bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Electron Beam Radiation Induced Crosslinking of Green-House Cover Scrap
Authors: Youssef H. A. , Senna M. M. , Ali Z. I. , Aly H. A.
Published: April 2003

Blends of scrap polyethylene (SPE) and virgin polyethylene (VPE) in the presence of polyfunctional monomer (PFM) were prepared with different ratios, then irradiated with electron beam up to 400 kGy. The gel fraction results showed that the gelation doses (Dgel) were 7 and 27 kGy for SPE and VPE respectively. Also, the values of (G)scission to (G)crosslinking (G(s)/G(x)) were found to be 1.5 and 0.85 for SPE and VPE respectively. The measurements of mechanical properties for unirradiated and irradiated blends showed that the tensile strength increased by increasing irradiation doses up to 200 kGy then, decreased with increasing irradiation dose. On the other hand, increasing irradiation doses decreased the elongation at break. Stress-relaxation experiments showed that the retained stress (σ/σo) values were decreased as experimental time increased. However, after a certain time (tc), the values of (σ/σo) were increased as the time increased for all samples. The results obtained from gel fraction and mechanical properties strongly correlate and demonstrate that the samples were crosslinked. Stress relaxation measurements reveals that the SPE was exposed to degradation process compared to VPE and the addition of PFM compensates the deterioration effect in the properties due to degradation process. Accordingly, SPE successfully could be reused again with better properties in different application in addition to its main use as greenhouse cover.
Preparation and Characterisation of Novel Polymer Bound Phenolic Antioxidants and its Use in Natural Rubber
Authors: Sulekha P. B. , Joseph R.
Published: April 2003

Phenol was chemically attached to low molecular weight chlorinated polyisobutylene and stearic acid respectively. These phenolic antioxidants were characterised by IR, 1H NMR and TGA. The efficiency and permanence of these bound antioxidants were compared with conventional antioxidants in natural rubber vulcanisates. The vulcanisates showed comparable ageing resistance in comparison to vulcanisates containing conventional antioxidants. The presence of liquid polymer bound phenol reduce the amount of plasticiser required for compounding.
The Influence of Love, Equity, and Alternatives on Commitment in Romantic Relationships
Authors: Crawford Duane W. , Feng Du , Fischer Judith L. , Diana Lisa K.
Published: April 2003

This study investigated the connections between respondents' feelings about their partners (love), evaluations of their relationships (equity), perceptions of relationship alternatives, and commitment to remain in their present relationships. It was predicted that love and equity would be better predictors of commitment than would perceived relationship alternatives. Respondents were 297 university students who reported they were involved in close relationships‐typically, steady dating relationships‐when the data were collected. Results indicated that (a) commitment was moderately associated with love, equity, and alternatives; (b) respondents' perceptions of the quality of their available relationship alternatives explained more of the variance in commitment than either love or equity; and (c) commitment and alternatives loaded on the same factor in an exploratory factor analysis and thus were confounded. Implications of these findings are considered and directions for future research are suggested.
Decoding Digit Symbol
Authors: Joy Stephen , Fein Deborah , Kaplan Edith
Published: April 2003

The authors evaluated the relative contributions of speed, memory, and visual scanning to Digit Symbol score in a sample of young adults ( N = 87). Speed (Symbol Copy) explained 35% of Digit Symbol variance; only half of this was attributable to graphomotor speed (Name Printing), implying a role for perceptual speed. Visual-scanning tests (e.g., Symbol Scan) explained (on average) 34% of Digit Symbol variance, much of which was independent of perceptual-motor speed, establishing an important role for visual-scanning efficiency in Digit Symbol performance. By contrast, memory tests (on average) explained only 4% to 5% of Digit Symbol variance: statistically significant but clearly subsidiary, although a visual memory composite correlated more strongly with Digit Symbol. The Digit Symbol incidental learning procedures did, however, correlate moderately with other memory measures, suggesting that they are valid memory screening devices.
Not With A Bang, But A Whimper
Authors: Meier Kenneth J. , Bohte John
Published: April 2003

This article uses an ideal stereotypical approach to examine the process of the organizational failures. Private sector stereotypes of government organizations are used to generate hypotheses about when public organizations fail. The hypotheses are tested using 1,000 school districts in Texas. In direct contrast to the hypotheses, the extent of bureaucracy is not related to failures. The only consistent results are that failures are linked to multiple goals and more difficult tasks.
Making A Second Urban History
Authors: Thompson Heather Ann
Published: April 2003

This article suggests that Arnold Hirsch’s Making the Second Ghetto has been particularly pathbreaking for the field of urban history, as well as for other urban disciplines, primarily because its probing and detailed examination of postwar Chicago exploded several widely held academic assumptions about race relations, political consensus, the “ghetto” as a “natural” or “inevitable” entity, and so forth. In addition, this work sparked new scholarly interest in America’s urban centers and deeply influenced the sorts of questions that academics now ask about cities in the past.
A Tale Of Three Global Ghettos
Authors: Nightingale Carl H.
Published: April 2003

