bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Telecommunication as an Aid for Concept Development among Student Teachers
Authors: Chirwa Andrew S.
Published: May 2005

This study was motivated by the need to understand how student teachers build concepts in telecommunication environments. The study aimed at determining how student teachers develop concrete concepts and defined concepts. The purpose was to develop a repertoire of what constitutes classes of lesson plans in technology-based learning environments and determine their significance to instructional design. The goal was to expose student teachers to AskEric Database. The objectives were to demonstrate the role of intellectual skills in developing conceptualizations, compare and contrast elements of a lesson plan, and define the role of telecommunication in learning. An elaborate scheme of activities was developed for student teachers to process materials in the AskEric database. These activities included students examining the various lesson plans in the content areas featuring mathematics, science, language arts, social studies, art, geography, and history. Lesson plans were characterized as concepts, and individual elements. The telecommunication was perceived as an integrated whole, and was evaluated on the criteria embedded in the student's interaction with the lesson plans as a context. Data shows that student teachers generated their own examples of how to identify concepts and characterize them as “concrete concepts.” They classified the instructional events to develop “defined concepts” and characterizations of the given materials. The individual elements of lesson plans were identified and listed in the following order of hierarchy: grade level, topic sentences, goals, objectives, activities, evaluation procedures, resources, and level on the Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. Two roles found to support the teaching and process learning were enhancement of learning, and instructional depth. “Enhancement of learning” is defined as a learner's competency to recruit cognitive strategies for the purpose of determining whether lesson plans are structurally meaningful to promote the teaching and learning among children. “Instructional depth” is defined as the capability of the technology to facilitate the dissemination of information in a sequential manner for the purpose of promoting the effective organization of information among learners. Cognitive strategies, competency, constructing a knowledge base, and growth were five factors found to initiate concept development among student teachers. These data have implication to instructional design, program improvement, and evaluation of instruction in computer-based learning environments.
Quantitative Understanding: A Social Science Basic
Authors: Tipple Bruce E. , Switzer Kenneth A.
Published: May 2005

With the support of a grant from the National Science Foundation, the Educational Resources Center of Boulder, Colorado, is developing and field testing thirty-five one- to three-day learning activities designed to improve students' understanding of quantitative concepts within the context of high school social studies courses.

This two-year project, entitled Quantitative Understanding to Enhance Social Science Teaching (QUESST), is based on the belief that it is important for secondary-level students to learn both the value and the limitations of using quantitative data and methods in the study of social issues.

This article presents a detailed rationale for the development of learning activities that infuse quantitative concepts and skills into secondary-level social studies classes, outlines the phases of project development, and briefly discusses the content of the learning activities developed by the project staff.
The Oxidizable Carbon Ratio (OCR): A Proposed Solution to Some of the Problems Encountered with Radiocarbon Data
Authors: Frink Douglas S.
Published: May 2005

Since its development as a dating tool, archaeologists have struggled with the interpretation of radiocarbon data due to its limitations in accuracy and precision. These limitations are presented and reviewed in terms of how archaeologists might resolve some of the problems in using this data. A new procedure, the OCR, is introduced as a means of improving the interpret-ability of radiocarbon data, and as a potential solution to some of the more problematic limits of the radiocarbon procedure. The OCR procedure provides an independent analysis of age for charcoal found in soil. This procedure is based on the chemical analysis of charcoal within definable environmental contexts. As such, it is not restricted by the limits of the nuclear-based radiocarbon procedure. The OCR procedure offers an inexpensive, accurate, and precise dating procedure for archaeologists.
Short Courses on Effective Communication
Authors: Kirkman John
Published: May 2005

In short courses on effective communication presented for industry in Great Britain and Europe by UWIST, Cardiff, the emphasis is on practical work, with extensive group discussion of each participant's attempts at various communication tasks.
Access to Care Issues for Health Professionals in the Mountain Region of North Carolina
Authors: Gesler Wil , Arcury Thomas A. , Preisser John , Trevor June , Sherman Jill E. , Spencer John
Published: May 2005

This article compares perspectives on access to health care issues in 12 rural counties in the mountain region of North Carolina from three sources: 1) meetings with 38 health providers; 2) a survey of 1059 households; and 3) relevant health and population statistics. The main provider concerns were: 1) transportation to care; 2) dental services; 3) lack of resources for small populations; 4) population-based issues; and 5) negative perceptions about local health care. These concerns were compared to results from the survey and health statistics and similarities and differences among the three sources of information were noted. Comparisons were not made to validate or discredit any of the three sources of information, but rather to provide a rounded picture of access to care problems in a rural area. Results are discussed in terms of their policy implications, such as the degree of congruence between health professionals' perceptions and other information, the need to provide better transportation to care, and the issues of providing care to the elderly and Hispanics.
Comprehensive, Technology-Based Clinical Education: The “Virtual Practicum”
Authors: Henderson Joseph V.
Published: May 2005

