bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Temporal Use of Diagnostic Tests of the Colon: Some Results for Fee-for-Service Medicine in Australia
Authors: Doessel Darrel P.
Published: May 2005

In the context of rising health expenditures it is relevant to consider the behavior of those who, in large part, determine what medical procedures are performed on patients. The purpose of this paper is to describe the utilization of diagnostic tests of the colon in Australia. The study is restricted to private medical practitioners operating on a fee-for-service basis. Diagnosis of the gastrointestinal tract is of some interest because the new technology of fiber optic endoscopy has provided an alternative means of diagnosing diseases or conditions. The results presented here indicate rising per capita utilization rates for both the “new” technology and the “old” techniques of barium enema radiology and sigmoidoscopy. There is no evidence of the “new” technology displacing the “old” in terms of per capita use. The data may be consistent with the hypothesis that process innovations in medicine do not displace alternative products: rather they are “added on” to the existing products.
Students' Perceptions of the Ease of Learning from Computers and Interactive Video: An Exploratory Study
Authors: Cennamo Katherine S.
Published: May 2005

Researchers have suggested that learners' preconceptions of media are an influential factor in achievement. This exploratory study investigated preconceptions of the ease of achieving various learning outcomes (psychomotor, affective, verbal, intellectual) using the media of interactive video, computers, television and books. In addition, it examined whether learners' preconceptions varied with frequency of use or changed as they became literate in a new medium. Twenty-nine students completed a questionnaire on three occasions seven weeks apart. Learners perceived it to be easiest to learn from interactive video, followed by television, computers, and books. They perceived it to be easiest to learn verbal information, followed by attitudes, intellectual skills, then psychomotor skills. However, there was a strong interaction between medium and domain of learning outcome. Preconceptions of the ease of learning from computers did not vary significantly by frequency of use, nor during the process of becoming literate in the medium.
The Measurement of Three Lifestyle Values: Resourcefulness, Responsibility and Relationships to others
Authors: Tower Roni Beth , Scarr Sandra
Published: May 2005

A theory proposing three distinct, effective types of family systems [1] guided the definition and operationalization of three lifestyle value constructs. A simple, reliable and valid measure of three aspects of living – resourcefulness, responsibility and relationships to others – was developed. In a first study, 216 graduate students in six fields rated themselves on a list of thirty-six adjectives selected to comprise the three scales. Factor analysis supported the constructs. Scores were independent of gender and bore expected relationships to program affiliation. In a second study, eighty-three adults completed a forced-choice form of the instrument, rating both themselves and their spouses. They also completed the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, and a semi-structured individual interview. Scores from the four measures were entered into a multitrait-multimethod matrix which demonstrated convergent and discriminant validity for the constructs. The usefulness of studying the priorities that people assign to the three aspects of living is explored.
Approaches to Measurement and Definition in the Epidemiology of Behavior Disorders: Ethnic Background and Child Behavior
Authors: Langner Thomas S. , Gersten Joanne C. , Eisenberg Jeanne G.
Published: May 2005

This paper presents methods of approaching mental illness which represent alternatives to the medical model and the current diagnostic system. It also points to new ways of handling such complex independent variables as race and class to more clearly delineate the critical components of those constructs for observed relationships. These approaches are briefly discussed and then exemplified in the context of a study which investigated the types and levels of stress to which children of different ethnicity were exposed and the congruence between impairment levels and stress exposure. Differential behavior patterns by ethnicity were determined, as were the relative roles of class versus ethnicity in children's disturbed behaviors. Measures were developed from questionnaire data collected from 1034 randomly selected Manhattan mothers.

White children were least exposed to social stress, Spanish most exposed to marital-parental stress, and Black most exposed to stressful parental practices. While the estimated impairment rank-order was White, Spanish, and Black, both minority groups of children were significantly higher than Whites but similar to each other in impairment level. Analyses showed strong differences in behavior patterns by ethnicity and indicated that race made a stronger contribution than class to disturbed behaviors.
The Implementation and Evaluation of a Sequential, Structured Approach for Teaching Logowriter to Classroom Teachers
Authors: Walsh Thomas E.
Published: May 2005

The goal of this exploratory study was to implement and evaluate a Logo inservice model that focused on effective principles of staff development and emphasized Logo problem solving using teacher-mediated intervention strategies. The model was designed to facilitate teacher use of Logo in classrooms. Evaluation of the Logo inservice provided positive support for the Logo inservice approach providing organization, structure, and opportunity for individual exploration. Results measuring change in teacher Stages of Concern (SoC) indicated all participants, except one, made significant shifts to higher stages focusing on using Logo with students. Teacher support for Logo implementation was found showing preference in structured instructional teaching balanced with opportunities for discovery-based learning. Results from teacher self report of mastery of LogoWriter knowledge and skills indicated that participants reported mastery of twenty out of twenty-seven objectives. In addition, results of the LogoWriter Basic Comprehension Test validated these self reports. The study found that a structured Logo inservice appears to be a positive step in promoting future use of Logo in the classroom.
Electronic Homework
Authors: Lee Fong-Lok , Heyworth Rex M.
Published: May 2005

