bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Seamless Integration of Lecture Notes and Web Pages
Authors: Kahn Russell L.
Published: May 2005

Faculty wishing to use Web sites in class lectures face a dilemma: either they bookmark a list of sites and work their lecture around the list, or they try to learn and then integrate a new Web-based teaching application into their teaching paradigm. The first method presents difficult pedagogical and organizational problems that may leave students with scattered, unfocused learning experiences. The second technique—learning a new application—takes added time and learning and requires a new application that may or may not reflect the mental model that the faculty member developed in his/her mind's eye. The purpose of this article is to provide a third method that's both simple and powerful, and which faculty can use to generate lecture notes and students can use for giving presentations. The result is a seamless way to include links to Web sites and in-line graphic images, charts, flowcharts, models, animations, and photos, and which can be projected to the class as they are used, and printed out or viewed outside of class. Generating these active and universally accessible lecture notes require only “point and click” technology and basic word processing skills and uses software that's available in any version of the Netscape Web browser subsequent to 3.0, which is free to educators.
A Pilot Study of a Short Cognitive-Behavioral Group Treatment for Female Recurrent Suicide Attempters
Authors: Hengeveld Michiel W. , Jonker Daan J. L. , Rooijmans Harry G. M.
Published: May 2005

Objective:

To test the feasibility and effectiveness of a high-frequency short-term group cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for recurrent suicide attempters.

Method:

CBT consisting of eight weekly and two “booster” sessions was given to nine female out-patients who had attempted suicide at least twice, seven of whom had a personality disorder.

Results:

Four patients dropped out during the treatment; either because they were “chronic repeaters” (i.e., had a history of more than 8 suicide attempts), or because the last suicide attempt was too long ago. Although the patients were generally positive about the content of the therapy, no effects on psychiatric symptomatology or repetition of suicidal behavior could be demonstrated.

Conclusions:

Based on this experience, and on the two controlled studies of CBT of recurrent suicide attempters published in the literature, it is tentatively concluded that it is difficult to organize a short-term high-frequency group treatment for recurrent suicide attempters with personality disorders, and that CBT may delay repetition of suicidal behavior, but that “major repeaters” (i.e., who made 4 or more suicide attempts) with a borderline personality disorder tend to stay major repeaters.
Effects of a Peer Led Intervention Program on Smoking Prevention: A Case Example in Greece
Authors: MacRi Iphigenia , Tsiantis John
Published: May 2005

This pilot study evaluates the effects of a peer developed, smoking prevention program on the smoking behavior, intent to smoke, knowledge, and attitudes toward smoking of high school students. An experimental group of 237 first and second grade high school students (mean ages 12.2 and 13.2 respectively) from an Athenian school was compared to a control group of ninety students from the first and second high school grades (mean ages 12.1 and 13.3 respectively) in another school. A randomly drawn subgroup of thirty-seven student volunteers from the experimental group developed antismoking audiovisual material which they subsequently presented and discussed with the whole group. Findings indicated that this intervention significantly limited the increase of smoking behavior of the experimental group a year following the first assessment. However, intent to smoke in the future, attitudes toward smoking, and knowledge were not affected by the intervention. Results suggest that the intervention was partially successful in curbing experimental smoking in these adolescents. Implications of the findings are discussed.
Technical and Creative Writing: Common Process, Common Goals
Authors: Rothmel Steven Zachary
Published: May 2005

Creative and technical writing share definite, but seldom realized, affinities. Like the fiction writer, the engineer and the scientist must realize that writing is a creative process rather than a reflex action if they are to communicate successfully. Often, professional advancement depends on the ability to present and to interpret factual information coherently and effectively.

Although technical writing presents factual information and creative writing fictional information, both crafts adhere to the same underlying rhetorical principles in order to create their desired effects. This article examines those shared principles that make technical writing more than a prosaic exercise and allow writers to express themselves meaningfully. The role of imagination in this craft is also explored.
Metaphor—Visual Aid in Grief Work
Authors: Schwartz-Borden Gwen
Published: May 2005

Use of metaphor can provide a powerful and useful framework for lowering resistance to the pain of bereavement for parental grief. Premature termination of treatment is often the result of the client's desire to avoid direct confrontation of feelings associated with the death. Metaphor offers a graphic, non-judgmental symbolic representation through which the mourner may freely express the sorrow, loss, anger, and guilt that is necessary to accomplish the tasks of grieving. A neutral symbol can help facilitate normalization and universalization of grief responses.
Sex, Religion, and Risk-Taking Behavior as Correlates of Death Anxiety
Authors: Mc Donald Gerald W.
Published: May 2005

