bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Can Family Socioeconomic Resources Account for Racial and Ethnic Test Score Gaps?
Authors: Duncan Greg J , Magnuson Katherine A
Published: January 2007

This article considers whether the disparate socioeconomic circumstances of families in which white, black, and Hispanic children grow up account for the racial and ethnic gaps in school readiness among American preschoolers. It first reviews why family socioeconomic resources might matter for children's school readiness. The authors concentrate on four key components of parent socioeconomic status that are particularly relevant for children's well-being—income, education, family structure, and neighborhood conditions. They survey a range of relevant policies and programs that might help to close socioeconomic gaps, for example, by increasing family incomes or maternal educational attainment, strengthening families, and improving poor neighborhoods.

Their survey of links between socioeconomic resources and test score gaps indicates that resource differences account for about half of the standard deviation—about 8 points on a test with a standard deviation of 15—of the differences. Yet, the policy implications of this are far from clear. They note that although policies are designed to improve aspects of "socioeconomic status" (for example, income, education, family structure), no policy improves "socioeconomic status" directly. Second, they caution that good policy is based on an understanding of causal relationships between family background and children outcomes, as well as cost-effectiveness.

They conclude that boosting the family incomes of preschool children may be a promising intervention to reduce racial and ethnic school readiness gaps. However, given the lack of successful large-scale interventions, the authors suggest giving only a modest role to programs that address parents' socioeconomic resources. They suggest that policies that directly target children may be the most efficient way to narrow school readiness gaps.
Sticky Realism: Armchair Hermeneutics in Late James
Authors: Coulson Victoria
Published: January 2007

Through an exploration of the Jamesian grammar of furniture and how it reflects on the characteristic features of James's late texts, this article problematizes the reading of James that posits a chronologically progressive dematerialization in his aesthetic practice. The "details" of the Jamesian world symptomatize an increasing, and increasingly specific, imbrication of subject and object, idea and thing, in James's late-nineteenth-century apotheosis of realist representation.
Ricordo, Gift, Golden Bowl
Authors: Warren Jonathan
Published: January 2007

In Henry James's The Golden Bowl, the precluded hunt for the titular gift subverts Prince Amerigo's fantasy of a break with the past by allegorizing its critical liveliness even, or especially, in present efforts to make it nothing, to obscure its records, and to deny its eruptive traces. James plays with the value of "nothing," associating it with Amerigo's dreamt-of liberation from the burden of denying past contingencies and making it a lively allusion to the Prince and Charlotte's forestalled romance. The unbought, fissured bowl figures the impossible realization of the promise of "nothing" in all its competing resistances to sense.
Henry James among the Poets
Authors: Horne Philip
Published: January 2007

The essay considers James's relation to poetry and to the poetic tradition in various aspects: the sense in which James sees himself as a poet; his personal acquaintance with numerous poets, including Rossetti, Swinburne, Arnold, Browning and Tennyson; and the significance for him of works by poets like Whitman and Emily Bront�. It characterizes his under-recognised practices of poetic allusion to, for instance, poems by Wordsworth, Gray, Tennyson, and Macbeth. James's sensitivity to poetic language and awareness of the canon of poetry make it rewarding, even necessary, for his reader to remember the place of poetry in his imagination.
The Figure in the Carpet of "Honeysuckle Cottage": P. G. Wodehouse and Henry James
Authors: Wernsman Marijane R. Davis
Published: January 2007

A short story by P.G. Wodehouse reveals many clues to his admiration for Henry James. This unlikely pair of authors had parallel careers and many friends in common, although there is no evidence that the two met. "Honeysuckle Cottage," though the subject of very little criticism by Wodehouse scholars, was thought by Wodehouse to be his funniest story. One of the literary jokes played in the short story is the use of James's "The Turn of the Screw" as a literary reference; another is the use of several of James's character names and situations.
"A Strange Opposition": The Portrait of a Lady and the Divorce Debates
Authors: Ganz Melissa J
Published: January 2007

Scholars have examinied James's depiction of matrimonial misery in The Portrait of a Lady, but they have generally overlooked the novel's treatment of divorce. In this essay, I read the novel in the context of the divorce debates that raged in America in the 1860s and '70s, examining James's ambivalent feelings about the permanence of the conjugal bond. At the same time that the novel insists upon the sanctity of marriage, it highlights the costs of remaining in a miserable union and it reaches toward a remedy for Isabel. At many moments the novel imagines the possiblity—indeed, desirability—of dissolving the marriage tie. Although the novel ultimately backs away fromt eh idea that Isabel leave Osmond, it articulates some of hte central arguments in favor of liberal divorce. In close examination of both sides of the divorce debates, Portrait occupies an important place in the tradition of American divorce fiction.
Bayle and the Case for Actual Parts
Authors: Holden Thomas Anand
Published: January 2007

