Reported is a study of the activities and performance of institutional review boards to protect human research subjects. Institutional review boards had some direct impact on half of the proposals reviewed. The data raised questions about the effectiveness of some review board action. (Author/MP)

Presents four letters pointing out design difficulties in the experiments of Morrison, Giordani, and Nagy in their investigation of reading disabilities, memory, and perception. (SL)

Encourages holistic viewpoint in scientific research, particularly in the integration of isolated, short-range projects into ecosystems studies. Discusses links of the ecosystem level of research with the social sciences, assessment of technological and environmental impact, establishment of economic values, and political thought. (CS)

Examines issues associated with the design of and statistical inferences from embedded experiments which vary the questionnaire content into sample surveys of broad populations. Provides an example of context effects in attitude surveys, a summary, and conclusions. (RT)