The research investigates death anxiety and risk-taking behavior as personality dimensions. It is hypothesized that the greater the risk-taking behavior an individual will exhibit, the lower his death anxiety. Sex and religious affiliation, i.e., Mormon vs. non-Mormon, are investigated regarding levels of death anxiety in an attempt to clarify existing contradictory research findings. The only significant relationship found was that females have higher levels of death anxiety than males. Lack of support for the major hypothesis (r = .15) is explained by the argument that personality constellations, if they exist, hold a minimal role in the attitudes of the individuals, with greater emphasis placed on interpersonal and situational variables.
The Postictal Psychosis of Epilepsy: Investigation in Two Patients
Authors: Mendez Mario F. , Grau Rosario
Published: May 2005

Patients with epilepsy have a higher incidence of psychosis. Epilepsy-related psychotic behaviors include a chronic interictal schizophreniform illness, an “alternating psychosis” which remits with seizure activity, and ictal or peri-ictal psychotic behaviors. In addition, there is an uncommon and less understood psychosis characterized by brief psychotic episodes during the postictal period. This report describes two patients with postictal psychosis and correlates their behavior with the pattern of seizures, electroencephalographic discharges, and anticonvulsant and psychotropic medications. The findings suggest that postictal psychosis results from increased epileptiform activity and continued cerebral dysrhythmia, has a latency in onset and is not due to the immediate postictal delirium, and reflects an exacerbation of underlying psychopathological tendencies. This report further discusses the potential pathophysiological mechanisms and management of this disorder.
Teaching Science Citation Index for a Library Orientation
Authors: Pritchard Eileen
Published: May 2005

A quick, effective method of teaching students how to use Science Citation Index is described. This method was developed for students in a university with emphasis in science and applied science, but could be adapted for the social sciences. A copy of the diagram illustrating two ways in which to use Science Citation Index is included; plus an exercise with directions and blanks to fill in during the class period. This exercise may be used outside the classroom also.
Suicide among Native Americans: A Compilation of Findings
Authors: McIntosh John L. , Santos John F.
Published: May 2005

Suicide among Native Americans has received much attention in the recent literature. These reports have primarily focused upon single, specific tribal groups. While the suicide rate for Indians as a whole is equal to or greater than that for the nation, undue emphasis upon those tribes having especially high suicide rates has created the general impression that all Indian groups have high rates. The wide variations that exist among the tribes are sometimes noted but often they are overlooked or ignored. The results of the available studies of suicide among the various Indian tribal groups are presented here along with some implications for further research.
Commentary: Living with the Software Engineer
Authors: Keogh Timothy
Published: May 2005

Whether they know it or not, software engineers have a great deal of power over the language we use. They may create new words, such as byte or debug, which in a remarkably short time can become commonly used far beyond their original context. The new words are accepted quickly and even eagerly as the proliferation of microcomputers and the software to run them advance so rapidly. Yet there is still a great deal of confusion and frustration among readers of software manuals about just what those manuals are trying to say. Part of the problem is that each technical field has its own jargon that any novice must learn. But in the case of software manuals, there is the additional problem of familiar words being used in unfamiliar ways. This article describes the ambiguity created for the reader when familiar words, such as function or folding, are used in the context of the software manual with new, specialized meanings.
Measurement of Aging Anxiety: Development of the Anxiety about Aging Scale
Authors: Lasher Kathleen P. , Faulkender Patricia J.
Published: May 2005

This research is based on the premise that aging anxiety is an important mediating factor in attitudes and behavior toward elderly individuals as well as a mediating factor in adjustment to one's own aging processes. The combined concern and anticipation of losses centered around the aging process constitute aging anxiety. This article proposes a multidimensional aging anxiety model, develops a measurement of this model, and assesses the factorial validity of the model. The original eighty-four item Anxiety about Aging Scale (AAS) was developed to assess four dimensions of aging and three types of fears. A principal components analysis of data collected from 312 adult volunteers revealed the presence of four interpretable factors: 1) Fear of Old People, 2) Psychological Concerns, 3) Physical Appearance, and 4) Fear of Loss. Items were eliminated to strengthen this factor structure and resulted in the retention of twenty items. Men were significantly more anxious about aging than were women on the AAS. Correlates of the four factors and implications for further research are discussed.
The Feasibility of Word Processing for Students with Writing Handicaps
Authors: Geoffrion Leo D.
Published: May 2005

Ten hearing-impaired teenagers used a word processor based on the UCSD PASCAL system in order to test the feasibility of word processing for students with poor writing skills. The word processor can provide a highly motivating environment for students to revise and develop manuscripts. Preliminary investigation showed that the students had little difficulty in learning to operate the computer, but limited their revision mainly to correcting grammatical errors in their first drafts.
An Exploration of Learning Ability Transition and Material Information
Authors: Hwang Wu-Yuin , Shiu Rong-Luen , Wu Shing-Ling , Li Chia-Chin
Published: May 2005

