MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'bias'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 01:55:09 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5158869&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34591&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.badscience.net%2F2011%2F08%2Fbrain-imaging-studies-report-more-positive-findings-than-their-numbers-can-support-this-is-fishy%2F Ben Goldacre, The Guardian, Saturday 13 August 2011 While the authorities are distracted by mass disorder, we can do some statistics. You’ll have seen plenty of news stories telling you that one part of the brain is bigger, or smaller, in people with a particular mental health problem, or even a specific job. These are [...] (Source: badscience) badscience blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5158869 Fri, 26 Aug 2011 13:14:52 +0100 5158869 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5158874&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F08%2Fwhat-goes-up-non-profit-hospital-ceo.html We have frequently discussed the disconnect between incentives, particularly total compensation, given to the leaders of health care organizations and their roles, or lack thereof, in improving the health care of their patients or the public. One measure of that disconnect is how leaders' pay continues to defy gravity while the economy continues to suffer, and health care dysfunction continues to fester.In particular, total compensation given to CEOs of ostensibly not-for-profit hospitals and hospital systems is increasingly passing the magic $1 million mark. A round up including two recent articles and others from the last four months that we have not discussed before revealed more "million dollar babies" amongst the ranks of these leaders.  (Note that most of the data... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5158874 Fri, 19 Aug 2011 18:37:00 +0100 5158874 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5139736&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fwhy-physician-ratings-arent-quite-adequate-yet%2F2011.08.17 “Most physicians are competent and able to take care of most of the problems patients present with.  The standards for getting into medical school are high and for getting out are higher.  I think this call for patients to become experts in picking their doctors is overstated.”  – David Rovner, MD, Professor Emeritus, Michigan State University Most?  What does “most” mean?  Can most doctors treat me for the flu?  How about pancreatic cancer? Must I conduct the same type of research to choose a doctor to set my broken arm that I do to find one to treat my mom’s congestive heart failure?   Is the same level and type of research necessary to find a good surgeon as for a primary care clinician? (more…) *This blog post was originally published at Prepared Pat... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5139736 Wed, 17 Aug 2011 21:00:37 +0100 5139736 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5139877&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F08%2F17%2Fquiz-do-you-make-other-people-happy%2F As put forth by the Second Splendid Truth: One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make other people happy; One of the best ways to make other people is to be happy yourself. Everyone accepts the Second Splendid Truth, Part A; the Second Splendid Truth, Part B often isn’t as clear to people. But to focus on Part A here — how do you know if you’re making other people happy? What are some signs? Are the following statements true for you: Do people seem to feel comfortable confiding in you? Do people follow your recommendations? Are you a source of material comfort or security for someone else? Do people whom you’ve introduced often go on to have a continuing relationship? Do people seem to drift toward you? Join a conversation that you’re having, sit down next... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5139877 Wed, 17 Aug 2011 16:46:16 +0100 5139877 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5036275&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F07%2F17%2F3-handy-ways-to-help-your-child-overcome-negative-thinking%2F Negative thinking isn’t something that just plagues adults. It also plagues kids. In the book Freeing Your Child From Negative Thinking: Powerful Practical Strategies to Build a Lifetime of Resilience, Flexibility and Happiness, child psychologist Tamar E. Chansky, Ph.D, writes that for kids with a “negative thinking bias,” negative thoughts become “the default, the first, last and final word.” Kids simply don’t realize that they have a choice in whether they internalize these thoughts. Instead, they start to see these inaccurate beliefs as absolute truths. Fortunately, Chansky says that parents can help! Whether your child expresses negative thoughts occasionally or on a regular basis, you can help them overcome these harmful patterns of thinking. Below are three activities to... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5036275 Sun, 17 Jul 2011 10:17:59 +0100 5036275 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5008201&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Famerican-heart-associations-registration-page-demonstrates-gender-and-sexual-orientation-bias%2F2011.07.06 This afternoon I sat in my chair, revitalized form my weekend trip to the Jersey Shore, where I can assure you I did not partake in any fist pumping, spray tanning, pickle eating, or felonious activities, when I received an email from the American Heart Association announcing new scientific findings. I like these emails and generally find them informative. This particular email announced the placement of the first completely lab-grown human vascular grafts. The email linked to a presentation from Todd N. McAllister of Cytograft Tissue Engineering Inc. These blood vessels were apparently engineered from donor skin cells and: (more…) *This blog post was originally published at On Becoming a Domestic and Laboratory Goddess* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5008201 Wed, 06 Jul 2011 21:00:52 +0100 5008201 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4852822&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34591&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.badscience.net%2F2011%2F05%2Fexistential-angst-about-the-bigger-picture%2F Ben Goldacre, The Guardian, Saturday 21 May 2011 Here’s no surprise: beliefs which we imagine to be rational are bound up in all kinds of other stuff. Political stances, for example, correlate with various personality features. One major review in 2003 looked at 38 different studies, containing data on 20,000 participants, and found that overall, [...] (Source: badscience) badscience blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4852822 Mon, 23 May 2011 12:44:33 +0100 4852822 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4828887&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fmedia-bias-favors-mammography-against-the-evidence%2F2011.05.15 A new analysis in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, “The Public’s Response to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force’s 2009 Recommendations on Mammography Screening,” included a content analysis of news stories and social media posts around the time of the USPSTF announcement. The authors report: “Of the 233 newspaper articles, blog posts, and tweets coded, 51.9% were unsupportive, and only 17.6% were supportive. Most newspaper articles and blog posts expressed negative sentiment (55.0% and 66.2%, respectively)….The most common reasons mentioned for being unsupportive of the new recommendations were the belief that delaying screening would lead to later detection of more advanced breast cancer and subsequently more breast cancer-related death... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4828887 Sun, 15 May 2011 21:00:47 +0100 4828887 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4841662&cid=t_112365_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2011%2F05%2F13%2Finteresting-balance-of-connections-vs-bias%2F Discussions at HIMSS Day 1 Today’s been a really interesting first day of HIMSS. I’d... Interesting EMR Data Conversion Story One of my readers sent me the following story about... (Source: EMR and HIPAA) EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4841662 Fri, 13 May 2011 22:08:54 +0100 4841662 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4734056&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fa_GIYYw-QrM%2F By Michael F. CannonReporters at PolitiFact.com have used me as a resource half a dozen times or so when fact-checking something someone said about health care reform. Sometimes we disagree about where the truth lies, but I’ve always been happy to help. That changed recently, and I should let PolitiFact’s reporters know why. At the end of each year, PolitiFact sifts through the many claims its reporters have deemed untrue and selects one to be their Lie of the Year. The Lie of the Year award is easily PolitiFact’s biggest publicity-generator. In 2009, they picked Sarah Palin’s “death panels” claim. In 2010, they picked the claim that the new health care law is a “government takeover” of health care. Looking at those two Lies of the Year together brought a couple of things h... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4734056 Wed, 20 Apr 2011 16:42:57 +0100 4734056 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4734223&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F04%2F19%2Fthe-informational-situation-of-voters%2F We present a model of an election with uninformed voters and experimentally test the effect of political information. Our results suggest that the lack of information in the American electorate typically biases election results toward the Republican Party. When uninformed citizens receive political information, they systematically shift away from the Republican Party. * * * Download the paper for free here. Related Situationist posts: Reporting Social Facts vs. Pining for Jim Crow: No Comparison Between Reid and Lott Racial Attitudes in the Presidential Race “The Situation of Pollworkers and Voting Booths – Abstract,” “The Racial Situation of Voting,” “The Interior Situation of Undecided Voters,” “On Being a Mindful Voter,” “Implicit Associations in the 2008 Presi... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4734223 Tue, 19 Apr 2011 04:01:26 +0100 4734223 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4653311&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FSD8qmrjDQLs%2F By Steve H. HankeProf. Paul Krugman's New York Times column of March 27th, "American Thought Police," made this startling assertion: "the hard right — which these days is more or less synonymous with the Republican Party — has a modus operandi when it comes to scholars expressing views it dislikes: never mind the substance, go for the smear."  What would Dr. Freud say?  Well, after careful study of Prof. Krugman's works and one trip to the couch, Dr. Freud diagnosed the patient and proclaimed, "projection bias."  Yes, the ace of the ad hominem smear is simply projecting his own attributes and habits of mind and deed to others. Prof. Krugman: Ace of the Ad Hominem Smear is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4653311 Tue, 29 Mar 2011 16:11:00 +0100 4653311 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4626791&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F-y4T3c2Em6M%2F By George Scoville "Since Congress has not declared war on Libya, is American involvement in the Libyan war unconstitutional?" A year later, Obamacare still faces bipartisan opposition. Public sector unions have awakened a sleeping giant. It is irrelevant which way public broadcasting tilts--the problem is that it tilts at all. Cato founder and president Ed Crane made a rare media appearance yesterday, joining talk radio host Neal Boortz to discuss Libya and...well, a bunch of other things: Wednesday Links is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4626791 Wed, 23 Mar 2011 15:01:47 +0100 4626791 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4610848&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F03%2F18%2Fbest-of-our-blogs-march-1-2011-2%2F I have been reading a book called The Book of Awakening: Having the Life You Want by Being Present to the Life You Have by Mark Nepo. It is basically daily reflections on life written in a way that is so heartbreakingly honest and beautiful that it reads like poetry. I am a bit behind on my daily reading so I am only on, “February 19: Instead of Breaking.” But the daily awakening was so moving that I thought I’d share a snippet with you here: “Instead of breaking the bone of our stubbornness, we can nourish the marrow of our feeling unheard. Instead of breaking the bone of our fear, we can cleanse the blood of our feeling unsafe. Instead of counting the scars from being hurt in the world, we can find and re-kiss the very spot in our soul where we began to withhold o... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4610848 Fri, 18 Mar 2011 11:22:28 +0100 4610848 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4549740&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FvPmlMaPLIdY%2F By David BoazIn the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Barton Hinkle notes that the Virginia General Assembly has just passed "tough new regulations on abortion clinics." And Suddenly, outraged liberals are sounding remarkably like libertarian advocates of laissez-faire capitalism and the industries they defend. For instance, abortion-rights supporters already are warning that the heavy hand of government will impose requirements so absurd and so economically burdensome that they will force clinics to close their doors. "What they'll do is put a burden of extra cost that is not backed up by sound science," said one abortion provider who spoke on condition of . . . whoops! Actually, those were the words of Alva Carter Jr., chairman of a New Mexico dairy industry group, who was protesting new groundwa... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4549740 Fri, 04 Mar 2011 14:32:46 +0100 4549740 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4536141&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F03%2F02%2Fideological-bias-in-social-psychology%2F On January 27th, moral psychologist Jonathan Haidt gave a provocative talk at the annual convention of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology.  His presentation has since received a lot of press (including John Tierney’s New York Times article on the talk). Edge has posted a version of Haidt’s talk as well as a variety of responses (here).  Below, we’ve posted the response by Situationist Contributor, John Jost. * * * Social psychology is not a “tribal-moral community” governed by “sacred values.” It is wide open to anyone who believes that we can use the scientific method to explain social behavior, regardless of their political beliefs. Nor is our “corner” of social science “broken” when it comes “race... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4536141 Wed, 02 Mar 2011 04:01:10 +0100 4536141 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4517209&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=34761&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedblitz.com%2F%7E%2F24567879%2F0%2Fneuromarketing%7EBorder-Bias-How-to-Beat-It.htm When we lived in Indiana, our first house was quite ordinary but had one feature some found a little odd: one edge of our little lot was the Michigan state line. An errant frisbee throw required one to retrieve the disc from another state. There was absolutely nothing to distinguish that lot line from any [...] CommentsCommentsRelated StoriesDoes Paper Outweigh Digital?Seating Secret: How To Soften Up Your ProspectsThe Last Name Effect: Why Zimmerman is Impatient (Source: Neuromarketing) Neuromarketing blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4517209 Thu, 24 Feb 2011 13:54:14 +0100 4517209 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4441991&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F02%2F06%2Fpatrick-shin-at-harvard-law-school%2F On Tuesday, the HLS Student Association for Law and Mind Sciences (SALMS) is hosting a talk by Suffolk Law professor Patrick Shin entitled “Unconscious Bias and the Legal Concept of Discrimination.” Professor Shin is a professor of law at Suffolk University Law School. He conducts research into the meaning and value of diversity in antidiscrimination law. He has applied psychology to real-world problems of employment discrimination law. Professor Shin will be speaking in Austin East from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. Free burritos will be provided! For more information, e-mail salms@law.harvard.edu. (Source: The Situationist) The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4441991 Sun, 06 Feb 2011 19:12:52 +0100 4441991 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4405758&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FYchSsanoy2s%2F By Michael F. CannonThis is how a front-page story in this morning’s Washington Post portrayed the cause of this year’s $1.5 trillion deficit: Record U.S. Deficit Projected This Year CBO forecasts tax cuts will push budget gap to $1.5 trillion The still-fragile economy and fresh tax cuts approved by Congress last month will drive the federal deficit to nearly $1.5 trillion this year, the biggest budget gap in U.S. history, congressional budget analysts said Wednesday. Federal spending and federal tax revenue play equally important roles in creating the federal budget deficit.  Yet the Post blames the deficit only on inadequate tax revenue.  Federal spending isn’t too high, the Post implies, tax revenue is too low. This may not be an example of media bias.  But it is a... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4405758 Thu, 27 Jan 2011 16:14:37 +0100 4405758 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4394529&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F01%2F24%2Fects-final-days%2F We may be witnessing electroconvulsive therapy’s final days. This week, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel will review whether there’s enough evidence to downgrade electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) devices into the Class II medical device category — that is, a medical device that carries only “medium risk.” Like a syringe. That’s right, a device that can send electricity directly into your brain is being considered to be placed in the same medical device category as a syringe. And guess who doesn’t mind that reclassification? Why, the American Psychiatric Association, of course — they are right on board with this re-classification (PDF). Currently ECT devices are classified as Class III devices — high risk. Yet they have neve... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4394529 Mon, 24 Jan 2011 18:30:56 +0100 4394529 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4343206&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=34817&url=http%3A%2F%2Fshrinkwrapped.blogs.com%2Fblog%2F2011%2F01%2Four-post-modern-left.html The story of the week is the response of the Left-Liberal intelligentsia to the Arizona shootings.  By now, all but the most partisan recognize that the shooter was a seriously disturbed psychotic man who was responding to his own internal delusions and had no relationship with the Tea Parties, Sarah Palin, or any Conservative ideology.  The attempt to hijack this incident for political gain is noxious in the extreme; sadly, it is further evidence of the Left's need to demonize its opponents rather than engage their arguments.  There is a relatively simple reason why they need to follow this well marked path:  Leftism, as an ideology, has failed, is incoherent, and is truly post-modern; in other words, there is no core belief system for Leftism, there is merely ... ShrinkWrapped blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4343206 Thu, 13 Jan 2011 16:30:00 +0100 4343206 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4309676&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=38951&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcarlatpsychiatry.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F01%2Fcurrent-psychiatry-now-binging-on.html Current Psychiatry is a controlled circulation "throwaway" journal that comes to all psychiatrists free of charge. It's well-written, often useful, but editorially it has unfortunately become a mouthpiece for the promotional aims of its advertisers. Recently a few examples attracted my attention. 1. This CME Supplement was packaged with the November 2010 issue. It is called “Effective Strategies for Patients With Complex Depression in Psychiatric Practice." It's supported by AstraZeneca, maker of Seroquel, and the supplement's three articles are well-masked ads for the use of Seroquel in treatment-resistant depression. There are lots of subtle promotional strategies here, but check out especially pages 10 and 11. Here, you find a paragraph on atypicals pretending that they all have ... The Carlat Psychiatry Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4309676 Tue, 04 Jan 2011 20:13:00 +0100 4309676 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4309669&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F01%2F03%2Fis-science-dead-in-a-word-no%2F A few weeks ago, Jonah Lehrer wrote a somewhat dumbed-down and sensationalistic article for The New Yorker entitled, The Truth Wears Off: Is there something wrong with the scientific method? In it, Lehrer cites anecdotal evidence (and a little data) to support the proposition that perhaps the scientific method — how we scientifically validate our hypotheses with data and statistics — has gone horribly awry. But what Lehrer failed to note is that most researchers already know about the flaws he describes, and diligently work toward minimizing the impact of those issues. The scientific method isn’t broken. What Lehrer is describing is simply science at work — and working. The best response to this essay comes from ScienceBlogs writer PZ Myers, Science is not dead. In... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4309669 Mon, 03 Jan 2011 18:39:15 +0100 4309669 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4294670&cid=t_112365_99_f&fid=35344&url=http%3A%2F%2Fzackarysholemberger.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F12%2Fmaybe-cell-phones-do-maraud-little-bit.html Now, instead of thinking that the concern for cancer risk from cell phones is BS, I think the concerns are exaggerated and misplaced. Let me explain.When I wrote my previous post, I was not aware of the meta-analysis from 2009 by Myung et al. in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. (A meta-analysis uses statistical techniques to classify and then pool results from a number of studies.) The work by Myung et al. needs some detailed discussion, but it presents some findings which bear consideration: first, that in the subgroup of studies they considered which were of higher quality, there is a positive association between any cell-phone use (compared to rare or never use) and brain tumors both benign and malignant. Second, there is a significant association, in all studies which consider cell-ph... Zackary Sholem Berger blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4294670 Wed, 29 Dec 2010 03:49:00 +0100 4294670 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4287556&cid=t_112365_136_f&fid=39026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcarolinemfr.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F12%2Fdoes-it-really-matter.html A seasonal bit first.The president enjoyed a bit of activity and lots of political rantings and ravings have ended in the Senate and the House and bills were signed. Finally, Don't Ask, Don't Tell is repealed. My question is: does someone's sexual orientation really matter?President Kennedy was the first Catholic President. President Reagan was the first divorced president. President Obama is the first African American president. President Taft was so big he had a custom designed bathtub to fit him. President Roosevelt had polio and was in a wheelchair. President Lincoln was born in a log cabin, not a mansion. Did any of that affect how they did their job? No. Does it really matter if someone is short, tall, fat, thin, white, Asian, African American, Protestant, Catholic, Amish, Atheist, A... Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4287556 Fri, 24 Dec 2010 12:10:00 +0100 4287556 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4249093&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F12%2F11%2Fpushback-from-the-left%2F Situationist Contributor Jerry Kang recently posted his thoughtful essay, “Implicit Bias and the Pushback from the Left” (St. Louis University Law Journal, Vol. 54, p. 1139, 2010) on SSRN.  Here’s the abstrct. * * * Over the past three decades, the mind sciences have provided remarkable insights about how our brains process social categories. For example, scientists have discovered that implicit biases – in the form of stereotypes and attitudes that we are unaware of, do not consciously intend, and might reject upon conscious self-reflection – exist and have wide-ranging behavioral consequences. Such findings destabilize our self-serving self-conceptions as bias-free. Not surprisingly, there has been backlash from the political Right. This Article examines so... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4249093 Sat, 11 Dec 2010 04:01:35 +0100 4249093 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4200582&cid=t_112365_99_f&fid=35344&url=http%3A%2F%2Fzackarysholemberger.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F11%2Flet-us-discuss-murderous-cell-phones.html Cancer and cell phones - I meant to blog about this for some time, since it has long trended among the most read articles at the Times website. To be charitable, the article did make me go and look up the literature, so that's not a bad thing. In short, however, the Times treatment is irresponsible and fear-mongering.First, let me remark that the Times article mentions by name a refereed study of cellphones in humans only in the 14th paragraph. And it neglects to mention the multiple studies which have shown no connection.Now, let's consider the INTERPHONE study referred to in the Times piece (it's one of these with the fake acronyms). It showed no connection between cell phone use and cancers, when all brain cancers are taken together. Now, it's reasonable for them to analyze different ca... Zackary Sholem Berger blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4200582 Thu, 25 Nov 2010 19:03:00 +0100 4200582 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4179548&cid=t_112365_180_f&fid=38619&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FALifeCoachsBlog%2F%7E3%2F2EOFifjcVKQ%2F A couple of weeks ago on evening after eating dinner my wife asked me if I wanted to try out one of her fancy new tooth picks. In the great scheme of things toothpicks are not the kind of thing to get me fired up and as I was likely to be flossing later on, the spinach could stay where it was and I politely declined. She didn’t want to let it lie though and kept pestering me to check them out. Finally and obviously exasperated by my lack of compliance she said; “Well, Zoe Ball raves over them” “Oh, ok I’ll give them a go then” I replied. I pulled the top off one and started to play about with it was surprised just how good it was. It was more like a mini-toothbrush than a toothpick. It had little brushes on the end to really clean in between the gaps and it felt surprisingly pl... Life Coach Blog: The Discomfort Zone : blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4179548 Thu, 18 Nov 2010 16:56:19 +0100 4179548 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4142822&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F11%2F07%2Fjudges-are-like%2F This week I have been trying to catch up on some tasks that have been on my list since early in the semester.  One has been to post some of my recent papers on SSRN.  To this end, I have just put up Color Commentators of the Bench, which may be of interest to certain Situationist readers.  The abstract appears below: Featuring prominently in the last four sets of Supreme Court confirmation hearings, the judge-as-umpire analogy has become the dominant frame for understanding the role of the Justice and may also now act as a significant constraint on judicial behavior. Strong criticisms from legal academics and journalists attacking the realism of the analogy have had little destabilizing effect. This Essay argues that the best hope for shifting the public conception of the work of a Just... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4142822 Sun, 07 Nov 2010 04:01:15 +0100 4142822 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4133670&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FUvvg3G17Wzs%2F By Michael F. CannonListening to NPR on the way into work, I twice heard a reporter refer to Meredith McGehee, a champion of (ahem) campaign finance reform, as a “good-government lobbyist.” Got that?  If you disagree with McGehee’s lobbying agenda — if, say, you think campaign finance reform is an unconstitutional attempt by the Left to restrict political speech that they don’t like — then you are against making government better. But did you catch the more subtle form of bias?  I maintain there is no such thing as good government. (Call it Cannon’s First Law of Politics.)  And I’m not alone.  ”Government, even in its best state,” wrote Thomas Paine in Common Sense, “is but a necessary evil.”  Not good.  Less evil tha... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4133670 Thu, 04 Nov 2010 15:22:08 +0100 4133670 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4118887&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FSV6PyZsNCj0%2F By Michael F. CannonToday’s NPR story, “Health Law Hardly At Fault For Rising Premiums,” was much fairer than its headline (and the sub-heads, if that’s what we call them).   ObamaCare is “hardly at fault for rising premiums?”  Really?  The story quotes an insurance-industry flack who well establishes what the Obama administration’s own regulations confirm: ObamaCare will be a major driver of premium increases for some health plans.  A sub-head calls such claims “misinformation.”  Oh?  The article does more to bolster those claims than the administration’s flack does to knock them down.  A more accurate headline would have been, “Health Law at Fault for Rising Premiums? In Some Cases, Yes.” One wonders whether, in some posh Versailles sa... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4118887 Thu, 28 Oct 2010 17:11:38 +0100 4118887 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4082134&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F10%2F19%2Fwhat-research-can-you-believe%2F There’s a fascinating article in the Nov. 2010 issue of The Atlantic by David H. Freedman that examines the world of medical research and that suggests much of our empirical, research-based knowledge may be flawed. Anyone who reads World of Psychology regularly already knows about the problems in a lot of industry-funded studies. But this article suggests that the problems with peer-reviewed research go far deeper than simple for-profit bias. Scientists are biased in many, many ways (not just for monetary gain). And this bias inevitably shows up in the work they perform — scientific research. This is not a new drum to beat for me — I’ve talked about researcher bias in 2007 and how researchers design studies to find specific results (this example involved researchers... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4082134 Tue, 19 Oct 2010 15:30:10 +0100 4082134 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4082017&cid=t_112365_86_f&fid=36669&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffadelibrary.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F10%2F19%2Farchives-of-dermatology-2010-vol-146-no-10%2F The objectives of this article are to promote a better understanding of a group of biases that influence therapeutic decision making by physicians/dermatologists and to raise the awareness that these biases contribute to a research-practice gap that has an impact on physicians and treatment solutions. (NHS Athens is required to access this article online) Filed under: Athens Password, Current Awareness, E-Journals, Journals Tagged: Athens Password, Bias, Current Awareness, Dermatology, E-Journals, Evidence (Source: Fade Library) Fade Library blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4082017 Tue, 19 Oct 2010 09:48:25 +0100 4082017 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4036722&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=34761&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedblitz.com%2F%7E%2F21198644%2F0%2Fneuromarketing%7EBit-Pickles-amp-Fuzzy-Olives.htm In The Million Dollar Pickle (retitled after a reader suggested the original title When Stories Don’t Sell wasn’t that good), I retold a story about how a single bad customer service experience turned a business author and speaker into a negative PR machine for a local supermarket. What sparked that post was my OWN version [...] CommentsRoger - This reminds me of a discussion with a good friend who ... by Ron WrightDefinitely true, Daniel. If you have heard a lot about an ... by Roger DooleyPlus 3 more...Related StoriesHoly Branding! Religion Gives Brand ImmunityThe Dark Side of AnecdotesWhy Stories Sell (Source: Neuromarketing) Neuromarketing blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4036722 Wed, 06 Oct 2010 11:59:05 +0100 4036722 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4027318&cid=t_112365_136_f&fid=39026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcarolinemfr.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F10%2Fbullying-bigotry-and-other-bias.html Last week a Rutgers college student committed suicide after his homosexuality was outed on the internet by his roommate and another student. Where they trying to be cool or something by secretly filming him and posting the video more than once on the internet? What were they trying to prove other than the fact that they are insensitive idiots?Two issues here: First someone's sexual orientation is their issue and not anyone else's. I don't really care what someone's preferences are. Why should I? Their personal decisions don't really impact me. Also, I do care about not seeing other people's sexual interactions. That is a private activity meant for privacy.So what was the point here? I do think the actions of these two should be charged under hate crimes and that they get good long sentence... Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4027318 Mon, 04 Oct 2010 10:18:00 +0100 4027318 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4003336&cid=t_112365_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2FNKbWYNHx4yA%2F Welcome to the XL edi­tion of Sci­en­tia Pro Pub­lica (or, since we are trying to speak English, the 40th edition of “Science for the People”), the rotating blog car­ni­val that show­cases the finest sci­ence, med­ical and envi­ron­ment writ­ing pub­lished in the blogosphere. Quick now — ask a question, any question, that comes to mind. Chances are someone in this excellent roster of science bloggers has anticipated it and provided an answer below. Enjoy! About ourselves Why do I feel better after I exercise (pic: brainblogger) Can thoughtful blogging and reading build brain reserve and delay dementia What’s the borderline between high and low functioning — autism research examples Can we learn to multi-task more effectively Should you mind your brain About our bo... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4003336 Mon, 27 Sep 2010 11:53:43 +0100 4003336 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3994012&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F09%2F22%2Fantidepressants-useless-an-interview-with-glenn-treisman%2F I’m still bothered by all the hype awhile back about antidepressants not working any better than sugar pills (otherwise known as placebo) because I know that the people who need treatment — possibly those that will go on to take their lives — read that story and decided there was no hope in medicine. That’s why I like to publish insightful articles like the one I found in John Hopkin’s newsletter, “Hopkins Brain Wise.” They included an interview with Glenn Treisman, professor of psychiatry and internal medicine who is best known internationally for his care of HIV-infected patients who also suffer from a psychiatric illness. Here’s the interview… Q. These studies are dangerous, you say. Dr. Treisman: Ten to 20 percent of people with ma... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3994012 Wed, 22 Sep 2010 10:30:52 +0100 3994012 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3993814&cid=t_112365_86_f&fid=36669&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffadelibrary.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F09%2F22%2Fjournal-of-the-american-medical-association-2010-vol-304-no-11%2F This article examines whether recent experience with clinical problems provokes availability bias (overestimation of the likelihood of a diagnosis based on the ease with which it comes to mind) resulting in diagnostic errors and whether reflection (structured reanalysis of the case findings) counteracts this bias. An NHS Athens is required to access this article, alternatively contact the Library for a copy. Filed under: Athens Password, Current Awareness, E-Journals, Journals Tagged: Bias, Diagnostic Errors, Professional Education, United States (Source: Fade Library) Fade Library blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3993814 Wed, 22 Sep 2010 06:24:34 +0100 3993814 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3965392&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FipLuKiX4FyE%2F By David BoazOne sign of the tea party movement’s success is that the term “tea party” is becoming an all-purpose smear term for any more-or-less right-wing person or activity that the writer doesn’t like. In fact, I think “Tea Party” is replacing “neocon” as an all-purpose word for “the people I hate.” Take a look at this article, teased on the cover of Newsweek as “France’s Tea Party” and online as “What a Tea Party Looks Like in Europe.” When I saw the cover on the newsstand, I thought, “A tax revolt in France? Cool! And about time!” But what is the article actually about? It’s about the National Front party of Jean-Marie Le Pen, who for decades has played on the inchoate fears, ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3965392 Mon, 13 Sep 2010 19:00:23 +0100 3965392 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3889289&cid=t_112365_137_f&fid=39091&url=http%3A%2F%2Falzheimmers.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F08%2Fis-alzheimers-mental-illness.html This seems to be such a common question and issue. Everyone wants to know the answer. I have blogged about this in the past, but the question still comes up all the time. If it is not a mental illness does that make it better? If it is a mental illness, well does that somehow make it worse? Does it make AD less real if it is a mental illness.When my mother developed AD, it was so shocking, so furious, so heart-breaking, I don't remember ever really pondering that question, because I was so overwhelmed, so bewildered, my head was spinning. Being seventeen at the time, it felt like I had a million things on my mind already. The whole process was like a waking dream.My book "When Can I Go Home?" speaks to that waking dream. It also speaks to the process of me becoming a doctor and a psychiatr... Caregiver Survival: I Hate Alzheimers blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3889289 Fri, 20 Aug 2010 19:56:00 +0100 3889289 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3880863&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fmanaging-bias-in-healthcare%2F2010.08.18 This article was written more for family medicine physicians, but all of us can benefit from self-assessment of potential biases that might affect our judgment. It was also written with the potential bias towards the obese patient in mind, but the article could have been written with any “fill in the blank” bias as the topic. The article points out that bias among physicians tends to “be implicit rather than explicit because of social pressure for healthcare providers to show tolerance and cultural sensitivity.” (more…) *This blog post was originally published at Suture for a Living* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3880863 Wed, 18 Aug 2010 12:00:00 +0100 3880863 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3880835&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F2YlA3EE6HTQ%2F A story this morning on NPR’s “Morning Edition” reminded me of my continuing complaint that the mainstream (liberal) media regularly put an ideological label on conservative and libertarian organizations and interviewees, but not on liberal and leftist groups.  In a report about states accepting stimulus funds, reporter Kathy Lohr quoted “Jon Shure of the Washington D.C.-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities,” “Maurice Emsellem with the National Employment Law Project,” and “Tad DeHaven, a budget analyst with the fiscally conservative Cato Institute in Washington, D.C.” (Thanks! And I’d say the label is correct, even if I might prefer libertarian.) Those are all legitimate sources for the story. But only one of them gets a... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3880835 Tue, 17 Aug 2010 19:59:49 +0100 3880835 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3858196&cid=t_112365_106_f&fid=36682&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSutureForALiving%2F%7E3%2Fv4OeCzsX_Nk%2Fapproaches-for-managing-bias.html This article was written more for Family Medicine physicians, but all of us can benefit from self-assessment of potential biases that might affect our judgment. It was also written with the potential bias towards the obese patient in mind, but the article could have been written with any“fill in the blank” bias as the topic. The article points out that bias among physicians tends to “be implicit rather than explicit because of social pressure for healthcare providers to show tolerance and cultural sensitivity.” So how do we guard against implicit bias? Some evidence suggests that motivated individuals who are made aware of their personal implicit biases can mentally alter them. One way of developing such awareness is to take the Implicit Association Test , a brief, online, in... Suture for a Living blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3858196 Wed, 11 Aug 2010 11:05:00 +0100 3858196 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3845187&cid=t_112365_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2FuaJVh6D6qUc%2F I was really interested in the recent critique of the BBC brain training experiment by Dr. Elizabeth Zelinski. I think Owens et al (2010) was a critical piece of research which was not conducted in the right way and was focusing on the wrong sample population.  I totally agree with the comments by Dr. Zelinski regarding the potential for sample bias and the use of some questionable cognitive measures. However, I would like to take this critique further and question whether the study was value for money when there are other studies which cannot achieve funding but would, in my opinion, show the criticism/scepticism of the use-it-or-lose-it theory. I think there is not enough criticism about the age of the sample population used in Owens et al. (2010). We have conclusive cognitive and neuro... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3845187 Mon, 09 Aug 2010 12:14:16 +0100 3845187 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3823026&cid=t_112365_122_f&fid=37835&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iqscorner.com%2F2010%2F08%2Fresearch-brief-7-4-10-investigation-of.html This study investigated differential predictive validity of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Fourth Edition. Participants from the WISC-IV—WIAT-II standardization linking sample (N = 550) ranged in age from 6 through 16 years (M = 11.6, SD  = 3.2) and varied by the demographic variables of gender, race/ethnicity (Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic), and parent education level (8-11, 12, 13-15, and 16 years). Full Scale IQ and General Ability Index scores from the WISC-IV were used to predict scores on Mathematics, Oral Language, Reading, Written Language, and the total composite on the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test—Second Edition. Differences in prediction were evaluated between demographic subgroups via Potthoff’s technique. Of the 30 simultaneous te... Intelligent Insights on Intelligence Theories and Tests (aka IQ's Corner) blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3823026 Wed, 04 Aug 2010 20:06:00 +0100 3823026 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3805786&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F07%2Fwhere-no-hospital-ceos-are-below.html In Lake Woebegon, all children are above average.  Now it seems that hospital CEOs have moved there.  Ventura County, Where No CEO is Below AverageThe Ventura County (California) Star reported on the uniformly high remuneration of the CEOs of local, mostly small, not-for-profit hospitals and hospital systems.T. Michael Murray reaped $330,545 in 2008 as chief executive officer of St. John’s hospitals in Oxnard and Camarillo. He drew an additional $187,071 in bonuses with $73,113 more in benefits and other compensation.His total package, according to IRS records, reached $590,729.And he may have been underpaid, according to a statewide survey of 118 nonprofit hospitals. The report by the Payers & Providers healthcare business publication suggests the base salary for CEOs aver... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3805786 Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:38:00 +0100 3805786 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3790802&cid=t_112365_122_f&fid=37835&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iqscorner.com%2F2010%2F07%2Fresearch-brief-7-26-10-chc-theory-and.html Kane, H. D., & Oakland, T. D. (2010). Group Differences in Cognitive Ability: A CHC Theory Framework. Mankind Quarterly, 50(4), 318-331.AbstractThe Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) model of cognitive ability as represented in the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability-III (WJ-III) was examined for Black and White adults matched on various demographic variables. Although Whites performed higher than Blacks (i.e., race differences were found in test scores and accompanying factor means), the results of multisample confirmatory factor analyses found that the same constructs are measured in different groups. Therefore results are directly comparable, and in this sense measured differences can be interpreted as “real” differences on the dimensions that the test is meant to measure.Part o... Intelligent Insights on Intelligence Theories and Tests (aka IQ's Corner) blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3790802 Mon, 26 Jul 2010 20:27:00 +0100 3790802 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3679796&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F06%2F20%2Fin-celebration-of-fathers-2010%2F Happy Father’s Day! Dads sometimes get a bum rap as simple bread winners who occasionally are called upon to wield a hammer to hang a picture. They play ball (or, more likely, video games) with the kids, and leave the heavy lifting of child rearing and such to the moms. But fathers are, of course, so much more. They teach us about the wisdom of consideration, courage and honor. They know it is better to command respect than fear, to cultivate friendships rather than enemies, and to find something you love to do, and then build your career around it. Perhaps they aren’t always as “involved” in things as moms seem to be, but they so often seem to provide the rock of stability in a family that is often under-appreciated. Dads are increasingly feeling just as stressed ... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3679796 Sun, 20 Jun 2010 11:52:17 +0100 3679796 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3621772&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F06%2F02%2Fracial-bias-clouds-ability-to-feel-others-pain%2F From EurekAlert!: When people witness or imagine the pain of another person, their nervous system responds in essentially the same way it would if they were feeling that pain themselves. Now, researchers reporting online on May 27th in Current Biology, . . . have new evidence to show that that kind of empathy is diminished when people (black or white) who hold racial biases see that pain is being inflicted on those of another race. The good news is that people continue to respond with empathy when pain is inflicted on people who don’t fit into any preconceived racial category—in this case, those who appear to have violet-colored skin. “This is quite important because it suggests that humans tend to empathize by default unless prejudice is at play,” said Salvatore Maria ... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3621772 Wed, 02 Jun 2010 04:01:48 +0100 3621772 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3617894&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F06%2F01%2Fhow-to-see-yourself-through-others-eyes%2F You and I can talk, we can reach out and touch each other on the arm and we can see each other, but we can never know exactly what’s going on in the other’s head. It’s why psychological science is so hard and it’s why understanding others can sometimes be so hard. It’s also why understanding how we are viewed by others is so hard. Even the least narcissistic of us spend some time trying to work out how others view us: Do they find us attractive, intelligent, trustworthy, funny? The news may not always be good, but it still would be fascinating to know. Research shows that we normally try to work out how we are viewed by others by thinking about how we view ourselves, then extrapolating from that. The problem with this approach is that to varying degrees we a... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3617894 Tue, 01 Jun 2010 11:44:02 +0100 3617894 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3599734&cid=t_112365_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FmKpSwNtRVFs%2F Last week, a federal jury ordered Novartis to pay $250 million in punitive damages and $3.3 million in compensatory damages for discriminating against female employees, who alleged they suffered a pattern of gender discrimination (see this). A dozen women filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of about 5,600 female employees over pay, promotion and pregnancy-related matters. One of those who testified was Raelene Ryan, 41, who worked as a Novartis sales rep from June 2001 to August 2003. She described how the drugmaker schemed to fire her because she expected to be on leave for several months due to an upcoming pregnancy, but argued her dismissal was due to falsifying records (see testimony). An email from her manager to HR, however, states: “As you are aware, she is going to be term... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3599734 Wed, 26 May 2010 13:56:09 +0100 3599734 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3589042&cid=t_112365_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FBMfqNcP46DQ%2F We know lawyers are supposed to discredit witnesses, but then there is the choice of words that are used to do so. Consider the impression left by Richard Schnadig, who represented Novartis, which this week was told to pay $250 million in punitive damages for engaging in a pattern of discrimination against female employees. The dozen women filed a class action suit over pay, promotion and pregnancy-related matters (see the lawsuit). Given that this was a case about sex discrimination, it might have been advisable to avoid using language that fosters sterotypes. But as The American Lawyer point outs (subscription required), here’s how some of the women who filed suit were characterized in the closing remarks… For instance, Tara Blum testified her manager pressured her not to hav... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3589042 Fri, 21 May 2010 16:15:54 +0100 3589042 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3581844&cid=t_112365_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FY2c__p9bhwk%2F Six years after being hit with an embarassing lawsuit, Novartis was told by a federal jury that it must pay $250 million in punitive damages for engaging in a pattern of discrimination against female employees. The dozen women filed a class action suit over pay, promotion and pregnancy-related matters (see the lawsuit). This comes on top of $3.3 million in compensatory damages awarded earlier this week. Their attorney, David Sanford, says the jury “sent a message to Novartis and all other corporations in America that they cannot continue to get away with the discrimination and the systemic problems that have gone on for so long. That day has come and we’re absolutely delighted.” He had sought $285 million in punitive damages, and came up with that amount by estimating No... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3581844 Wed, 19 May 2010 16:01:26 +0100 3581844 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3533923&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F05%2F05%2Fexamining-the-gendered-situation-of-harvard-business-school%2F Julia Brau, Paayal Desai, Alexandra Germain, Akmaral Omarova, Jung Paik,  and Julie Sandler are all students at Harvard Business School (HBS) who last week published a thoughtful article in their student newspaper The Harbus.  With potential lessons and relevance for many institutions, the piece discusses recent efforts  to understand and address sources of gender discrepancies in academic performance at HBS.  Here are some excerpts. * * * Are men and women equal at HBS? It’s a question that has been front of mind at HBS in recent weeks. . . . One of these many efforts is a field study that focuses on analyzing and addressing the current differences between the male and female academic experience at HBS. As The Harbus published in a Fall article, “WSA Academic Initiative Su... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3533923 Wed, 05 May 2010 04:01:32 +0100 3533923 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3511604&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F04%2F28%2Fliability-for-unconscious-discrimination%2F Patrick Shin recently posted his excellent article, titled “Liability for Unconscious Discrimination? A Thought Experiment in the Theory of Employment Discrimination Law” (forthcoming Hastings Law Journal) on SSRN.  Here’s the abstract. * * * A steadily mounting body of social science research suggests that ascertaining a person’s conscious motives for an action may not always provide a complete explanation of why he did it. The phenomenon of unconscious bias presents a worrisome impediment to the achievement of fair equality in the workplace. There have been numerous deeply insightful articles discussing various aspects of this problem and canvassing its implications for antidiscrimination law. My purpose in this paper is to focus directly on what might be called a mo... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3511604 Wed, 28 Apr 2010 04:01:33 +0100 3511604 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3437747&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=34817&url=http%3A%2F%2Fshrinkwrapped.blogs.com%2Fblog%2F2010%2F04%2Fthe-open-mind-vi-this-is-a-test.html All Previous Posts in this series can be found at The Open Mind archives. Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts. - Daniel Patrick Moynihan  Since the passage of the Healthcare bill, a new meme has taken root in the base of the Democratic party, amplified by their echo chambers in the Mainstream Media and the blogosphere.  According to this thesis, the Tea Party movement is primarily composed of  violent, and potentially violent, racists and radical right wingers.  