Pierre Bayle is the most forthright and systematic early modern proponent of the actual parts doctrine, the period's counterpart to the 'doctrine of arbitrary undetached parts' familiar from current analytic mereology and metaphysics. In this paper I introduce both the actual parts account of the internal structure of matter and the rival system of potential parts. I then identify Bayle as the leading advocate of the actual parts doctrine and examine his arguments for this account.
Boyle, Classification and the Workmanship of the Understanding Thesis
Authors: Jones Jan-Erik
Published: January 2007

The current consensus in Locke scholarship is that Robert Boyle anticipated Locke's thesis that classification into species is the arbitrary work of the understanding. In fact, according to Michael Ayers, inter alia, not only did Boyle and Locke both think that classification is the workmanship of the understanding but that this thesis follows directly from the mechanical hypothesis itself. In this paper I argue that this reading of Boyle is mistaken: Locke's thesis on classification was not anticipated by Boyle. I will do this by showing that Boyle's account of classification is not Locke's, but is a more realist view of natural species employing a mechanically respectable account of natural forms.
Prejudices and Horizons: G. F. Meier's Vernunftlehre and its Relation to Kant
Authors: Pozzo Riccardo
Published: January 2007

The object of G. F. Meier's Vernunftlehre and its abridgement for courses, the Auszug aus der Vernunftlehre , does not consist exclusively in the elaboration of the formal aspects of logic, but rather in the individuation of the elements of thought and language, which make human understanding possible. Instead of limiting himself to formal truth, Meier investigates the realms of epistemic, aesthetic, and historic truths, of horizons, and prejudices. Kant used both Meier's Vernunftlehre and its Auszug for about forty years in his logic-lectures. Kant's Logik , and also his Kritik der reinen Vernunft , were thus strongly influenced by Meier.
Leibniz on Final Causes
Authors: Carlin Laurence
Published: January 2007

In this paper, I investigate Leibniz's conception of final causation. I focus especially on the role that Leibnizian final causes play in intentional action, and I argue that for Leibniz, final causes are a species of efficient causation. It is the intentional nature of final causation that distinguishes it from mechanical efficient causation. I conclude by highlighting some of the implications of Leibniz's conception of final causation for his views on human freedom, and on the unconscious activity of substances.
Russell's Reasons for Logicism
Authors: Proops Ian
Published: January 2007

What is at stake philosophically for Russell in espousing logicism? Peter Hylton has argued that Russell has a narrowly metaphysical motive for defending logicism. He maintains that for Russell in the early years of the twentieth century "logicism was the basis for a complex argument against idealism, of both the Kantian and the non-Kantian varieties." In particular, Russell was interested in refuting certain Idealist views on the nature of truth, by showing that mathematics could be true in an unqualified sense. By contrast, I argue that the purposes for which Russell intends to use logicism are chiefly epistemological and mathematical in nature, and that the refutation of post-Kantian idealism is not among them. Russell uses logicism to give an account of the character of mathematics and of mathematical knowledge that is compatible with what he takes to be the uncontroversial status of this science as true, certain and exact. The unqualified truth of mathematics is a starting point for Russell, not a destination.
The Foundations of Freedom in Later Medieval Philosophy: Giles of Rome and his Contemporaries
Authors: Eardley P. S
Published: January 2007

This article explores the philosophical and theological context in which later medieval debates surrounding the foundations of freedom emerged. In particular, the article establishes that Aquinas's famous pupil Giles of Rome (1243/47-1316) was less indebted to St. Thomas himself on the question of human freedom than has commonly been supposed. Rather, his teachings on the will and human freedom owe more to such Franciscan thinkers as John of la Rochelle and Walter of Bruges. This interpretation challenges the received view, which goes back to Henry of Ghent, and continues to be prominent in the contemporary literature.
Spinoza's Account of Akrasia
Authors: Lin Martin
Published: January 2007

Perhaps the central problem which preoccupies Spinoza as a moral philosopher is the conflict between reason and passion. He belongs to a long tradition that sees the key to happiness and virtue as mastery and control by reason over the passions. This mastery, however, is hard won, as the passions often overwhelm its power and subvert its rule. When reason succumbs to passion, we act against our better judgment. Such action is often termed 'akratic'. Many commentators have complained that the psychological principles that Spinoza appeals to in his account of akrasia are mere ad hoc modifications to his philosophical psychology. I show, on the contrary, that these principles follow from some of the most important and interesting aspects of Spinoza's philosophy of mind.
Do Medical Out-of-Pocket Expenses Thrust Families into Poverty?
Authors: O'Hara Brett
Published: January 2007