The asynchronous learning system is one of the great tools that have broken through the limits of time and space to make learning available to all people in the future. In order to provide adaptive learning material and environment, it is important for an asynchronous learning system to take the degree of difficulty in the teaching materials and learner's characteristics into account. Thus, this article will investigate the related characteristics of asynchronous material and propose a material characteristics model. This model investigates the relationship among the difficulty degree of material, students' interests, and their abilities. Furthermore, we will investigate the material information to comprehend thoroughly the suitability of the teaching materials to the learner. The material information is based on promoting learning ability. From the above results, an asynchronous learning system could provide adaptive material that is suitable for students with different learning abilities. Students could be counseled on reaching the anticipated learning goal using our model. The ability after learning could be calculated from the model to help the testing system to choose test items quickly and adaptively and make the asynchronous learning system more effective and complete.
An Economist's Brief Guide to the Recent Debate on the Canadian Health Care System
Authors: Chernomas Robert , Sepehri Ardeshir
Published: May 2005

The purported advantages of the Canadian system of health insurance over the U.S. health care system have recently been questioned by a number of economists. These criticisms have in turn engendered a response by other economists who believe that the evidence supports the cost and coverage advantages of the Canadian system. The authors provide an overview of this recent debate.
A Tobacco and Alcohol Use Profile of San Francisco's Chinese Community
Authors: Thridandam Maya , Fong Wendy , Jang Michael , Louie Lyman , Forst Martin
Published: May 2005

Relatively little is known about Asian American tobacco and alcohol use patterns. This is particularly true of Chinese living in the United States—either U.S.-born or non-U.S.-born Chinese. This article presents data from a research project studying tobacco and alcohol use patterns in San Francisco's Chinese community. Data were secured both from focus groups and a self-report telephone survey of a random sample of 1,808 Chinese residents in San Francisco. This results indicate that the prevalence of both tobacco and alcohol use is lower for San Francisco's Chinese population than for the general population. Moreover, those persons who report smoking tend to be different from those who report consuming alcohol. The study concludes that specific, culturally relevant tobacco and alcohol prevention programs should be designed to better reach this target population.
Breaking the Wall of Silence: Aids Policy and Politics in Nigeria
Authors: Alubo Ogoh
Published: May 2005

AIDS was first diagnosed in Nigeria in 1986. By that time, the government had enough information from experiences in other African countries to goad it into quickly establishing a control program. Nigeria's National AIDS Control program, however, fell victim to years of military arbitrariness and uncertainty. It was underfunded and had three directors in as many years. This arbitrariness and general lukewarm response from government occurred despite rapid increases in seroprevalence rates. Available data indicate a national prevalence of 5.4 percent and rates as high as 30 percent among some “high-risk” groups; as many as 10 to 15 persons with full-blown AIDS are admitted weekly in some tertiary facilities. Experiences in communities show an already heavy and growing burden. The nonchalance of past military regimes is gradually being reversed with Nigeria's return to civil rule in May 1999. Perhaps because of the fragmented statistics and the government's seeming conspiracy of silence, Nigeria is not included in the count of African countries with high HIV/AIDS prevalence. The author suggests that the new democratic government needs to go beyond professed commitment to demonstrable action to halt the spread and address social and other impacts of the epidemic.
Psychopharmacology in Patients with Hepatic and Gastrointestinal Disease
Authors: Leipzig Rosanne M.
Published: May 2005

Psychotropic drugs often need to be prescribed to patients who also have pre-existing gastrointestinal (GI) and/or hepatic disease. This paper addresses the effect of GI and hepatic disease on the pharmacokinetics of psychotropic drugs, the effect of psychotropic drugs on pre-existing GI and hepatic diseases, the adverse GI and hepatic effects of psychotropic medications, the effects of GI medications on mental status, and the potential drug interactions between commonly prescribed GI medications and psychotropic drugs. Drug selection and dosage modification based on these considerations should allow safe and effective psychotropic treatment for patients with pre-existing GI and/or hepatic disease.
Cognitive Impact of the Media: Implications for a Pluralistic Society
Authors: Greenfield Patricia
Published: May 2005