This article discusses the application of technology to promote more comprehensive clinical education in the biopsychosocial aspects of primary care. Comprehensive refers to the inclusion, in addition to scientific and technical knowledge, of knowledge that is less easily characterized, quantified, and taught: empathy, intuition, the demonstration of artistry. Clinical education will be increasingly facilitated by the proliferation of computers capable of displaying combinations of text, graphics, video, and sound; broadband networks capable of delivering these multiple media to the home or office; and new methods for using these technologies for education and training. However, current models for technology-based learning are limiting, lagging behind the rapid technological evolution driving our entry into the Information Age. Some recent educational models (Schon's reflection-in-action and reflective practicums [1], Boisot's E-space [2], Kolb's learning cycle [3]) provide for a more comprehensive and complete view of health professional education. This article describes these models in depth and proposes a new model for technology-based clinical training, the “Virtual Practicum,” based on them. The Virtual Practicum is illustrated with a new interactive CD-ROM program, dealing with primary care of patients with HIV/AIDS. The concepts presented here are generally useful in thinking about clinical education, regardless of the means used.
Community Hospitals, Psychiatry and Illness Prevention
Authors: Flach Frederic F.
Published: May 2005

The community hospital is a uniquely well suited setting for programs of preventive psychiatry. As an information center as well as a service center, it affords an opportunity for the psychiatrist to come together with other members of the medical community to initiate programs which not only will foster earlier diagnosis and more adequate treatment of psychiatric syndromes, but also will achieve other important goals as well. Whether dealing with children, adults or families, all members of the health profession can establish effective programs to strengthen the individual's ability to cope with predictable stresses, thereby reducing the likelihood of emotional decompensation. For this purpose, changes of attitude and approach are required, within the hospital group and in the relationship between the health profession and the community.
Intrusions of Territory and Personal Space: An Exploratory Study of Anxiety-Inducing Factors in Hospitalized Patients
Authors: Allekian Constance
Published: May 2005

To test the hypothesis that hospitalized patients will experience anxiety when intrusions of territorial and personal space occur, seventy-six patients in four metropolitan Chicago hospitals were asked twenty-seven questions. Mean scores for all situations were calculated and responses compared on the following variables: type of hospital; length of hospitalization; and patients' age, sex, nationality, birthplace, and size of family. Patients were found to have feelings of anxiety when intrusions of territory occurred, but personal space intrusions seemingly were viewed with indifference. Results of chi-square and t tests revealed no significant differences in the groups compared, suggesting that these variables have no influence over how patients feel with regard to territorial and personal space intrusions.
Trends in Occupational Health and Safety Policy in Italy
Authors: Bagnara Sebastiano , Biocca Marco , Mazzonis Danielle Gattegno
Published: May 2005

Experience with and reflections on the interaction among the workplace, the society, and various institutions in the area of occupational health have played an important role in the general political debate in Italy since the 1960s. This paper describes the emergence of the workers' model of investigation into health hazards, an element unique to the Italian experience, and analyzes its impact on the organization of work, government policies, health institutions, and scientific research.
The Correlates of Hypochondriasis in Depressed Patients
Authors: El-Islam M. Fakhr , Malasi Taha A. , Suleiman Mahmoud A. , Mirza Iman A.
Published: May 2005

Of 100 inpatients with depressive illness, fifty-three had evidence of depressed mood prior to their hypochondriacal symptoms, sixteen had the opposite sequence of development and thirty-one had no hypochondriacal symptoms. Comparison of the three groups revealed some differences that would suggest a less severe depressed mood in association with hypochondriacal symptoms. Whether hypochondriasis preceded or followed depressed mood did not make any other difference to the total clinical picture. This should not be taken to imply that treatment and prognosis are the same in hypochondriacal and nonhypochondriacal depressions.
Creativity in the Retarded
Authors: Buck Lucien A.
Published: May 2005

A diagnosis of “retardation” has generally promoted self-fulfilling expectations of incapacity. While a realistic assessment of “intellectual” and adaptive limitations needs to be provided, it is necessary to remember that a focus upon part-functions fails to capture the full complexity of being human. In the case of the “retarded,” this has led to the neglect of creativity. A comprehensive evaluation, however, requires an atmosphere that facilitates potential. The art of two “retarded” young men has been selected to demonstrate the imaginative expression which occurs in a receptive environment. These two people represent different levels of “retardation” (mild versus moderate), and varying degrees of artistic talent at the time of their first contact with the program. Both exhibit the interpersonal growth which can accompany creative expansion. Finally, the technical and compositional proficiency which these individuals display requires a re-evaluation of traditional expectations in mental retardation.
Thematic Repetition as Rhetorical Technique
Authors: Allen Jo
Published: May 2005