The word ghetto has been used with increasing currency worldwide. American urban historians have yet to address the questions that arise from the question of whether ghetto is an appropriate term for urban segregation outside the United States. Arnold Hirsch’s division of the history of American ghettos into three periods offers a useful scheme to begin deepening conceptions of the global dynamics of racial segregation. It gives historical depth to efforts under way in the social sciences to understand such dynamics by portraying ghettos as dynamic phenomena that change in tune with the complex contingencies of local, national, and global political conflicts. In particular, the story of the three ghettos coincides well with critical changes in the direction of twentieth-century global political conflicts over the shape of the world economy and the meanings of race.
Second Thoughts On The Second Ghetto
Authors: Hirsch Arnold R.
Published: April 2003

A retrospective look at the origins of Making the Second Ghetto places it at a historiographical crossroads. Emerging from the first generation of “ghetto” studies, it tried to recover lost fragments of the recent past as it evolved from a narrow study of racial violence into a broader history that integrated questions of territoriality, public policy, and postwar urban development. In pushing the study of African American urban history forward chronologically and hinting at the dynamism of Chicago’s changing black communities, it hoped to provoke a fresh look at contemporary racial issues. More recent scholarship has included new attempts at periodization, the controversial emergence of “whiteness” studies, and the debate between those advocating a policy of dispersal as opposed to one that “gilds” the ghetto. Whatever scholarly legacy is left behind by the “second ghetto” owes much to the hard work of others—beginning with the generous contributors to this forum.
Challenges for Educational Psychologists and Their Services
Authors: Stobie Ingeborg , Gemmell Martin , Moran Ellen , Randall Leisa
Published: April 2003

Following almost two years' field practice, substantial study and discussion a cohort ofEducational Psychologists in Training (EPITs) (N = 11) shared their perspectives about the current challenges for EPs. Their written accounts were analysed by way of qualitative research methods which represented a discrete learning experience for the EPITs. Data analysis suggested that the 'challenge' for EPs and their services was to adopt an 'ecological' or'systemic' orientation to educational psychology with an emphasis on naturalistic practitioner-research methods. 'Challenges' and their 'barriers' were construed to be 'internally' and 'externally' determined leading, in theory, to either 'change' or 'status quo' in regard to EPs' practice. Legislation, educational and social policies were identified as external challenges which could be appropriately met by EPs' consensus on service aims, an agreed practice model, continued professional development, awareness and understanding of 'change' and how to manage it, and opportunities for professional exchanges through national networks of EPs. The limitations of the enquiry in terms of generalizability were considered. EP publications, both contemporary and historical, were found to provide converging evidence for the data.
Effects of Social-Cognitive Training on Students' Locus of Control
Authors: Manger Terje , Eikeland Ole-Johan , Asbjornsen Arve
Published: April 2003

This study' evaluated the effects of a school-based socialcognitive training program on 14-and 15-year-old students' locus of control, as assessed by the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale. A total of 91 students in a training group and 109 students in a comparison group were assessed before and after the program. Girls in the training condition developed significantly in the direction of higher internal control, while neither boys in the training condition nor girls or boys in the comparison condition altered their locus of control. Implications for school psychology practice are discussed.
Pupils as Consumers of School Psychological Services
Authors: Kikas Eve
Published: April 2003

This article describes the results of an empirical investigation studying pupils' views of the work of school psychologists in Estonia. In addition, the characteristics and problems of pupils who have sought help from a psychologist are analysed. The answers of 227 ninth and 206 twelfth graders (201 boys and 232 girls) from 21 schools from different parts of Estonia are analysed. There is a psychologist working in 13 of these schools, whilst eight are served from service centres. It was found that the pupils who had visited psychologists (as compared with those who had not) considered themselves to be less successful in school, to have more conflicts with parents and to be more frequently in a bad mood. The work of school psychologists was evaluated positively by the majority of pupils; the evaluations were higher in the ninth grade. The evaluations of the work were positively associated with the time the psychologist worked in school: the work of the psychologists working in school was evaluated at a higher level than the work of those who worked in centres; also, full-time psychologists were given a higher rating. The implications of these findings for the delivery of psychological services are discussed.
The Influence of Cultural Background on Students' Feelings about and Use of Social Support
Authors: Pines Ayala M. , Zaidman Nurit , Wang Yihua , Chengbing Han , Ping Lu
Published: April 2003