This paper estimates the impact of medical out-of-pocket expenses on families' well-being using the Survey of Income and Program Participation. Medical out-of-pocket expenses include the out-of-pocket costs from medical services and the family's share of health insurance premiums. Demographic characteristics, insurance status, and medical usage of the family are analyzed to determine which characteristics are most likely to impoverish a family. Families impoverished because of medical out-of-pocket expenses are far more likely to have older heads of the family, at least one family member in poor health, or some adults without health insurance. Families without at least one person who worked full time for the entire year were also likely to be impoverished. However, children in the family had little effect on the probability that the family became impoverished. This odd result is probably due to the high correlation between parental health insurance coverage and the health insurance coverage of their children.
Influenza Vaccination by Race among Disabled Community Dwelling Older Women
Authors: Frick Kevin , Scanlon Dennis P , Bandeen-Roche Karen , Kasper Judith , Simonsick Eleanor M , Sullivan Erin M
Published: January 2007

Disabled older adults have been shown to be at risk for underutilization of some preventive services relative to able-bodied individuals. The Women's Health and Aging Study surveyed female Medicare enrollees in Baltimore, Maryland, who were among the most disabled community-dwelling women at the start of the study. Longitudinal survey data from the study were used to test for the existence or emergence of racial variation in influenza vaccination rates, for which racial variation has been shown in the general population. The primary analysis, using data on the same women before and after Medicare flu shot coverage began, suggested that influenza vaccination rates increased after Medicare coverage began and that there was no difference by race. A secondary analysis using data on women who were interviewed only after Medicare flu shot coverage began showed some racial variation, although the difference may have been larger prior to coverage. The utilization rate did not approach the Healthy People 2010 target.
Access to Hepatitis B Vaccination among Korean American Children in Immigrant Families
Authors: Kim Young O. Rhee
Published: January 2007

This study examined social determinants affecting successful completion of the hepatitis B vaccination protocol among Korean American children in immigrant families. The effects of family characteristics, social support from support network, barriers to immunizations, and health beliefs concerning hepatitis B vaccination were examined using logistic regression analysis. Information support concerning parenting and child health (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.55, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.11-7.02) and perception that hepatitis B was a difficult disease from which to recover (aOR 2.11, 95% CI 1.20-3.72) appear to be the most important factors for vaccination compliance after adjusting for family income, mother's education level, and health insurance coverage. The burden of paying for immunizations (aOR 0.50, 95% CI 0.22-0.90) also had an impact on the vaccination status. These findings suggest that identifying the children at risk of undervaccination against hepatitis B may be aided by focusing on these social determinants in addition to provider and sociodemographic characteristics.
Promoting Accountability: Hospital Charity Care in California, Washington and Texas
Authors: Sutton Janet P , Stensland Jeffrey
Published: January 2007

Debate as to whether private hospitals meet their charitable obligations is heated. This study examines how alternative state approaches for ensuring hospital accountability to the community affects charitable expenditures and potentially affects access to care for the uninsured. Descriptive and multivariate analyses were used to compare private California hospitals' charity care expenditures with those of hospitals in Texas and Washington state. The key finding from this study is that net of hospital characteristics, market characteristics and community need, Texas hospitals were estimated to provide over 3 times more charity care and Washington hospitals were estimated to provide 66% more charity care than California hospitals. This finding suggests that more prescriptive community benefit or charity care requirements may be necessary to ensure that private hospitals assume a larger role in the care of the uninsured.
Health Risk and Promotion Behaviors in Refugee Populations
Authors: Barnes Donelle M , Harrison Cara , Heneghan Richard
Published: January 2007

Refugees resettling in the U.S. are generally low-income and underserved by health promotion interventions. To begin to address refugee health promotion issues, this study describes health behaviors of newly arrived (less than 90 days) adult refugees in the U.S. The methods used were retrospective description of clients from one refugee health screening program. The sample consisted of adult refugees (n=591), men and women, from Cuba, Bosnia, Vietnam, Kosovo, Iran, Iraq, and other countries. Rates of overweight were highest among Bosnians and lowest among Vietnamese. Cubans reported the most physical activity and Kosovars the least. Rates of smoking were highest among Bosnians and lowest among Cubans. Older refugees were more overweight and reported less physical activity and more smoking than younger adults. In some cases, different refugee groups have similar health promotion needs, while in others needs differ. This baseline descriptive data supports calls for further health promotion research and interventions in refugee populations.
Perinatal Health Service Use by Women Released from Jail
Authors: Bell Janice Fabian , Zimmerman Frederick J , Huebner Colleen E , Cawthon Mary Lawrence , Ward Deborah H , Schroeder Carole A
Published: January 2007

