The aim of this study was to better understand the relation of schizotypy traits with sensory gating ability in a sample of community-dwelling individuals with high and low schizotypy traits. Sensory gating was assessed through the paired click paradigm and mid-latency evoked responses (i.e., P50, N100, P200), while schizotypy traits were assessed through the SPQ-BR which was used to classify participants into “high” and “low” schizotypy groups. Based on prior work, we hypothesized that those with the highest schizotypy scores would have reduced sensory gating ability. While this study does not show differences between relatively low and high schizotypy groups on sensory gating ability, it does suggest that our participants may have been experiencing deficits in attention allocation, a downstream cognitive processing measure. Scores on the SPQ-BR suggest that our sample was not close to the high end of the schizotypy traits which may help explain why no differences were found. This research shows the importance of including all levels of schizotypy ratings in clinical research as we can gain a clearer view of the impact of schizotypy on the brain and cognitive functioning in those with “high” levels of schizotypy. Additionally, this work highlights the importance of including measures of important factors such as impulsivity and sensation-seeking to better understand what aspects of schizotypy may be driving these sensory gating alterations reported in the literature.

A review of the literature was undertaken to consider the possible effects of human intervention (shepherding) at around the time of parturition in extensively farmed sheep. There is little clear empirical evidence to suggest that shepherding ensures either easy births or the integrity of ewe–lamb contact — factors closely linked to the welfare of the animals at this time. There is similarly no clear support for shepherding being harmful. However, the following suggestions are made: first, human presence can inhibit or delay parturition; second, extended parturition can increase the risk of, or is associated with, dystocia; and third, disturbance at birth can compromise ewe-lamb bonding and consequently lamb survival. Furthermore, sheep populations that have undergone rigorous selection for ease of lambing and minimal shepherding in extensive environments have well-documented physical and behavioural traits underlying their predisposition for enhanced lamb survival. Although our cultural legacy may impose a duty to intensively monitor animals at lambing, it is concluded that, at least in some situations, shepherding may not be entirely beneficial. The commonly held view of the necessity for some human intervention in extensive livestock systems is perhaps overly paternalistic, and requires a more comprehensive appraisal.

The current study examines the construct validity of the Maximization Scale (MS; Schwartz et al., 2002) and the Maximization Tendency Scale (MTS; Diab et al., 2008) as well as the nomological net of the maximizing construct. We find that both scales of maximizing suffer psychometrically, especially in their proposed dimensionality. Using confirmatory factor analysis and item response theory (IRT) we identify and remove three problematic items from the MTS and six problematic items from the MS. Additionally, we find that the MS appears to be measuring difficulty and restlessness with the search for the best alternative, whereas the MTS is more focused on the search for the best option, regardless of choice difficulty. We then examined these revised scales in relation to other psychological constructs in the nomological net for maximizing and found that maximizers may not be unhappy but are generally distressed in the decision-making context. Finally, we suggest that future maximizng research use revised form of the MTS that seems to us to be most consistent with the original concept of maximizing/satisficing.

Imagine that you have just received a colon cancer diagnosis and need to choose between two different surgical treatments. One surgery, the "complicated surgery," has a lower mortality rate (16% vs. 20%) but compared to the other surgery, the "uncomplicated surgery," also carries an additional 1% risk of each of four serious complications: colostomy, chronic diarrhea, wound infection, or an intermittent bowel obstruction. The complicated surgery dominates the uncomplicated surgery as long as life with complications is preferred over death.

In our first survey, 51% of a sample (recruited from the cafeteria of a university medical center) selected the dominated alternative, the uncomplicated surgery, justifying this choice by saying that the death risks for the two surgeries were essentially the same and that the uncomplicated surgery avoided the risk of complications. In follow-up surveys, preference for the uncomplicated surgery remained relatively consistent (39%-51%) despite (a) presenting the risks in frequencies rather than percents, (b) grouping the 4 complications into a single category, or (c) giving the uncomplicated surgery a small chance of complications as well. Even when a pre-decision "focusing exercise" required people to state directly their preferences between life with each complication versus death, 49% still chose the uncomplicated surgery.

People’s fear of complications leads them to ignore important differences between treatments. This tendency appears remarkably resistant to debiasing approaches and likely leads patients to make healthcare decisions that are inconsistent with their own preferences.

Captive bolts or firearms are unsuitable for euthanasia of livestock when an intact brain is required for diagnostics. Injectable barbiturates can be used, but this method carries risk of poisoning animals eating the carcase. Intravenous saturated salt solutions have been used to euthanase heavily sedated ruminants and are cheap, readily available and not a risk to scavenging animals. However, there is concern that they may be painful or cause distress to animals that are not unconscious. This study aimed to determine the suitability of saturated salt solutions, in combination with xylazine, as a method of euthanasia of ruminants using a sheep model. Thirty-two sheep were sedated with xylazine (0.4 mg kg-1 IM) and euthanased with an intravenous overdose of pentobarbitone (PENT; n = 10), saturated potassium chloride (KCL; n = 11) or saturated magnesium sulphate (MGS; n = 10). Time until end of rhythmic breathing and cardiac arrest, and movement events were recorded. Conscious perception of pain was evaluated by measuring cortical brain activity by electroencephalography (EEG). There was no evidence of perceived pain or unpleasant sensory experience for any treatment as indicated by P50, P95 and Ptot and so all methods were deemed humane. Time until transient EEG was comparable for all treatments. Time until onset of isoelectric EEG was prolonged for KCL. Animals euthanased with KCL consistently exhibited severe reflex movements during infusion (eg kicking, convulsion). No severe movement events were observed in animals euthanased with MGS, hence, physiological and movement data support the preferential use of MGS over KCL.