Homework, traditionally done with pencil and paper, can be an effective means of helping students to consolidate what they have learned. When students have problems, some fortunate ones may have immediate assistance from their parents, siblings, or others who act as human tutors. However, most of them have to wait until the next day before they can ask for their teachers' help, so while they are doing their homework, they must resort to other means of overcoming any difficulty which, if unresolved, may become sources of later errors [1]. It would be desirable if a personal tutor could be made available to help each student when they encounter homework problems.
The State of Family Planning in Uttar Pradesh, India: A Literature Synthesis
Authors: Khan M. E. , Patel Bella C.
Published: May 2005

A 1993 review of the state of the family welfare program in the State of Uttar Pradesh (UP) India. With 139 million people, UP is larger than all but six countries in the world. This synthesis of previous studies and recent Census and other existing data provides: 1) a socio-economic and demographic profile with emphasis on fertility and mortality; 2) a review of family size and family planning preferences; 3) an evaluation of the performance of the family welfare services in place; and 4) a review of the extent of involvement of NGO's and the organized sector in the family welfare program.
A Rapid Technique for Three-Dimensional Site Mapping
Authors: Whalen Michael E.
Published: May 2005

Archaeological methodology contains a crucial gap between surficial reconnaissance and intensive excavation. Detailed, pre-excavation site testing is frequently essential to estimation of research potential, although our present techniques for carrying out this testing are often not very sophisticated. The usual approach is test pit excavation in an opportunistic, regular, or probabilistic pattern. Test pits, however, are dug slowly and relatively expensively and cannot offer an extensive view of sub-surface deposits unless they are dug in vast numbers. With such problems in mind, the present article proposes and illustrates a rapid, thorough, and inexpensive method for testing and three-dimensional mapping of archaeological deposits. The site used in illustration is from the Southwestern United States, although the approach is widely applicable.
Drugs and Guns among Inner-City High School Students
Authors: Sheley Joseph F.
Published: May 2005

Despite public and governmental concern about the issue, little has occurred in the way of a systematic assessment of the gun-possession profiles of young persons involved in the use and distribution of drugs. This article reports the results of an analysis of survey data collected from male, inner-city high school students. The data pertain to firearms possession and carrying, use of heroin, cocaine, and crack, the sale of drugs, and commission of crimes with weapons. The findings offer no evidence of a progressive, linear relationship between level of drug use and gun possession (including number of guns owned and the routine carrying of guns). However, disregarding level of drug use, when non-users were compared with users, and “heavy” users were compared with those who did not use drugs “heavily,” significant differences in involvement in gun possession did appear. As well, when we separated students who did not sell drugs from those who did, the latter generally exhibited higher involvement in gun possession. Finally, drug sellers who also committed crimes with weapons exceeded drug sellers who did not in involvement in some, but not all, types of gun possession.
Needle and Syringe Cleaning Practices among Injection Drug Users
Authors: Fisher Dennis G. , Harbke Colin R. , Canty John R. , Reynolds Grace L.
Published: May 2005

Bleach-mediated disinfection (BMD) of needles and syringes (NS) has been advocated as a risk-reduction intervention against HIV among injection drug users (IDUs). The effect of needle exchange on the BMD practices of 176 NS-sharing IDUs was evaluated. IDUs were randomly assigned to either 1) Pharmacy Sales Condition, access to NS via legal sales of nonprescription NS; or 2) Needle Exchange Condition, with additional access to NS via an experimental needle exchange program. Repeated measures analysis revealed a main effect of time on BMD, no effect of assignment condition, and no time by assignment interaction. Logistic regression revealed IDUs who traded sex for money or drugs were less likely to practice BMD, and IDUs who reported a reduced number of sex partners were more likely to practice BMD. Future interventions should incorporate behavioral BMD components and address the concerns of those who trade sex for money or drugs.
A Late Sex Reassignment in 5-α Reductase Deficiency: Case Report
Authors: Yücel Basak , Polat Aslihan
Published: May 2005

The syndrome of male pseudohermaphroditism, caused by a deficiency of the enzyme 5-α reductase, results in a selective decrease in dihyrotestosterone. Culture is an important part of the context in which decisions are made on sex assignment of patients with abnormalities of the external genitalia. In Turkey, patients with ambiguious genitalia are diagnosed very late and corrective surgery is usually performed during or after puberty. Here we present a case with 5-α reductase deficiency who was diagnosed at puberty and followed-up for 10 years.
Deconstructing Positive Affect in Later Life: A Differential Functionalist Analysis of Joy and Interest
Authors: Consedine Nathan S. , Magai Carol , King Arlene R.
Published: May 2005