Few studies have examined health care access for the growing population of pregnant women who cycle in and out of urban jails. The present study compared use of Medicaid-funded perinatal services for births to women who were in jail during pregnancy and births to women who had been in jail, but not while pregnant. Jail contact during pregnancy increased the likelihood women would receive prenatal care (odds ratio [OR] = 5.95; 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.18-16.23) and maternity support services (OR = 1.80; 95% CI 1.12-2.88), but was associated with fewer total prenatal and support visits. Jail contact during a previous pregnancy was associated with fewer prenatal care visits, more support service visits, and longer time receiving case management. Jail settings can become a place of coordination between public health and criminal justice professionals to ensure that pregnant women receive essential services following release. Service coordination may increase women's engagement in health services during future pregnancies, with or without subsequent incarceration.
Mammography Rescreening Among Women of Diverse Ethnicities: Patient, Provider, and Health Care System Factors
Authors: Otero-Sabogal Regina , Owens Desi , Canchola Jesse , Golding Jacqueline M , Tabnak Farzaneh , Fox Patrick
Published: January 2007

This study identified patient, provider, and health care system factors that influenced mammography rescreening among non-insured, racial/ethnic minority women. Data were collected using a stratified-clustered random sample survey of 1,050 women of five racial/ethnic groups (Latina, Chinese, Filipina, African American, and Caucasian) and 102 primary care clinical sites. Women received screening services through two no-cost screening programs in California. Chi-square tests were used to assess bivariate associations and multiple logistic regressions were used to compute adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. Mammography rescreening was associated with living in the United States longer; having higher education levels, better health care access, a history of breast problems, and favorable perceptions of mammography; obtaining regular Pap screening and hormone replacement therapy; having had better communication with clinicians; and attending clinics that conducted in-reach activities. This study suggests that simply removing financial barriers is not enough to improve mammography rescreening among underserved women.
Attitudes and Beliefs Among Mexican Americans About Type 2 Diabetes
Authors: Coronado Gloria D , Thompson Beti , Tejeda Silvia , Godina Ruby
Published: January 2007

Hispanics in the United States have a disproportionately high risk for non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (type 2 diabetes) compared with non-Hispanic whites. Little is known of the attitudes and beliefs about diabetes in this group. Using data from six focus groups of 42 Mexican Americans (14 men and 28 women), we characterized perceptions about the causes of and treatments for type 2 diabetes. Many participants believed diabetes is caused by having a family history of the disease, eating a diet high in fat or sugar, and engaging in minimal exercise. Experiencing strong emotions such as fright (susto), intense anger (coraje), or sadness and depression (tristeza) was also thought to precipitate diabetes. Nearly all participants expressed the belief that it is important to follow doctors' recommendations for diet and exercise, oral medication or insulin; many also cited herbal therapies, such as prickly pear cactus (nopal) and aloe vera (savila) as effective treatments. These findings may be useful in designing interventions to reduce the burden of diabetes in Hispanic populations.
Building an Academic-Community Partnership for Increasing Representation of Minorities in the Health Professions
Authors: Erwin Katherine , Blumenthal Daniel S , Chapel Thomas , Richardson Liana , Allwood L. Vernon
Published: January 2007

We evaluated collaboration among academic and community partners in a program to recruit African American youth into the health professions. Six institutions of higher education, an urban school system, two community organizations, and two private enterprises became partners to create a health career pipeline for this population. The pipeline consisted of 14 subprograms designed to enrich academic science curricula, stimulate the interest of students in health careers, and facilitate entry into professional schools and other graduate-level educational programs. Subprogram directors completed questionnaires regarding a sense of common mission/vision and coordination/collaboration three times during the 3-year project.
The partners strongly shared a common mission and vision throughout the duration of the program, although there was some weakening in the last phase. Subprogram directors initially viewed coordination/collaboration as weak, but by midway through the project period viewed it as stronger. Feared loss of autonomy was foremost among several factors that threatened collaboration among the partners. Collaboration was improved largely through a process of building trust among the partners.
Characteristics of Patients at Three Free Clinics
Authors: Mott Keis Rachel , Gifford DeGeus Linda , Cashman Suzanne B , Savageau Judith
Published: January 2007

This study examined factors associated with the use of three free clinics located in Central Massachusetts. A total of 248 patients completed a questionnaire during the 2-month study period. Descriptive results showed a majority of free clinic patients are low-income, uninsured, and female. Many patients (62%) do not have a usual source of care, nor do they know where to go if the clinic is not open (61%). Most (82%) report using free clinics because they lack insurance. Patients who had been using the free clinics longer than 1 year are more likely to use the clinic because of inadequate insurance (p = 0.002) and as a way to obtain prescription drugs (p < 0.001). Although they serve an important need, free clinics cannot provide comprehensive, continuous care. Efforts to provide health care to the medically underserved must take these findings into consideration if they are to be successful.
Inadequate Access to Care Among Children With Asthma From Spanish-Speaking Families
Authors: Brotanek Jane M , Halterman Jill , Auinger Peggy , Weitzman Michael, MD
Published: January 2007

