks. While awaiting more conclusive results, it appears reasonable to be cautious in prescribing valproate to women considering to become pregnant if other suitable treatment alternatives, and with less teratogenic potential, are available. Any attempt to change treatment should, however, be accomplished well before conception. The importance of maintained seizure control must also be kept in mind, and the woman who needs valproate to control her seizures should not be discouraged from pregnancy, provided that counseling at the best of available knowledge is given. [source] Abnormal Wada and Neuropsychological Testing Results Due to Topiramate TherapyEPILEPSIA, Issue 7 2000Paul H. McCabe Summary: A 46-year-old man experienced intractable seizures since childhood. Due to lack of response to antiepilepsy drugs (AEDs), he underwent a surgical evaluation that was consistent with seizure onset in the left medial temporal lobe. While on topiramate and carbamazepine, his preoperative neuropsychological scores and sodium amytal (Wada) scores were low and may have excluded him from surgery. Repeat testing on lamotrigine and carbamazepine showed improvement in his scores, allowing him to undergo surgery. Physicians must therefore be cautious in evaluating such test scores while a patient is on topiramate. [source] COMPENSATING FOR OUR LOAD OF MUTATIONS: FREEZING THE MELTDOWN OF SMALL POPULATIONSEVOLUTION, Issue 5 2000Art Poon Abstract We have investigated the reduction of fitness caused by the fixation of new deleterious mutations in small populations within the framework of Fisher's geometrical model of adaptation. In Fisher's model, a population evolves in an n -dimensional character space with an adaptive optimum at the origin. The model allows us to investigate compensatory mutations, which restore fitness losses incurred by other mutations, in a context-dependent manner. We have conducted a moment analysis of the model, supplemented by the numerical results of computer simulations. The mean reduction of fitness (i.e., expected load) scaled to one is approximately n/(n + 2Ne), where Ne is the effective population size. The reciprocal relationship between the load and Ne implies that the fixation of deleterious mutations is unlikely to cause extinction when there is a broad scope for compensatory mutations, except in very small populations. Furthermore, the dependence of load on n implies that pleiotropy plays a large role in determining the extinction risk of small populations. Differences and similarities between our results and those of a previous study on the effects of Ne and n are explored. That the predictions of this model are qualitatively different from studies ignoring compensatory mutations implies that we must be cautious in predicting the evolutionary fate of small populations and that additional data on the nature of mutations is of critical importance. [source] De Liliifloris Notulae 8.FEDDES REPERTORIUM, Issue 3-4 2010Two new Massonia species (Hyacinthaceae) from South Africa Abstract A re-investigation of the Stockholm paratype of Massonia tenellaSoland. ex Baker 1871, Drège 3509 (K, S!) from Witbergen (,3027CA, Lady Grey) in the Eastern Cape in combination with the study of a living seedling leaf from a second locality confirmed our cautious earlier suggestion (U. & D. Müller-Doblies 1997) that it is a new species. Massonia wittebergensis U.Müll.-Doblies & D.Müll.-Doblies has a unique leaf indument in Massonieae of laterally compressed curved emergences in Drège's herbarium specimen. Living emergences of a seedling leaf are less laterally compressed. Living and herbarium emergences share a further unique detail: the rounded tip is uneven with projecting cells. As to the distribution, M. tenella is only known from the Bokkeveld escarpment (Western Cape, Baker 1897), whereas M. wittebergensis occurs in the Drakensberge eight degrees longitude further east in the Eastern Cape. As to the second species treated here, a closer investigation of a leaf and a withered fresh inflorescence showed that it is a new species too: Masso- nia sempervirens U.Müll.-Doblies, G.Milkuhn & D.Müll.-Doblies. The retired horticulturist, Gottfried Milkuhn (Dresden), had received this enigmatic remarkable evergreen Massonia species in 2007 from a Dutch succulent grower as "Whiteheadia jasminiflora " from Prince Albert (Western Cape) (© 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Trouble on the reef: the imperative for managing vulnerable and valuable fisheriesFISH AND FISHERIES, Issue 3 2005Yvonne Sadovy Abstract Reef fishes are significant socially, nutritionally and economically, yet biologically they are vulnerable to both over-exploitation and degradation of their habitat. Their importance in the tropics for living conditions, human health, food security and economic development is enormous, with millions of people and hundreds of thousands of communities directly dependent, and many more indirectly so. Reef fish fisheries are also critical safety valves in times of economic or social hardship or disturbance, and are more