While several strategies have been credited for enhancing the rhetorical acceptability of important historical works in scientific and technical writing, little attention has been paid to William Harvey's On the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Animals. A close examination of his work shows his fear of publication (because of his contemporaries' long-held beliefs about the order of the body and its functions) and his strategies for reducing resistance to his ideas: appropriate circular references and metaphors and organizational techniques that clarify and enhance not only his thesis—that the blood circulates through the body—but also demonstrate the circular pattern as part of God's natural order for the universe.
The ‘Morality’ of Occupational Health
Authors: Guidotti Tee L.
Published: May 2005

Both ethics and law are based on value systems. George Lakoff has contributed to our understanding of the value systems that influence attitudes toward public issues in his book, Moral Politics: What Conservatives Know That Liberals Don't (University of Chicago Press, 1996). He argues that two antagonistic but co-existing moral systems influence attitudes toward public issues. Both are derived from metaphors of family life and child development and the “morality” of allowing certain actions. One moral system stresses individual responsibility and risk-taking, the other empathy and mutual assistance. The tension between these value systems explains much in political debate; issues generally tend to fall on one side or the other. Occupational health and related issues, almost uniquely, have the unfortunate characteristic of falling short in both. Our best efforts may be judged “immoral” by the strictest interpretations of both systems, even when they are successful. The practical implication is that we must not accept this pattern of thinking. The work relationship is not like a family. It is important to separate issues in occupational health from this pattern of thinking in both professional and public discourse.
Social Reactions to Attempted Suicide: The Effects of Gender and Physical Attractiveness
Authors: Vanwinkle Deanna L. , Calhoun Lawrence G. , Cann Arnie , Tedeschi Richard
Published: May 2005

The effects of gender of subject, gender of suicide attempter, and physical attractiveness of attempter on justification, emotional adjustment, and liking were investigated in this study. One hundred forty-eight male and female undergraduates (average age = 21.93 years) read a brief case history describing an individual who attempted suicide one week ago. Two-thirds of the subjects also received a photograPh. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of six groups: attractive female attempter, unattractive female attempter, no photograph female attempter, attractive male attempter, unattractive male attempter, and no photograph male attempter. Ratings of justification, emotional adjustment, and liking were measured using 7-point Likert-type questions. The MANOVA revealed significant main effects of gender of subject and physical attractiveness. Univariate analyses of these effects showed that females rated attempters significantly more justified than males and that attractive attempters were liked significantly more than unattractive and no photograph attempters.
Death Attitudes among Mid-Life Women
Authors: Richardson Virginia , Sands Roberta
Published: May 2005

The relationships between death anxiety, age, developmental concerns, and socioeconomic status were analyzed using a sample of seventy-four women ages thirty through forty-nine who had recently returned to the university. Templer's death anxiety scale as well as a thematic apperception procedure were employed to measure attitudes about death. Concurrent and construct validation of the direct and indirect measures of death yielded different, often complementary results. The factor analysis revealed seven factors–death concern, death anticipation, death as loss, death in physical terms, death as depressing, death denial, and death as a dimension of time–that accounted for 50 percent of the variance. When these factors were used in the regression analysis, developmental factors were the salient issues with death concern, death as interpersonal loss, and death as a dimension of time; age was the sole predicator of death anticipation; and death denial and income were significant with death as physical. No variable predicted death as depressing. These results revealed the multidimensionality of death attitudes and the significance of considering both developmental and socioeconomic influences in predicting death attitudes. In addition, by using indirect as well as direct measures of death, various dimensions of the death construct were identified.
Making Materials Matter
Authors: Geiser Ken
Published: May 2005

For sustainability, it would be much more effective and economically efficient to focus on designing and using less hazardous materials. By paying more attention to the materials that we manufacture and use, we could pay less attention to their impacts on people and the environment. The environmental costs of materials show up in damage from materials extraction, pollution, energy consumed, and waste material disposal. The model on which the materials management system is based is flawed. Future systems must be cyclical ones of sustainable managed material flows that conserve resources and minimize dissipation. Material recycling and reuse must be primary components, along with new extraction, harvesting, and treatment practices. Needed are new policies that promote human health and environmental quality, as well as economic efficiency and product effectiveness. The policies may be either public or private, but they must be integrative and focused on the full life cycle of materials. This sustainable materials economy will require new information systems, re-direction of materials markets, reconfiguration of corporate missions and designs, changes in government policies, and public engagement.
Compressed Video Delivery of a Coaching/Mentoring Model for Teacher Education
Authors: Yocom Dorothy Jean , Whitson Donna
Published: May 2005