The theme of this article is that television (TV) has a democratizing influence in our pluralistic society. The source of this influence is that groups who are disadvantaged in terms of print media and print-oriented schooling are advantaged in terms of access to and attitudes toward TV. Research results indicate that, by and large, various class and ethnic groups are equal in their ability to learn from TV – whose power as a teaching tool is discussed in relation to transmission of school-oriented concepts like letters and numbers, story content, and beliefs about society. The potential value of TV in the schools – not to replace print, but to enhance it – is also discussed.
Bondage in Women's Clothing as Reflected in Television
Authors: Lennon Sharron J.
Published: May 2005

Changes in a society are often mirrored in changes in the decorative arts. This research was designed to investigate change in women's clothing fashions (elements of bondage) and its relationship to changing sex roles. Since television is thought to be reflective of the culture in which it exists, the clothing fashions used in this analysis came from three situation comedy series. Results indicate that as sex roles changed from traditional to nontraditional women's clothing in the sitcoms came to exhibit fewer elements of bondage.
Changes in Substance Use during Times of Stress: College Students the Week before Exams
Authors: Noel Nora E. , Cohen Dale J.
Published: May 2005

A situational factor that is commonly thought to influence substance use is stress. The tension reduction theory posits that alcohol relieves stress-reactions and that most people drink alcohol in stressful situations in order to relieve stress-reactions. We conducted a naturalistic study in which we surveyed seventy-three college students' alcohol and drug use, behaviors, and emotions during a typical week and the week before final exams. As expected our subjects experienced an increase in aversive emotions during the week before exams. The simple tension reduction hypothesis predicts that these subjects' alcohol use should have increased during this time. Our data showed the opposite: subjects' alcohol use decreased during the week before exams. We hypothesized that this was due to the availability of effective alternatives for reducing anxiety. Implications for prevention were discussed.
Occurrence and Vividness of Imagery in Schizophrenic Thought: A Thought-Sampling Approach
Authors: Starker Steven , Jolin Annette
Published: May 2005

This study attempted to measure imaginal processes in schizophrenics by sampling their ongoing stream of consciousness. The primary issue examined was the occurrence and vividness of auditory and visual imagery in the thought samples of Feighner criterion schizophrenic versus nonschizophrenic patients. Thought samples were validated against the Imaginal Processes Inventory; medication effects were monitored. All comparisons revealed a lack of significant association between diagnosis and thought sample variables, supporting earlier studies using questionnaire techniques. Schizophrenia did not appear to have a profound effect upon imagery. Greater occurrence of auditory imagery was observed among schizophrenic patients who hallucinate versus those who do not hallucinate, but there was no evidence to suggest that such auditory imagery was typically experienced as particularly vivid. Some possible predisposing factors to hallucination are discussed.
The Pathophysiology of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Confirmations, Contradictions, and Conjectures
Authors: Manu Peter , Lane Thomas J. , Matthews Dale A.
Published: May 2005

Objective:

To examine published data regarding patient cohorts with the recently defined chronic fatigue syndrome.

Method:

Review of thirty-two peer-assessed research publications that included full disclosure of the methodology employed; classification of the findings as confirmed, contradictory, or non-duplicated.

Results:

Research studies have confirmed that the majority of patients with the chronic fatigue syndrome: 1) are white middle-aged women, 2) have a high prevalence of current major depression and somatization disorder, 3) have abnormal personality traits, 4) believe that their fatigue has a physical cause, and 5) show mild abnormalities of humoral immunity. Contradictory data have been presented with regard to: 1) the time of onset of depressive disorders, 2) the etiologic role of herpetic and enteroviral infections, 3) the presence of abnormal cellular immunity, and 4) the clinical utility of immunoglobulin therapy. Non-duplicated research has indicated 1) hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysfunction, 2) abnormalities on magnetic resonance images of the brain, 3) altered cytokine production, and 4) the possibility of retroviral infection.

Conclusions:

As presently defined, the chronic fatigue syndrome has many of the clinical and biological features associated with depressive and somatoform disorders. A specific etiologic role for infections or immune dysfunction has not been confirmed.
Some Remarks on the Economic and Political Development of Health Care in the Federal Republic of Germany
Authors: Deppe Hans-Ulrich
Published: May 2005

The economic and political development of health care in the Federal Republic of Germany is analyzed within the framework of overall social development. This will be shown describing the main components of the health care system: outpatient care, inpatient care, the dispensing of medicines, and statutory health insurance. The functions of the state and the influence of the pressure groups, i.e. the medical professional associations, are examined. Finally, an assessment of the present situation is made.
Quoth the Raven: Bereavement and the Paranormal
Authors: Berger Arthur S.
Published: May 2005

