We discuss three varieties of affective dynamics. In each case, we suggest how these affective dynamics should be operationalized and measured in daily life using time-intensive methods, like ecological momentary assessment or ambulatory assessment, and recommend time-sensitive analyses that take into account not only the variability but also the temporal dependency of reports. Studies that explore how these affective dynamics are associated with psychological disorders and symptoms are reviewed, and we emphasize that these affective processes are within a nexus of (...) other components of emotion regulation. (shrink)

Western feminists, physicians, and ethicists condemn the traditional genital surgeries performed on women in some non‐Western cultures. But coming to moral judgment is not the end of the story; we must also decide what to do about our judgments. We must learn to work respectfully with, not independently of, local resources for cultural self‐examination and change.

The article considers structuralism as a philosophy of mathematics, as based on the commonly accepted explicit mathematical concept of a structure. Such a structure consists of a set with specified functions and relations satisfying specified axioms, which describe the type of the structure. Examples of such structures such as groups and spaces, are described. The viewpoint is now dominant in organizing much of mathematics, but does not cover all mathematics, in particular most applications. It does not explain why certain structures (...) are dominant, not why the same mathematical structure can have so many different and protean realizations. ‘structure’ is just one part of the full situation, which must somehow connect the ideal structures with their varied examples. (shrink)

Contemporary bioethics education has been developed predominately within Euro-American contexts, and now, other global regions are increasingly joining the field, leading to a richer global understanding. Nevertheless, many standard bioethics curriculum materials retain a narrow geographic focus. The purpose of this article is to use local cases from the Asia-Pacific region as examples for exploring questions such as ‘what makes a case or example truly local, and why?’, ‘what topics have we found to be best explained through local cases or (...) examples?’, and ‘how does one identify a relevant local case?’ Furthermore, we consider the global application of local cases to help extend the possible scope of the discussion, opening new avenues for the development of practical bioethics educational materials. We begin with a background description and discussion of why local cases enhance bioethics education, move to an overview of what is currently available and what is not for the region, and then outline a discussion of what it means to be local using example cases drawn from Hong Kong, Australia, Pakistan, and Malaysia. We are not creating a casebook but rather constructing by example a toolbox for designing active and dynamic learning cases using regional diversity as contextualised cases with generalised principles. (shrink)

Traditional, positivist assessment approaches generally fail to capture the nuances of learners’ clinical competence in medical programmes. This has led to the implementation of an alternate assessment approach known as ‘programmatic assessment’, which embraces subjectivity of human judgement in holistic decision making in clinical settings. Faculty and staff have found the introduction of programmatic assessment to be challenging because it is a major, complex change to the traditional way of carrying out assessment. Extending our previous work, where we used critical (...) realism to explore students’ experiences of programmatic assessment, we here unpack the underlying conditions and mechanisms triggered by programmatic assessment’s implementation. We applied Bhaskar’s concept of ontological stratification, retroduction and Archer’s theoretical accounts of morphogenesis/stasis to theorize the interplay between the socio-cultural entities that constrain and enable desired changes in assessment practices, and those that condition students and staff to accept or reject the new ‘non-traditional’ assessment processes. (shrink)

The DNA hypomethylating agents (HMA) azacitidine (AZA) and decitabine (DAC) improve survival and transfusion independence in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and enable a low intensity cytotoxic treatment for aged AML patients unsuitable for intensive chemotherapy, particularly in combination with novel agents. The proposed mechanism of AZA and DAC relies on active DNA replication and therefore patient responses are only observed after multiple cycles of treatment. Although extended dosing may provide the optimal scheduling, the reliance of injectable formulation of the drug limits (...) it to intermittent treatment. Recently, an oral formulation of AZA demonstrated significantly improved patient relapse free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) when used as maintenance after chemotherapy for AML. In addition, both DAC and AZA were found to be highly effective to improve survival in elderly patients with AML through combination with other drugs. These recent exciting results have changed the therapeutic paradigm for elderly patients with AML. In light of this, we review current knowledge on HMA mechanism of action, clinical trials exploring dosing and scheduling, and recent HMA combination therapies to enhance efficacy. (shrink)

Memory and Cognition, Vol.36, No.1, pp.157-169. 2008.

Roommate relationships are fundamental to the social environment of many emerging adults. However, no validated, widely used, measure of roommate relationship quality exists for examining the impact of these relationships on individual functioning and health. In this report, we present preliminary evidence of the factor structure, concurrent validity, and construct validity of the Roommate Relationship Scale as a measure of roommate relationship quality using a sample of U.S. college students who participated in a multi-wave study. An exploratory factor analysis at (...) the first wave, and confirmatory factor analyses with independent samples of new participants at each of two subsequent waves showed stable factor loadings and adequate fit. Moreover, the scale demonstrated good fit and reliability in a longitudinal multilevel CFA framework. The RRS significantly positively correlated with relationship length, self-esteem, extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness, and negatively correlated with symptoms of anxiety and avoidant attachment style, indicating concurrent validity of the scale with respect to these constructs. Consistent with findings from other relationship types, self-reported RRS scores decrease longitudinally, both across and between semesters of academic life, indicating construct validity of the scale. We conclude that the RRS is useful for evaluating roommate relationship quality among U.S. college students, and hopefully beyond. Further research should validate the scale’s utility in other, more diverse, populations and refine its underlying generating psychological process. (shrink)

It has been convincingly argued that computer simulation modeling differs from traditional science. If we understand simulation modeling as a new way of doing science, the manner in which scientists learn about the world through models must also be considered differently. This article examines how researchers learn about environmental processes through computer simulation modeling. Suggesting a conceptual framework anchored in a performative philosophical approach, we examine two modeling projects undertaken by research teams in England, both aiming to inform flood risk (...) management. One of the modeling teams operated in the research wing of a consultancy firm, the other were university scientists taking part in an interdisciplinary project experimenting with public engagement. We found that in the first context the use of standardized software was critical to the process of improvisation, the obstacles emerging in the process concerned data and were resolved through exploiting affordances for generating, organizing, and combining scientific information in new ways. In the second context, an environmental competency group, obstacles were related to the computer program and affordances emerged in the combination of experience-based knowledge with the scientists’ skill enabling a reconfiguration of the mathematical structure of the model, allowing the group to learn about local flooding. (shrink)