The implementation of compressed video throughout Wyoming has helped to expand the possibilities and increase electronic “travel” opportunities for University of Wyoming preservice teachers and Wyoming educators. In 1986, a state-wide School/University based partnership began with a mission to collaborate efforts between the College of Education's teacher training program and the public schools. Presented here as a model for restructure and change in American education, the use of compressed video has greatly enhanced the professional development of preservice teachers from The University of Wyoming. Following a brief description of compressed video technology and how this technology was incorporated into the University's teacher training program, the article concludes with a section on “Lessons Learned” from this inaugural implementation of technology.
Linking Implementation to Outcomes: Evaluation of a Community-Based Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Program
Authors: Shediac-Rizkallah Mona C. , Cassady Charlyn E. , Scheirer Mary Ann , Liang Wenchi , Harlow Jennifer ,   Staff of the Breast and Cervical Program
Published: May 2005

An implementation analysis of the first eighteen months of the Maryland Breast and Cervical Cancer Program examined the variability among participating local agencies in the extent of screening services delivered; local program implementation processes; and the relationships between extent of screening and the local level processes. The study used: 1) a mail and telephone survey of local health departments (LHD, N = 24) and 2) state program surveillance data, with correlational methods. Outcomes measured: 1) “Penetration,” the proportion of the target population screened; and 2) “Efficiency,” the number of women screened per program staff member. Categories of implementation variables were: 1) Environment, 2) Staffing, 3) Collaboration with community organizations, 4) Outreach, 5) Provider variables, 6) Relationships with State and LHDs, 7) Organizational variables, and 8) Service delivery. Results showed wide local variability in screening levels. Availability of local resources; provider involvement; success of community linkages; and local health department readiness showed relationships with the extent of local screening. Studying implementation is needed to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of community-based programs.
Monitoring Use of Monofilament Nylon Water Filters for Guineaworm Control in a Rural Nigerian Community
Authors: Brieger William R. , Ramakrishna Jayashree , Adeniyi Joshua D. , Sridhar M. K. C.
Published: May 2005

Guineaworm, a disabling waterborne helminthic disease, has been targeted for eradication from endemic areas of Africa and South Asia. One short-term intervention consists of filtering pond water through a clean cloth. Monofilament nylon cloth has been found to be more effective in straining out the vector-various species of the small crustacean, cyclops—than local cotton cloth, though the former is more expensive. A concern with any new technique is whether the community will accept the idea and subsequently use it properly. Previous reports in this series have documented the process by which the rural community of Idere, Nigeria, through its volunteer primary health workers, was involved in production, distribution, and education concerning filters. One-third of households in monitored sections of the community bought filters, while others thought that filters could not prevent the disease, cost too much, or were inferior to other solutions (e.g., wells). This report looks at filter use and factors associated with use and durability. Monthly monitoring visits by a field assistant served to identify problems and reinforce correct and continued filtration. Mobility of the population between farm and town hampered regular use. Difficulty in understanding the nature of the nearly invisible vectors meant that users did not perceive tiny holes in their filters as dangerous. While filters were ultimately seen as useful in guineaworm eradication efforts, they should not take the place of more long-term community water supply interventions which will have a greater impact on community and women's development.
Reading Comprehension of Elementary, Junior High and High School Students on Print vs. Microcomputer-Generated Text
Authors: Feldmann Shirley C. , Fish Marian C.
Published: May 2005

This study compared reading comprehension on the microcomputer with traditional print presentation for two types of text, informational and directional. Subjects were elementary, junior high, and high school students. With one exception, no differences in performance were found by medium or text type. Reader characteristics other than gender had no relationship to ease of reading in the two media. A student checklist of factors contributing to ease or difficulty of reading in both media revealed differential perceptions between good and weak readers at the various grade levels. Implications for the classroom are discussed.
Continuities in Architectural Traditions: The Subterráneos of Prehistoric and Modern Northern Mexico
Authors: Turpin Solveig A. , Eling Herbert H. , Moreno Moisés Valadez
Published: May 2005