Despite substantial asthma prevalence and morbidity, children from Spanish-speaking families are at high risk of inadequate maintenance therapy. The reasons for this remain unclear. The objective of this study was to compare patterns of asthma morbidity and access to care of children with asthma from Spanish-speaking and English-speaking families.Cross-sectional data from a nationally representative sample of children with asthma 2-17 years of age were analyzed from the 1999 National Health Interview Survey, conducted in both English and Spanish, with the preferred language identified at the time of the interview.Among the 1,228 children with asthma (physician-diagnosed asthma by parent report), 66 (3%) were from Spanish-speaking families and 1,162 (97%) were from English-speaking families. In a logistic regression model adjusting for gender, insurance, poverty (above or below the federal poverty level, based on reported family income and the U.S. Poverty Threshold produced annually by the Census Bureau), and race/ethnicity, children with asthma from Spanish-speaking families were one-third less likely to have a usual health care provider (odds ratio [OR] 0.31, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.1-0.8) than children with asthma from English-speaking families. Latino ethnicity was not independently associated with diminished continuity of care. These data indicate that children with asthma from Spanish-speaking families are less likely to experience continuity of health care than their counterparts from English-speaking families. Differences in continuity of care may contribute to inadequate asthma maintenance therapy among these children.
Affirmative Action Policy in Medical School Admissions
Authors: Frazer Ricardo A
Published: January 2007

Legal challenges to affirmative action are growing, a trend suggesting that a proactive stance is needed to maintain a policy that still has viability, legitimacy, and utility. Medical schools admissions offices in the United States emphasize the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT), even though many studies have found that grade point averages are better single predictors of future academic achievement, regardless of the student's socioeconomic or racial category. The current essay suggests there is an overreliance on the MCAT in medical school admissions. Medical colleges should encourage the development of additional applicant selection criteria, while continuing to use affirmative action programs, in part to address the need for increased community-oriented health care.
A Socioeconomic Profile of Older Adults With HIV
Authors: Joyce Geoffrey , Goldman Dana P. (Dana Paul) , Leibowitz Arleen A , Alpert Abby , Bao Yuhua
Published: January 2007

The objective of this study was to assess the socioeconomic circumstances of older patients with HIV and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The investigators compared subjects from a national probability sample of 2,864 respondents from the HIV Cost and Services Utilization Study (HCSUS, 1996) with 9,810 subjects from Wave 1 (1992) of the Health and Retirement Survey (HRS). Bivariate analyses compare demographic characteristics, financial resources, and health insurance status between older and younger adults and between older adults with HIV and the general population. It was found that nearly 10% of the HIV-positive population is between the ages of 50 and 61 years. Older whites with HIV are mostly homosexual men who are more well educated, more often privately insured, and more financially stable than the HIV population as a whole. In contrast, older minorities with HIV possess few economic resources in either absolute or relative terms. The success of new drug therapies and the changing demographics of the HIV population necessitate innovative policies that promote labor force participation and continuous access to antiretroviral therapies.
Housing Outcomes for Hospitalized Homeless Veterans
Authors: Greenberg Greg A , Hoblyn Jennifer , Seibyl Catherine , Rosenheck Robert
Published: January 2007

This study examines housing status at the time of hospital discharge in a national sample of 3,502 veterans who were homeless at admission to a Veterans Health Administration (VHA) medical center. A supplemental survey on homelessness was added to the annual VHA inpatient census over a 4-year period (1995 through 1998). Data from this survey were used to identify homeless veterans hospitalized on the final day of the fiscal year and to document their housing status at discharge. A signal detection technique, Receiver Operating Characteristic analysis, was used to identify predictors of housing status at discharge. At discharge, only 13% of the veterans in our analytic sample were literally homeless, 40% were doubled up, and 33% were transferred to another an institution; only 13% were living independently. Housing status at admission (specifically, staying with friends or family temporarily rather than literally homeless), treatment in a psychiatric or substance abuse program rather than a medical program, and a greater income level or access to VHA benefits were found to be associated with better housing outcomes. As one might expect, homelessness was infrequently resolved during an acute inpatient hospitalization, but few veterans returned to literal homelessness at the time of discharge.
Implementing ADHD Guidelines in Primary Care: Does One Size Fit All?
Authors: Leslie Laurel K , Stallone Kimberly A , Weckerly Jill , McDaniel Amy L , Monn Amy
Published: January 2007