The initial impetus for the propagation of this meme within the MSM was the post-victory march through the Tea Party protesters by a group of black Congressmen: Tea Party Protests: 'Ni**er,' 'Fa**ot' Shouted At Members Of Congress Abusive, derogatory a... ShrinkWrapped blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3437747 Mon, 05 Apr 2010 13:30:07 +0100 3437747 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3374197&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F03%2F17%2Fsubconscious-human-bias-in-ncaa-tournament-selection%2F Andy Staples of Sports Illustrated has an engaging column on new research identifying subconscious bias in the selection of teams for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament (a.k.a. March Madness).  We excerpt it below. * * * The study, by Jay Coleman, Mike DuMond and Allen Lynch, looked at selection data from 10 tournaments (1999-2008) and found that when seeding the tournament, membership in one of the six BCS conferences is worth an average of an extra 1.75 seeds. The study also found that having a conference representative on the 10-member selection committee resulted not only in a higher seed but also in a better chance of getting an at-large bid. According to the authors, a true bubble team (one with a 50-50 chance of getting in or being left out) would have a 49 percent better c... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3374197 Wed, 17 Mar 2010 04:01:34 +0100 3374197 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3370526&cid=t_112365_113_f&fid=38494&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcuretogether.com%2Fblog%2F2010%2F03%2F15%2Fare-you-biased-how-to-make-the-right-decisions%2F Would you make this choice? (photo credit: notsogoodphotography) “Bias is the worst disease from which the society of our nation suffers” – Albert Einstein . What is bias and how does it affect your health? Well, it turns out human brains have a number of cognitive biases that can interfere with good decision making (and delay your progress toward feeling better). For example, people tend to worry about the risk of taking a new treatment, while underestimating the baseline risk of doing nothing about their suffering. Here are a few of the colorful biases we have as humans: . 1. Bandwagon bias – the tendency to do things because other people are doing them. “Everyone else is on the Atkins diet, so I’ll try it too.” . 2. Confirmation bias – the tendency to search... The Collective Well blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3370526 Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:48:09 +0100 3370526 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3366274&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=35451&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jung-at-heart.com%2Fjung_at_heart%2Fchecking-bias.html Around a year ago, I wrote about my reaction to Irvin Yalom's essay, "Fat Lady".  At that time, I wrote: How is a fat person, who, no matter the reasons for being fat, certainly has a whole host of emotional issues about her size and her body -- how is such a person to find the courage to talk about those feelings in the presence of someone who finds her as disgusting as she herself often does? How can she roar her anger at the prejudice she encounters? How is she to arrive at being able to care about her body and for herself lovingly rather than with contempt and hatred? And supposing she doesn't want to devote herself to losing all that weight? Supposing she wants to get off the diet merry-go-round and concentrate on being healthy and fat (and yes, that is possible)?   The op... Jung At Heart blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3366274 Sat, 13 Mar 2010 17:56:20 +0100 3366274 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3307086&cid=t_112365_150_f&fid=34768&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpharmagossip.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F02%2Fradio-4s-moments-of-genius.html (Source: PharmaGossip) PharmaGossip blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3307086 Thu, 25 Feb 2010 03:15:00 +0100 3307086 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3208334&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FHF2rB-hSHHA%2F By Jason KuznickiI was certainly surprised to see Barack Obama propose any sort of spending freeze. Less surprising, however, is how it’s been reported. For reasons that I admit escape me, it is apparently a law of journalism that any budget-related act will be made to look as stingy as possible. Remember this when you read the news. Spending increases that were planned all along aren’t considered increases at all and do not make the news. Unplanned increases, those over and above the planned ones, are reported as though only the unplanned parts were increases. Large spending increases get extra praise for boldness. Reductions in the rate of spending growth are called “spending cuts.” Real though tiny cuts are described as draconian measures. We would probably have ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3208334 Tue, 26 Jan 2010 15:22:04 +0100 3208334 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3142644&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F01%2F04%2Fimplicit-associations-on-oprah%2F Oprah, Malcolm Gladwell, and Dr. Anthony Greenwald discuss the race-based Implicit Association Test and why some people show an unconscious bias in favor of White people over Black people. * * * * * * For a sample of related Situationist posts, see “Measuring Implicit Attitudes,” “What Are the Legal Implications of Implicit Biases?,” “Confronting the Backlash against Implicit Bias,” “Do You Implicitly Prefer Markets or Regulation?,” “Legal Academic Backlash - Abstract,” “Naïve Cynicism in Election 2008: Dispositionism v. Situationism?,”  “Implicit Bias and Strawmen.”and “The Situation of Situation in Employment Discrimination Law – Abstract.” To take the Policy IAT, click here.  For a list of Situationist posts discussing the research ... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3142644 Mon, 04 Jan 2010 21:32:41 +0100 3142644 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3105066&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2009%2F12%2F19%2Faddicted-to-sex-the-internet-friendship%2F Some would argue that one can become “addicted” to the Internet. I’ve argued for over a decade this is a fairly ridiculous assertion that doesn’t even withstand a simple test of logic. Because if we can become addicted to the pipes that bring us information and friendship, it stands to reason one can become “addicted” to virtually anything in the world — sex, cake, shopping, TV, reading, the Internet, even friendship itself. Where do we draw the line and how? Why single out Internet use as its own disorder, but not someone who can’t be pried from in front of the TV 30 hours a week? Or from reading a book? I’m certainly not alone noting how the term “Internet addiction” helps sells newspapers more than it helps us understand ... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3105066 Sat, 19 Dec 2009 16:30:03 +0100 3105066 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3056617&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FP1wbE-cyLCA%2F That is one of the conclusions in my new paper, “Made on Earth: How Global Economic Integration Renders Trade Policy Obsolete.” For hundreds of years, trade policy has been premised on the assumptions that exports are good, imports are bad, and the interests of domestic producers are tantamount to the “national interest.” Though that mercantilist worldview has never been accurate, its persistence as a pillar of trade policy into the 21st century is especially confounding given the emergence and proliferation of disaggregated production processes, transnational supply chains, and cross-border investment. Those trends have blurred any meaningful distinctions between “our” producers and “their” producers and speak to a long chain of interdepende... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3056617 Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:57:28 +0100 3056617 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3035939&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F11%2F28%2Fmeasuring-implicit-attitudes%2F From University of Washington News * * * Study supports validity of test that indicates widespread unconscious bias In the decade since the Implicit Association Test was introduced, its most surprising and controversial finding is its indication that about 70 percent of those who took a version of the test that measures racial attitudes have an unconscious, or implicit, preference for white people compared to blacks. This contrasts with figures generally under 20 percent for self report, or survey, measures of race bias. A new study (pdf here) validates those findings, showing that the Implicit Association Test, a psychological tool, has validity in predicting behavior and, in particular, that it has significantly greater validity than self-reports in the socially sensitive topics of race,... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3035939 Sat, 28 Nov 2009 04:01:17 +0100 3035939 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2984865&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F11%2F12%2Fgeoffrey-cohen-on-%25e2%2580%259cidentity-belief-and-bias%25e2%2580%259d%2F Situationist Contributor, Geoffrey Cohen spoke at the Second Project on Law and Mind Sciences (PLMS) Conference (in March of 2008).  His talk, titled “Identity, Belief, and Bias” summarized research exploring the way in which motivations to protect long-held beliefs and identities contribute to bias, resistance to probative information, and ideological intransigence.  You can watch Cohen’s outstanding presentation in the following videos (each roughly 9 minutes in length). * * * * * * * * * * * * For a sample of related Situationist posts, see “The Situation of the Achievement Gap,” “The Project’s Second Conference – ‘Ideology, Psychology & Law’,” “Women’s Situational Bind,” and “The Implicit Value of... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2984865 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:01:05 +0100 2984865 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2950720&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fksax2Exur6s%2F The Washington Post devotes most of a page to summarizing the views of Virginia gubernatorial candidates Bob McDonnell and Creigh Deeds on the major issues of the election. (The article seems to have no real headline online, and isn’t linked from anywhere obvious, but in the actual paper, it dominates page C4 under the headline “Where do they stand on the issues? A Rundown of Competing 4-Year Agendas for Virginia.”) And what are the issues the Post thinks are important? Education, transportation, energy and environment, abortion, gun control, health care, and labor. All fine issues to debate. But what about taxes? Or government spending? Or the size and scope of government? McDonnell’s television ads focus heavily on Deeds’s apparent willingness to raise taxes... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2950720 Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:05:59 +0100 2950720 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2916405&cid=t_112365_136_f&fid=37852&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdonnatrussell.com%2F2009%2F10%2F22%2Fchaos-theory-faux-news-network%2F New cartoon by Trussell & Trussell on AOL’s Politics Daily: Faux News Network. Posted in Politics Daily Tagged: birthers, fox news, media bias, msm, obama (Source: Donna Trussell) Donna Trussell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2916405 Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:09:52 +0100 2916405 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2908568&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FOX92-z34s3o%2F The Department of Justice just invalidated a move by the residents of Kinston, North Carolina, to have non-partisan local elections. Rationale? The Justice Department’s ruling, which affects races for City Council and mayor, went so far as to say partisan elections are needed so that black voters can elect their “candidates of choice” – identified by the department as those who are Democrats and almost exclusively black. The department ruled that white voters in Kinston will vote for blacks only if they are Democrats and that therefore the city cannot get rid of party affiliations for local elections because that would violate black voters’ right to elect the candidates they want. This, coming from the same Department of Justice officials that wouldn’t know ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2908568 Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:15:34 +0100 2908568 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2908575&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FPfrTVhvf31w%2F Today’s  Arena question over at Politico asks: Is Fox News a “legitimate news organization?” Is the White House smart, or not so smart, to take on Fox? Is Fox News a “legitimate news organization?” As compared to what? The New York Times? NPR? MSNBC? Please. The Obama team, Democrats like my good friend Walter Dellinger, and the so-called Mainstream Media (MSM) howl about Fox News for two main reasons. First, Fox is covering news the MSM ignores because it doesn’t “fit.” And second, in part because of that, the Fox audience continues to grow while the MSM audience is shrinking, raising a serious question about whether the MSM is any longer “mainstream.” Let’s not pretend that the MSM doesn’t “manage” the n... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2908575 Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:56:40 +0100 2908575 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2858619&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FV_H28xZdTMg%2F When Samuel Johnson said that ”patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel,” he overlooked the value of the word “reform.” (I didn’t say this first, but I can’t discover who did.) Webster’s says that “reform” means “to put or change into an improved form or condition [or] to amend or improve by change of form or removal of faults or abuses.” So in political terms, a reform is a change for the better. But whether a particular policy change would actually improve things is often controversial. Unfortunately, the mainstream media typically use the word “reform” to mean “change in a liberal direction.” It’s bad enough that they constantly use the phrase “campaign finance reform” to re... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2858619 Sat, 03 Oct 2009 21:51:42 +0100 2858619 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2846423&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2009%2F09%2F29%2Fare-women-really-more-selective-in-dating%2F We’ve long been told that women are more selective when it comes to the men they choose to date. But what if at least a part of that selectivity is due simply to environmental factors and social norms — factors that could be easily manipulated? For instance, might approaching — rather than being approached — in a dating situation make individuals less selective? Finkel & Eastwick (2009) set about to answer just that question with an experiment designed to test whether a potential partner’s “choosiness” was due in part to whether they were the ones doing the choosing or not. They corralled 350 college students into 15 speed dating events for their study. Participants went on 4 minute “speed dates” with approximately 12 opposite-sex ... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2846423 Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:00:05 +0100 2846423 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2785989&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F09%2F11%2Fthe-situation-of-burritos%2F Majorie Florestal recently posted her intriguing article, “Is a Burrito a Sandwich? Exploring Race, Class and Culture in Contracts” (14 Michigan Journal of Race and Law (2008)) on SSRN. * * * A superior court in Worcester, Massachusetts, recently determined that a burrito is not a sandwich. Surprisingly, the decision sparked a firestorm of media attention. Worcester, Massachusetts, is hardly the pinnacle of the culinary arts – so why all the interest in the musings of one lone judge on the nature of burritos and sandwiches? Closer inspection revealed the allure of this otherwise peculiar case: Potentially thousands of dollars turned on the interpretation of a single word in a single clause of a commercial contract. Judge Locke based his decision on ‘common sense&#82... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2785989 Fri, 11 Sep 2009 04:01:13 +0100 2785989 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2768670&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F09%2F05%2Fthe-situation-of-litigators%2F This study examined whether explicit and implicit biases in favor of Whites and against Asian Americans would alter mock jurors’ evaluation of a litigator’s deposition. We found evidence of both explicit bias as measured by self-reports, and implicit bias as measured by two Implicit Association Tests. In particular, explicit stereotypes that the ideal litigator was White predicted worse evaluation of the Asian American litigator (outgroup derogation); by contrast, implicit stereotypes predicted preferential evaluation of the White litigator (ingroup favoritism). In sum, participants were not colorblind, at least implicitly, towards even a “model minority,” and these biases produced racial discrimination. This study provides further evidence of the predictive and eco... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2768670 Sat, 05 Sep 2009 04:01:22 +0100 2768670 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2751884&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FhVDusr_tS7I%2F Bruce Baker, author of the study of private school spending about which I blogged yesterday, has responded to my critique. Dr. Baker thinks I should “learn to read.” He takes special exception to my statement that he “makes no serious attempt to determine the extent of the bias [in his chosen sample of private schools], or to control for it.” Baker then points to the following one paragraph discussion in his 51 page paper that deals with sample bias, which I reproduce here in full [the corresponding table appears on a later page]: The representativeness of the sample analyzed here can be roughly considered by comparing the pupil-teacher ratios to known national averages. For CAS and independent schools, the pupil-teacher ratio is similar between sample and nati... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2751884 Tue, 01 Sep 2009 12:34:56 +0100 2751884 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2712156&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F08%2F19%2Fthe-situation-of-parochialism-abstract%2F Jonathan Baron recently posted his interesting paper, titled “Parochialism as a Result of Cognitive Biases” on SSRN.  Here’s the abstract. * * * I discuss several forms of bias, or fallacious thinking, that lead to parochialism, that is, a willingness to sacrifice self-interest for in-group members while neglecting or underweighing negative effects on outsiders, so that an out-group could lose more than the in-group gains from the sacrifice. In the self-interest illusion, people fallaciously think that their contribution to their group comes back to benefit them and make their sacrifice worthwhile. This illusion is larger when an outgroup is affected, and it is specific to group benefits; it is unrelated to the desire to hurt another group out of sheer competition. A se... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2712156 Wed, 19 Aug 2009 04:01:56 +0100 2712156 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2634464&cid=t_112365_111_f&fid=36048&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAHeartyLife%2F%7E3%2FBEO9fZ8gqJE%2F There’s a new article on CNN that talks about doctors (consciously or not) treating black patients different than white patients. The story begins with the story of a diabetic black man who immediately went in because he had an infection on his toe. As any diabetic knows, it’s imperative to take care of your feet because problems can grow very quickly. When he went in to the emergency room, however, the first doctor that saw him wanted to amputate. Since this was obviously in an early stage of disease, it was a very drastic measure. The man insisted on talking to someone else, who prescribed a more costly and lengthy method that did, in fact, save his toe. His thought was that the first doctor who saw him treated him with such disregard because he was black. The funny part is,... A Hearty Life blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2634464 Thu, 23 Jul 2009 21:17:21 +0100 2634464 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2613837&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FqHlDnarEDs4%2F Ari Schwartz responded in characteristic even tones to my critique of his testimony in favor of the PASS ID Act, which would revive the moribund REAL ID law. It’s worth a rejoinder, and I’ll offer him the same again here if he wishes. Ari clouds matters slightly by suggesting that my “strong biases” obscure certain facts. I readily admit having a strong bias in favor of liberty — it’s why I do what I do. Ari admits several biases, including one in favor of consensus-building, which was what I accused him of prioritizing over principle. Let’s put aside the question of bias. It’s good to see Ari state that CDT does not support a national ID system. It would be better to see him state that CDT opposes having a national ID system. (I imagine this... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2613837 Fri, 17 Jul 2009 12:40:58 +0100 2613837 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2511027&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F06%2F22%2Fthe-behavioral-consequences-of-unconscious-bias%2F From EurekaAlert and the new Blog, Project Implicit: In the decade since the Implicit Association Test was introduced, its most surprising and controversial finding is its indication that about 70 percent of those who took a version of the test that measures racial attitudes have an unconscious, or implicit, preference for white people compared to blacks. This contrasts with figures generally under 20 percent for self report, or survey, measures of race bias. A new study published this week validates those findings, showing that the Implicit Association Test, a psychological tool, has validity in predicting behavior and, in particular, that it has significantly greater validity than self-reports in the socially sensitive topics of race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and age. The re... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2511027 Mon, 22 Jun 2009 04:01:56 +0100 2511027 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2511028&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F06%2F21%2Fthe-situation-of-pollworkers-and-voting-booths-abstract%2F This article addresses how unconscious bias may play a role in the interaction between pollworkers and prospective voters and discusses some ways in which the potential for unconscious bias to operate in America’s polling places may be mitigated. * * * For a sample of related Situationist posts, see “The Racial Situation of Voting,” “Why Race May Influence Us Even When We “Know” It Doesn’t,” “The Interior Situation of Undecided Voters,” “On Being a Mindful Voter,” “Implicit Associations in the 2008 Presidential Election,” “The Situation of Political Animals,” and “Your Brain on Politics.” To review all of the previous Situationist posts discussing implicit associations click on the “Implicit Associations” category in the ri... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2511028 Sun, 21 Jun 2009 04:01:01 +0100 2511028 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2473533&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F06%2F12%2Fthe-situation-of-human-trafficking-abstract%2F This article suggests that a central reason for the limited success in preventing human trafficking is the dominant conception of the problem, which forms the basis for law developed to combat human trafficking. Specifically, the author argues that “otherness” is a root cause of both inaction and the selective nature of responses to the abusive practice of human trafficking. Othering operates across multiple dimensions, including race, gender, ethnicity, class, caste, culture, and geography, to reinforce a conception of a virtuous “Self” and a devalued “Other.” This article exposes how this Self/Other dichotomy shapes the phenomenon of human trafficking, driving demand for trafficked persons, influencing perceptions of the problem, and constraining legal... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2473533 Fri, 12 Jun 2009 04:01:54 +0100 2473533 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2473535&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F06%2F11%2Femily-pronin-on-the-situation-of-bias%2F In March of 2008, at the Second Harvard Conference on Law and Mind Sciences, Situationist Contributor Emily Pronin presented her fascinating and important work in a talk titled “Implications of Personal and Social Claims and Denials of Bias.”  Below we have pasted the abstract and the four video segments of her presentation. * * * People’s efforts to make accurate, fair, and sound judgments and decisions often are compromised by various cognitive and motivational biases. Although this is clearly a problem, the solution is less clear due to the fact that people generally deny, and often are literally unaware of, their own commissions of bias – even while they readily impute bias to those around them. I will discuss evidence for this asymmetry in bias perception and for the ... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2473535 Thu, 11 Jun 2009 04:03:51 +0100 2473535 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2469569&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F06%2F10%2Fthe-situation-of-biased-perceptions%2F Emily Aronson and Ushma Patel recently wrote a nice article (pasted below) about the important work of Situationist Contributor and psychology star Emily Pronin. Pronin’s work takes on special significance this week in light debates about the Sotomayor nomination and this week’s Supreme Court’s decision in Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co., in which Justice Kennedy wrote in the majority opinion that “The judge inquires into reasons that seem to be leading to a particular result. . . . To bring coherence to the process, and to seek respect for the resulting judgment, judges often explain the reasons for their conclusions and rulings. There are instances when the introspection that often attends this process may reveal that what the judge had assumed to be a proper, c... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2469569 Wed, 10 Jun 2009 04:00:09 +0100 2469569 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2447697&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2009%2F05%2F30%2Fwhy-we-believe-medical-myths%2F Why do we keep clinging to myths, even when research or other facts tell us the myths aren’t true? That’s the question posed by Newsweek’s Sarah Kliff, discussing a new book put out by Vreeman and Carroll, who blow away 66 new medical myths in their new book, Don’t Swallow Your Gum! The research offers only a few answers as to why we keep believing things like we must drink 8 glasses of water a day (myth) and the belief that vitamin C helps cure the common cold (myth): The body of research on belief formation is relatively sparse. One expert in the field, York University psychologist James Alcock, admits that it’s difficult to trace where beliefs start. “Even as individuals we usually can’t explain where beliefs come from,” says Alcock, who... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2447697 Sat, 30 May 2009 14:48:10 +0100 2447697 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2414719&cid=t_112365_86_f&fid=38272&url=http%3A%2F%2Flaikaspoetnik.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F05%2F16%2Fone-third-of-the-clinical-cancer-studies-report-conflict-of-interest%2F While many of us just recovered from the news that Elsevier was paid to produce fake Journals to promote pharmaceutical products, another news item has appeared about “conflicts of interests in scientific publications” This news is based on a new journal article from researchers from the University of Michigan’s Comprehensive Cancer Center in Ann Arbor, published [...] (Source: Laika's MedLibLog) Laika's MedLibLog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2414719 Sat, 16 May 2009 22:02:19 +0100 2414719 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2398637&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F05%2Fartificial-life-is-not-real-life.html The lexicon we use in discussing bioethical issues is important. And look how this newspaper does it in a poll to measure attitudes about refusing unwanted treatment. From the story:PATIENTS' lives are being artificially "extended beyond what they actually want for themselves", Health Minister John Hill says. He is urging families to have a "serious debate" about the services terminally ill people want and need in the "last days of their lives".Mr Hill told The Advertiser keeping people alive with machines had a steep emotional and financial cost. "Certainly, when it comes to end of life--and this is not an argument for euthanasia, I don't want to see it interpreted in that way-- we do invest a lot of resources in keeping people alive beyond what they actually want for themselves," he said... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2398637 Thu, 07 May 2009 18:35:00 +0100 2398637 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2399077&cid=t_112365_133_f&fid=35129&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwhitterer-autism.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F05%2Fblogging-against-disablism.html Please scroll down for new postsPlease go and check out other participants over "here" at "Diary of a Goldfish."This is a difficult topic for me because I do not consider myself to be a political junkie. If anything my politics are more of the green variety. That said I'm only to happy to get on my soap box when it comes to my feminist aspirations, however those opinions are not born out in reality. It's not easy to be a feminist when you're married and a stay at home parent. I was thinking about how my feminist values had petered out recently when I listened to a snippet of a radio interview where a journalist said that her husband came first, before her children. Her point was in part that when women became mother's they switched roles from partner to obsessive women thoroughly absorbed ... Whitterer on Autism blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2399077 Thu, 07 May 2009 14:59:00 +0100 2399077 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2389888&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F05%2F06%2Fholier-than-thou%2F Benedict Carey had a great piece in the New York Times this week, “Stumbling Blocks on the Path of Righteousness.”  Here are some excerpts. * * * Most people are adamant: They would never do it. Ever. Never deliberately inflict pain on another person, just to obtain information. Ever artificially inflate the value of some financial product, just to take advantage of others’ ignorance. Certainly never, ever become a deadbeat and accept a government bailout. They speak only for themselves, of course. As for others, well, turn on the news: shady bankers, savage interrogators and deadbeats are everywhere. * * * “Well, they gave me this award — the administration did — and I’d sworn I would never take anything from them. But of course there I was, up on stage accepting it... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2389888 Wed, 06 May 2009 04:01:16 +0100 2389888 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2375947&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F04%2Fmedia-play-ginger-rodgers-to-big.html I can't remember an issue in which there was so much intellectual dishonesty or malpractice in media reporting than the embryonic stem cell/cloning debates--and that's saying a lot! For example, when the Stowers Crowd began using the junk biological term "early stem cells," the Kansas City Star jumped right on that bandwagon.When Big Biotech began using the term "therapeutic cloning" to distinguish using embryos created through somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) from the same technology undertaken to bring a cloned baby to birth--called "reproductive cloning"--the media jumped right on board, creating the false impression that these were different types of cloning. Because these terms misled rather than edified, the President's Council on Bioethics urged scientists and media to use more ... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2375947 Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:58:00 +0100 2375947 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2375951&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F04%2Fnbc-news-despicable-character-assassins.html NBC News and MSNBC have devolved from journalists into despicable character assassins. Readers of SHS and others will recall the fraudulent story pushed by the Left Web site the Daily Kos. Someone doctored a photo of the Palin family taken in 2006, and claimed it was from early 2008. Because Bristol Palin, the Palins' oldest daughter, had a small tummy, the Kos claimed she was pregnant at the time and hence, the real mother of Trig Palin.This despicable lie was actually chased by MSM journalists with the tongues hanging out until it became clear that it was bogus. Vanity Fair even insinuated, in the guise of satire, that Todd Palin was not Trigg's father after the Bristol story fell apart. Meanwhile, despite the NYT knocking it down eventually, blogger Andrew Sullivan, as far as I know, ne... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2375951 Mon, 27 Apr 2009 23:37:00 +0100 2375951 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2347920&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F04%2Fi-was-right-about-diabetes-story-no-big.html Yesterday, I wrote about a diabetes human trial using adult stem cells in which some of the patients were able to go off insulin. I predicted at the time that it wouldn't make big time headlines--as would happen if the exact same achievement happened with human patients using embryonic stem cells: From my blog:We know that if this were an embryonic stem cell success, the headlines would swamp reportage of the financial crisis. But this is the wrong kind of stem cell success, so I expect, at most, muted coverage.That's precisely what it received, muted coverage. New York Times; crickets chirping. Ditto, the Washington Post. And ditto again, the L.A. Times. No Boston Globe. No San Francisco Chronicle. Some on-line coverage in health and science publications. CNN had a small story. Time did t... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2347920 Thu, 16 Apr 2009 05:22:00 +0100 2347920 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2347927&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F04%2Fterminal-nonjudgmentalism-is-epidemic.html I shouldn't be surprised by anything the MSM does today in boosting social outlaws into cultural icons. For example, when Jack Kevorkian was at the top of his deadly game--even offering extracted kidneys from a disabled assisted suicide victim for transplant in a news conference--Time invited him as an honored guest to its gala 75th anniversary party where Tom Cruise ran up to shake his hand.Now in "Foolproofing Suicide with Euthanasia Test Kits," Time gives the Down Under "Dr. Death," Philip Nitschke the star treatment. Nitschke has called for the right of troubled teens to get access to suicide pills. He advised an Australian woman named Nancy Crick on how to commit suicide--and in the public advocacy leading up to the deed, told the press she had terminal cancer. After she committed sui... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2347927 Tue, 14 Apr 2009 16:13:00 +0100 2347927 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2306960&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F03%2Fvulture-nitschke-to-create-overdose.html Philip Nitscke is the Australian answer to Jack Kevorkian who has spent years as a media darling opining that "troubled teens" should have access to suicide pills, teaching people how to commit suicide, creating the "peaceful pill," a concoction of everyday products that can kill, and selling plastic Exit Bags for use in suicide--which I helped induce the government bring to an end when I exposed his little marketing scheme in The Australian during a 2001 anti euthanasia national speaking tour in Australia.Now, he is invading the UK with his ghoulish proselytizing. From the story:Australian pro-euthanasia campaigner Dr Philip Nitschke plans to launch testing kits for people to check the strength of drugs they have bought to commit suicide in the UK this year, a British newspaper has report... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2306960 Mon, 30 Mar 2009 15:39:00 +0100 2306960 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2306968&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F03%2Fdecrying-too-much-suicide-details-in.html I agree with the perspective of this column in the Guardian. But it is missing a crucial element. From the column "Warning: Media Reports on Suicide Can be Fatal," byline Ben Goldacre: [O]ne important cause of suicide seems to have been missed...