Positive affect, an index of psychological well-being, is a known predictor of functionality and health in later life. Measures typically studied include joy, happiness, and subjective well-being, but less often interest—a positive emotion with functional properties that differ from joy or happiness. Following differential emotions theory, the present study measured trait joy and interest in a population-based sample of 1,118 adults aged 65–86 years. As predicted, trait joy was associated with greater religious participation, while trait interest was associated with greater education. Joy was associated with lower morbidity and stress while interest was not. Interest was, in fact, associated with greater stress. Both emotions were positively associated with social support. We use the pattern of predictors to develop a functionalist conceptualization of these two emotions in later life, concluding that it is worthwhile to treat interest and joy as partially-independent positive affects contributing differentially to human emotionality and later life adaptation.
Migration of Foreign Physicians to the United States: The Perspective of Health Manpower Planning
Authors: Williams Kathleen N. , Lockett Betty A.
Published: May 2005

Effective health manpower planning in the United States, on both the national and state levels, is complicated by the interstate and international movement of health professionals. Migration of foreign medical graduates into the United States, which is one major aspect of this movement, is an extremely complex problem, involving both quantitative and qualitative issues. Background information and available data on immigration, demographic and professional characteristics, and performance of foreign medical graduates are summarized in the paper. Past recommendations and recent trends are discussed. The need for implementation of a coherent set of national policy guidelines is highlighted.
Well-Healed: Inside Lobbying for Health Care Reform, Part I
Authors: Benes Alejandro
Published: May 2005

The Center for Public Integrity conducted a year-long investigation of the decision-making processes of the U.S. government during its work on health care reform. The results suggest that health care reform has become the most heavily lobbied legislative initiative in recent U.S. history. In 1993 and 1994, hundreds of special interests spent over $100 million to influence the outcome of this public policy issue. In Part I, following a summary of the study and an introduction explaining the methodology, the authors provide a brief history of other health care reform efforts attempted in this century and examine the evolution of the Clinton plan, from its inception through the task force process to its release.
Evaluating Ruralnet: Teaching with the Internet
Authors: Koul Ravinder , Wiesenmayer Randall L. , Rubba Peter A.
Published: May 2005

The West Virginia K-12 RuralNet Project has provided training to public school teachers on the use of Internet resources in a manner consistent with the West Virginia State Science Curriculum Framework and the National Science Education Standards. This article presents a summary of quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the RuralNet Project. We validated instruments to assess Level of Use of Internet (LOU) and Personal Internet Teaching Efficacy Beliefs Scale (PITEBS) with inservice teachers who were participants in this Internet based professional development project. The instruments were then used to assess differences among completers and non-completers of summer workshops and different level users of Internet technology. The LOU and PITEBS appear ready to be utilized for future research and evaluation studies.
Obituary Analysis of Early 20th Century Marriage and Family Patterns in Northwest Ohio
Authors: Matcha Duane A.
Published: May 2005

This research is a content analysis of obituary notices gathered over a one-year period of time from a newspaper in a micropolitan area in northwest Ohio. Obituary collection was limited to those aged 65 and over at the time of death and who resided in the region. The purpose of the research is to examine marital and family patterns such as age at marriage, length of marriage, marital status at time of death, and number of surviving children and their offspring. The data indicate that single women had the highest average age at death while those married at time of death were married earlier, generally died at an older age, and had fewer surviving children and grandchildren when compared with women widowed at time of death. Patterns were less consistent among men. However, men widowed at time of death were generally older at time of death when compared with men married at time of death.
The Evolution of a Public Health Policy: Health Care Providers and the Transmission of HIV
Authors: Guttmacher Sally
Published: May 2005

The single known instance of transmission of HIV from a health care provider to a patient raised issues concerning the responsibility of clinicians to their patients, and sparked debate over policies to prevent the spread of HIV in health care facilities. The intensity and politicization of the debate were reflected in revision of the Centers for Disease Control guidelines to control the spread of infection at health care facilities, and in legislation proposed in Congress. The guidelines and proposed legislation provoked responses by public health and medical organizations, several of which considered the measures to be unnecessarily restrictive and too costly in terms of potential benefits. This article describes the events and responses that took place during 1991–1992 after the public was made aware of the case involving transmission from provider to patient. The author examines the situation in the context of public health efforts to control the spread of HIV.
Aspects of Dying in Northwest New Britain
Authors: Counts David R. , Counts Dorothy Ayers
Published: May 2005

Three detailed case studies and more general discussion of aspects of death in northwest New Britain, Papua New Guinea, demonstrate Kaliai concepts of good and bad death. The consequences of both kinds of death for the dying person and for survivors are noted, and we explore why a person might choose a bad death.
Community Thinkers' Tournaments for Coordinating other Community Resources to Complement the Educational Function of Schools
Authors: Allen Layman E.
Published: May 2005