This exploratory study addresses the little researched topic of cross-cultural differences in college students' use of social support. Israeli and Chinese students rated the importance and availability of various support functions and noted whom they turn to when faced with different problems. Findings show that while both Israelis and Chinese students view the various functions of social support as important, they utilize support differently. They almost never turn to a counsellor. Implications for student counselling are discussed.
Applying Psychological Theory to Helping Students Overcome Learned Difficulties in Mathematics
Authors: Dole Shelley
Published: April 2003

The appearance of systematic errors in computation suggests relatively unlinked computational knowledge to conceptual knowledge, and hence difficulties with forward learning of mathematics. The provision of programs of good teaching, where concrete materials are used to exemplify and thus legitimize algorithmic processes, frequently are not effective for use with upper primary students: systematic errors often resurface. A novel and quite alternate approach to intervention is the Old Way/New Way (O/N) strategy (Lyndon, 1989) based on psychological principles of memory, forgetting and interference. In this article, issues associated with intervention, systematic errors and upper primary students are addressed through a discussion of results of previous research into seventh graders' subtraction knowledge development by overcoming error patterns in subtraction computation. By comparing re-teaching strategies and O/N, it is proposed that both good teaching and effective intervention strategies should be integral to the craft of teaching, particulary in the middle school.
Employee Participation in Europe: In Search of the Participative Workplace
Authors: Poutsma Erik , Hendrickx John , Huijgen Fred
Published: April 2003

This article presents an overview of participation schemes in European companies. It is based on a secondary analysis of data from the 1996 EPOC mail survey among managers of profit sector establishments in 10 EU countries. The article describes the diverse extent and nature of participative workplaces in European countries. It analyses the inter relationships between several forms of participation schemes and indicators for the participative nature of the workplace: schemes for direct participation (DP) of employees, i.e. group consultation and individual and group delegation; schemes for financial participation (FP), i.e. employee ownership and profit sharing; and the arrangements for indirect, employee representative participation (ER). Based on a multivariate analysis of the intensity of the participation schemes, a profile of participative workplaces is presented. To categorize these workplaces, we focused on country factors, management practices and workplace characteristics.
Subjectivity and the Reinvention of an Industrial Regime: The Case of Singapore
Authors: Yun Hing Ai
Published: April 2003

The path to democratic governance is a winding one and represents a massive project that has evolved over several decades. However, studies on Asia Pacific development have tended to presume a determinate relationship between capitalization and authoritarianism. This article maintains that state action is complex and often contingent. Thus, studying subjectivation and governance can help dispel the myth of the monolithic and incontestable state. Specifically, this study investigates the authoritarian state of Singapore in the process of reinventing its economy and society in the wake of the Asian financial crisis and September 11. The aim is to examine the episodic and opportunistic process of interaction between parties significant to the shaping of state power. Using the framework of Luhmann, Foucault and Gramsci to discuss state action and processes, this article hopes to further our understanding of the contingent and the dynamic in the constitution of power relations.
Cognitive-Behavior Therapy for Self-Injurious Skin Picking
Authors: Deckersbach Thilo , Wilhelm Sabine , Keuthen Nancy J. , Baer Lee , Jenike Michael A.
Published: April 2003

Self-injurious skin picking is characterized by repetitive, ritualistic, or impulsive skin picking that leads to tissue damage and causes significant distress or impairment in daily functioning. Little is known about effective behavioral or cognitive-behavioral treatments for self-injurious skin picking. As described by Azrin and colleagues, habit reversal is a promising behavioral treatment for modifying nervous habits or tics. To the authors’ knowledge, only one case series currently exists in the literature that shows self-injurious skin picking, in the absence of an underlying dermatological condition or without psychiatric comorbidity, can be successfully treated with habit reversal. In the current article, the authors describe the implementation and outcome of cognitive-behavior therapy for three patients with severe self-injurious skin picking, two of which had psychiatric comorbidity.
Treatment Compliance and Outcome in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Authors: Abramowitz Jonathan S. , Franklin Martin E. , Zoellner Lori A. , Dibernardo Corrie L.
Published: April 2003

Exposure and ritual prevention (EX/RP) is an effective treatment for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), although it is neither universally nor completely helpful. Compliance with EX/RP treatment procedures has been linked theoretically to posttreatment outcome, yet empirical exploration of this relationship has been insufficient. In this study, therapists were asked to rate the treatment compliance of 28 consecutive patients who received EX/RP on a fee-for-service basis. Results indicated that understanding the treatment rationale and compliance with insession and homework exposure instructions, but not with ritual prevention and self-monitoring of rituals, was significantly related to posttreatment OCD symptom severity. Clinical implications of these findings and future directions in treatment compliance research with OCD patients are discussed.
Positive Parenting and Child Psychosocial Adjustment in Inner-City Single-Parent African American Families
Authors: Jones Deborah J. , Forehand Rex , Brody Gene H. , Armistead Lisa
Published: April 2003