The recent discovery of a pit house village, 40 km northwest of Monterrey, challenges the conventional view of inland northeastern Mexico as the domain of purely nomadic hunters and gatherers throughout prehistory. Las Casitas consists of fifty-three subterranean rooms and forty-eight smaller depressions aligned in three slightly arcuate tiers in a small valley adjacent to Boca de Potrerillos, an extremely large open campsite and petroglyph complex that is now an archeological park. Other features of the site are some 325 hearths that surround the depressions and a very limited artifact assemblage numbering only thirty-seven items. Two hearths produced radiocarbon samples that date site occupancy to approximately a.d. 1450, just prior to the arrival of the Spanish in the New World. Las Casitas provides the first evidence of semi-sedentary, surplus producing populations in central northeastern Mexico.
Contrasting Aesthetic Evaluations of “Graffiti” Images as a Function of Incongruity Intolerance Levels
Authors: Giannini Anna Maria , Bonaiuto Paolo
Published: May 2005

This investigation develops a line of research aimed at examining the influence of incongruity intolerance level on subjects' aesthetic evaluations of relatively harmonious or very conflictual images. Sixty young adults were selected from a larger population and divided into two extreme subgroups: thirty very incongruity intolerant persons and thirty very incongruity tolerant ones. Both genders were equally represented in each category. Selection was based on a specific quick visual procedure, the Building Inclination Test (BIT: Bonaiuto, Giannini, & Bonaiuto, 1987, 1989; Bonaiuto, Biasi, Giannini, & Bartoli, 1996), providing a numerical index of incongruity intolerance, which has also been proved to be positively related to behavioral rigidity and negatively to ambiguity tolerance. Twelve full-color A4 reproductions of American “graffiti” paintings (made from 1981 to 1990 by artists such as Basquiat, Brown, Cutrone, Haring, Scharf, or others) were shown one at a time on a lectern and individually submitted to each subject for evaluating aesthetic and emotional properties using eleven-point scales. Systematic rotation of scales and pictures and double-blind experimental conditions were used. The images were selected corresponding to three categories: a) figurative playful and relaxing representations, b) semiabstract, emotionally quite neutral representations, and c) figurative disquieting, very conflictual representations. An overall progressive decrease of attributed beauty was found moving from the first to the third group of images. This effect was more intense for the very incongruity intolerant observers, who highly preferred images of the first category and deeply disliked those of the third category. On the other hand, the very incongruity tolerant participants recorded on average a less positive aesthetical appreciation score with the first category and a less negative one for the third category (there was a significant interaction between image category and observer's personality, p < 0.002). The aesthetic rejection of the most disquieting and conflictual images especially by the very incongruity intolerant persons is explained by the authors as an effect of the overloading of psychic conflict in this type of persons.
The Association between Depressive Symptoms and Cigarette Smoking in An Urban Primary Care Sample
Authors: Brown Charlotte , Madden Pamela A. F. , Palenchar Deena R. , Cooper-Patrick Lisa
Published: May 2005

Objective:

To examine the relationship between cigarette smoking and depressive symptoms in an urban primary care sample.

Methods:

Eligible participants were 526 patients aged eighteen to sixty-four presenting in the waiting rooms of two university affiliated internal medicine clinics. Participants were asked to complete a brief interview which ascertained current depressive symptoms using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), demographic information, and smoking status using a modified version of the Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND).

Results:

Smoking status differed significantly by age, gender, education, and employment status. Mean level of depressive severity also differed by smoking status. Current smokers with nicotine dependence symptoms had significantly higher CES-D scores than those who had never smoked, ex-smokers, and non-dependent smokers. Logistic regression analyses indicated that gender, employment status, age, and smoking status were significantly associated with CES-D scores ≥16. Exploratory analyses suggested that among smokers with a symptom of nicotine dependence, significantly more women than men had clinically significant levels of depressive symptoms.

Conclusions:

The association between smoking behavior and depressive symptoms in the present study is consistent with that reported in population-based and psychiatric samples. Symptoms of nicotine dependence were significantly associated with clinical levels of depressive symptoms. Primary care physicians may wish to inquire about depressive symptoms among smokers, because these symptoms may interfere with patients' efforts to quit.
Development of a Death Anxiety Scale for Children
Authors: Schell Dennis , Seefeldt Carol
Published: May 2005

The purpose of this study was to develop a valid, reliable, and efficient instrument that could be used to explore children's responses to death and dying. A rating scale consisting of neutral and anxiety producing words was constructed; scale construction consisted of a number of steps. Test/retest reliability of the scale was assessed as .87 for death words and .79 for neutral words using Cronbach's alpha. Validity was established by reading the words to children between the ages of five and twelve and recording galvanic skin response, response time, and pulse rate. Children responded with greater skin resistance to death words, than to the neural words ( t(154) = −1.93, p < .06) leading to the conclusion that the Death Anxiety Scale for Children (DASC) was a valid, reliable, and efficient measure of children's death anxiety.
Humanism and Technology: A Model for Integrating Educational Technology in the Humanities Classroom
Authors: Shtogren John A.
Published: May 2005

The strides made in higher education to improve learning and teaching in the sciences have not been matched in the humanities. Teachers in the humanities perceive a fundamental conflict between their values and behaviorally oriented systematic approaches. The model presented will demonstrate how principles from instructional technology can be adapted to the humanities classroom, literature specifically, and increase learning without jeopardizing humanistic values.