The bereaved often have paranormal experiences: they feel the presence of or see the dead. This article examines the relevance to bereavement of the experiences and of the belief in a life after death. Many professional counselors dismiss the experiences as hallucinatory and the belief as a mark of superstition. This article, however, presents surveys of paranormal experiences and data from physical research that can be used to validate the experiences and belief and to help the bereaved restructure their lives.
Belief in Heaven and Hell among Christians in the United States: Denominational Differences and Clinical Implications
Authors: Exline Julie Juola
Published: May 2005

In situations involving impending death or bereavement, afterlife beliefs may become salient. Although prior studies have examined afterlife beliefs, little attention has been devoted to the specific constructs of Heaven and Hell. Using data from United States Christians in the 1998 General Social Survey, the current analysis revealed that the majority believed in both Heaven and Hell. Fundamentalist Protestants reported greater belief in Heaven and Hell than Catholics, Mainline Protestants, or Liberal Protestants. Regardless of denomination, greater religious participation was associated with greater belief in an afterlife, Heaven, and Hell. Clinical implications are discussed. For example, whereas thoughts of Heaven should comfort those facing death, the possibility of Hell could intensify distress around the loss. When practitioners work with individuals facing death—either the client's own impending death or the death of another person—it may be helpful to carefully assess the client's specific beliefs about the afterlife.
Initial Findings from Parent Party Patrol: An Intervention to Reduce Adolescent Substance Use through Reduced Involvement in Unchaperoned Parties
Authors: Srebnik Debra S. , Kovalchick Dana , Elliott Linda
Published: May 2005

This article presents preliminary evaluation findings from Parent Party Patrol (PPP). PPP is a two-hour single-session intervention that provides information to parents about ways to increase monitoring and improve communication and family guidelines regarding substance use, with the goal of reducing adolescent involvement in unsupervised activities and associated substance use. Seventy-three attendees from 15 PPP sessions completed baseline and three- to six-month follow-up information. At follow-up, participants showed significantly increased awareness of adolescent substance use and unchaperoned activities, improved communication and use of family guidelines regarding substance use, and increased monitoring of their children's activities. A significant reduction in adolescent attendance at unchaperoned parties was also reported. Replication of the study with a larger, more representative sample and controlled design is suggested. As adolescent substance use is a multidetermined problem, PPP may be best viewed as one part of a broader comprehensive substance abuse prevention program.
Overdramatization of the Burdens on Health and Social Services: A Continuing Debate in the History of German Medicine
Authors: Schmacke Norbert
Published: May 2005

Departing from the latest academic research into Nazi medicine in Germany, the author looks at theoretical and ideological concepts in German history that left their mark on the formation of race hygiene. He argues that the overdramatization of the economic burden caused by the special requirements of the chronically ill and handicapped runs through all epochs of modern medical history and that this culturally pessimistic way of looking at a serious social problem in Germany reveals a frightening tradition which reached its crudest climax in the so-called T4 operation of the Nazis. The author makes a plea for this dark chapter of German medical history to be carefully analyzed and for the results of this research to be used in the current discussion on the further development of the health system, particularly in regard to patients who require special care.
Communication for the Software Consultant
Authors: Stacy G. T.
Published: May 2005

A hypothetical situation introduces the reader to the software consultant, an independent businessman who writes computer programs for others and who is a professional communicator. With the customer and a systems analyst to assist the customer, the consultant engages in a communication process which is the core of his business. Each of the three parties has different goals and abilities which affect the design and development of the computer programs. By the use of a simple communication model, a typical software development project is reviewed. Communication is seen as a composite for the project, with the process at each stage forming part of the whole. The paper is descriptive in nature, leaving development of a prescriptive model for the software consultant to future investigation.
Imagined Interaction Conflict-Linkage Theory: Explaining the Persistence and Resolution of Interpersonal Conflict in Everyday Life
Authors: Honeycutt James M.
Published: May 2005

Conflict is a pervasive feature of human existence. There are anger management courses and popular books giving advice on dealing with unruly people. Imagined interaction (II) conflict-linkage theory explains how conflict persists in interpersonal communication through mental imagery and imagined interactions. Imagined interactions are covert dialogues that people have in which they relive prior conversations while anticipating new encounters. Conflict is kept alive in the human mind through recalling prior arguments while anticipating what may be said at future meetings. II conflict-linkage theory provides an explanatory mechanism for why conflict is enduring, maintained, may be constructive or destructive, and can erupt anytime in interpersonal relationships. The theory explains features of face-to-face conflict through understanding how people manage conflict during actual interaction by looking at how they think between such interactions. In order to understand conflict, cognitions about interaction episodes are examined in terms of the messages that people imagine communicating to others as well as those they recall from prior encounters. The theory contains three axioms and nine theorems that explain how interpersonal conflict endures and is managed. This report reviews the support for the theorems.
Democratizing Occupational Health: The Scandinavian Experience of Work Reform
Authors: Gustavsen Björn
Published: May 2005