Existing computer, educational, and communications technologies can be combined in the form of a Community Thinkers' Tournament to supplement current educational institutions at the elementary, secondary and post-secondary levels with a powerful learning network that can be made available widely and inexpensively to any persons in the community interested in enhancing their fundamental reasoning skills. Classroom and home components of a Community Thinkers' Tournament are described, involving highly-developed instructional gaming courseware by computer-managed programs using touch-tone and ordinary dial phones as terminals as well as direct teaching by humans. Present efforts are directed at instruction in mathematics, logic, scientific reasoning, and language structure.
Kutiyattam: Marriage of an Ancient Art and the New Technology
Authors: Richmond Farley
Published: May 2005

This presentation traces the development of a multimedia program on Kutiyattam, the Sanskrit theatre of India, perhaps the world's oldest surviving genre of theatre. The program was designed and developed on HyperCard, including QuickTime movies, scanned slides and photographs, and sound. It includes many articles on the subject, as well as a devanagri text and English translation of the Hastalakshanadipika, an ancient Sanskrit manuscript regarded as the source of the gesture language of the actors. The application focuses on stylized gestures which are an essential part of the language of performance, unique patterns of chanting which represent a character's mood and emotions, physical exercises and massage that are used to develop an actor's stamina, discipline, and flexibility, eye exercises and facial expressions which permit performers to convey the deeper meaning of the performance text, and the musical accompaniment which shares an integral place in the performance event. It also identifies some of the notable advantages and disadvantages working with HyperCard.
A Case for Government-Sponsored Health Care Research and Development in the Formulation of Health Policy and an Account of Early Experience of Government-Sponsored Health Care Research in One Jurisdiction
Authors: McEwan E. D.
Published: May 2005

Health care, in the technologic sense an “industry,” lacks an objective information base for rational formulation of health policy and decision making which at present appear mainly to be based on a compound of perceived need, of programs advocated by professional enthusiasts and pressure groups, and of political considerations. The “industry” has so far been protected from the full consequences of its inefficient operation mainly through the simple procedure of permitting escalating uncontrolled costs. Policy and decision making, leading to better deployment of resources, can be improved substantially by government–directed research and development, the first component of which is the launching of a health care research program. The efforts of one government jurisdiction, Ontario, in this direction are described.
The Indefinite “We” (HET “WIJ”-Gevoel/Le “Nous” Indéfini)—Sender and Receiver References in Top-Down Communication: A Text Type-Based Approach
Authors: Dieltjens Sylvain , Heynderickx Priscilla
Published: May 2005

In studies of political communication the use of personal pronouns is often put forward as one of the strategies for influencing sender-receiver relations (e.g., De Fina [1], Haverkate [2], Zupnik [3]). As Rogers and Swales [4] among others have demonstrated, similar techniques can be detected in corporate communication. In this article, the use of French and Dutch personal and possessive pronouns in the first person plural is examined in internal communication documents. The focus is on the link between text types and the use of inclusive, exclusive, or ambiguous we. First the research material is described; then a concise overview of the literary sources is given; finally the results of the research are discussed. It will be demonstrated that managers can exploit personal pronouns strategically and that the use of we is a parameter for identifying text function.
Utilization of Medical Services and Quality of Life among Low-Income Patients with Generalized Anxiety Disorder Attending Primary Care Clinics
Authors: Jones Glenn N. , Ames Steven C. , Jeffries Shawn K. , Scarinci Isabel C. , Brantley Phillip J.
Published: May 2005

Objective:

Anxiety disorders appear to influence morbidity and medical utilization. However, little is known about the relationship between Generalized Anxiety Disorder, quality of life, and medical utilization, especially among low-income patients. The goals of this investigation were to 1) determine if low-income patients with GAD utilize medical services more than patients with other Axis I diagnoses, or no psychopathology, and 2) compare the health-related quality of life of these three groups.

Method:

Participants were randomly recruited from public primary care clinics and administered intake assessments of demographics, stress, and health-related self-report questionnaires. At the end of the first year a structured psychiatric interview was administered ( N = 431). Over the second year, patients ( n = 360) were administered a health-related quality of life measure every three months for four assessments. Medical charts were abstracted to collect information about chronic illnesses and visits to outpatient clinics and the emergency department during the two years.

Results:

Patients were predominantly middle-aged, low-income, uninsured African-American females. In this low-income sample, patients with GAD utilized the emergency department more and reported poorer quality of life than patients with other Axis I disorders and patients without any psychopathology.