To determine if the American Academy of Pediatrics Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) guidelines require tailoring for different settings, the researchers used a mixed-method research design to review an ADHD quality improvement effort in community clinics and private offices in San Diego County. Clinically, no differences were noted in rates of ADHD in the two settings. Children in community clinics (58.3%) were more likely to report public insurance (p<.001), diverse ethnic backgrounds (p=.003), low household incomes (p<.001), single parent households (p=.009), and to screen positive for Oppositional Defiant Disorder/Conduct Disorder (p=.027). They were also more likely to have experienced socio-environmental stressors (p<.001) including foster care, homelessness, parental drug use, and domestic violence. No differences were noted by treatment received at 12 months post-evaluation by office type. Open-ended interviews with clinicians confirmed these findings and revealed a need for tailoring of implementation strategies to more closely fit the needs of children and families cared for in public sector settings.
Understanding the Success of Promotoras in Increasing Chronic Diseases Screening
Authors: Reinschmidt Kerstin M , Hunter Jennifer B , Fernandez M. Lourdes , Lacy-Martinez Charles R , Guernsey de Zapien Jill , Meister Joel
Published: January 2007

The purpose of this qualitative study was to elicit information on why a promotora (or, community health worker (CHW)) increased adherence to chronic disease screening among women along the U.S.-Mexico border. After completion of the intervention, women and clinic staff who participated in the promotora phase of a randomized, controlled study answered structured, open-ended questionnaires. Clinicians from two non-participating clinics were also interviewed. Content analysis found that the promotora's roles included health education and the facilitation of routine and follow-up care. Clients appreciated the promotora's socio-cultural characteristics, as well as her personal skills and qualities, and described her as a trained, natural helper whose personalized support removed barriers to health care and helped women to take care of themselves. Most clinicians recommended working with a CHW to increase adherence to chronic disease prevention practices. A CHW can play a crucial role on a health care team and interventions should tap into this resource.
Male Hispanic Immigrants Talk about Family Planning
Authors: Sable Marjorie R , Campbell James D. (James Davis) , Schwarz Lisa R , Brandt Julie , Dannerbeck Anne
Published: January 2007

In order to improve delivery of family planning services by better understanding the views of people affected, researchers conducted four focus groups among Hispanic men who recently migrated to a Midwestern community. Participants expressed opinions about, attitudes towards, and knowledge of such matters as family planning, birth control information and access, the influence of religion on family planning and birth control decisions, general familial relations, the prevalence of infidelity, use of and access to the health care system, and cultural differences between the U.S. and their countries of origin. The men voiced opinions and attitudes supportive of family planning and appeared knowledgeable about various methods of birth control. Understanding the attitudes held by immigrant men is important for health care providers in designing successful service interventions for this rapidly growing segment of the population.
Provider Recognition of Psychosocial Problems in Low-Income Latino Children
Authors: Tarshis Thomas P , Jutte Douglas P , Huffman Lynne C
Published: January 2007

The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of identification of psychosocial problems in Latino children by primary care providers (PCPs). This was a cross-sectional study of 269 low-socioeconomic status (SES), Latino children, ages 2–16 years, seen at a community clinic for well-child care. Primary care providers completed a World Health Organization checklist, which organized provider assessment of child psychosocial problems. Clinicians identified one or more psychosocial problems in 39.8% of children. Clinicians recognized only 20% of children with clinically significant aggression symptoms, 18% of children with clinically significant attention/hyperactivity symptoms, and none (0%) of the children with clinically significant anxiety/depression symptoms with clinical data from parent-completed child-behavior checklists used as the benchmark. Despite high rates of identification of psychosocial problems in a low-SES, Latino population, PCPs still miss symptoms of mental health difficulties, especially anxiety and depression. Since symptoms of anxiety and depression are likely to be more pronounced in Latino populations, there is a continued need for improvement in detection of mental health concerns among these children.
The Role of Faith-Based Institutions in Addressing Health Disparities: A Case Study of an Initiative in the Southwest Bronx
Authors: Kaplan Sue A , Calman Neil S , Golub Maxine , Ruddock Charmaine , Billings John
Published: January 2007

Although many public health initiatives have been implemented through collaborations with faith-based institutions, little is known about best practices for developing such programs. Using a community-based participatory approach, this case study examines the implementation of an initiative in the Bronx, New York, that is designed to educate community members about health promotion and disease management and to mobilize church members to seek equal access to health care services. The study used qualitative methods, including the collaborative development of a logic model for the initiative, focus groups, interviews, analysis of program reports, and participant observation. The paper examines three key aspects of the initiative's implementation: (1) the engagement of the church leadership; (2) the use of church structures as venues for education and intervention; and (3) changes in church policies. Key findings include the importance of pre-existing relationships within the community and the prominent agenda-setting role played by key pastors, and the strength of the Coalition's dual focus on health behaviors and health disparities. Given the churches' demonstrated ability to pull people together, to motivate and to inspire, there is great potential for faith-based interventions, and models developed through such interventions, to address health disparities.
Community-Based Participatory Research Increases Cervical Cancer Screening among Vietnamese-Americans
Authors: Nguyen Tung T , McPhee Stephen J , Bui-Tong Ngoc , Luong Thien-Nhien , Ha-Iaconis Tuyet , Nguyen Thoa , Wong Ching , Lai Ky Q , Lam Hy
Published: January 2007