efficient, less wasteful and support far more livelihoods per tonne produced than industrial scale fisheries. Yet, relative to other fisheries globally, those associated with coral reefs are under-managed, under-funded, under-monitored, and as a consequence, poorly understood or little regarded by national governments. Even among non-governmental organizations, which are increasingly active in tropical marine issues, there is typically little focus on reef-associated resources, the interest being more on biodiversity per se or protection of coral reef habitat. This essay explores the background and history to this situation, examines fishery trends over the last 30 years, and charts a possible way forward given the current realities of funding, capacity, development patterns and scientific understanding of coral reef ecosystems. The luxury live reef food-fish trade is used throughout as a case study because it exemplifies many of the problems and challenges of attaining sustainable use of coral reef-associated resources. The thesis developed is that sustaining reef fish fisheries and conserving biodiversity can be complementary, rather than contradictory, in terms of yield from reef systems. I identify changes in perspectives needed to move forward, suggest that we must be cautious of ,fashionable' solutions or apparent ,quick fixes', and argue that fundamental decisions must be made concerning the short and long-term values of coral reef-associated resources, particularly fish, for food and cash and regarding alternative sources of protein. Not to address the problems will inevitably lead to growing poverty, hardship and social unrest in many areas. [source] Effects of host mineral re-equilibration during uplift and cooling on the fidelity of primary hydrothermal fluid inclusions: a theoretical example using Mississippi Valley-type ore fluidsGEOFLUIDS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 2 2009M. A. McKIBBEN Abstract At the moment of its trapping as a primary fluid inclusion, a hydrothermal fluid is typically at or near equilibrium with multiple mineral species at depth and temperature. After trapping, however, the isolated inclusion fluid can re-equilibrate only with its own host mineral species during later uplift and cooling to surface conditions. Because the solubility versus temperature behavior is unique for each host mineral species, identical inclusions trapped at the same time within different species may re-equilibrate in a disparate manner upon cooling and become variably less representative of the original trapped fluid once they reach ambient temperature. To test the significance of this effect, a series of theoretical equilibrium reaction models was constructed in which a trapped hydrothermal fluid characteristic of Mississippi Valley-type ore deposits is cooled in contact with silicate, sulfide and carbonate hosts, respectively, from 100 to 25°C. Dissolved base metal concentrations are predicted to decline by two to four orders of magnitude in inclusions in all hosts, due to the precipitation of optically undetectable masses of sulfide daughter minerals. Fluids in the calcite host show the greatest decline in dissolved base metals upon cooling, due to its retrograde solubility and consequent shift in the pH and aqueous C speciation of the fluid. ,13C values for CO2 in all hosts become depleted by 2,7, relative to the original trapped fluid, with depletions again being the greatest for the calcite host due to its retrograde dissolution. Analytical techniques that extract and analyze the complete contents of fluid inclusions at room temperature can account for the predicted precipitation of microscopic daughter minerals during cooling, but may not compensate for chemical changes caused by the retrograde dissolution of calcite. Such solubility effects are another reason to be cautious in using carbonate minerals for fluid inclusion studies, in addition to their undesirable physical properties of softness, deformability and perfect cleavage. [source] Proliferative activity of intrahepatic colorectal metastases after preoperative hemihepatic portal vein embolizationHEPATOLOGY, Issue 2 2001Norihiro Kokudo Although hemihepatic portal vein embolization (PVE) has been used preoperatively to extend indications for hepatectomy in patients with colorectal metastases, the effects of this procedure on tumor growth and outcome remain controversial. To address this issue, we assessed the proliferative activity of intrahepatic metastases after PVE and the long-term outcome of this procedure. Eighteen patients with colorectal metastases underwent preoperative PVE between 1996 and 2000 (PVE group). Twenty-nine patients who underwent major hepatic resection without PVE served as control (non-PVE group). The hepatic parenchymal fraction of the left lobe had significantly increased from 38.1 ± 3.2% to 45.9 ± 2.9% 3 weeks after PVE (+20.5%, P < .0001). Tumor volume and percent tumor volume had also significantly increased from 223 ± 89 mL to 270 ± 97 mL (+20.8%, P = .016) and from 13.7 + 4.3% to 16.2 + 