Specifically, characteristics from programmed instruction are integrated into the lecture-discussion format. The result is a course design which requires students to master more material than usual and produces levels of mastery skewed to the A-B range even in urban university settings where wide ranges in entering abilities are to be expected. Moreover, the design provides for individual student decision making unavailable in traditional class structures.

An Applied Learning Systems curriculum should address the particular needs of the humanities. Such attention will help enfranchise those instructors and students who have not experienced the benefits which technology can bring to their classrooms.
Influence of Premenstrual Syndrome on Family, Social Life, and Work Performance
Authors: Ekholm Ulla-Britt , Bäckström Torbjörn
Published: May 2005

Premenstrual syndrome is characterized by mental and physical symptoms that vary with different phases of the menstrual cycle. Symptoms start shortly after ovulation, increase in severity, and reach a maximum during the last five premenstrual days. After the onset of menstrual bleeding, the symptoms rapidly disappear and are usually gone within three to four days. Diagnostic procedures using prospective daily symptom ratings have recently been developed, allowing a more precise diagnosis of the cyclical mood changes and leading to a clearer picture and definition of the condition. Results from community studies show that the severity of the cyclical mood changes varies within a population of women of fertile age, from those having no cyclical mood changes to those severely handicapped by the symptoms for 14 days of the month. The severity assessment of subjective symptoms is difficult since severity is difficult to compare among individuals. In this article the authors review the different approaches to estimating severity of premenstrual syndrome and compare the different approaches with approaches used for other conditions with subjective symptoms. Two possible approaches are discussed in detail. One measures symptoms by counting the number of days with and without symptoms. The other estimates how much the symptoms affect patients' family life, social life, and work performance. Differences between retrospective and prospective assessments are also discussed.
Indirect Attempt to Change Death Attitudes: Negative Findings and Associated Relationships
Authors: Rasmussen Christina , Templer Donald I. , Kenkel Mary Beth , Cannon W. Gary
Published: May 2005

Indirect treatment (concentrated relaxation and stress management) of student nurses did not produce a significant change in death anxiety or death depression or ability to communicate with the dying. Change in state anxiety and trait anxiety and general depression correlated with each other. Change in the three death attitude measures, however, neither correlated with each other nor with changes in the general anxiety and general depression measures. A viscosity model in which death anxiety and death depression are more resistant to change than general anxiety and general depression was proposed. It was contended that interventions based on Templer's (1976) two-factor theory tend to be simplistic and not implemented for the individual patient or research participant. More holistic approaches were recommended.
An Editor's Viewpoint on Preparing News Releases
Authors: Shapiro Sydney F.
Published: May 2005

The only valid reason for preparing a news release is to supply information that editors will print in their publications. However, almost as important as the value of the information is the manner in which the news release is prepared. The publicity writer who follows the points emphasized here can be assured that his releases will at least be reviewed—which is better than halfway there.
The Emergency Treatment of the Depressed Patient with Physical Illness
Authors: Slaby Andrew Edmund
Published: May 2005

Approaching individuals in the emergency situation presenting with medical illness and depression requires an understanding of psychologic, biologic, social, and existential factors that converge to create alterations in mood, thought, and behavior. Clinicians must understand how these same factors may be used in managing patient response to treatment of both the depression associated with an illness and the physical illness itself. Whenever a physical illness is present, it is imperative to ascertain the degree to which physical illness and concomitant treatment may be responsible for the psychiatric symptoms.
The Health Concerns of Young American and Egyptian Women: A Cross Cultural Study
Authors: Engs Ruth C. , Badr Laila H.
Published: May 2005

The health concerns of 99 Egyptian and 135 American young women indicated that the Egyptian sample was significantly more concerned ( p < .001) about most items compared to the American group, and that there was very little association ( r = .39) between the mean scores of the two groups. The top ten concerns of the Egyptian women ranked by mean score were Halitosis/Body Odor, Colds, Cancer, Poor Teeth, Population Explosion, Overweight, Birth Control, Water Pollution, Headaches, and Heart Disease. The top ten concerns of the American women ranked by mean score were Birth Control, What I'll be like in ten years, Auto Accidents, Overweight, Cancer, Use of Contraceptives, Death, Nuclear War, Childbirth, and Air Pollution. The differences in their health concerns have implications for community health education planning and promotion.
Risperidone in the Treatment of Acute Confusional State (Delirium) Due to Neuropsychiatric Lupus Erythematosus: Case Report
Authors: Nishimura Katsuji , Omori Masako , Horikawa Naoshi , Tanaka Eiichi , Furuya Takefumi , Harigai Masayoshi
Published: May 2005