Using community-based participatory research methods, a community-research coalition in Santa Clara County, California (SCC) conducted a quasi-experimental, controlled trial to increase Pap test receipt and to build community capacity among Vietnamese-American women. From 1999 to 2004, the Coalition planned and implemented an Action Plan with six components: multimedia campaign, lay health worker outreach, Vietnamese Pap clinic with patient navigation, registry and reminder system, continuing medical education for Vietnamese physicians, and restoring a Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program site. Components were evaluated individually. Community-wide, cross-sectional telephone surveys of Vietnamese women in SCC (intervention community) and Harris County, Texas (comparison community) measured overall project impact. Receipt and currency of Pap tests increased significantly in the intervention compared with the comparison community. Community involvement, system changes, community and research capacity building, dissemination of results, and program sustainability were also demonstrated. Community-based participatory research is feasible and effective in Vietnamese-American communities.
Sustaining a Safety Net Breast and Cervical Cancer Detection Program
Authors: Shapiro Linda Diamond , Thompson Donna , Calhoun Elizabeth
Published: January 2007

For the past six years, the Chicago-area faith-based Reach Out Consortium has mobilized low-income uninsured and underinsured African American women and Latinas to seek screening for breast and cervical cancer. The funding history for this program illustrates how funds for a small community-based program were leveraged into a broader program, and that grew to serve low-income women across the state. Further, as the program reached more and more uninsured women, community activism led to a further state investment in services for the uninsured. Program sustainability and expansion depended on a combination of public and private competitive grants and grassroots advocacy.
Diabetes-Specific Emotional Distress among African Americans and Hispanics with Type 2 Diabetes
Authors: Spencer Michael S , Kieffer Edith C , Sinco Brandy R , Palmisano Gloria , Guzman J. Ricardo , James Sherman A , Graddy-Dansby Gwendolyn , Two Feathers Jacqueline , Heisler Michele
Published: January 2007

This study examines baseline levels and correlates of diabetes-related emotional distress among inner-city African Americans and Hispanics with type 2 diabetes. The Problem Areas in Diabetes (PAID) scale, which measures diabetes-related emotional distress, was administered to 180 African American and Hispanic adults participating in the REACH Detroit Partnership. We examined bivariate and multivariate associations between emotional distress and biological, psychosocial, and quality of health care variables for African Americans and Hispanics. Scores were significantly higher among Hispanics than African Americans. Demographic factors were stronger predictors of emotional distress for Hispanics than for African Americans. Daily hassles, physician support, and perceived seriousness and understanding of diabetes were significant for African Americans. Understanding the personal, family and community context of living with diabetes and conducting interventions that provide support and coping strategies for self-management have important implications for reducing health disparities among disadvantaged racial and ethnic groups.
Defending Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Practical Issues Faced by an International Human Rights Organization
Authors: Roth Kenneth
Published: January 2007

International organizations like Human Rights Watch are legitimately
urged to pay more attention to economic, social and cultural rights. But
practical prescriptions are often simplistic—typically involving only
the rhetorical invocation of these rights. The strength of organizations
like Human Rights Watch is not their rhetorical voice but their shaming
methodology—their ability to investigate misconduct and expose it to
public opprobrium. That methodology is most effective when there is
relative clarity about violation, violator, and remedy. That clarity
is best achieved when misconduct can be portrayed as arbitrary or
discriminatory rather than a matter of purely distributive justice.
Used, Abused, Arrested and Deported: Extending Immigration Benefits to Protect the Victims of Trafficking and to Secure the Prosecution of Traffickers
Authors: Haynes Dina Francesca
Published: January 2007

Organized crime rings exploit 700,000 to 4 million new victims of human trafficking each year, typically luring them across borders where they are more vulnerable to abuse. Trafficking in Southeastern Europe is a relatively new phenomenon, fueled by the dissolution of the former Soviet Union, as well as the presence of international peacekeepers who have sometimes exacerbated the problem. The two main anti-trafficking models emphasize the prosecution of the trafficker or the protection of the victim, but neither adequately addresses immigration options that could serve to protect the victim and provide better evidence with which to prosecute the traffickers for their crimes.
Human Rights and Sexual Abuse: The Impact of International Human Rights Law on Japan
Authors: Iida Keisuke
Published: January 2007