Concepts such as alienation, dissatisfaction, and stress have been in use for several decades to indicate a major field of problems in working life, pertaining to the psychosocial aspects of work. In spite of the fairly broad recognition of the problems, it has proved difficult to create an effective strategy for work reform. The purpose of this article is to indicate some reasons for this difficulty and to attempt to deal with psychosocial issues that emerged as part of the Scandinavian work environment reforms of the 1970s. Although these reforms were only partly successful, they verified the point that efforts should not be limited to the semi-private sphere of the individual enterprise only, but must encompass legislation and other general parameters that arise from larger societal processes. The legislation, however, cannot be of the conventional kind. While it is necessary to bring the regulatory parameters of society to bear on such issues as the organization of work, innovations within the field of legislation are also needed.
Reactions toward the Dying: The Effects of a Patient's Illness and Respondents' Beliefs in a Just World
Authors: Sherman Martin F. , Smith Robert J. , Cooper Robin
Published: May 2005

An experiment was conducted to investigate respondents' feelings about and willingness to volunteer to help (by telephoning or visiting) a dying cancer patient versus a patient with cancer in remission or one portrayed as having a broken leg. Another purpose of the study was to explore the effects of an individual's belief in a just world on his feelings and behaviors toward the dying. As expected, respondents exhibited less positive affect toward the cancer patient than toward patients in the other conditions. Over all conditions, the more attractive the patient was perceived to be, and the less physical pain the patient was perceived to be experiencing, the more positive the respondents' affect was. The assumption derived from Lerner's Just World Theory suggesting that high believers on the just world scale would be likely to exhibit less positive affect and greater avoidance toward the dying than low believers was not supported.
Faculty Development as a Communications Medium
Authors: Rush Peter D. , Schlack Marilyn , Rice David , Mc Williams Mickey , Sagar Alfred
Published: May 2005

This article describes a faculty development exercise implemented at Kalamazoo Valley Community College in 1975. If one makes the supposition that one output of faculty development is increased intracollege communication among various groups of employees, then the exercise was a remarkable success. We believe that the “show and tell” attitude could be used profitably in business and industry as well. The authors and implementors of this particular communications exercise would like to hear from others who emulate this model or a similar one. We did not gather sufficient feedback to make any generalizations about the long-term impact of such an exercise. We would be pleased to respond to questions about the exercise.
The Medium and the Message: Interactive Television and Distance Education Programs for Adult Learners
Authors: Garland Virginia E. , Loranger Ann
Published: May 2005

Distance education programs are expanding to meet the needs of a growing population of adult learners. The interactive television (ITV) classroom, a relatively recent technological innovation made possible with compressed digital video (CDV) transmission, has been found to be an effective teaching tool with mature students. A review of the literature suggests that ITV, although in its infancy, has the potential to overcome the pedagogical difficulties inherent in more traditional distance education technology based on audio alone. The results of a recent study conducted in graduate education courses by the authors at the University of New Hampshire indicate that adult students have generally positive attitudes toward their ITV classes. Essential to the success of distance education programs which use ITV is the training of both professors and students who will be involved in this emerging technology.
Maternal Influences on Preventive Health Behavior in Children
Authors: Fosu Gabriel B.
Published: May 2005

The aim of the Child Survival Revolution, of which the Expanded Programs on Immunization is a part, is to immunize all children against six preventable diseases. Considerable progress has been made. However, high dropout rates, and the lack of participation by the target groups still continue to present problems for the success of the program. This article examines data on a sample survey of 1,000 households undertaken in three areas of Accra in 1982. The critical factors which determine mother-initiated preventive health behavior for their children are identified. The implications for preventive health behavior in Ghana, and in other developing countries, are examined.
Symposium on an Objective-Based Resource Retrieval System
Authors: Garmise Robert S. , Powers John R.
Published: May 2005

The primary objective of any objective-based resource retrieval system is to provide users with a rapid, cost/effective means of retrieving resources suited to the needs of the learners. This is accomplished by Battelle's BETSY system through the use of a computerized retrieval system designed specifically for educators to facilitate learning.