Acute confusional state (delirium) appears as one of the common neuropsychiatric manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). It has been suggested that neuropsychiatric SLE (NP-SLE) could promote the occurrence of drug-induced extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS). Atypical antipsychotics have been thought to be useful in management of delirium because of their low incidence of adverse effects including EPS. However, no reports of the use of atypical antipsychotics in delirium due to NP-SLE have been published. Here we report a case of NP-SLE presenting an acute confusional state (delirium), which was successfully managed by risperidone.
Health Care Policy Formation: Analysis, Information and Research
Authors: White K. L. , Murnaghan J. H.
Published: May 2005

Formation of rational health care policies, plans, and priorities by politicians and public administrators requires three kinds of support: analytical competence, purposeful information and intelligence systems, and a responsive research and development capability. This article delineates the role of each of these three activities and discusses how they can be most effectively organized within the government framework, the requisite professional skills, and the contributions of the private sector.
SinceSilent Spring:New Voices, New Analyses, and New Movements
Authors: Hynes H. Patricia
Published: May 2005

Forty years ago, in the enormously praised and fiercely criticized book, Silent Spring, Rachel Carson demonstrated the dangers of pesticides to humans and ecosystems and called for precaution in their use. Yet, the majority of environmental regulations passed since 1962 have primarily addressed pollutant discharge rather than cleaner products and technologies. The number of active ingredients in pesticides used in the United States has risen from 32 in 1939 to 860 in recent times, while the overall volume of agrochemicals applied has nearly doubled since the publication of Silent Spring. The last 40 years have brought significant changes with respect to environmental policies, agricultural technologies, urbanization, civil rights, women's rights, the roles of non-profit organizations and community development, and increased poverty, hunger, and economic inequality. In recent years, new voices, new analyses, and new movements have emerged offering fresh perspectives on how we can answer Carson's clarion call to protect our planet and ourselves.
Community-Based Prevention and the Health Equity Aim—An Ideal Match? An Evaluation of the Kirseberg Community Action Project
Authors: Lindbladh Eva , Hanson Bertil S.
Published: May 2005

This article presents results and conclusions from a qualitative process evaluation study of an alcohol preventive community action project, in the city of Malmö, Sweden. The community action approach has been proposed as a promising preventive strategy in relation to the health equity aim, and our overall goal has been to investigate the tenability of this connection. The starting point in our analysis is the socially stratified pattern of participation in the project. How do we explain the fact that the well-educated middle-class groups and their organizations became the driving force in the community action program, while the working-class majority and the economically underprivileged residents were left out? The excluding mechanisms which were revealed in the study indicate that the community action approach can hardly be seen as a strategy necessarily promoting the health equity aim.
Preparing Technical Writing Students to Write for the Government
Authors: Kellner Robert Scott
Published: May 2005

Technical writing students need information about writing for the government: one out of every eight technical writers works in some level of government. Those who do not might become involved in writing for the government in some other capacity, such as writing industrial proposals to obtain grants and contracts, or preparing scientific reports or technical manuals to fulfill the requirements of those grants or contracts. Such writing requires a familiarity with government specifications and standards. Some colleges offer courses in government writing. Those schools that cannot might consider incorporating information about government specifications and standards into their basic technical writing course.
Child Saving and Child Spacing in Africa: The Evolution of a Concept
Authors: Wright Robert D.
Published: May 2005

In tropical Africa the primordial presence of enormous young child death rates precludes a successful frontal attack on birth rates through specialized programs. Experience in Nigeria indicates that gradual, quiet pressure can influence the power structure to tolerate and eventually espouse child spacing as an integral part of a program of services for child saving. The approach involves four phases: a low visibility start; obtaining high level acceptance; establishment of a federal training center to train cadres for state training programs; and deployment of trained primary care auxiliaries as a local maternal and child health-family planning service. In tropical Africa governmental attitudes toward family planning range from positive policy, to neutrality, to strong opposition. At present most Anglophone countries are favorable. Most Francophone countries are opposed. The general trend is toward a more favorable attitude toward family planning when it is a part of maternal and child health services.
The Connection between the Reading of Books and the Development of Sympathy and Empathy
Authors: Van Der Bolt Lilian , Tellegen Saskia
Published: May 2005