The primary purposes of this study were to examine whether maternal optimism is related to positive parenting and child adjustment and whether it contributes beyond maternal depressive symptoms to our understanding. The participants were 141 African American single mothers and one of their children. Findings revealed that maternal optimismwas associated with positive parenting and this association was only partially mediated by maternal depressive symptoms. Maternal optimism was not associated with child psychosocial adjustment, but positive parenting was associated with lower levels of both internalizing and externalizing difficulties. The utility of understanding the link between maternal optimism and parenting for prevention and intervention efforts aimed at enhancing quality of life and subsequent child adjustment is discussed, as well as directions for future research on maternal optimism.
Neurocognitive Sequelae Following Coronary Artery Bypass Graft
Authors: Haddock C. Keith , Poston Walker S. Carlos , Taylor Jennifer E.
Published: April 2003

Several studies have demonstrated that a sizeable proportion of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) demonstrate persistent declines in cognitive functioning. However, several important questions remain regarding cognitive changes following CABG. First, can patients vulnerable to cognitive decline after CABG be identified, providing valuable information that can be factored into clinical decisions? Second, the specificity of CABG as a cause of cognitive decline, when compared to other coronary procedures such as percutaneous coronary interventions, has not been established. Third, what mechanisms account for the neurocognitive decline after CABG? Several mechanisms have been proposed to lead to post-CABG neurocognitive deficits, including pre-CABG neurocognitive deficits, physiological injury, psychosocial factors, and/or the patient’s perceptual processes. Finally, no study has demonstrated that cognitive changes, as measured by neuropsychological tests, have ecological validity. Specifically, behavioral sciences research is needed to demonstrate that measured cognitive changes significantly impact health status independent of other risk factors.
Negative Emotion and Coronary Heart Disease
Authors: Sirois Brian C. , Burg Matthew M.
Published: April 2003

This article reviews literature regarding the influence of negative emotions, specifically depression, anger/hostility, and anxiety on coronary heart disease (CHD). For each domain, evidence is presented demonstrating the deleterious effects of negative affect on health outcomes in patients with CHD. This is followed by a discussion of the manner in which emotional factors are transduced into cardiac health risk factors. The pathophysiological mechanisms by which negative emotions have been found to exert an influence on CHD are highlighted. Finally, a general overview of the outcomes of interventions designed to ameliorate the effects of these negative emotional states on cardiovascular health are reviewed. Several treatment studies are described in detail for the purpose of elaborating the types of multicomponent interventions that attempt to address negative emotions in populations with CHD.
Maintenance of Health Behavior Change in Preventive Cardiology
Authors: Bellg Albert J.
Published: April 2003

Long-term health behavior maintenance remains a challenge for patients and health behavior interventionists. Resource-intensive systems of external reinforcement and behavioral cues can support behavior maintenance; an alternative approach is to promote patient internalization and self-regulation of health behaviors. Based in part on organismic internalization theory, selfdetermination theory, and the experience of patients successful at maintaining health behaviors, the health behavior internalization model (HBIM) is proposed to describe motivational factors associated with internalization processes and hypothesizes that integrated internalization may be associated with long-term health behavior maintenance. The HBIM identifies four self-needs (ownership, self-determination, security, and support) and four behavior-related needs (preference, context, competence, and coping) as motivating health behavior internalization. Behavior change strategies promoting integrated internalization are identified from self-determination theory, motivational interviewing, and transtheoretical model interventions. Other health behavior change constructs are reviewed in relation to internalization processes, and potential limits to the model are discussed.
Long-Term Effects of a Brief Distraction Intervention on Children’s Laboratory Pain Reactivity
Authors: Tsao Jennie C.I. , Fanurik Debra , Zeltzer Lonnie K.
Published: April 2003

This 2-year follow-up study examined the effects of a brief behavioral intervention on task-based coping and pain reactivity to the cold pressor task (CPT). In the original study by Fanurik et al. (1993), 64 children (aged 8 to 10) whose coping style was categorized as “attender” or “distracter,” based on primary coping strategy during baseline CPT trials, received a 5-minute intervention (attention-focusing, distraction training, or control, randomly assigned). In the present study, 51 (32 female) of the original sample were readministered the CPT, and their coping style and pain responsivity were reassessed. Both distracters and attenders given distraction training preferred use of distraction at follow-up. The distraction training group also demonstrated greater tolerance at follow-up compared to controls, although pain ratings did not differ by intervention group. Our findings suggest that a brief distraction intervention has long-term effects on task-based coping and experimental pain reactivity.
Staff Reports of Setting Events Associated With Challenging Behavior
Authors: McGill Peter , Teer Kerry , Rye Lynne , Hughes David
Published: April 2003