BETSY began as an idea during the summer of 1973. Its roots can be vaguely traced to the Computer Based Resource Units (CBRU) of Buffalo, New York. The original premise was to make CBRU available on-line to educators. Through an ESEA Title III grant to the Mentor, Ohio Board of Education, this original concept was stretched and expanded to the present system that not only provides on-line access to over 15,000,000 characters of data, but also provides a very low cost planning instrument. What was originally student oriented is now learner oriented. That learner can still be a student, but he can also be a teacher or curriculum designer.
Sterilization of Workers from Pesticide Exposure: The Causes and Consequences of DBCP-Induced Damage in Costa Rica and beyond
Authors: Thrupp Lori Ann
Published: May 2005

Public health hazards from the use of agricultural pesticides have received increasing attention in developing as well as industrial nations. This article examines a remarkable case of massive sterilization of approximately 1,500 workers in Costa Rica, due to exposure to a toxic nematicide called DBCP (1, 2-dibromo-3-chloropropane), applied in large commercial banana plantations. Although the product was used during the 1970s, sterile victims have continued to be diagnosed through the 1980s. The effects include psychological trauma as well as permanent infertility. The case has international repercussions because several hundred workers have filed law suits against the U.S.-based transnational DBCP manufacturers, and because DBCP use was continued during the 1980s in other developing nations. The author analyzes the causes behind this serious impairment. It is argued that the contributing factors include not only biomedical processes and technical dimensions (i.e., how DBCP was used), but most importantly, political-economic factors that explain how and why DBCP was used despite the severe hazard. The crucial determinants pertain to the dominance of short-term profit motives, and the control over information and technology by the manufacturers (who concealed early toxicological research evidence of the reproductive hazards) and by the managers of the banana producer-companies. This case well illustrates problems and injustices from labor exploitation and resource extraction from transnational agro-industries. The article concludes with a brief summary of policy implications from the case.
Immunization Campaigns and Political Agendas: Retrospective from Ecuador and El Salvador
Authors: Gloyd Stephen , Torres Jose Suarez , Mercer Mary Anne
Published: May 2005

Since the mid-1980s international donors have promoted vertical, campaign-based strategies to help improve immunization coverage in poor countries. National immunization days (NIDs) are currently in vogue and are prominent in the worldwide polio eradication efforts. In spite of their widespread use, campaigns that include NIDs have not been well evaluated for their effects on coverage, reduction in vaccine-preventable diseases, or effects on the health system. An assessment of the results of two such campaigns implemented in Ecuador and El Salvador shows limited impact on short-term coverage and questionable effects on long-term coverage and disease incidence. Although NIDs may have substantial short-term political benefits, the vertical approach can undermine provision of routine services by ministries of health and may be counterproductive in the long-term.
Beyond Liaison: A Future Role for Psychiatry in Medicine
Authors: Fogel Barry S. , Goldberg Richard J.
Published: May 2005

Integrated biopsychosocial treatment is necessary for medical patients in whom psychosocial and behavioral issues strongly influence medical outcome. In this article the authors identify several large groups of such patients, and point out the limitations of three established approaches to improving their care: psychosocial education for non-psychiatrists, traditional consultation-liaison psychiatry, and ‘behavioral medicine.’ They present reasons why many of these patients would best be served by having psychiatrists as their primary physicians. Primary care of selected medical patients by psychiatrists is feasible and would improve patient care, interspecialty communication, reimbursement, and recruitment of psychiatric residents.
Improving Primary School Teachers' Ability to Promote Visual Health in Ibadan, Nigeria
Authors: Ajuwon Ademola J. , Oladepo Oladimeji O. , Sati Bartholomew , Otoide Patrick
Published: May 2005

Primary schools in developing countries, even in urban centers, lack general school health personnel as well as eye-care professionals. In this situation pupils' visual acuity problems may often go undetected, setting the stage for poor performance in school and later in life. Students and staff of the African Regional Health Education Centre in Ibadan, Nigeria worked with primary school teachers in one traditional poor inner-core community of Ibadan to identify their willingness to undertake visual acuity (VA) screening training and their knowledge about eye care and VA. Nineteen teachers participated in a fifteen-hour in-service training course based on their stated needs. After training they were able to preform VA screening and also showed significant knowledge gains about eye care. A six-month follow-up visit found that 322 pupils had been screened, of whom forty-two had visual acuity problems. Parents of half of these pupils followed through with recommended referrals, and teachers assisted all with problems to find more appropriate classroom seating arrangements. This pilot project shows that teachers can become effective primary care workers, but that continuing education programs must be organized by school authorities to prevent deterioration in knowledge and interest in school health.
The Effect of Microprocessing on Analysis and Effective Communication of Intelligence
Authors: Eller Ben F. , Baker Truman D. , Wishon Phil
Published: May 2005

A number of software programs axe commercially available for evaluating data of various intelligence tests. However, a review of available programs indicates a notable lack of software which includes prescriptive and recommendation capabilities based on evaluation data. The current article defines a technique and illustrates a sample micro-computer program which allows user to both evaluate the WISC-R and choose recommendations to fit individual needs of client.
A Test of Effectiveness of Courseware in a College Biology Class
Authors: More Daniel , Ralph Charles L.
Published: May 2005

