Peer review and federal regulations

The Uniform Guidelines Are a Detriment to the Field of Personnel Selection

The primary federal regulation concerning employment testing has not been revised in over 3 decades. The regulation is substantially inconsistent with scientific knowledge and professional guidelines and practice. We summarize these inconsistencies and outline the problems faced by U.S. employers in complying with the regulations. We describe challenges associated with changing federal regulations and invite commentary as to how such changes can be implemented. We conclude that professional organizations, such as the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP), should be much more active in promoting science-based federal regulation of employment practices.

Research ethics II: Mentoring, collaboration, peer review, and data management and ownership

PURPOSE

In this series of articles--Research Ethics I, Research Ethics II, and Research Ethics III--the authors provide a comprehensive review of the 9 core domains for the responsible conduct of research (RCR) as articulated by the Office of Research Integrity. In Research Ethics II, the authors review the RCR domains of mentoring, collaboration, peer review, and data management and ownership.

METHOD

They relied on authoritative documents, both historical and contemporary, insightful commentary, and empirical research in order to identify current issues and controversies of potential interest to both faculty and students.

CONCLUSIONS

The authors close by urging readers to stay abreast of the manifold ethics issues facing today's community of scientists, policymakers, and research institutions, and to adhere to best practices as they evolve.

Fine Particulate Air Pollution and Total Mortality Among Elderly Californians, 1973–2002

Fine particulate air pollution has been associated with increases in long-term mortality in selected cohort studies, and this association has been influential in the establishment of air quality regulations for fine particles (PM(2.5)). However, this epidemiologic evidence has been questioned because of methodological issues, conflicting findings, and lack of an accepted causal mechanism. To further evaluate this association, the long-term relation between fine particulate air pollution and total mortality was examined in a cohort of 49, 975 elderly Californians, with a mean age of 65 yr as of 1973. These subjects, who resided in 25 California counties, were enrolled in 1959, recontacted in 1972, and followed from 1973 through 2002; 39, 846 deaths were identified. Proportional hazards regression models were used to determine their relative risk of death (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) during 1973-2002 by county of residence. The models adjusted for age, sex, cigarette smoking, race, education, marital status, body mass index, occupational exposure, exercise, and a dietary factor. For the 35, 789 subjects residing in 11 of these counties, county-wide exposure to fine particles was estimated from outdoor ambient concentrations measured during 1979-1983 and RRs were calculated as a function of these PM(2.5) levels (mean of 23.4 microg/m(3)). For the initial period, 1973-1982, a small positive risk was found: RR was 1.04 (1.01-1.07) for a 10-microg/m(3) increase in PM(2.5). For the subsequent period, 1983-2002, this risk was no longer present: RR was 1.00 (0.98-1.02). For the entire follow-up period, RR was 1.01 (0.99-1.03). The RRs varied somewhat among major subgroups defined by sex, age, education level, smoking status, and health status. None of the subgroups that had significantly elevated RRs during 1973-1982 had significantly elevated RRs during 1983-2002. The RRs showed no substantial variation by county of residence during any of the three follow-up periods. Subjects in the two counties with the highest PM(2.5) levels (mean of 36.1 microg/m(3)) had no greater risk of death than those in the two counties with the lowest PM(2.5) levels (mean of 13.1 microg/m(3)). These epidemiologic results do not support a current relationship between fine particulate pollution and total mortality in elderly Californians, but they do not rule out a small effect, particularly before 1983.

Scientific peer review to inform regulatory decision making: leadership responsibilities and cautions

The article offers insights on the peer-review process as it relates to scientific and technical reports used to inform regulatory decisions. Used effectively, peer review is a powerful tool for advising organizational leaders whether the scientific foundations of their decisions can be expected to withstand scrutiny as rule-making products move through interagency reviews, public comment and stakeholder processes, congressional oversight, and judicial review. The emphasis is "heads up" rather than "how to." That is, without delving into myriad technical and administrative details, the discussion highlights nine fundamental "leadership responsibilities" that determine the nature and course of peer review.

Evidence-based medicine reports on obesity surgery: a critique

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate evidence in recent authoritative 'Evidence-Based Medicine' (EBM) reports on surgery for severe obesity.

METHODS

Focused review of Index Medicus citations and authors' own databases of publications on surgery for obesity, 1978-2004.

RESULTS

EBM criteria for assessment of strength of evidence requiring randomized controlled studies (RCTs) in these reports are inappropriate for evaluating invasive treatments such as surgery, which have robust physiological effects, are difficult to reverse and may have more serious side effects than the drug studies for which the criteria were promulgated. Flaws in these reports include omissions of important studies demonstrating improvements in comorbidity, factual errors in descriptions of operations and faulty analyses of outcomes of laparoscopic approaches. There are misinterpretations of cited papers, and inclusion of obsolete operations as well as a study generated during the 'learning curve' of an avowed complex procedure.

CONCLUSION

EBM analyses of surgical modalities affecting access to care require relevant evaluation criteria, true peer review and expert consultation. Authors' claims of objectivity by invoking use of evidence-based criteria applicable to drug treatment and other easily reversible forms of therapy are questionable. Decisions based on flawed EBM reports may adversely affect access to care for millions of severely obese patients.

Politics of monitoring and evaluation: Lessons from the AIDS epidemic

Monitoring and evaluation programs must strike a balance between generating meaningful tactical information for program managers while taking steps to ensure that public data use does not worsen discrimination and stigma toward people who are positive for the human immunodeficiency virus.