Conclusion:

Low-income patients with GAD utilize the emergency department more and report poorer quality of life than patients with other Axis I disorders and patients without any psychopathology. Programs to identify and treat patients with GAD may yield improvements in quality of life, as well as reduce emergency department utilization.
Community HIV Prevention: What Can We Learn from the Perceptions and Experiences of HIV-Positive Women Living in Metropolitan Toronto, Canada?
Authors: Jackson Lois A. , Millson Margaret , Calzavara Liviana , Strathdee Steffanie , Walmsley Sharon , Rachlis Anita , Rowe Cheryl , Wagner Cheryl ,   HIV Women's Study Group
Published: May 2005

Researchers and practitioners have pointed to a number of gender issues that influence women's ability to practice safer sex and protect themselves from HIV. Many of the studies, however, are based on research with HIV-negative women. This qualitative study sought to explore with forty HIV-positive women (for whom prevention was not effective) the types of issues that they believe need to be addressed to ensure effective prevention for other women. Participants also were asked to discuss the impact of HIV on their sexual lives as a means of exploring the types of issues that are needed to ensure effective secondary prevention efforts. Many of the women interviewed suggested that not only is there a need to challenge gender inequities as a means of ensuring women's protection against HIV, but that different “accommodation strategies” are necessary in the short-term to ensure women's health. In addition, many of the women pointed to the fact that women's identity—as wife or girlfriend—is often based on the belief that their sexual relationships are “safe” from HIV. The importance of addressing gender identity (rooted in gender inequities) when developing HIV prevention efforts is discussed.
Iris Murdoch: Fantasy Vs. Imagination
Authors: Schneiderman Leo
Published: May 2005

Iris Murdoch is an exponent of the view that fictional narratives are best written by observing other people realistically and as entirely separate from the author's private life, with its memories and desires. Convinced that it is possible for a novelist to be “objective,” she has written over twenty novels, relying on what she terms “imagination,” i.e., attention to the uniqueness of individuals, without subjective distortion dictated by the author's unconscious conflicts or ideological obsessions. The opposite of “imagination,” in Murdoch's view, is “fantasy,” or the exploitation by the novelist of his or her emotional problems, traumatic experiences, and other “solipsistic” influences. In pursuit of her goal of strict realism, Murdoch paradoxically has embraced Plato's view that ultimate reality, the abstract essence of things, exists outside the illusionary world of appearances. Her novels often are intended to illustrate the difficulties involved in arriving at a “true” reading of what transpires in human relationships, and how, in the absence of truth her self-deceived protagonists are debarred from the pursuit of virtue. The significance of Murdoch's approach for understanding the creative process is that she assigns primary roles to attention and cognition on the part of the novelist and is dismissive of the contribution of conative and affective determinants. Her fictional portraits are nevertheless as compassionate as her view of society is satirical, raising questions as to whether Murdoch has been able to maintain her self-imposed psychological distance from her materials, and whether, indeed, any writer can profitably do so.
Fire-Setting Behavior Associated with Klinefelter Syndrome
Authors: Eytan Ariel , Paoloni-Giacobino Ariane , Thorens Gabriel , Eugster Nicole , Graf Isabelle
Published: May 2005

This is a report on a male patient with a previous history of psychotic disorder who was arrested for arson. During the following hospitalization in a psychiatric unit, a genetic syndrome, namely Klinefelter syndrome (47,XXY), was diagnosed. The association between fire-setting behavior and Klinefelter syndrome is reviewed, and the underlying explanatory hypothesis is discussed.
The Use of Alcohol by Miami's Adolescent Public School Students 1992: Peers, Risk-Taking, and Availability as Central Forces
Authors: Yarnold Barbara M.
Published: May 2005

This analysis examines the use of alcohol by 535 adolescents in Dade County Public Schools during 1992. Statistically significant factors which tend to increase the probability of alcohol use by adolescents include: the fact that their friends drink, their awareness of the risks associated with the use of alcohol, and their ease in obtaining alcohol. Hence, the typical adolescent who uses alcohol seems to be a risk-taker, who may enjoy the dangers involved with alcohol use; friends are also users of alcohol. Not significantly related to alcohol use are a number of other variables, including family-related variables (whether adolescents live with their mothers, fathers, or alone; and whether someone in the family has a problem with drugs or alcohol). Similarly, early cigarette smoking did not serve as a gateway to later alcohol use. Religion, gender, race, academic performance, and extracurricular school activities (athletics, music, school clubs, and other activities) were all unrelated to the use of alcohol by adolescents. Although the typical adolescent who consumed alcohol was older (in grades 9 through 12), this was not a significant variable.
What Lies Lurking below the Soil: Beyond the Archaeobotanical View of Flotation Samples
Authors: McWeeney Lucinda
Published: May 2005

The fungi Cenococcum graniforme ( geophilum) produces mycorrhizae associations known as sclerotia. These millimeter size, black ball-like structures which often appeal in archaeobotanical flotation samples have gone unremarked in the archaeological literature, but may provide another indicator for environmental reconstruction.
The Case against Computerized Analysis of Student Writings
Authors: Oliver Lawrence J.
Published: May 2005