This study identified the setting events reported by caregivers as more and less likely to be associated with challenging behaviors of people with intellectual disabilities. Sixty-five staff working with 22 individuals were interviewed using a setting event inventory. Some setting events (e.g., being in a crowded room) were reported as strongly associated with challenging behavior, some (e.g., one-to-one support) as strongly associated with its absence. Some (e.g., day of week) were reported to be largely “inert”; many were idiosyncratically associated with occurrence, absence, or inertness. Different categories of setting events contributed different amounts to reported variation in challenging behavior. The inventory described here, or modified versions, may help identify relationships between setting events and challenging behaviors. The relationships reported in this study suggest ways in which service provision might be modified to help prevent challenging behavior.
Inductive Reasoning and Judgment Interference: Experiments on Simpson’s Paradox
Authors: Fiedler Klaus , Walther Eva , Freytag Peter , Nickel Stefanie
Published: April 2003

In a series of experiments on inductive reasoning, participants assessed the relationship between gender, success, and a covariate in a situation akin to Simpson’s paradox: Although women were less successful then men according to overall statistics, they actually fared better then men at either of two universities. Understanding trivariate relationships of this kind requires cognitive routines similar to analysis of covariance. Across the first five experiments, however, participants generalized the disadvantage of women at the aggregate level to judgments referring to the different levels of the covariate, even when motivation was high and appropriate mental models were activated. The remaining three experiments demonstrated that Simpson’s paradox could be mastered when the salience of the covariate was increased and when the salience of gender was decreased by the inclusion of temporal cues that disambiguate the causal status of the covariate.
Immunizing the Self: Self-Concept Stabilization Through Reality-Adaptive Self-Definitions
Authors: Greve Werner , Wentura Dirk
Published: April 2003

Processes of self-concept immunization are introduced as a way of reconciling self-concept protection against threatening information with the necessity of acknowledging own failure or losses. Self-immunization works by adaptively changing the subjective operationalization of personal traits, such that skills that individuals believe themselves to be good at are conceived as highly diagnostic, whereas skills that persons do not believe they possess are considered less diagnostic. Three studies are presented to investigate this stabilizing process. Correlational as well as experimental and longitudinal data support the assumption that self-immunization stabilizes central and abstract aspects of the self-concept without ignoring negative information on concrete skills.
Watching Your Troubles Away: Television Viewing as a Stimulus for Subjective Self-Awareness
Authors: Moskalenko Sophia , Heine Steven J.
Published: April 2003

Three studies explored the role of television viewing in eliciting subjective self-awareness and positive self-feelings. Study 1 assessed the effects of self-awareness manipulations via exposure to a neutral television program on actual-ideal discrepancies. Those who watched television showed significantly smaller self-discrepancies than those who did not, independent of mood. Study 2 demonstrated the ecological validity of this finding by replicating it with people watching television in their own homes. Study 3 investigated whether manipulations of self-feelings affected television watching. Results indicated that those who received failure feedback watched television longer than those in a control condition who likewise watched television longer than those who received success feedback. Television appears to be an effective stimulus to direct the focus away from oneself and to render people less aware of how they are falling short of their standards.
Devaluation Versus Enhancement of Attractive Alternatives: A Critical Test Using the Calibration Paradigm
Authors: Lydon John E. , Fitzsimons Gráinne M. , Naidoo Loren
Published: April 2003

The calibration paradigm was used to test the competing hypotheses that (a) commitment motivates unduly negative evaluations of attractive alternatives (devaluation) versus (b) low commitment motivates exaggerated positive evaluations of attractive alternatives (enhancement). Single participants and dating participants low and high in relationship commitment were presented with an attractive, available person of the opposite sex and asked to judge the person’s romantic appeal from their own perspective or from the perspective of their friends. Contrary to predictions based on the enhancement hypothesis, single and low-commitment participants did not provide higher ratings from their own perspective. In support of devaluation and calibration hypotheses, committed participants did provide lower ratings from their own perspective. Singles did not rate the target less attractive in a third condition in which the target was unavailable. However, dating participants, regardless of commitment level, rated the unavailable alternative negatively, consistent with social comparison processes and interdependence theory.
Jealousy and the Meaning (or Nonmeaning) of Violence
Authors: Puente Sylvia , Cohen Dov
Published: April 2003

Previous research has indicated that jealousy is one of the major triggers of domestic violence. Three studies here examined North Americans’ ambivalent feelings about jealousy and jealousy-related aggression. In Study 1, it was shown that participants believed both that jealousy can be a sign of insecurity and a sign of love. In Study 2, it was shown that this equating of jealousy with love can lead to the tacit acceptance of jealousy-related violence. In Study 3, it was shown that a relative acceptance of jealousy-related aggression extends to cases of emotional and sexual abuse by husbands against their wives. In both Studies 2 and 3, men who hit or abused their wives over a jealousy-related matter were judged to romantically love their wives as much as those who did not engage in abuse. Violence in the context of a non-jealousy-related argument was seen quite negatively, but it lost a great deal of its negativity in the jealousy case.
Getting to Know You: The Relational Self-Construal, Relational Cognition, and Well-Being
Authors: Cross Susan E. , Morris Michael L.
Published: April 2003