At Colorado State University we designed an experiment wherein approximately half of a class of 184 students in a semester, first-year biology class was placed in a traditional hands-on, experiential laboratory for two hours per week and the other half was placed in a facility with Macintosh computers to view courseware for the same time period. Computer-presented tutorial and simulation of biology laboratory concepts proved to be as good as or better than traditional approaches in increasing student academic performance. The courseware-using group performed better ( p < 0.05) than the traditional laboratory group in overall lecture examination scores, when the pretest scores of the two groups were factored in. Curiously, attitudes in regard to the use of the courseware showed a striking negative trend in this experiment.
What Design for a Presidential Library? Complexity, Typicality, Order, and Historical Significance
Authors: Nasar Jack L.
Published: May 2005

Research shows that preference for scenes rest more in the character of the scene than in the observers. What features fit the design of a presidential library, such as the one under consideration by former president Clinton? The present study used six color photographs that represented various styles of architecture for institutional buildings such as a library or museum. The study used the photos to gather two kinds of data. For the independent variables, one sample of eight observers rated each building on four features: goodness of example, order, complexity, and historical significance. For the dependent variable, interviewers had a cluster sample of 130 respondents in central Ohio evaluate each building. The interviewers asked them to pick the building they liked the most for a presidential or senatorial library, the building they liked the least for that purpose, to report the reasons for the choices, and to rate each building on five 7-point evaluative scales. The analysis confirmed that importance of building over respondents features in the evaluations; and it showed that participants preferred designs with moderate levels of complexity and order, and moderate to high goodness of example. Open ended responses also indicated a preference for historic significance and symbols of popular over high style.
Religious Trajectories and Transitions Over the Life Course
Authors: Ingersoll-Dayton Berit , Krause Neal , Morgan David
Published: May 2005

This study examined patterns of change and stability in religiosity over the life course. Open-ended interviews with 129 adults aged 65 and older provided a rich source of data for applying a life course perspective to the study of religion. Two theoretical constructs from the life course perspective (i.e., trajectories and transitions) were used as a framework for understanding religion and aging. The interviews were content analyzed to identify: 1) dimensions of religiosity that exhibit change; 2) patterns of religious trajectories; and 3) social forces that promote changes in religiosity. These analyses revealed four distinct patterns: stable, increasing, decreasing, and curvilinear trajectories. Several forces were involved with either increasing religiosity (e.g., child rearing, adverse life experiences) or decreasing religiosity (e.g., disillusionment with church members, adverse life experiences). Directions for future research are discussed.
The Shift from Home to Institutional Childbirth: A Comparative Study of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands
Authors: Torres Alberto , Reich Michael R.
Published: May 2005

The British system of childbirth with a very low rate of home childbirth is compared to that in The Netherlands, a country with a relatively high percentage of home deliveries. The analysis explores three possible explanations: the structure of the health professions in both countries, the structure of their health systems, and the use of scientific information in guiding policy decisions on birth place. Differences in the professional status and training programs of midwives between The Netherlands and the United Kingdom affected the distribution of home versus institutional deliveries in the two countries. Reimbursement schemes in The Netherlands have been important in maintaining a high percentage of births at home in this country. In the United Kingdom centralized planning and the influence of medical thinking played major roles in accelerating the shift from home to hospital deliveries in the National Health Service.
Narcissism and the Self as Continuum: Correlations with Assertiveness and Hypercompetitiveness
Authors: Watson P. J. , Morris Ronald J. , Miller Liv
Published: May 2005

In a sample of 596 undergraduates, the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) and its factors were correlated with self-esteem, assertiveness, and hypercompetitiveness. In zero-order data, assertiveness, narcissism, and hypercompetitiveness all displayed direct intercorrelations. Partial correlations controlling for self-esteem and for the NPI factors uncovered more specific linkages of assertiveness with self-esteem and healthier narcissism and of hypercompetitiveness with maladjusted narcissism. These outcomes conformed with recent suggestions that conscious representations of the self can be arranged along a continuum defined by healthy self-esteem at one extreme and by maladjusted narcissism at the other.
Developing a Technical Writing Theory and Pedagogy Course in an English Department
Authors: Alred Gerald J.
Published: May 2005

As technical writing programs grow, English departments may alleviate the problems of the unprepared instructor by offering technical writing theory and pedagogy courses. Such courses should combine theory and pedagogy with assignments that are practical and introduce graduate students to the theoretical issues in the field. This article provides a syllabus and the reactions of students who completed such a course.