Proponents of computerized text-analysis (CTA) systems like Bell Laboratories' Writer's Workbench contend that the computer's analysis of a text's surface features can help students become better writers and editors. Several colleges and universities have already integrated the new technology into their writing programs, and others will consider doing so in the future. Teachers of technical writing, however, ought to investigate carefully the capabilities and limitations of CTA before applying it to the technical writing classroom. Not even the most sophisticated of today's computers can detect the basic grammar and punctuation errors that bedevil student writers. Moreover, the computer's evaluation of a text's readability and style is untrustworthy and lacks a sound theoretical and pedagogical foundation; indeed, the machine's quantitative-based analysis of writing style might do some students more harm than good. Finally, there is no empirical evidence that CTA helps students become better writers.
Affective Impact of Music Vs. Lyrics
Authors: Stratton Valerie N. , Zalanowski Annette H.
Published: May 2005

Three experiments were conducted to examine the relative impact of lyrics vs. music on mood. In Experiment 1, the lyrics, music, or lyrics plus music of a sad song were presented to college students. While the music alone increased positive affect and decreased depression, the lyrics plus music had the opposite effect. In Experiment 2, the sad lyrics plus music also increased depression and decreased positive affect even when performed in an up-beat style. Experiment 3 showed that pairing the melody with the sad lyrics led subjects to rate the melody alone as less pleasant one week later. Lyrics, thus, appear to have greater power to direct mood change than music alone and can imbue a particular melody with affective qualities.
Subjective Age and Health Perceptions of Older Persons: Maintaining the Youthful Bias in Sickness and in Health
Authors: Staats Sara , Heaphey Kate , Miller Deborah , Partlo Christie , Romine Nanette , Stubbs Kathy
Published: May 2005

Self-reports of 250 persons fifty years of age and older confirm the increasing bias toward reporting a more youthful age as one increases in years. Optimistic perceptions of health are also maintained in older persons. Results from two subsets of this sample ( N = 48) further indicate that the youthful and optimistic bias occurs in older persons with poorer and failing health ( N = 23) as well as for persons in stable and good health ( N = 25). Given the importance of self-perceptions in quality of life and in determining survivability, and given the indication that such measures are modifiable, it is suggested that future research be aimed at identifying those self-perceptions of health and age that are most susceptible to intervention.
Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Fellowship in Primary Care
Authors: Steinberg Maurice D. , Cole Steven A. , Saravay Stephen M.
Published: May 2005

Objective:

This article describes the need for and development of an outpatient primary care psychiatry fellowship program.

Method:

The Department of Psychiatry at Hillside Hospital established a primary care fellowship for psychiatrists in 1994, through its consultation-liaison (C-L) service. Staff alliances established by the C-L service with primary care physicians provided the basis for identifying appropriate outpatient practices in the community. Knowledge and skills objectives were adapted from a traditional C-L fellowship to outpatient primary care medicine.

Results:

The selection of a psychologically minded primary care practitioners was crucial. Practitioners used an inclusive model in which fellows would see all patients with them, not just those with mental disorders. Fellows have felt comfortable working in the primary care setting and have been well received by practitioners, staff, and patients. The practitioners were clearly more interested in psychosocial aspects of their patient than were primary care residents.

Conclusions:

The gap in preparing U.S. psychiatrists to function in integrated primary care programs requires establishing a presence in the primary care setting. Skills and relationships from traditional C-L settings can be productively used to accomplish this goal.
Characteristics of Abstinent Substance Abusers Who First Sought Treatment in Adolescence
Authors: Marshall Michael J. , Marshall Shelly , Heer Michael J.
Published: May 2005

A survey was given to 141 male and female substance abusers who had eleven or more months of continuous abstinence and first sought treatment in adolescence in an attempt to add to the limited knowledge of known variables associated with successful adolescent response to clinical and community-based treatment. Results were used to create a composite of successfully abstinent adolescents. Generally, parental alcoholism and most drug use patterns were not related to the number of relapses or length of sobriety. Most of the respondents entered twelve-step programs via treatment. The only two variables that were significantly correlated with the dependent measures of more relapses and less overall sobriety were getting high for the first time at a younger age and polydrug abuse. There were about five times more adoptees represented in this sample than would be statistically expected. Implications for adolescent substance abuse diagnosis and prognosis are discussed.
Family Interactions of Suicide Survivors and Survivors of Non-Suicidal Death
Authors: Nelson Barbara J. , Frantz Thomas T.
Published: May 2005