Individuals with a highly relational self-construal define the self in terms of their close relationships with others. Consequently, they seek to nurture and develop new relationships. These studies examine individual differences in the self-construal in the context of a new roommate relationship, with a focus on cognitive aspects of relationship development. Study 1 revealed that persons with a highly relational self-construal were better able than others to predict a new roommate’s values and beliefs. Study 2 showed that highly relational individuals tended to think optimistically about a new roommate’s feelings about the relationship. The relational self-construal was more strongly related to these measures of relationship cognition in distant relationships than in very close relationships. Participants’ self-construals and their perceptions of the closeness of the roommate relationship interacted in predicting well-being, revealing an unexpected negative relation between closeness and well-being for participants with a low relational self-construal.
Conflict over Emotional Expression: Implications for Interpersonal Communication
Authors: Mongrain Myriam , Vettese Lisa C.
Published: April 2003

The current study examined the role of conflict over emotional expression for subjective and interpersonal functioning. The Ambivalence Over the Expression of Emotion Questionnaire (AEQ) was administered to female students who were videotaped while engaging in a conflict-resolution and feedback task with their boyfriends. External ratings showed ambivalent women to be less positive in their verbal statements and to be more constricted in their nonverbal expressions. When mood and other personality constructs were controlled for, ambivalence entailed greater overt submissiveness. Ambivalent women also displayed lower congruence between their verbal and nonverbal communication, irrespective of depression and other personality variables. These data suggest that conflict over emotional expression entails less congruent communication, less positivity in close relationships, and a subordinate stance for the ambivalent individual.
Small Sample Estimation in Dichotomous Item Response Models: Effect of Priors Based on Judgmental Information on the Accuracy of Item Parameter Estimates
Authors: Swaminathan Hariharan , Hambleton Ronald K. , Sireci Stephen G. , Xing Dehui , Rizavi Saba M.
Published: April 2003

Large item banks with properly calibrated test items are essential for ensuring the validity of computer-based tests. At the same time, item calibrations with small samples are desirable to minimize the amount of pretesting and limit item exposure. Bayesian estimation procedures show considerable promise with small examinee samples. The purposes of the study were (a) to examine how prior information for Bayesian item parameter estimation can be specified and (b) to investigate the relationship between sample size and the specification of prior information on the accuracy of item parameter estimates. The results of the simulation study were clear: Estimation of IRT model item parameters can be improved considerably. Improvements in the one-parameter model were modest; considerable improvements with the two- and three-parameter models were observed. Both the study of different forms of priors and ways to improve the judgmental data used in forming the priors appear to be promising directions for future research.
Innovation And Spatial Externalities
Authors: Audretsch David B.
Published: April 2003

The purpose of this article is to explain the role that spatial externalities play in the current thinking about innovative activity. Geographic space has evolved from being largely neglected in the study of innovative activity to being an integrating unit of observation for analysis. Geographic space provides the platform not just for the creation of new knowledge but also, as a result of the spillover process, for the commercialization of that knowledge. The spatial paradox inherent in innovative activity is that knowledge spills over from the source producing it to the entity actually commercializing that knowledge, which would seemingly suggest that geographic location is irrelevant for accessing new knowledge. The paradox emerges because knowledge spillovers are localized and tend to decay rapidly with transmission across geographic space. Geographic space provides a unit of analysis integrating the various agents—individuals, networks, and enterprises—involved in the innovative process into a coherent unit. This coherent unit clearly extends beyond the boundaries of individual firms yet is defined by geographic space.
Strategic Interaction Among Governments: An Overview of Empirical Studies
Authors: Brueckner Jan K.
Published: April 2003

This article provides an overview of empirical models of strategic interaction among governments. To clarify the theoretical roots of such studies, the discussion shows how the empirical frameworks fit into two broad categories: spillover models and resource-flow models. Both types of models generate jurisdictional reaction functions, and the empirical task is to estimate such functions. When the estimated reaction-function slope is nonzero, the presence of strategic interaction is confirmed. The second part of the article reviews three econometric issues relevant to this estimation problem.
Spatial Autocorrelation Or Model Misspecification?
Authors: McMillen Daniel P.
Published: April 2003

A Monte Carlo experiment illustrates one of the pitfalls of spatial modeling. Specification tests indicate spatial autocorrelation when functional form misspecification is actually the only problem with the model. Incorrect functional forms and omitted variables that are correlated over space produce spurious spatial autocorrelation.
Technology, Inequality, and Underdevelopment: The Case of Latin America
Authors: Arocena Rodrigo , Senker Peter
Published: April 2003