The marketisation of disability support driven by individualised funding brings new dilemmas for multi-agency collaboration, in particular how to provide personalised supports while remaining commercially viable. This article explores the challenges, risks and adaptations of organisations to navigate the tensions of personalisation and collaboration. Framed by street-level research and using the context of Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), this article draws on interviews with twenty-eight organisational managers. Multi-agency challenges are highlighted when several providers are delivering parts of a NDIS participant’s plan, blurring organisational responsibilities and accountabilities. Interviews also revealed the paradox of organisational disconnection and organisational dependence concerning quality support provision and described the collaborative responses organisations implement to ensure their sustainability. There is commitment among organisations to build a trusted ecosystem of providers, but this is largely discretionary and there is a need for further policy mechanisms to enable organisations to negotiate a way through multi-agency dilemmas.

Within growing marketisation of publicly funded services, the internet has provided new opportunities for marketing, delivery, and coordination of those services. Using web scraping and hyperlink network analysis techniques, this paper examines the ways in which organisations operating in Australia’s evolving National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) system inter-connect online. Social media plays the most important role in the online network. Government agencies also play a central role, with many disability service organisations linking their web users to them. Government agency websites do not hyperlink to disability service providers, suggesting that governments do not see their role as assisting access to such services. Advocacy and peak disability organisations are important in online connections between the websites of government and service organisations. Innovative uses of the internet for online brokerage of disability services are evident. The implications of these findings for service delivery are discussed.

As online graduate programs in psychology continue to proliferate, it is important to understand the research addressing the effectiveness of online graduate education so as to advise stakeholders in these programs: applicants, students, faculty, and institutions. In this article, we examine the effectiveness of online education in psychology at two levels of analysis. First, we examine empirical evidence at the course level: Do online, hybrid, and face-to-face instruction lead to different effects at the level of course outcomes? Second, we examine empirical evidence at the program level: Do online and face-to-face graduate programs provide different academic experiences for their respective students, and how does program type influence the employability of graduates? We supplement these discussions with results from a survey of faculty who converted graduate courses to online delivery methods during the COVID-19 pandemic in spring of 2020. Finally, we provide practical considerations for administrators, educators, students, and applicant stakeholders of online programs. We also offer suggestions for optimizing learning and development in online environments. Our intent is to stimulate discussion on building effective learning environments and continuing to educate optimally effective industrial-organizational psychologists, regardless of delivery modality.

Between 2016 and 2021, we retrospectively identified 42 patients receiving ≥1 dose of dalbavancin for osteomyelitis, skin and soft-tissue infection, endocarditis or bacteremia, or septic arthritis. Median antibiotic duration prior to dalbavancin administration was 7 days. Within 90 days, 93% achieved clinical cure, 12% were readmitted, 12% developed hepatotoxicity, and 5% died.

Children with conduct problems and high callous-unemotional (CP+CU) traits are characterized by dampened emotional responding, limiting their ability for affective empathy and impacting the development of prosocial behaviors. However, research documenting this dampening in young children is sparse and findings vary, with attachment-related stimuli hypothesized to ameliorate deficits in emotional responding. Here we test emotional responsiveness across various emotion-eliciting stimuli using multiple measures of emotional responsiveness (behavioral, physiological, self-reported) and attention, in young children aged 2–8 years (M age = 5.37), with CP+CU traits (CP+CU; n = 36), CPs and low CU traits (CP−CU; n = 82) and a community control sample (CC; n = 27). We found no evidence that attachment-related stimulus ameliorated deficits in emotional responding. Rather, at a group level we found a consistent pattern of reduced responding across all independent measures of responsiveness for children with CP+CU compared to the CC group. Few differences were found between CP+CU and CP−CU groups. When independent measures were standardized and included in a regression model predicting to CU trait score, higher CU traits were associated with reduced emotional responding, demonstrating the importance of multimodal measurement of emotional responsiveness when investigating the impact of CU traits in young children.

Background: Mean arterial pressure augmentation is one current established practice for management of patients with SCI. We present the first data investigating the effectiveness of Intrathecal Pressure (ITP) reduction through CSF drainage (CSFD) in managing patients with acute traumatic SCI at a large academic center. Methods: Data from 6 patients with acute traumatic SCI were included. A lumbar intrathecal catheter was used to monitor ITP and volume of CSFD. CSFD was performed and recorded hourly. ITP recordings were collected hourly and the change in ITP was calculated (hour after minus before CSFD). 369 data points were collected and change in ITP was plotted against volume of CSFD. Results: Data across all patients showed variability in the ITP over time without a significant trend (slope=0.016). We found no significant change in ITP with varying amounts of CSFD (slope=0.007, r2=0.00, p=0.88). Changes in ITP were not significantly different across groups of CSFD but the variation in the data decreased with increasing levels of CSFD. Conclusions: We present the first known data on changes in ITP with varying degrees of CSFD in patients with acute traumatic SCI. These results may provide insight into the complexity of ITP changes in patients post-injury and help inform future SCI management.