[I]t has been shown repeatedly that suicide increases in the month after a front page suicide story. There is also evidence that the effect is bigger for famous people and gruesome attempts.Overdoses increased by 17% in the week after a prominent overdose on Casualty (watched by 22% of the population at the time). In 1998 the Hong Kong media reported heavily on a case of carbon monoxide poisoning by a very specific method, using a charcoal burner. In the 10 months preceding the reports, there had been no such suicides. In November there were three;... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2306968 Sat, 28 Mar 2009 01:40:00 +0100 2306968 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2267607&cid=t_112365_133_f&fid=35129&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwhitterer-autism.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F03%2Fscience-experiment-predictions-and.html Hosted by "Tracy" at "Mother May I," but the photo-picture below will whizz you right there with one click.Just call me snap happy.Take six identical plants and water with different kinds of liquids to determine which affects growth in what manner?Such as LemonadeCoffee doesn't seem to perk up everyone it appears.Here's the control just in case you thought we might cheat.Wine may mellow some but this looks like the worst hangover to me.Milk for breakfast may suit some but this is a mouldy old mess.And lastly, the winner by a mile and better than mere water by far, if you compare, is tea. British Blend of course.This outcome was entirely predictable in my opinion.If you like what you read, send it to someone in 'need.' (Source: Whitterer on Autism) Whitterer on Autism blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2267607 Mon, 16 Mar 2009 06:56:00 +0100 2267607 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2263897&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F03%2Fadult-stem-cells-efficacious-in.html Geron recently obtained FDA permission to try using a potentially risky embryonic stem cell derived treatment developed to treat acute spinal cord injury in a human trial to test the safety of the product. But it turns out that a patient's own adult stem cells appear to already provide the same kind of benefit, and without the risk of tumors found in ES cells. From the story in Science Daily: Researchers from DaVinci Biosciences, Costa Mesa, California, in collaboration with Hospital Luis Vernaza in Ecuador, have determined that injecting a patient's own bone marrow-derived stem cells (autologous BMCs) directly into the spinal column using multiple routes can be an effective treatment for spinal cord injury (SCI) that returns some quality of life for SCI patients without serious adverse ev... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2263897 Sat, 14 Mar 2009 01:04:00 +0100 2263897 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2249064&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F03%2Ftime-magazine-stinks-refuses-to-get.html This article could have been something to present a real debate rooted in the current news--whether or not one's perception of one's "quality of life" is a reason for suicide. Instead, the issue has been totally misrepresented as a case in which a group has "helped" terminally ill people in their "right to die" in states that haven't legalized the practice.In fact, the kind of people this group helps wouldn't be eligible for assisted suicide in Oregon or Washington State...Time magazine failed miserably in its duty to present basic facts accurately. The debate that followed within the article was worthless since it had nothing to do with the story it was supposed to be covering.I think the public deserves better. Everything I've read about journalist ethics would support that view. I hope ... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2249064 Sat, 07 Mar 2009 16:47:00 +0100 2249064 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2188763&cid=t_112365_122_f&fid=37835&url=http%3A%2F%2Fintelligencetesting.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F02%2Faustralian-psychologist-special-issue.html The March 2009 issue of the Australian Psychologist (44-1) is a special issued dealing with cultural and language issues in cognitive assessment in Australia. The opening editorial by Stolk (2009) is "Approaches to the influence of culture and language on cognitive assessment instruments: The Australian context"Technorati Tags: psychology, school psychology, educational psychology, neuropsychology, Australia, Australian Psychologist, IQ, IQ test, IQ score, intelligence testing, culture, language (Source: Intelligent Insights on Intelligence Theories and Tests (aka IQ's Corner)) Intelligent Insights on Intelligence Theories and Tests (aka IQ's Corner) blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2188763 Sat, 14 Feb 2009 17:41:00 +0100 2188763 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2163516&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F02%2Fcontinuing-problem-of-advocacy-masking.html I have written about this before--the phenomenon of political or ideological advocacy masking as objective scientific studies and then published in prestigious medical and other professional journals. (So have others who I admire.) Ironically, in the post I link above, I quoted an article published in the Lancet complaining about biased studies in the UN, the very journal which this post concerns. Apparently, it published a "study" claiming very high Iraqi civilian casualties. (No comments about the Iraq War please.) Now, a polling organization is trying to find the bases for the claims but the authors are refusing to cooperate. From the story:A prominent group of polling researchers has accused the lead author of a 2006 study suggesting massive civilian deaths in Iraq of violating the pol... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2163516 Thu, 05 Feb 2009 18:05:00 +0100 2163516 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2163518&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F02%2Fhow-to-save-your-newspaper-another.html Yet another media biggie has written an article about the crisis in newspapers--which is all too real--and missed a huge reason for the problem. There must be a template circulating for these kind of articles, because it reflects the media's notorious "group-think" by focusing solely on technology as the cause of the problem. From the column by Time's Walter Isaacson: There is, however, a striking and somewhat odd fact about this crisis. Newspapers have more readers than ever. Their content, as well as that of news magazines and other producers of traditional journalism, is more popular than ever--even (in fact, especially) among young people.The problem is that fewer of these consumers are paying. Instead, news organizations are merrily giving away their news. According to a Pew Research ... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2163518 Thu, 05 Feb 2009 15:35:00 +0100 2163518 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2149822&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F02%2F01%2Fthe-situation-of-refereeing-abstract%2F Vincenzo Scoppa has posted an intrguing article, “Are Subjective Evaluations Biased by Social Factors or Connections? An Econometric Analysis of Soccer Referee Decisions” (35 Empirical Economics (2008)) on SSRN. * * * Many incentive contracts are based on subjective evaluations and contractual disputes depend on judges’ decisions. However, subjective evaluations raise risks of favouritism and distortions. Sport contests are a fruitful field for testing empirically theories of incentives. In this paper the behaviour of the referees in the Italian soccer (football) league (”Serie A”) is analyzed. Using data on injury (or extra) time subjectively assigned by the referee at the end of the match and controlling for factors which may influence it (players substitut... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2149822 Sun, 01 Feb 2009 04:01:50 +0100 2149822 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2125226&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F01%2Feluana-englaro-case-media-bias-and-non.html Readers of SHS have heard of the tragic case in Italy of Eluana Englaro, diagnosed for 17 years to be in a persistent vegetative state. Her father won the right in Italian court to remove her feeding tube, but has been unable, so far, to find a medical facility willing to dehydrate Eluana to death. That my have changed. Note the language in the following report, headlined "Clinic May Help Eluana End Her Life":A clinic in Udine on Thursday said it may be ready to help a woman trapped in a vegetative state for 17 years end her life in accordance with a landmark right-to-die ruling. Beppino Englaro, who has fought for more than a decade for a dignified end to his daughter's life, has yet to find a clinic prepared to carry out November's court ruling. The Quiete Clinic, which receives partial ... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2125226 Thu, 22 Jan 2009 18:48:00 +0100 2125226 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2113355&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F01%2Fcoup-de-culture-media-one-sided-panic.html The coup de culture, as I have defined it, is the process by which the reigning cultural value system of human exceptionalism--which is itself founded in the moral philosophy of Judeo-Christianity/humanism-- is being subverted and replaced by a new paradigm steeped in utilitarianism/hedonism/radical environmentalism. The consequence has been an all out attack on the unique importance of human life, pounded constantly into the consciousness of the general population by outlets of popular culture and a biased media.The coup relies on hyper alarmist rhetoric so that its value presumptions and assertions won't be challenged. Here's a case in point on the radical environmental front. The global warming ideologue James Hansen is once again warning that we are all doomed if we don't immediately d... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2113355 Sun, 18 Jan 2009 16:10:00 +0100 2113355 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2095804&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F01%2Fmedia-bias-what-they-dont-tell-you-is.html The media continue to report narratives (theirs) instead of stories. Here's a headline you didn't see, but should have: "Sea Ice Returns to 1979 Levels: Growth Is Fastest Rate of Change Ever." From the notice at Daily Tech: Thanks to a rapid rebound in recent months, global sea ice levels now equal those seen 29 years ago, when the year 1979 also drew to a close.Ice levels had been tracking lower throughout much of 2008, but rapidly recovered in the last quarter. In fact, the rate of increase from September onward is the fastest rate of change on record, either upwards or downwards. The data is being reported by the University of Illinois's Arctic Climate Research Center, and is derived from satellite observations of the Northern and Southern hemisphere polar regions.Surely, this story was... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2095804 Mon, 12 Jan 2009 02:50:00 +0100 2095804 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2086856&cid=t_112365_125_f&fid=34819&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflapsblog.com%2F2009%2F01%2F07%2Fsarah-palin-strikes-back-against-the-media-think-you-have-heard-the-last-from-her%2F In an lengthy interview for the forthcoming documentary “Media Malpractice” Governor Sarah Palin, for the first time at length, takes on the media coverage of her and the 2008 campaign Flap is amazed at the negative BUZZ that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin continues to draw in the “Drive-by Media” and in the LEFT blogosphere. A little more experience in public office, especially in foreign affairs and watch out. Flap sees 2008 for Palin as Reagan’s 1976 run against Gerald Ford - pre-emptive. Sarah Palin will re-emerge on the national political stage sooner than the Democrats like to admit. Technorati Tags: Sarah Palin Bookmark/Search this post with: (Source: FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog) FullosseousFlap's Dental Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2086856 Thu, 08 Jan 2009 04:15:51 +0100 2086856 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2086813&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F01%2Fcoup-de-culture-alert-media-mislead.html Once again the media are caught with their, if you will excuse the pun, pants down. A study was released a week or so ago that claimed there is no difference in the initial onset of sex between teenagers who took abstinence pledges and other teenagers. Sounds bad for promoting sexual restraint, doesn't it? Not so fast. It turns out that the study actually compared religious conservative teens who took the pledge and religious conservative teens who didn't, where there is indeed little difference. But between teenagers who took the pledge and the average teen--which is sure what I thought the story was about--there is a big difference. From the expose` in the Wall Street Journal, byline William McGurn:The chain reaction was something out of central casting. A medical journal starts it off b... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2086813 Thu, 08 Jan 2009 03:29:00 +0100 2086813 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2073792&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F12%2Fend-bias-we-need-newspapers.html It is no secret that the newspaper business is in severe trouble. A big part of the problem is technological: The Internet has destroyed the classified sections, for example, and many younger people no longer read newspapers, causing circulation to decline.But in my view, another huge issue is liberal bias, particularly about socially controversial issues involving stories that are part of what is known as the "culture war." I have been deeply involved in stories of that sort for many years and have seen the bias first hand over and over again--sometimes in the sneering attitude exhibited by the stories, but more often in the important facts not printed and the issues not pursued--as well as a decided scorn toward people of a certain moral persuasion. It has gotten so bad that many reporte... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2073792 Tue, 30 Dec 2008 19:54:00 +0100 2073792 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2035516&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F12%2Fswiss-suicide-tourism-kevorkianism.html The similarities between the "suicide tourism" ongoing in Switzerland and Jack Kevorkian's death circus are just too striking to ignore. Both involved depressed people with disabilities, people with terminal illnesses, and some people who are not ill at all traveling from their homes to be made dead with the participation of strangers. Both involved publicity hungry vultures, Kevorkian and Dignitas' Ludwig Minelli (among others), who use their ghoulish fame to push a death on demand agenda.Here's a difference: Kevorkian helped kill for free, while Minelli's group charges about $8000 to be made dead. On the other hand, Kevorkian's goal, as described in Prescription Medicide, was to conduct medical experiments on living people being euthanized, a proposed process Kevorkian called "obitiatry.... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2035516 Sun, 14 Dec 2008 16:10:00 +0100 2035516 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2035517&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F12%2Fculture-of-death-impresarios-can-get.html Whatever happened to fact checking in the media? I recall writing an article against Kevorkian for the New York Times more than ten years ago, and I had to prove every i-dot and t-cross to the editor--it was the editorial equivalent of a colonoscopy. ("Depressed? Don't Go See Dr. Kevorkian," September 16, 1995.) Perhaps that is because I was against the culture of death, I don't know. But I also didn't mind. I think accuracy in these debates is crucial.I bring this up because opinion articles in favor of assisted suicide and other culture of death agendas often are allowed to assert facts that are blatantly false. Case in point, in the Telegraph, by John Zaritsky, who made the film of the man committing assisted suicide in a case of "suicide tourism" in Switzerland, the current equivalent ... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2035517 Sat, 13 Dec 2008 21:09:00 +0100 2035517 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2035519&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F12%2Fscientific-american-does.html I wasn't planning on exploring the Vatican's new bioethics pronouncement. But the media's reportage does bear some discussion. Scientific American's story, for example, contains the following subheadline: Mischaracterizations of science lurk in the Vatican's latest instructions on bioethicsThat was a surprise. In my experience, whether one agrees or disagrees with Catholic moral views, the science upon which the Church bases its analyses, at least based on pronouncements I have seen, is always sterling. So I wondered: Where did the report go wrong?Turns out, unsurprisingly, that it is the Scientific American that is conflating science with statements by the Vatican that are not scientific in nature. The magazine bases its false charge on an interview with a reproductive health "expert," wh... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2035519 Sat, 13 Dec 2008 16:54:00 +0100 2035519 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2026820&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F12%2Fmontana-assisted-suicide-advocate-made.html The media usually report the assisted suicide agenda by, basically, printing the proponents' press releases and pretending that it is objective news. But sometimes, it comes back to bite them, as when the PR is mendacious.Case in point: When a Montana judge legalized assisted suicide, the stories all contained a statement by the plaintiff in the case praising the ruling. The only problem is that the plaintiff died before the ruling came out. That required a low key correction: In a Dec. 6 story about a court ruling that doctor-assisted suicides are legal in Montana, The Associated Press erroneously reported that terminally ill plaintiff Robert Baxter said in a statement that he was comforted by the ruling. Baxter died Friday night and had been unaware of the decision issued Friday, accordi... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2026820 Wed, 10 Dec 2008 19:18:00 +0100 2026820 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2017449&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F12%2Frevolving-door-journalism-from.html My good pal Ralph Nader often has complained of the "revolving door" between government regulators and legislators and the big corporations that are subject to regulation, giving the corporations, in his view (to which I subscribe), undue influence over their own oversite.But the same phenomenon can be seen increasingly in media, with reporters who essentially advocate for certain ideological agendas in their reportage eventually getting into the formal shilling business about those same agendas when they leave journalism. Case in point, Rick Weiss, formerly of the Washington Post. He used to cover the biotechnology beat, and it was clear which side had his sympathies (although more than most reporters on the science beat, he would occasionally pierce through the ESCR hype). Now, he is wit... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2017449 Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:02:00 +0100 2017449 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2017450&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F12%2Fwhen-science-and-media-becomes-ideology.html This blog doesn't deal with global warming per se, but it does worry about the corrupting influences on science and media exerted by ideology. Mostly, we have deconstructed this problem in the area of biotechnology. But the corruption has permeated the physical sciences, too, most particularly the supposed "fact" of catastrophic, human-caused climate change.As Secondhand Smokette pointed out in a column earlier this week, not only is the issue not beyond debate, but the attempt to stack the deck is becoming all too obvious by following the money trail. From her column:Over 10 years, not one study challenged the orthodoxy [of global warming] - does that sound right to you? If that were true, it would strongly suggest that, despite conflicting evidence in this wide and changing world, no sci... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2017450 Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:20:00 +0100 2017450 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2011078&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2008%2F12%2F04%2Fdr-fred-goodwin-update%2F I have little to add, but wanted to provide a roundup of updates about Dr. Fred Goodwin, the one-time director of the National Institute for Mental Health, a well-respected bipolar researcher, and host of a public radio program called The Infinite Mind. The Infinite Mind was called on the carpet earlier this year for what was largely a biased program emphasizing that there was little evidence linking suicidality to antidepressants (contrary to what the actual research shows). Undisclosed to listeners of the March 2008 broadcast (Prozac Nation: Revisited) was that all four of the commentators — including Dr. Goodwin himself — received funding from the very same pharmaceutical companies whose products they were defending. You can read a very interesting point-by-point analysis of... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2011078 Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:43:28 +0100 2011078 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1980626&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2008%2F11%2F21%2Fdr-fred-goodwin-and-the-infinite-mind-ties-to-undisclosed-drug-payments%2F On May 9, Slate published a rebuke of the independence of an episode of the Infinite Mind, a public radio program on mental health, brain and behavior topics. The show is hosted by Dr. Fred Goodwin, a former director of the National Institute of Mental Health. In question was a program devoted to discussing the link between antidepressants and suicide — a link that has been all but accepted now by mainstream researchers and clinicians. But in a bias not disclosed during the program, all four of the experts on the program, including Goodwin himself, have financial ties to the makers of antidepressants. That information was never told to listeners during the program and only finally disclosed because of Slate’s reporting. Naturally, such a report caught the eye of Sen. Grassley... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1980626 Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:03:06 +0100 1980626 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1969493&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F11%2F19%2Ftierneys-skepticism-at-the-new-york-times%2F Recently, John Tierney who writes a Science column in the New York Times has shown great skepticism about the concept of implicit bias, how it might be measured (through the Implicit Association Test), and whether it predicts real-world behavior. See, e.g.,  Findings column (Nov. 17, 2008).    I write to make provide praise, critique, and cultural commentary. First, praise.  I praise Tierney’s skepticism, which is fundamental to critical inquiry generally and good science especially.  Serious, critical inquiry is why most of us got into academics, and it’s why you the reader are reading this blog. Second, critique.  But skepticism should not be one-sided.  Tierney’s columns suggest that one side is just asking for good, skeptical science, whereas the other side is... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1969493 Wed, 19 Nov 2008 05:53:39 +0100 1969493 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1955147&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F11%2Fpost-washington-assisted-suicide-here.html In my recent First Things article on the passage of I-1000's assisted suicide license, I warned:And with that success, the sails of the ghost ship Euthanasia rippled with the briskly rising breeze, and once again began to plow through the waves toward other shores, far and near. Soon, legislation will be introduced to legalize assisted suicide in state throughout the country--California, Vermont, Arizona, Wisconsin, Hawaii, perhaps Ohio, and others--to make it Oregon-plus-two, -three, -four, and -five.Of course, this was hardly a prognostication of Nostradamus prescience. The game that is afoot is obvious. And it didn't take long for the agitating to begin. Hawaii's Star Bulletin newspaper editorialized in favor of assisted suicide based on the passage in Oregon. From the editorial:Washing... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1955147 Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:18:00 +0100 1955147 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1926357&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F11%2Fmedias-love-affair-with-suicide-outlaws.html The media never tire of fawning stories about people who assist others in self destruction. The latest example of this journalistic groupieism comes out of the Vancouver Sun, in which a reporter goes to the home of an assisted suicide facilitator named Russell Ogden.From the story, byline Douglas Todd:I'm about to leave the New Westminster home of one of the world's foremost experts on assisted suicide when he invites me downstairs. It seems like any other spartan, low-ceilinged basement. But then Kwantlen Polytechnic University sociologist Russel Ogden lifts a curtain under the stairs. He pulls out a steel tank that's a little bigger than a rugby ball. It's pink, cheerfully labelled: "Balloon Time."The tank is full of helium. Ogden then brings out a large, clear plastic bag, with a tube a... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1926357 Sat, 01 Nov 2008 17:06:00 +0100 1926357 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1917855&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F10%2Fmedia-myopia-on-assisted-suicide-its.html Why do media so often describe non-dying people who want assisted suicide as terminally ill? Is it on purpose? Mostly, I don't think so. I think they have accepted a false premise; that assisted suicide is about terminal illness. So when someone who is not dying wants assisted suicide, it's like a reflex, and very soon the suicidal person is described as terminally ill even though they aren't actually dying.The latest is in the Debby Purdy case, which I have written about here previously. Purdy has MS, which is generally not a terminal illness. She has said she wants assisted suicide when her disability increases to the point that she can't take it anymore, not if she is ever diagnosed as dying. And yet, guess how she is described? From the story, byline Nick Allen, in the Telegraph:A term... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1917855 Thu, 30 Oct 2008 03:01:00 +0100 1917855 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1917966&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=34795&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsoloshrink.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F10%2Fis-blu-ray-already-dead.html Several tech writers seem to believe that Sony’s Blu-ray disc technology and high definition movie recordings are on their way out before they got much of a foothold in the market. Although Sony had predicted a 50% market share by this year, their sales presently account for only about 5% of video discs sold. With up-converting DVD players selling at a much lower price and only a minimal difference in high definition quality, there is little incentive for the consumer to pay big bucks for a Blu-ray player or over $25.00 for a Blu-ray movie disc. The conclusion appears to be that “if Hollywood expects to be selling DVDs in five years, they need to make Blu-ray an affordable standard.” There is even some speculation that movies will no longer be recorded on discs, but on flash drives. ... Solo Shrink blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1917966 Thu, 30 Oct 2008 00:46:00 +0100 1917966 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1906265&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F10%2F24%2Fthe-situation-of-a-situationist-mahzarin-banaji%2F Billy Baker wrote a nice article, titled “She Explores Inner Workings of Bias,” about Situationist contributor Mahzarin Banaji in last week’s Boston Globe.  Here are some excerpts. * * * For two decades, Banaji has been a leading researcher into the nature of our implicit, unconscious biases, particularly as they unfold in a social context. Bias, she has found through her experiments into memory and its associations, is a part of being human. Every person divides up the world in certain ways. Most of the time, she said, people show an unconscious preference toward their social group. By participating in her own experiments, Banaji has found that she favors women over men, and Harvard over MIT. But there are exceptions to these findings, which is what makes this election... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1906265 Fri, 24 Oct 2008 18:26:20 +0100 1906265 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1901672&cid=t_112365_140_f&fid=35448&url=http%3A%2F%2Fseemedlikeagoodideathetime.com%2F2008%2F10%2F23%2Fcold-night-hot-soup%2F -n-crackers. Journalism, it ain’t what it used to be. * writing characterized by a direct presentation of facts or description of events without an attempt at interpretation I began this post on 10/21 and became busy with other things-yeah, I know this is long, it took me a long time to write it too. So [...] (Source: bipolar chicks blogging) bipolar chicks blogging blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1901672 Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:35:40 +0100 1901672 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1872985&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F10%2Fscandal-of-unasked-question-how.html Secondhand Smokette was on CNN's Reliable Sources yesterday, and she brought up a point in the Ayers/Obama controversy--the particulars of which are not relevant here--that was worth the price of tuning in. When Howard Kurtz asked her to justify her remark that a NYT story on the William Ayers/Obama connection was superficial--even though it mentioned their working together on an education project funded by the Annenberg Foundation--she replied that nobody asked what was actually done with all that money, surely a relevant matter in the election. Even Kurtz and liberal NYT columnist Frank Rich had to agree.Let's call this phenomenon--which is now widespread across the advocacy media--"the scandal of the unasked question." And it is applied not only in the presidential campaign but ubiquito... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1872985 Mon, 13 Oct 2008 15:48:00 +0100 1872985 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1856115&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=35052&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FWomensBioethicsBlog%2F%7E5%2F411974541%2FAAAS-OHRP%2520Sept08.pdf 1. Sex bias in control of cancer pain. Women get less meds, more pain. Sounds like a Raw Deal.2. AAAS comments on human subject protection training.3. Gardasil requirement for immigrants stirs backlash.4. Paxil suit settled by Glaxo for $40M.5. Inspire Pharmaceuticals reaches deal with SEC in investigation related to clinical trial of experimental dry-eye treatment. 6. Chinese parents file tainted milk lawsuit.7. Personalized medicine: new predictive tool can help determine treatment for breast cancer patients (identifies those most at risk of relapse, potentially avoiding chemo).8. Doctors urge the FDA to ban OTC cough and cold medicines for children until they are found safe and effective. Not safe and effective? Perhaps we should resort to that cherry-flavored placebo elixir reported on... Women's Bioethics Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1856115 Sun, 05 Oct 2008 15:52:32 +0100 1856115 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1850957&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34591&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.badscience.net%2F2008%2F10%2Fmore-crap-journals%2F Ben Goldacre The Guardian Saturday October 4 2008 Important and timely news from the Journal of Medical Hypotheses this week: ejaculating could be “a potential treatment of nasal congestion in mature males.” My reason for bothering you with this will become clear later. (Source: badscience) badscience blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1850957 Sat, 04 Oct 2008 00:46:36 +0100 1850957 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1848201&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F10%2F03%2Fsituational-sway%2F From AtGoogleTalks (54 minutes): Ori Brafman and his brother Rom Brafman visit Google’s Mountain View, CA headquarters to discuss Ori’s book “Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior.” This event took place on June 13, 2008, as part of the Authors@Google series. Why is it so difficult to sell a plummeting stock or end a doomed relationship? Why do we listen to advice just because it came from someone “important”? Why are we more likely to fall in love when there’s danger involved? In Sway, renowned organizational thinker Ori Brafman and his brother, psychologist Rom Brafman, answer all these questions and more. Drawing on cutting-edge research from the fields of social psychology, behavioral economics, and organizational behavior, Sway r... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1848201 Fri, 03 Oct 2008 04:01:10 +0100 1848201 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1806138&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=35451&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jung-at-heart.com%2Fjung_at_heart%2Fmad_not_bad.html This study attempted to explore if this gender difference is explained by biases in the forensic psychiatric assessments. Participants were 45 practicing forensic psychiatric clinicians, 46 chief judges and 80 psychology students. Participants received a written vignette describing a homicide case, with either a female or a male perpetrator. The results suggested strong gender effects on legal insanity judgements. Forensic psychiatric clinicians and psychology students assessed the case information as more indicative of legal insanity if the perpetrator was a woman than a man. Judges assessed offenders of their own gender, as they were more likely to be declared legally insane than a perpetrator of the opposite gender. Implications of and possible ways to minimize such gender biases in for... Jung At Heart blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1806138 Thu, 18 Sep 2008 14:18:11 +0100 1806138 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1790596&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F09%2F14%2Fvirtual-bias%2F This study suggests that interactions among strangers within the virtual world are very similar to interactions between strangers in the real world,” Eastwick said. The study suggests that users in online virtual environments routinely extend their social selves to inhabit their online avatars. “People are increasing the amount of social interaction that takes place online, whether through participation in virtual worlds or other online communities or even just social networks like Facebook or Twitter,” Gardner said. “And all these environments present potentially fertile testing grounds for new psychological theories.” * * * For related Situationist posts, see “Judging One by the Actions of Another,” “Virtual Infection, Disease Dynamics, an... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1790596 Sun, 14 Sep 2008 04:01:54 +0100 1790596 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1788631&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F09%2Fhoward-kurtz-says-media-getting-angry.html Howard Kurtz, who has the media beat for the Washington Post (and who I know; nice guy), says the media are getting angry about the McCain/Palin campaign. "Getting?" He says it is because the rucus made about pigs and lipstick. Baloney. As I have noted here at SHS, I think they have been over the moon since day one of A.P (after Palin)!I think there are two primary reasons for this, one of which we have explored thoroughly, and one which is mostly beyond our scope here. First, Palin is viewed as "the other," symbolized by her and Todd's loving acceptance of Trig, a matter we have discussed at length. Second, she is clearly helping the McCain campaign, and I think it is fair to say most MSM are liberals who want Senator Obama to become President Obama. I'll leave the discussions of that asp... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1788631 Fri, 12 Sep 2008 11:43:00 +0100 1788631 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1775484&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F09%2Fmsm-assault-on-sarah-palin-continues.html Despite a brief and welcomed respite from the NYT, the MSM's obsessive attacks on Sarah Palin and her family continue. The latest is from Vanity Fair, which in the guise of humor, demonstrates their editors unconscionable snobbery and inability to accept differences in lifestyle, as in big family, religious, church-going, pro lifers who gave birth to a Down baby. Readers even get to vote whether Sarah or Bristol Palin is the real mother of Trig! The premise is a purported timeline of Trig's birth. From the story:August 2007: Trig is conceived...during a queaky clean conjugal roll in the snow [or]during an illicit adolescent romp, OR as the National Equirer is allegedly preparing to report, a tryst between the Governor and her husband's colleague.The National Enquirer isn't planning to repo... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1775484 Mon, 08 Sep 2008 16:34:00 +0100 1775484 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1773152&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F09%2Fstory-of-unconditional-love-birth-of.html Earlier today I posted that the NYT was planning a front page story on the birth of Trig Palin. I was inclined to expect the worst, but Secondhand Smokette told me to cool my jets until it came out. Good advice as always from Debra. The story is now out--and it is not a hit job--although it feels invasive, particularly when it discusses the reactions of Trig's siblings to his birth. And, the reporter makes a point that Palin is using her motherhood as a political prop in a whole new way; a fair comment, I think, given the "hockey mom" self definition. But I don't think she is using Trig, as the story seems to me to imply.But relevant to the issues we deal with here at SHS, "Fusing Motherhood and Politics in a New Way" casts a warm glow on the Palins' wholehearted embrace of their son. From... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1773152 Mon, 08 Sep 2008 04:13:00 +0100 1773152 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1773153&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F09%2Fnew-york-times-brewing-front-page-story.html I have opined here previously--but admitted I can't prove it--that much of the hatred (and love) directed at Sarah Palin has to do the vivid symbolism of the Palins' decision to give birth to Trig, who has Down syndrome. As I see it, this act of unconditional love--in stark contrast to the current zeitgeist in which 90% of such babies are not allowed to be born--personifies many of the emotional and sometimes bitter cultural conflicts that permeate some of the issues we deal with here at SHS. Indeed, I suspect that for some, it is such a burning sore spot, they cannot let it go even if their obsession actually helps the McCain/Palin ticket.As if to prove my hypothesis, the Drudge Report has apparently been leaked a head's-up from the NYT that the paper will soon run a full front page story... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1773153 Mon, 08 Sep 2008 01:00:00 +0100 1773153 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1764019&cid=t_112365_140_f&fid=35448&url=http%3A%2F%2Fseemedlikeagoodideathetime.com%2F2008%2F09%2F05%2Fb-rabbit%2F *fusion post* merging mental health & whatever the hell I want “Here-tell these people somethin’ they don’t know about me” ‘B-Rabbit’/Eminem ~ 8 Mile ****************************************** I had a conversation with my mom the other morning. Not a long one, in order to get into that we would have ended up talking for hours; but that is why this [...] (Source: bipolar chicks blogging) bipolar chicks blogging blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1764019 Fri, 05 Sep 2008 08:41:01 +0100 1764019 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1759772&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F09%2Fabuse-of-power-trying-to-understand.html Yesterday, I excoriated the media for their howling attempt to obliterate Governor Sarah Palin's viability as a candidate for vice president by giving credence to a vicious rumor--an inaccurate term since this was an intentional, pernicious hoax intended to destroy Palin because she represents a strong cultural strain in American life--that she is really her son's grandmother. That lie has been thoroughly debunked, including in my post linked above.But that apparently doesn't matter to the out-of-control media. Last night, I was appalled to hear the McCain Campaign chief tell CBS's Katie Couric that in background briefings media are demanding genetic testing of Trig and the family, and were asking whether Palin is still breast feeding her son. Can you imagine? This is an utter abuse of pow... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1759772 Wed, 03 Sep 2008 14:35:00 +0100 1759772 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1754574&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F09%2Fdisgusting-media-bias-airs-vicious.html I have offered ubiquitous illustrations of the media bias about issues that we discuss here at SHS. That bias reflects a broader culture war that is roiling our society to the point of rending--which, as I said yesterday, is vividly reflected in the real choice America has in this presidential election.But the media isn't content to report and let the people decide. They have a horse in this race and they are going to do whatever it takes to make sure it wins. How else explain the feeding frenzy of the media about Bristol Palin's pregnancy, in which many reports managed to work in the outrageous Internet defamation that Governor Sarah Palin only pretended to have Trig, when it was actually Bristol who gave birth.Time to Kabosh that nonesense once and for all.The picture above, which I am s... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1754574 Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:16:00 +0100 1754574 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1708992&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34591&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.badscience.net%2F2008%2F08%2Fthe-news-you-didnt-read%2F Ben Goldacre The Guardian August 16, 2008 There’s not exactly a whole bunch of news going on right now. According to the Mail we are witnessing the “Invasion of the killer jellyfish” (except Portuguese Men O’ War have been reported on British shores since at least 2003), the hunt for the Yeti continues, and there’s always room for [...] (Source: badscience) badscience blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1708992 Fri, 15 Aug 2008 23:15:27 +0100 1708992 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1679715&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F08%2F05%2Fpolitical-psychology-in-2008%2F Sharon Begley has a very interesting article, “How Our Unconscious Votes,” in HealthNewsDigest.com. Here’s an excerpt. * * * Give the democrats of West Virginia points for honesty. As Hillary Clinton romped to a landslide of 67 to 26 percent over Barack Obama in the primary, 20 percent of voters in exit polls said that race was an important factor in their choice—triple the percentage of earlier primaries. Of those, 80 percent voted for Clinton, making clear what they meant by “important.” Obama’s “black supremacist” minister concerns her, one woman told my colleague Suzanne Smalley. Another found Obama’s “background, his heritage” suspicious. Both said they’d vote for John McCain over Obama. The 2008 campaign has be... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1679715 Tue, 05 Aug 2008 05:28:44 +0100 1679715 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1646500&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F07%2F22%2Fsome-reflections-on-reflections%2F Natalie Angier has a terrific piece in today’s New York Times titled “Mirrors Don’t Lie. Mislead? Oh, Yes.” The article is worth reading in its entirety. Here is a taste of what you’ll find. * * * [R]esearchers have determined that mirrors can subtly affect human behavior, often in surprisingly positive ways. Subjects tested in a room with a mirror have been found to work harder, to be more helpful and to be less inclined to cheat, compared with control groups performing the same exercises in nonmirrored settings. Reporting in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, C. Neil Macrae, Galen V. Bodenhausen and Alan B. Milne found that people in a room with a mirror were comparatively less likely to judge others based on social stereotypes about, for example,... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1646500 Wed, 23 Jul 2008 04:02:05 +0100 1646500 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1645912&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2008%2F07%2F22%2Finterview-with-psychiatrist-daniel-carlat-md%2F This report on medical education was about two years in the making and they also recommended that continuing medical education no longer be funded by the pharmaceutical industry, basically saying that the marketing aims of drug companies have become overly intertwined with continuing medical education. These physician groups were both saying that have lost control of the content of their accredited medical education, and that we need to take that control back. I’m not talking about promotional talks here—I’m talking about accredited, Category One CME, which is the credit doctors need in order to maintain their medical licenses in most states. So this type of education is really is a big deal, and has implications for the wellbeing of out patients. Aside from these two reports othe... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1645912 Tue, 22 Jul 2008 11:00:35 +0100 1645912 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1642835&cid=t_112365_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F341651534%2F As drugmakers race to discover and develop new drugs, a nagging question may linger – was the proper criteria used to move that compound from the pre-clinical to the clinical phase or was there some bias involved? Mark Lindner, a PhD in pre-clinical behavioral pharmacology and consultant who was previously a principal scientist at Bristol-Myers Squibb, says the need for better controls at the pre-clinical phase would lead to better choices and, ultimately, save big pharma big money. He published a paper about this issue a year ago (here it is) and we recently spoke with him about the problem, which he believes is industrywide… Pharmalot: How big a problem is the bias you desribe? Lindner: You can look at the literature to see. The FDA requires clinical trials to have special controls �... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1642835 Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:56:52 +0100 1642835 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1625580&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2008%2F07%2F15%2Fask-the-right-questions-in-research-get-the-right-results%2F Epidemiologist David Michaels describes the problem with industry-funded research in today’s Washington Post. His point is one that needs emphasis — it’s not that companies interfere directly with the research they fund, it’s that they ensure the questions the research answers are biased in their favor: At first, it was widely assumed that the misleading results in manufacturer-sponsored studies of the efficacy and safety of pharmaceutical products came from shoddy studies done by researchers who manipulated methods and data. Such scientific malpractice does happen, but close examination of the manufacturers’ studies showed that their quality was usually at least as good as, and often better than, studies that were not funded by drug companies. This discove... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1625580 Tue, 15 Jul 2008 20:59:05 +0100 1625580 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1626037&cid=t_112365_107_f&fid=36585&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FHighlightHEALTH%2F%7E3%2F336132424%2F This study therefore suggest that social approval bias might well be a substantial problem in the interpretation of nutritional intervention effects that are dependent on education and awareness to affect behavior change. The magnitude of this bias is similar to the intervention effects reported in many studies evaluating changes in fruit and vegetable intake (ranging from 0.93 to 1.25 servings per day). Thus, a major challenge facing nutritional intervention researchers is assessing true behavioral change based on self-reports from reporting bias. This doesn’t mean that health questionnaires are useless. Rather, it means that many people simply aren’t being entirely truthful when it comes to how many fruits and vegetables they eat. The authors suggest that, in large dietary i... Highlight HEALTH blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1626037 Tue, 15 Jul 2008 14:30:18 +0100 1626037 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1596263&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=34825&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wesleyjsmith.com%2Fblog%2F2008%2F07%2Fmedia-credit-where-it-is-due-ap-calls.html Word engineering has always been intrinsic to the euthanasia movement. Always. Indeed, today mercy killing and euthanasia are synonyms thanks to the euthanasia movement of the late 19th Century. Before that, the term "good death" meant dying peacefully (and naturally) in a state of grace.These days the word engineering by assisted suicide proponents seeks to make it so that terminally ill people can't really commit suicide, at least if the death is caused by an overdose--and besides, the term is soooo judgmental that people might reject the agenda. So, they have spent much effort courting the media to have the term changed in news stories to the gooey euphemism, "aid in dying."But apparently the Associated Press didn't bite. From a media blog in The Olympian: The debate, I'm told, went to ... Secondhand Smoke blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1596263 Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:57:00 +0100 1596263 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1554477&cid=t_112365_133_f&fid=35096&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAutismVox%2F%7E3%2F322987388%2F Late Sunday afternoon Charlie was hanging around the front door when I looked at him and saw that three of his left hand fingers were bloody, and then noticed a similar Hawaiian Punch-like stain on his left cheek and a little white wadded-up-paper-looking-thing in his right thumb and finger…. “You lost a tooth!” I said. “Tooth!” said Charlie and grinned and, when I asked, handed me the tooth (from the upper left part of his mouth, where he has two more new ones already coming in). I thought: No wonder he kept chewing on the front of his t-shirt on Saturday afternoon, and picked up bits of food with his fingers and put them carefully into his mouth, and kept thrusting his head forward like a stork and closing his eyes in a kind of repetitive way. Had the lower ... Autism Vox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1554477 Mon, 30 Jun 2008 05:05:57 +0100 1554477 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1526904&cid=t_112365_117_f&fid=36026&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.healthtalk.com%2Fzimney%2Fdoes-st-johns-wort-help-adhd%2F According to a recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), St. John’s Wort is ineffective in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and adolescents. Moreover, hundreds of newspaper articles, Internet postings and TV/radio news reports have parroted these findings, widely sounding the death knell for this particular herbal remedy in ADHD. But a critical look at the research publication in JAMA leads me to conclude that the study actually adds little to our understanding of whether or not St. John’s Wort is effective for ADHD. There are at least four major flaws with this study, namely: it was small, it was short, it used subpotent test “drug,” and one of its researchers is widely known to be on the payroll of big ph... Dr. Z's Medical Report blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1526904 Tue, 17 Jun 2008 19:11:21 +0100 1526904 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1518728&cid=t_112365_87_f&fid=35052&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FWomensBioethicsBlog%2F%7E3%2F311831812%2Fthanks-for-your-sacrifice.html Following up on the thread started by Jenny below comes a piece on the Associated Press newswire about health care for female veterans. Women make up a significant and increasing percentage of... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] (Source: Women's Bioethics Blog) Women's Bioethics Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1518728 Sat, 14 Jun 2008 15:30:44 +0100 1518728 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1480778&cid=t_112365_99_f&fid=35344&url=http%3A%2F%2Fzackarysholemberger.blogspot.com%2F2008%2F05%2Fnot-blinded-in-belarus.html When this study on breastfeeding and IQ was hyped in the press (MSNBC; see WebMD for a better take) why did no one mention that the pediatricians who rated the IQ of the children in question (more vs. less breastfeeding) were not blinded to which group the children were in?I would understand if the findings of the study were a slam dunk, but they aren't: verbal IQ was the only category with a statistically significant difference (performance and total were not statistically significant), and the IQ difference is probably not behaviorally significant in any case (what's five or seven points?).Given that the differences are small and possibly not statistically significant, it behooves those reporting the news to give a sense of potential sources of bias: factors which could skew the results ... Zackary Sholem Berger blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1480778 Fri, 30 May 2008 19:46:00 +0100 1480778 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1416565&cid=t_112365_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2008%2F05%2F02%2Fthe-interior-situation-of-infants%2F We presented them with pictures of faces, side by side, one white and one African, and we observed where they preferred to look. The white children in Israel preferred white faces. Babies in Ethiopia preferred to look at Ethiopian faces. The third group showed no preference.’ More fascinating still is that Spelke’s lab has revealed a deep-seated prejudice, present in infants, that trumps racial bias: language. Dr Katherine Kinzler, though based in Harvard, spends much time running parallel studies in France. ‘Five-month-old babies will look longer at somebody who spoke to them in their language. Older infants want to accept a toy from someone who has spoken their language,’ Dr Kinzler says. ‘They like toys more that are associated with some... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1416565 Fri, 02 May 2008 13:36:09 +0100 1416565