怀特海后现代理论与心理治疗

介绍了怀特海关于文明的理论,这一理论关注表象与实在的区别以及文明的五种特质——艺术、真、美、探险、安宁。认为这些观念可以作为桥梁性原理连接对怀特海一般理论的整合与扩充。认为怀特海思想能够给心理治疗的性质和过程提供重要洞见。     

Blessed assurance: Religion, anxiety, and tranquility among US adults

A growing body of research investigates the possible relationships between religion and mental health. After developing a series of arguments linking various aspects of religion with anxiety and tranquility, we test relevant hypotheses using data from the 1996 General Social Survey. Results show that frequency of religious attendance and the belief in an afterlife are inversely associated with feelings of anxiety and positively associated with feelings of tranquility. However, frequency of prayer has no direct association with either outcome. Strong beliefs in the pervasiveness of sin are positively linked with anxiety but unrelated to tranquility. Finally, belief in an afterlife and frequency of prayer buffer the adverse effects of poor health and financial decline on anxiety. Implications of these findings are discussed along with study limitations and promising directions for future research.     

Some Brief Comments on the Jaques Amado Debate

Comments on the Jaques–Amado debate seekto show why it is necessary in organization consultancyto understand both the organization role context and theindividual psychoanalytic perspective. Failure to understand both, it is suggested, could doviolence to the person and the organization.     

Bootstrapping data with multiple levels of variation

The authors consider general estimators for the mean and variance parameters in the random effect model and in the transformation model for data with multiple levels of variation. They show that these estimators have different distributions under the two models unless all the variables have Gaussian distributions. They investigate the asymptotic properties of bootstrap procedures designed for the two models. They also report simulation results and illustrate the bootstraps using data on red spruce trees.     

Limits of quantitation for laboratory assays

Summary.  A common problem with laboratory assays is that a measurement of a substance in a test sample becomes relatively imprecise as the concentration decreases. A standard solution is to establish lower limits for reliable measurement. A quantitation limit is a level above which a measurement has sufficient precision to be reliably reported. The paper proposes a new approach to defining the limit of quantitation for the case where a linear calibration curve is used to estimate actual concentrations from measured values. The approach is based on the relative precision of the estimated concentration, using the delta method to approximate the precision. A graphical display is proposed for the assessment of estimated concentrations, as well as the overall reliability of the calibration curve. Our research is motivated by a clinical inhalation experiment. Comparisons are made between the approach proposed and two standard methods, using both real and simulated data.     

REGION, RELIGIOUS COMMITMENT, AND LIFE SATISFACTION AMONG BLACK AMERICANS

Using data from the National Survey of Black Americans (NSBA), this research examines three sets of hypotheses regarding the effects of religious commitment on life satisfaction. Further, given evidence of historical geographical differences in black culture and social structure, this study explores the regional specificity of religious influences on life satisfaction. Religious participation contributes to subjective well-being only among non-southern blacks, while private religiosity is unrelated to well-being in any analysis. There are also denominational effects: non-southern members of traditional black denominations (i.e., Baptists and Methodists) and southern Catholics report particularly high levels of life satisfaction. In addition, the effects of religion on life satisfaction are contingent upon age for non-southerners only. This study concludes with a discussion of directions for future research on religion and mental health.     

Multistage Models of Carcinogenesis: An Approximation for the Size and Number Distribution of Late-Stage Clones

Multistage models have become the basic paradigm for modeling carcinogenesis. One model, the two-stage model of carcinogenesis, is now routinely used in the analysis of cancer risks from exposure to environmental chemicals. In its most general form, this model has two states, an initiated state and a neoplastic state, which allow for growth of cells via a simple linear birth-death process. In all analyses done with this model, researchers have assumed that tumor incidence is equivalent to the formation of a single neoplastic cell and the growth kinetics in the neoplastic state have been ignored. Some researchers have discussed the impact of this assumption on their analyses, but no formal methods were available for a more rigorous application of the birth-death process. In this paper, an approximation is introduced which allows for the application of growth kinetics in the neoplastic state. The adequacy of the approximation against simulated data is evaluated and methods are developed for implementing the approximation using data on the number and size of neoplastic clones.     

A simulation of a dispatch department

The operations of the dispatch department of a manufacturing organization have been analysed in terms of matching the labour supply to the labour demand (as determined by customer orders). The problem differed somewhat from those traditionally associated with dispatch departments since set-up costs and company policy resulted in high stocks being carried. In this context, service level did not refer to the ability to supply a customer from stock, but to the proportion of orders processed within a specified time interval. The operations of the department were simulated using FINSIM—a computer simulation package developed for the BBC microcomputer. FINSIM offers the capability of seeing the simulation proceed graphically on a visual display. The final outcome of the study was an aid to decision-making consisting of a family of curves of service level against the maximum acceptable time allowed to process an order. This set of curves allowed prediction of the quantifiable consequences of any proposed changes in the department. Of particular significance was the use of the curves to help demonstrate that the seemingly important delays to order documentation within the computer department were in fact inconsequential.