This article examines three major recent human rights issues in Japan relating to sexual behavior, and the measures taken to remedy them. It finds that although international human rights law and norms played a major role in each of these episodes, the influence of international law has been uneven. To explain this variation, the article focuses on the domestic balance of power in Japan and identifies three significant factors: (1) shared common interests between pro-human rights constituencies and their political opponents; (2) consensual decisionmaking; and (3) transnational coalition-building through international conferences.
Gendered States: Rethinking Culture as a Site of South Asian Human Rights Work
Authors: Visweswaran Kamala
Published: January 2007

This article explores recent critiques in feminist theory to examine how gender-based asylum cases and human rights reporting on South Asia rely upon the most static and patriarchal understandings of culture to establish a basis for intervention or advocacy. It argues that while cultural practices indeed reflect upon women's status, for gender-based asylum cases the emphasis may be more effectively placed upon a particular political system's denial of women's rights, or upon the interface between culture and the political system, rather than upon "culture" itself.
An Emerging Universality of Justiciable Victims' Rights in the Criminal Process to Curtail Impunity for State-Sponsored Crimes
Authors: Aldana-Pindell Raquel
Published: January 2007

This article examines the development of international victim norms that could promote reform in the domestic administration of criminal justice to curtail impunity for state-sponsored crimes. Despite the proliferation of these norms, the author acknowledges that the implementation of greater victim standing to combat impunity also raises a host of concerns and challenges, largely unaddressed by these emerging norms. Thus, the article also identifies some of these implementation challenges and makes some preliminary observations about the types of questions and potential solutions that merit further study and increased attention by international organs and experts interested in promoting the effective implementation of these victim norms.
Rehumanizing the Other: Empathy and Reconciliation
Authors: Halpern Jodi , Weinstein Harvey M
Published: January 2007

The health effects of intra-ethnic conflict include hatred and fear among neighbors and friends who have become enemies. The dehumanization of specific groups through concomitant stereotyping does not stop when conflicts end. The inability to see former enemies as real people impedes reconciliation. While much attention has been paid to the reconstruction of infrastructure and the establishment of rule of law, little thought has been given to what is required at the day to day level in order to restore a sense of interpersonal security. To reverse the destruction of social and familial networks that normally sustain health and well-being, a process of rehumanization must occur. We suggest that the promotion of empathy is a critical component of reconciliation.
The Political Repression of Women
Authors: Henderson Conway W
Published: January 2007

This paper, as its primary task, makes a case for a new conceptualization of political repression to take into account the experiences of women. The secondary task is to demonstrate that the new conception is operational. After establishing the characteristics of repression that are essentially the ill fate of women, the author coded reports from two sources into numerical data for fifty-seven country cases. Using this preliminary data on women's repression both in correlation and regression analyses, this research tests two counterpoised hypotheses, one claiming women's empowerment leads governments to choose repression and the other is that women's weakness allows repression. The results are promising but represent only a beginning. This study should encourage governments and human rights NGOs to collect more substantial reports on the repression of women.
Are Constitutional State of Emergency Clauses Effective? An Empirical Exploration
Authors: Keith Linda Camp , Poe Steven C
Published: January 2007

We aim to complement the work of legal scholars by investigating the effects of constitutional provisions for states of emergency, on the respect for personal (or physical) integrity rights, in instances in which governments are confronted with domestic crises. Our findings show that such constitutional provisions have an important impact on governments' propensities to abuse such rights. However, these impacts are not always what one might expect, and indeed, our findings suggest that following the recommendations of lawyers groups may actually have a damaging effect on human rights in many instances.
Measuring Human Rights: Principle, Practice and Policy
Authors: Landman Todd
Published: January 2007

This paper demonstrates why human rights measurement is important, how human rights have been measured to date, and how such measures can be improved in the future. Through focusing primarily but not exclusively on the measurement of civil and political rights, the paper argues that human rights can be measured in principle, in practice, and as outcomes of government policy. Such measures include the coding of formal legal documents, events-based, standards-based, and survey-based data, as well as aggregate indicators that serve as indirect measures of rights protection. The paper concludes by stressing the need for continued provision of high quality information at the lowest level of aggregation, sharing information and developing an ethos of replication, and long term investment in data collection efforts.
The African Union, NEPAD, and Human Rights: The Missing Agenda
Authors: Manby Bronwen
Published: January 2007

Can the transformation of the Organization of African Unity into the African Union and the adoption of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) really make a difference for human rights on the African continent? This article sets out the commitments of the new African continental instruments in relation to democracy and the rule of law and concludes that they are useful and important—but also that NEPAD in particular has significant deficiencies. The second half of the article sets out five themes that should receive greater attention if true effort is to be made to address Africa's problems.