We studied the effects of the death of a child by suicide ( N = 34) versus non-suicide ( N = 46) on family dynamics of forty-one parents and thirty-nine surviving siblings. Participants were solicited through bereavement groups, flyers, and newspaper advertisements. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire, the Bloom Family Interaction Scale, and a Closeness/Distance questionnaire about four years post death. Results included: 1) disengaged or conflicted families experienced greater distance while cohesive or expressive families reported more closeness; 2) sibling survivors felt closer to their fathers after the death than before and reported more family conflict than did parents; 3) there were no differences between suicide survivors and non-suicide survivors in perceived closeness between family pairs before or after the death.
Primary Care Physician Responses to a Panic Disorder Vignette: Diagnostic Suspicion and Clinical Management
Authors: Aikens James E. , Wagner Lynne I. , Lickerman Alex J. , Chin Marshall H. , Smith Amber
Published: May 2005

Objective:

To study current patterns of panic disorder (PD) recognition and management by primary care physicians (PCPs).

Method:

We administered a vignette describing a female PD patient to 189 PCPs.

Results:

Three-quarters of respondents believed that PD was at least 50 percent probable, and the mean PD likelihood rating was 63 percent. Diagnostic suspicion was significantly higher for PD than for other anxiety disorders, major depressive disorder, and cardiac disorders. Medication was rated as significantly more necessary than medical testing and mental health referral. A benzodiazepine was suggested by 78 percent of respondents, while 35 percent suggested a serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI). Under half rated the patient as requiring medical testing, mostly for hyperthyroidism (70%) and/or cardiovascular disorder (62%), and half felt that the patient required mental health referral.

Conclusions:

The data suggest that most PCPs are able to recognize PD. However, they may be excessively inclined to prescribe benzodiazepines rather than more appropriate medications.
Is Primary Care Physician Supply Correlated with Health Outcomes?
Authors: Vogel Robert L. , Ackermann Richard J.
Published: May 2005

Assessment of the relation between life indicators and health outcomes is a complex problem. The authors' analysis uses descriptive canonical correlation, and their solution suggests that socioeconomic factors play a major role in health outcomes. The supply of primary care physicians has a lesser but still important role: canonical correlation suggests no apparent role in enhancing health outcomes among the elderly but a larger role in improving health among the young. The authors' analysis does support the notion that specialist physician supply has no correlation with a wide range of health outcomes.
Idaliuk Bay Camp, Umnak Island, Alaska Circa 4200 B.P.
Authors: Aigner Jean S.
Published: May 2005

Idaliuk Bay is a small Aleut satellite or “spike” camp on the Bering Sea side of Umnak Island dating to 4,200 B.P. Approximately contemporary with lowest levels at the well-known Aleut village site of Chaluka, and with the upper levels at the mid-Holocene Aleut site of Sandy Beach Bay, use of lithic materials and stylistic preferences suggest closer affinity with Sandy Beach Bay base village. The position of the site in relation to habitats commonly exploited by Aleuts suggests that Idaliuk Bay was used briefly, perhaps on several occasions, possibly by males who were collecting migratory waterfowl and local sea mammals.
The Health Maintenance Organization Strategy: A Corporate Takeover of Health Services Delivery
Authors: Salmon J. Warren
Published: May 2005

This paper presents a political economic framework for viewing the social organization of the delivery of health care services and predicting a qualitatively different institutional configuration involving the health maintenance organization. The principal forces impacting American capitalism today are leading to a fundamental restructuring for increased social efficiency of the entire social welfare sector, including the health services industry. The method to achieve this restructuring involves health policy directed at raising the contribution to the social surplus from the delivery of health care services and eventual corporate domination. The health maintenance organization conceptualization is examined with suggestions as to how the HMO strategy promoted by the state leads to this corporate takeover. The mechanism and extent of the present corporate involvement are examined and implications of health services as a social control mechanism are presented.
The Impact of Death-Related Fears on Attitudes of Nurses in a Hospital Work Setting
Authors: Stoller Eleanor Palo
Published: May 2005

This paper examines the impact of death-related fears on the responses of RNs and LPNs employed in a general hospital to descriptions of work situations involving dying and death. Results were based on analysis of responses to a self-administered questionnaire. Four components of death-related fears were measured using the subscales developed by David Lester. Death-related fears were significant in predicting responses to situations where avoidance was not an effective strategy and where the nurse does not have a specific task to perform. These fears explain only a small portion of the variance for most of the eleven situations examined. It is concluded that the uneasiness nurses report in work situations involving dying and death in the hospital is more than a simple reflection of the nurse's own fears.
The Use of an Advance Directive in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry: A Case Report
Authors: Epstein Steven A. , Martins Eduina , Crowley Margaret A. , Pennanen Marie F.
Published: May 2005

Objective:

The following case report illustrates the use of a psychiatric advance directive in a surgical setting.

Method:

The case of a woman with breast cancer and debilitating pre-operative anxiety is presented. Her anxiety was so severe that it resulted in repeated refusal to have necessary surgery. An advance directive facilitated proceeding with surgery despite her objections in the immediate pre-operative period.