4.9% (+18.5%, P = .014), respectively. There was no apparent correlation between the increase in parenchymal volume and that in tumor volume. The Ki-67 labeling index of metastatic lesions was 46.6 ± 7.2% in the PVE group and 35.4 ± 12.6% in the non-PVE group (P = .013). Long-term survival was similar in the PVE and non-PVE groups, however, disease-free survival was significantly poorer in the PVE group than in the non-PVE group (P = .004). We conclude that PVE increases tumor growth and probably is associated with enhanced recurrence of disease. Although PVE is effective in extending indications for surgery, patient selection for PVE should be cautious. [source] Employment of People with Disabilities Following the ADAINDUSTRIAL RELATIONS, Issue 1 2003Douglas Kruse Studies finding a negative effect of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on the employment of people with disabilities have used the work disability measure, which has several potential problems in measuring employment trends. Using Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) data that permit alternative measures of disability, this study finds decreased employment among those reporting work disabilities in the first few years after the ADA was passed but increased employment when using a more probably appropriate measure of ADA coverage (functional and activity limitations that do not prevent work). State-by-state variation in labor market tightness is used to find that people with disabilities may have especially procyclical employment, but the contrary results in overall employment trends remain after accounting for labor market tightness. Given the problems in measuring who is covered by the ADA, there is reason to be cautious of both positive and negative findings. [source] Quality of life in dementia: care recipient and caregiver perceptions of quality of life in dementia: the LASER-AD studyINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY, Issue 10 2007Juanita Hoe Abstract Background Quality of Life (QoL) is a key outcome in dementia. Aim To compare care recipients' (CR) and caregivers' (CG) views on CRs' QoL and identify determinants. Methods CRs and CGs completed the Quality of Life - Alzheimer's Disease (QOL-AD) scale. Results One hundred and ninety-one CR/CG dyads were interviewed. There were differences between determinants of the CRs and CGs views about QoL. Family-CGs rated CRs' QoL higher when CRs had fewer depressive symptoms, less irritability, less apathy, less daily living impairment and lived at home. Fewer depressive symptoms, living at home and taking acetylcholinesterase-inhibitors (AChEI) predicted higher CR rated QoL. Conclusion Proxy ratings in dementia do not replicate CRs' views of QoL. This is the first study to employ a validated QoL measure for people with dementia taking AChEIs. Randomised controlled trials are needed before drawing conclusions about their effect on QoL. Interpretation of correlations between QoL and symptoms should be cautious as QoL is designed to reflect the impact of psychological and physical symptoms. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] On transformations of belief functions to probabilitiesINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS, Issue 3 2006Milan Daniel Alternative approaches to the widely known pignistic transformation of belief functions are presented and analyzed. Pignistic, cautious, proportional, and disjunctive probabilistic transformations are examined from the point of view of their interpretation, of decision making and (from the point of view) of their commutation with rules (operators) for belief function combination. A relation to the plausibility probabilistic transformation is added. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Int Syst 21: 261,282, 2006. [source] Evidence-based practice: A framework for clinical practice and research designINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NURSING PRACTICE, Issue 5 2006Matthew J Leach PhD BN(Hons) ND RN The evidence-based practice (EBP) framework emerged in the early 1970s as a means of improving clinical practice. This shift towards EBP allowed health professionals to move from a culture of delivering care based on tradition, intuition and authority, to a situation where decisions were guided and justified by the best available evidence. Despite the many advantages of EBP, many practitioners remain cautious about embracing the model. Part of this opposition is due to a misunderstanding of EBP, which this paper aims to address. [source] Asthenozoospermia: Possible association with long-term exposure to an anti-epileptic drug of carbamazepineINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF UROLOGY, Issue 1 2005TETSUO HAYASHI Abstract Little attention has been paid to infertility in men with epilepsy and little information exists about the mechanisms by which anti-epileptic drugs affect spermatogenesis or sperm function. We report a case of a male infertility patient with asthenozoospermia during long-term treatment with anti-epileptic drugs. A 29-year-old