The conventional wisdom is that the best way to alleviate poverty is to provide the maximum freedom for individual entrepreneurs and corporations to create wealth. Drawing on the case of Latin America, this article contends that there are serious defects in analyses based on such assumptions. New technologies and restructuring of international capitalism have accelerated wealth creation worldwide but amid growing inequalities. Technology is mainly controlled by large multinational corporations and not directed at relieving the deprivation suffered by the world's poor. Pervasive, persistent economic inequality and lack of access to appropriate education and training have all been significant in Latin America's failure to develop rapidly during the twentieth century. Most successful “latecomer” countries in the past two hundred years have adopted heterodox autonomous growth strategies, and the authors suggest that such strategies are necessary now to counter the powerful processes that sustain inequality.
Science, Equity, and the War against Carbon
Authors: Boehmer-Christiansen Sonja
Published: April 2003

The scientific evidence is reviewed for claims that a global transition to “green” fuels and technologies by global treaty obligations is needed. The likely equity implications of these efforts are discussed, and it is argued that this evidence remains shaky. Measures based on this contested knowledge cannot be defended on grounds of either environmental effectiveness or equity. Rather, they rely on commercial expectations and promises of secondary (no regret or win-win) benefits usually requiring state intervention. Poorer groups and nations are unlikely to benefit from proposals to redirect energy policies to “combat global warming.” The advocated decarbonization of global energy supplies is more likely to increase political instability than prevent climatic change. To support this argument, three areas of knowledge are consulted: controversies about the causation and likely impacts of global warming, advocated technical and fiscal solutions, and the interests of technical, commercial, and political elites.
Ireland's “Celtic Tiger” Economy
Authors: Battel Róisín Ní Mháille
Published: April 2003

Since independence in 1922, the Irish economy has gone from being one of the poorest in Europe in the 1980s to double-figure growth rates in the 1990s, prompting comparisons with the “tiger” economies of the Pacific Rim. Opinions vary about the extent to which this growth is sustainable and whether it has alleviated poverty, increased inequality, or indeed done both. This article argues that the “Celtic tiger” in modern Ireland offers rich opportunities for multidisciplinary study of the construction of the postcolonial image of “nation.”
The Emerging Field of Biotechnology— The Case of Finland
Authors: Kivinen Osmo , Varelius Jukka
Published: April 2003

This article examines the emerging field of today's superscience—biotechnology— within the context of the national innovation system of one small country, namely Finland. This context is explored primarily through the practices of one particular Finnish biotechnology center, BioCity. The Silicon Valley rhetoric, which every self-respecting technology project around the world seems to incorporate into its own vocabulary, is compared with the everyday “reality” of this biotechnology center. The article focuses on the implementation of technology policy, organized following the “triple helix” model, in the field of biotechnology. Some comparisons with different countries are also made to give a picture of Finland in relation with the European life sciences industry. The article is concluded by a consideration of the future prospects of BioCity and Finnish biotechnology.
Watching the Race to Find the Breast Cancer Genes
Authors: Dalpé Robert , Bouchard Louise , Houle Anne-Julie , Bédard Louis
Published: April 2003

This article focuses on a crucial development in genetic research that occurred in the 1990s: the identification of the first two of the genes responsible for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer ( BRCA1 and BRCA2). Issues addressed touch on the evolution of the subfield, its potential impact on cancer treatment, and industry involvement. The article follows the activities of the various research groups competing in the race to identify the genes and depicts the frequent conflicts between them. Data are derived chiefly from a bibliometric database. The results show a diversity of research practices. Industrial researchers interacted within far more tightly knit networks than their counterparts working in public organizations. The patenting and commercial exploitation of results led to fierce battles, with one group capturing most of the benefits.
Remote Doctors and Absent Patients: Acting at a Distance in Telemedicine?
Authors: Mort Maggie , May Carl R. , Williams Tracy
Published: April 2003

According to policy makers, telemedicine offers “huge opportunities to improve the quality and accessibility of health services.” It is defined as diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring, with doctors and patients separated by space (and usually time) but mediated through information and communication technologies. This mediation is explored through an ethnography of a U.K. teledermatology clinic. Diagnostic image transfer enables medicine at a distance, as patients are removed from knowledge generation by concentrating their identities into images. Yet that form of identity allows images and the expert gaze to be brought into potentially lifesaving proximity. Following Latour’s thread, images must be captured and then mobilized to the knowledge base, where they must be stabilized into standard diagnoses, then combined with different images, waiting lists, skin lesions, dermatologists, paper records, and beds, so that ultimately, outcomes are produced. This huge task requires new knowledges and a widening of agency that, if unacknowledged, may see telemedicine projects continue to founder.
“I’m No Athlete [but] I Can Make This Thing Dance!”—Men’s Pleasures in Technology
Authors: Kleif Tine , Faulkner Wendy
Published: April 2003

