Uncovering Hidden Profiles; Managerial Interventions for Discovering Superior Decision Alternatives

A common reason for the use of teams in organizations is the idea that each individual can bring a unique perspective to the decision task; however, research shows that teams often fail to surface and use unique information to evaluate decision alternatives. Under a condition known as the hidden profile, each member uniquely possesses a critical clue needed to uncover the superior solution. Failure to share and adequately evaluate this information will result in poor decision quality. In order to mitigate this team decision-making bias, the present study utilizes experimental research to examine the impact of the devil’s advocacy technique on the decision quality of hidden profile teams. Results show that advocacy groups had higher decision qualities than groups under free discussion; however, advocacy teams also had higher levels of anger and lower levels of individual support for their group’s decision. As a result, while these teams selected the best solution, the presence of a devil’s advocate introduces conditions that may hinder the solution’s implementation. Furthermore, similar experiments with advocacy techniques suggest that the positive effect on decision quality found here is reduced in the presence of stronger hidden profiles

Infectious Diseases Associated With Renal Homotransplantation: I. Incidence, Types, and Predisposing Factors

Infectious diseases occurred in 26 of 30 renal homotransplantation patients and contributed to eight of the 12 deaths in this series. There were 52 infections, 17 occurring before and 35 after transplantation. Infections were produced primarily by staphylococci, Pseudomonas species, and the enteric gram-negative bacilli. Staphylococcal infections occurred in 17 of 19 carriers of this organism and in only one of 11 noncarriers. Thirty-three of the 35 postoperative infections followed the intensification of immunosuppressive therapy for treatment of attempted homograft rejection. Granulocytopenia, steroid-induced diabetes, and hypogammaglobulinemia, from suppressive drug therapy, routinely preceded the onset of these complications. The infections, largely of endogenous origin, occurred when the host's defense mechanisms were depressed. © 1964, American Medical Association. All rights reserved

Do No-Loan Policies Change the Matriculation Patterns of Low-Income Students?

We empirically examine whether there is discernable variation in the matriculation patterns of low-income students at public flagship institutions in the United States around changes in institutional financial-aid policies that target resident, low-income students with need-based aid. While enrollment responses cannot be attributed to these programs, we do find that institutions that introduce income-targeted aid subsequently enroll financially needier and geographically more-distant students. These findings imply that "improved" access may actually displace some needy students in favor of others.low income, financial aid, no loan, Pell

Clinical experience with organ transplantation

The authors have had an exceptional experience in the transplantations of organs in humans. This paper clearly indicates the current status in this area of medical experimentation. © 1965 Southern Medical Association

Blaming the victim, all over again: Waddell and Aylward's biopsychosocial (BPS) model of disability

The biopsychosocial (BPS) model of mental distress, originally conceived by the American psychiatrist George Engel in the 1970s and commonly used in psychiatry and psychology, has been adapted by Gordon Waddell and Mansell Aylward to form the theoretical basis for current UK Government thinking on disability. Most importantly, the Waddell and Aylward version of the BPS has played a key role as the Government has sought to reform spending on out-of- work disability benefits. This paper presents a critique of Waddell and Aylward’s model, examining its origins, its claims and the evidence it employs. We will argue that its potential for genuine inter-disciplinary cooperation and the holistic and humanistic benefits for disabled people as envisaged by Engel are not now, if they ever have been, fully realized. Any potential benefit it may have offered has been eclipsed by its role in Coalition/Conservative government social welfare policies that have blamed the victim and justified restriction of entitlements

Exploring the Use of the Check & Connect Program as a Behavioral Intervention for Students with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Student engagement is critical to the overall academic and behavioral well-being of a child in school. When working with students who have been diagnosed with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), it is important for students to understand that, even though it may be more difficult for them to complete certain tasks or follow certain rules, they can be engaged and successful. Check & Connect is a research-based intervention which involves developing a strong, positive relationship between a student and a trained mentor (University of Minnesota, 2013). A single subject design using a non-concurrent multiple baseline across students’ was employed to determine the effect of a Check & Connect program on appropriate classroom behaviors for four 2nd grade students who had a medical diagnosis of ADHD. The behaviors that were addressed included remaining on-task, following directions and completing assignments throughout the school day. Each student had the opportunity to complete a daily checklist and earn up to eight or ten points per day for assignment completion and on-task behavior depending on the schedule of the classroom. Based on the results of this study, the implementation of the “Check & Connect” program yielded positive results for three of the four students who participated

Alcohol and Student Performance: Estimating the Effect of Legal Access

We consider the effect of legal access to alcohol, which is known to increase drinking behavior, on academic performance. We first estimate the effect using an RD design but argue that this approach is not well-suited to the research question in our setting. Our preferred approach instead exploits the longitudinal nature of the data, essentially identifying the effect by comparing a student's academic performance before and after turning 21. We find that students' grades fall below their expected levels upon being able to drink legally, but by less than previously documented. We also show that there are effects on women and that the effects are persistent. The main results are robust to the inclusion of individual fixed effects, individual trends, and individual quadratics, in addition to other controls, that account for the expected evolution of performance as students make progress towards their degrees.alcohol, post-secondary education, minimum legal drinking age