Conclusion:

Consultation-Liaison psychiatrists should consider the use of an advance directive when preoperative anxiety interferes with decision-making capacity.
Mental, Physical and Functional Status in Primary Care Attenders
Authors: Berardi Domenico , Ceroni Giuseppe Berti , Leggieri Giuseppe , Rucci Paola , Üstün Bedirhan , Ferrari Giuseppe
Published: May 2005

Objective:

The purpose of the present study was to analyze the association, in primary care attenders, between psychiatric disorders, medical comorbidity, and impairment in mental and physical function status.

Methods:

The study had a two-stage design. The GHQ-12 was used to screen 1647 patients, and 323 of them were then interviewed using the CIDI-PHC to obtain ICD-10 diagnoses. Severity of mental illness was assessed using the Hamilton scales for anxiety and depression. The DUSOI was used to evaluate the severity of physical illness. The MOS SF-36 was used to assess health related quality of life.

Results:

The estimated prevalence of ICD-10 psychiatric disorders and subthreshold disorders was 12.4 percent and 18 percent respectively. The most common psychiatric disorders were generalized anxiety, major depression, and neurasthenia. The severity of physical illness did not vary across diagnostic status categories. Significant impairment, both in physical and mental functioning was seen in patients suffering from ICD-10 full-fledged and subthreshold disorders. Severity of impairment increased from subthreshold cases to full-fledged cases, and among the latter according to the severity of depressive and anxious symptoms, assessed using Hamilton scales. The most frequent psychiatric disorders were associated with significant worsening in health related quality of life, with relevant differences between psychiatric diagnoses regarding the domains affected. Impairment associated with mental disorders was greater than that associated with physical illness.

Conclusions:

The results of the present study confirm that ICD-10 psychiatric disorders are common in general practice and are associated with relevant impairment in physical and mental functional status. Psychiatric morbidity is not related to severity of physical illness rated by general practitioner.
What Desktop Publishing Can Teach Professional Writing Students about Publishing
Authors: Dobberstein Michael
Published: May 2005

Desktop publishing is a meta-technology that allows professional writing students access to the production phase of publishing—which is crucial to readers' perception of the writer's text, yet is almost never controlled by the writer. Desktop publishing offers the most convenient means of giving students hands-on practice in preparing text for printing and in learning how that preparation affects the visual meaning of documents.
AIDS Control and the Workplace: The Role of Occupational Health Services in South Africa
Authors: London Leslie
Published: May 2005

AIDS interventions typically fail to address the disjuncture between private behaviors and the social determinants of HIV infection. Data from a telephone survey of manufacturing companies and a postal survey of occupational health nurses in the Western Cape, South Africa, were used to explore the possible role of occupational health services in prevention and control of AIDS. The author found limited evidence of worker involvement in AIDS programs, particularly in companies with occupational health professionals. The management of sexually transmitted diseases was incomplete. Mandatory pre-employment testing of workers for HIV was not widespread. Respondents' opinions on priorities for AIDS prevention and control reflected a preoccupation with knowledge transfer. To ensure their effectiveness, workplace AIDS programs must improve worker participation and integrate AIDS prevention in general workplace health and safety programs. In addition, education programs must develop objectives within a critical theoretical understanding of the behavioral issues relevant to AIDS prevention, and must emphasize the empowerment of women in the workplace. In the context of the present restructuring of health services in South Africa, occupational health services, using the strategies outlined, can make a major contribution to national AIDS prevention and control.
Trajectories Of Aging: Imagined Pathways In Later Life
Authors: Furstenberg Anne-Linda
Published: May 2005

The model of aging that people construct influences interpretations of and responses to actual situations when they occur, as well as preparatory actions that people take. Thus the question of what people foresee for themselves and the process by which they construct and revise this subjective aging trajectory has implications for such issues as health behavior, retirement planning, migration and residential moves, and advance directives, as well as for overall well-being in old age. This exploratory, hypothesis-generating study found that informants referred frequently to the course of aging and the events they envisioned in their own futures. The analysis delineates 1) types of events that older people see as part of aging in general and their own aging in particular, 2) factors and processes that enter into the construction of the subjective trajectory of aging, and 3) feeling and behavioral responses to the imagined future.
Cuidaremos: The HECO Approach to Breast Self-Examination
Authors: Lorig Kate , Walters Esperanza Garcia
Published: May 2005

Breast Self Examination (BSE) is not practiced by most Latina women. In an attempt to increase BSE practice a health education-community organization strategy was developed and implemented utilizing Latina opinion leaders in the production of a film and training of their friends and neighbors. During the project more than a thousand women participated. A sample survey indicated significant increases in BSE practice. Cuidaremos demonstrated the willingness and ability of Latina women to participate in and foster non-traditional health screening behaviors.