man had continued treatment with anti-epileptic drugs under the diagnosis of epilepsy for 13 years. He and his wife had been examined and treated as an infertile couple for 3 years. The patient was found to have no motile sperm with a normal sperm count, while taking a dose of 400 mg/day of carbamazepine. On suspicion of an adverse effect of carbamazepine, he was switched to phenytoin monotherapy. One month after that, sperm motility was vastly improved (65%) and they conceived a child 5 months after that. One must be cautious in extrapolating from a case report, but these findings strongly suggest a direct effect of carbamazepine on spermatic function. [source] Managing Contradiction: Civic Stratification and Migrants'Rights,INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION REVIEW, Issue 1 2003Lydia Morris Political and academic interest in cross-national migration has generated two very different and potentially polarized positions. One perspective emphasizes the continuing power of the nation state, while the other sees migration, and more specifically migrants' rights, as the manifestation of an emergent ,post-national' society. This article offers a conceptual framework which addresses this polarization through the concept of civic stratification (Lockwood, 1996). In illustrating its application, the study shows how such an approach goes beyond a traditional citizenship framework (e.g., Marshall, 1950) in considering degrees of partial membership, but remains cautious with respect to claims about universal, transnational rights. [source] Causality and Causal Models: A Conceptual Perspective,INTERNATIONAL STATISTICAL REVIEW, Issue 3 2006Benito V. Frosini Summary This paper aims at displaying a synthetic view of the historical development and the current research concerning causal relationships, starting from the Aristotelian doctrine of causes, following with the main philosophical streams until the middle of the twentieth century, and commenting on the present intensive research work in the statistical domain. The philosophical survey dwells upon various concepts of cause, and some attempts towards picking out spurious causes. Concerning statistical modelling, factorial models and directed acyclic graphs are examined and compared. Special attention is devoted to randomization and pseudo-randomization (for observational studies) in view of avoiding the effect of possible confounders. An outline of the most common problems and pitfalls, encountered in modelling empirical data, closes the paper, with a warning to be very cautious in modelling and inferring conditional independence between variables. Résumé Le but de cet article est d'offrir une vue d'ensemble sur le thème des relations causales, à partir de la doctrine philosophique aristotélique, et ensuite étendues et formalisées dans le champ de l'analyse statistique multivarée. Dans la revue philosophique on analyse plusieurs conceptions de cause, et les essais de reconnâtre les causes "fausses". La partie centrale du travail s'occupe de modèles causals en forme graphique, qui constituent l'instrument électif de plusieurs recherches causales, et met en evidence la différence entre conditionnement et intervention sur une variable. On a dedié une particulière attention aux procédures de randomization dans le but d'éviter de possible confusions. L'article termine en conseillant d'user de la prudence dans la modelage de l'independence conditionnelle et dans son contrôl empirique. [source] Two Faces of Liberalism: Kant, Paine, and the Question of InterventionINTERNATIONAL STUDIES QUARTERLY, Issue 3 2008Thomas C. Walker Compared with the realist tradition, relatively few students of international relations explore variations within liberalism. This paper introduces a particular interpretation of Immanuel Kant's evolutionary liberalism and then compares it with Thomas Paine's revolutionary liberalism. Paine was an ebullient optimist while Kant was more guarded and cautious. These different assumptions lead to distinct liberal views on voting rights, how trade fosters peace, and defense policies. The most striking disagreement, and one that endures in contemporary liberal circles, revolves around the question of military interventions to spread democratic rule. Kant advocated nonintervention while Paine actively pursued military intervention to spread democratic rule. Differences between Kant and Paine represent some enduring tensions still residing within the liberal tradition in international relations. [source] Comparison of the WAIS-III and WISC-IV in 16-Year-Old Special Education StudentsJOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH IN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES, Issue 2 2010Shirley Gordon Background, Previous research with earlier versions of the WISC and WAIS has demonstrated that when administered to people who have intellectual disabilities, the WAIS produced higher IQ scores than the WISC. The aim of this study was to examine whether these differences still exist. A comparison of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale , Third Edition (WAIS-III) with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children , Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) was conducted with individuals who were 16 years old and receiving special education. Materials and Methods, All participants completed the WAIS-III (UK) and WISC-IV (UK). The order of administration was counterbalanced; the mean Full Scale IQ and Index scores on the WAIS-III and WISC-IV were compared. Results, The WAIS-III mean Full Scale IQ was 11.82 points higher than the mean Full Scale IQ score on the WISC-IV. Significant differences were also found between the Verbal Comprehension Index, Perceptual Reasoning/Organization Index and Processing Speed Index on the WAIS-III and WISC-IV, all with the WAIS-III scoring higher. Conclusions, The findings suggest that the WAIS-III produces higher scores than the WISC-IV in people with intellectual disabilities. This has implications for definitions of intellectual disability and suggests that Psychologists should be cautious when interpreting and reporting IQ scores on the WAIS-III and WISC-IV. [source] The Validity of a Personality Disorder Diagnosis for People with an Intellectual DisabilityJOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH IN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES, Issue 3 2008Jessica Moreland Background, It has long been appreciated that people with intellectual disabilities experience mental health problems. Studies into the prevalence of personality disorder in the population of people with an intellectual disability indicate significant variations, which have no clear explanation. Method, Work on personality disorder and personality is reviewed. Results, This article will outline some of the reasons for the variations in the reported prevalence figures including the impact of diagnostic overshadowing, problems inherent within the diagnostic classification systems and instruments that have a significant impact upon the reliability of a diagnosis. It will also argue that there are some fundamental issues relating to the validity of the construct of personality disorder and its application to the population of people with intellectual disabilities. The article notes that the model of personality, which in itself is not without critics, is derived from research on the general population and has not been integrated with personality research conducted within the population of people with an intellectual disability. Conclusion, It is suggested that the current diagnostic systems need to be reviewed in the context of an existing evidence base from within the field of intellectual disabilities. There are grounds to be cautious with the current diagnostic process and to question its clinical utility. Furthermore, diagnosis may only serve as an intermediate step and as part of a more detailed nomothetic approach. [source] Anonymity and Self-Disclosure on WeblogsJOURNAL OF COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION, Issue 4 2007Hua Qian Bloggers are typically cautious about engaging in self-disclosure because of concerns that what they post may have negative consequences. This article examines the relationship between anonymity (both visual and discursive) and self-disclosure on weblogs through an online survey. The results suggest that increased visual anonymity is not associated with greater self-disclosure, and the findings about the role of discursive anonymity are mixed. Bloggers whose target audience does not include people they know offline report a higher degree of anonymity than those whose audience does. Future studies need to explore the reasons why bloggers visually and discursively identify themselves in particular ways. [source] Should it be legal to assist suicide?JOURNAL OF EVALUATION IN CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 2 2010Harry Lesser BA B.Phil (Oxon) Abstract This paper argues that because it is a matter of dispute whether to assist suicide is ever morally right, the question whether assisted suicide should be legal should be decided independently of the moral issue and with reference to whether to assist suicide is genuinely to carry out the wishes of the person requesting it. It is then argued that it is possible to devise a set of criteria, based on those used in the Netherlands with regard to euthanasia, which would allow assisted suicide when the request is reasonable and genuine, but keep it illegal under other circumstances. It is further argued that there is no evidence that legalizing assisted suicide will lead us down the slippery slope to involuntary euthanasia. Finally, the question is raised to whether these assisted suicides should be legalized or, as at the moment in the UK, simply not prosecuted, but, as is about to happen, with the criteria for non-prosecution made explicit. It is suggested that, although it is in some ways both irrational and unjust, non-prosecution is politically easier to achieve and also more cautious as a first move. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||