Promoting healthy sleeping habits in children and adolescents

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Adrenocortical attunement, reactivity, and potential genetic correlates among parent–daughter dyads from low-income families

Examining the multitude of influences on the development of adolescent stress responses, especially among low-income families, is a critical and understudied topic in the field. The current study examined cortisol attunement between adolescent girls and parents (mostly mothers) from predominantly low-income, single parent, ethnic minority families before and after an in-laboratory disagreement discussion task. The sample consisted of 118 adolescents (Mage = 13.79 years, 76.3% ethnic minorities, 23.7% European Americans) and primary caregivers (Mage = 40.62 years; Mdn yearly income = $24,000; 43.2% single parents; 50% living below poverty line). We investigated oxytocin receptor (OXTR rs53576) gene variations as a potential contributor to attunement within the dyad. Results showed that parents and adolescents showed stress system attunement across the disagreement task, but that parent and adolescent oxytocin receptor genotype did not impact attunement. Future studies should detail biological factors that contribute to the calibration of stress response systems of adolescents across a variety of samples, particularly those experiencing a combination of stressors

Development of a Methodology to Evaluate the Highway Safety Improvement Program

The goal of this research study was to provide information and develop tools that can help the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) conduct safety effectiveness evaluation consistently across the state, provide data-driven rationale for future investments, and to help prepare the evaluation section of the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) Annual Report. A method and a geographic information system (GIS) tool were developed to evaluate the safety effectiveness of individual projects and groups of projects. The tool uses readily available data to calculate four safety performance measures: crash frequency, crash rate, annual economic cost, and severe crash proportion. The tool output includes: an Excel file with safety performance measure data; GIS files for mapping the crash data; and a report that provides tables and charts for the safety performance measures, a Google Street View image, and crash map. In the future, ITD could implement the process through a different platform, such a web application, or modify the GIS tool for future needs. A case study evaluation was done for nineteen HSIP projects that were completed between 2014 and 2016

An Analysis of Public Attitudes Toward the Insanity Defense

Results from a public opinion survey of knowledge, attitudes, and support for the insanity defense indicate that people dislike the insanity defense for both retributive and utilitarian reasons: they want insane law-breakers punished, and they believe that insanity defense procedures fail to protect the public. However, people vastly overestimate the use and success of the insanity plea. Several attitudinal and demographic variables that other researchers have found to be associated with people\u27s support for the death penalty and perceptions of criminal sentencing are also related to support for the insanity defense. Implications for public policy are discussed

Assessing Theoretical Conclusions With Blinded Inference to Investigate a Potential Inference Crisis

Scientific advances across a range of disciplines hinge on the ability to make inferences about unobservable theoretical entities on the basis of empirical data patterns. Accurate inferences rely on both discovering valid, replicable data patterns and accurately interpreting those patterns in terms of their implications for theoretical constructs. The replication crisis in science has led to widespread efforts to improve the reliability of research findings, but comparatively little attention has been devoted to the validity of inferences based on those findings. Using an example from cognitive psychology, we demonstrate a blinded-inference paradigm for assessing the quality of theoretical inferences from data. Our results reveal substantial variability in experts’ judgments on the very same data, hinting at a possible inference crisis

Accomplishing the mission of National Missile Defense with current technology

The Purpose of this thesis is to evaluate the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization's proposals for a National Missile Defense (NMD). This thesis compares the costs of missile systems that will provide a NMD, such as Patriot Advanced Capability - 3 (PAC-3), Navy Area (SM-2 Block WA), Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), Navy Theater-Wide (SM-3), and the Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI). The data gathered for this thesis included unclassified performance data and the gross cost data relevant to the above systems. Interviews were conducted with personnel that are expert in US Navy SPY radar and Aegis combat systems, and have knowledge of SM-2 Block WA and SM-3 missile systems. This thesis concludes that there is redundancy in the development paths to creating a single, centrally located Ground-Based Interceptor and radar (GBI/ GBR) site. By eliminating or amending the 1972 ABM Treaty to allow a multi-site NMD, a Coastal NMD could be constructed in the near future, using technology that is available today and missiles that will be placed on ships starting in 2002. As development of SM-3 and THAAD missile technology continues, these systems could be used to implement a multi-site NMD far sooner than a GBI couldhttp://www.archive.org/details/accomplishingmis00crisU.S. Navy (U.S.N.) author