The pleasures experienced by boys and men who work and play closely with technology have important implications for both gender and technology. This article presents empirical evidence on the topic from two studies: one of hobbyist “robot builders” who build machines for the U.K. television program Robot Wars (Kleif), the other of professional software developers working in a large U.S. corporation (Faulkner). In spite of the obvious differences between these two groups, they experience strikingly similar pleasures—in creating technologies, in their skills and knowledge, and in their intimacy and comfort with technology. The authors discuss available gender-based analyses of men’s pleasures in technology, drawing on the empirical material to both challenge and extend these analyses. The authors suggest, tentatively, that technology is a gender-authentic and gender-available avenue for those men who particularly crave certainty because technology appears more certain, easier to understand, and easier to master than other worlds they inhabit.
Assessment Of Tuberculosis Treatment Completion In An Ethnically Diverse Population Using Two Data Sources
Authors: Morisky Donald E. , Ebin Vicki J. , Malotte C. Kevin , Coly Astou , Kominski Gerald
Published: April 2003

Many adolescents who are prescribed therapy for tuberculosis (TB) infection fail to complete it. This article presents the results of a demographic and epidemiological assessment of TB treatment completion in adolescent populations using (a) surveillance data from the Los Angeles Health County Department and (b) a prospective/retrospective medical chart review from targeted clinics. Patients who did not complete the 6-month recommended medical treatment for latent tuberculosis therapy (LTBI) averaged 13 weeks in care. Younger age (OR = 1.15; 95% CI 1.03-1.29), birth in the United States (OR = 1.92; 95% CI 1.14-3.22, compared to Mexico), and Asian ethnicity were associated with completion of care. In multiple logistic regression analysis, age (OR = .88; 95% CI .78-.98) and Latino ethnicity (OR = .53; 95% CI .29-.95) remained significant predictors of completion of treatment. These findings indicate the need for age-specific educational reinforcement and cultural differentials in completing care for LTBI.
A Validity Study Of Expert Judgment Procedures For Setting Cutoff Scores On High-Stakes Credentialing Examinations Using Cluster Analysis
Authors: Violato Claudio , Marini Anthony , Lee Curtis
Published: April 2003

This study compares an expert judgment process—minimal performance levels (MPL) using the Nedelsky and Ebel procedures—for setting cutoff scores for pass/fail on licensure examinations with an empirical approach—cluster analysis. Data from all three components of the Canadian Standard Assessment in Optometry (CSAO) examinations (knowledge, clinical judgment, and clinical skills) from 243 candidates were obtained. Results indicate that for the written components of the exams employing the Nedelsky method of MPL setting, there was a mean agreement of pass/fail of 81% with the cluster analysis approach on pass/fail categorization. For the performance exams using the Ebel method, the mean agreement of pass/fail with the cluster analysis was 93%. Thus the subjective approaches to setting cutoff scores (i.e., expert judgment methods) converge with the objective method (i.e., cluster analysis) of classifying test takers in the same categories.
Paraphrase Procedures For Assessing Comprehension Of Health Outcome Measures: An Illustration From Schizophrenia Research
Authors: Shumway Martha , Chouljian Tandy L. , Rozewicz Francine
Published: April 2003

Valid measurement of health outcomes require instruments that are meaningful to those who use them. Clinicians, patients, and others involved in health care have different perspectives on health conditions that are likely to lead to different interpretations of outcome measures and reductions in the accuracy and validity of outcome measurements. This study used paraphrase procedures, a systematic approach for evaluating respondent comprehension, to evaluate descriptions designed for use in studies of schizophrenia treatment outcomes. In four stakeholder groups directly and indirectly involved in schizophrenia treatment (clinicians, patients, patients’ families, and the general public), the paraphrase procedures identified comprehension problems that could compromise measurement quality and yielded specific information to guide improvement of the outcome descriptions. The paraphrase procedures detected comprehension problems that were not identified by respondents. This study suggests that systematic assessment of comprehension can improve the quality of health outcome measurement.
Gender Differentials of the Oldest Old in China
Authors: Yi Zeng , Yuzhi Liu , George Linda K.
Published: April 2003

Based on unique data from a sample of nearly 9,000 people ages 80 to 105 interviewed in 22 provinces in 1998, we found that gender differentials in educational attainment among the Chinese oldest old are enormous: Many more women are illiterate. Oldest old women are more likely to be widowed and economically dependent, much less likely to have pensions, and thus more likely to live with their children and rely on children for financial support and care. The female oldest old in China are also seriously disadvantaged in activities of daily living, physical performance, cognitive function, and self-reported health, as compared with their male counterparts; these gender differences are more marked with advancing age. The large gender differentials among the Chinese oldest old need serious attention from society and government, and any old-age insurance and service programs to be developed or reformed must benefit older women and men equally.