Interactions with others in our social milieu make it possible to sharpen our emotional intelligence and to develop skills such as empathy and sympathy. The reading of books can be considered as an alternative way to accomplish such interactions. Of course, this interaction is artificial, but precisely herein lies hidden the enormous power of this medium: It offers the reader the power to enter into a limitless range of contexts and emotion ‘scenario's’ together with the fictional character. It offers the possibilities for examining uncommon emotional experiences and experimenting with them without too many ‘risks’ to the reader. In preliminary exploratory research on emotional involvement in the reading of books, questionnaires were completed by 198 pupils age nine to fifteen. From analysis of this research-material it appears that children who read frequently report more involvement concerning empathy and sympathy compared to children who read less frequently. From that, we can conclude with reasonable prudence that the reading of books correlates positively with the process of development in sympathy and empathy.
Writing: The Engineer's Achilles' Heel
Authors: Grillo John L.
Published: May 2005

In this student paper, the author discusses technical writing with clarity as a major emphasis. It is suggested that the technical writing discipline can achieve more effective communication through the further development of writing skills.
Bereavement, Ministerial Attitudes, and the Future of Church-Sponsored Bereavement Support Groups
Authors: Sklar Fred , Huneke Kathleen D.
Published: May 2005

Bereavement historically has been a concern of religious organizations, but the recent rise of secular bereavement support groups implies a void in the way churches deal with survivors. A survey of ministers in the Northern California Conference of the United Church of Christ documents the absence of church-sponsored bereavement support groups. It is argued that this absence stems not from a lack of parishioner demand, but from ministers' disinclination, an attitude that appears to arise from bereavement training. Such training is seen to have its result because of the manner in which it reinforces central aspects of the ministerial work role. The future of church-sponsored bereavement support groups is discussed.
Changes in the Aging Brain as They Affect Psychotropics: A Review
Authors: Moran Michael G. , Thompson Troy L.
Published: May 2005

This article reviews a number of neuroanatomic and neurochemical changes that occur in the brain with aging, and focuses specifically on those that may affect the response to psychotropic drugs. We hope to increase physicians' awareness of these “central,” or brain, changes, that occur with aging when prescribing and monitoring psychotropic use, since the traditional emphasis in prescribing for the elderly has rested with the review of pharmacokinetic, or “peripheral” organ changes.
Parental Death and the Adjustment of School-Age Children
Authors: Worden J. William , Silverman Phyllis R.
Published: May 2005

Findings on the emotional impact of parental death for dependent children have not been consistent due to serious methodological limitations. The Child Bereavement Study investigated a community-based sample of parentally bereaved children and compared their responses to those from matched non-bereaved controls. Children and their surviving parent were assessed four months, one year, and two years after the death using standardized instrumentation. Most of the difference between the two groups was not obvious until two years after the death. The bereaved showed higher levels of social withdrawal, anxiety, and social problems as well as lower self-esteem and self-efficacy. Although most bereaved children do not show signs of serious emotional/behavioral disturbance, there is a significantly large group of bereaved children who show serious problems at one year (19%) and at two years (21%).
Student Perception of Instruction Utilizing a Compressed Video Network
Authors: Carter Alex
Published: May 2005

The delivery of instruction within education is going through a process of change at the presrnt time. One development that has had an impact on instruction delivery is interactive distance education. There are however, questions that need to be answered concerning the different components which are a part of this form of distance education. One such component relates to the attitudes of students who are receiving instruction through interactive distance education. It was the purpose of this study to ascertain student attitudes as they related to the different aspects of taking a course in this type of educational environment.
Aesthetics Electrified: An Analysis of Descriptive Symmetry and Evaluative Aesthetic Judgment Processes Using Event-Related Brain Potentials
Authors: Jacobsen Thomas , Höfel Lea
Published: May 2005

An event-related brain potential (ERP) study comparing descriptive and evaluative judgment processes is reported. Using identical stimuli to isolate perceptual from judgmental processes, the two judgment types were operationalized by employing symmetry and aesthetic judgments. Electrophysiological activity was recorded while participants viewed newly designed two-dimensional patterns in a pre-cued task setting. Judgment analyses of a Phase I test and performance in the main experiment revealed detailed paramorphic models of the individual judges' cognitive systems as well as group models. Symmetry showeda strong positive correlation with judgments and was the most important cue in every case. Descriptive judgments were performed faster than evaluative judgments. The ERPs revealed a phasic frontal negativity in the non-aesthetic condition as well as a sustained posterior negativity in the symmetrical condition. All conditions showed late positive potentials (LPP). Evaluative judgment LPPs revealed a more pronounced right lateralization. It was concluded that descriptive symmetry judgment and evaluative aesthetic judgment processes differ dramatically and recruit, at least in part, different neural machinery.