bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Influence of the Purpose of a Business Document on its Syntax and Rhetorical Schemes
Authors: Myers Marshall
Published: May 2005

This study attempts to show how the purpose of three types of business and technical documents (instructions, annual reports, and sales promotional letters) affects the syntactical and rhetorical choices authors make in writing these documents. While the results of the examination rendered some predictable results, there were some surprises in the absence of many rhetorical schemes in sales promotional letters. Another value of this study is that it provides partial syntactical and rhetorical “fingerprints” of three important documents in business and technical writing to offer students norms they can go by in constructing such documents.
Toward a More Responsive System of Professional Licensure
Authors: Cohen Harris S. , Miike Lawrence H.
Published: May 2005

With the increasing public demands for better assurance of quality in the provision of health services, the traditional role of state health professional licensing boards will undergo reexamination. The present system of health manpower licensure should be appropriately related to present and future attempts to regulate the quality of care. Rapid advances in medical knowledge and technology and changing health delivery patterns mandate that state licensing boards expand their traditional responsibility for initial entry into the profession by beginning to address the broader issues of continued competence of the licensed practitioner, manpower distribution, and interprofessional coordination. To do so may require fundamental changes in the structure and function of state licensing boards. But changes are inevitable if boards are to be responsive to new and innovative patterns in health care delivery.
Structural Changes, ILL Health, and Mortality in Sweden, 1963–1983: A Macroaggregated Study
Authors: Starrin Bengt , Larsson Gerry , Brenner Sten-Olof , Levi Lennart , Petterson Inga-Lill
Published: May 2005

An exploratory time series analysis was performed on selected indicators of structural change, health behavior, and ill health in Sweden in the years 1963–1983. Both synchronic (nonlagged) and asynchronic (lagged) analyses were made. The synchronic analysis of variations in the suicide rate reveals two main contributory factors: level of employment and overtime work. For cardiovascular mortality in men, the synchronic and the two-year time lagged analyses reveal that the sale of alcohol and, to a certain extent, the length of the period of unemployment play a major role. In an analysis with a three-year time lag, only one significant factor for both men and women is revealed, namely the level of employment. In the synchronic analysis of cirrhosis mortality in men, the sale of alcohol plays a dominant role. The results of the synchronic analysis of the variations in sick leave show a similar pattern for both men and women. In both cases, the sale of alcohol is positively associated and the proportion of unemployed industrial workers negatively associated with sick leave. The results give rise to a number of questions. For example, how should these findings be interpreted and how should they be related to existing knowledge about the links between business cycles and changes in the health of the population? The answers to such questions are of importance both from a scientific viewpoint and with regard to health policy. We argue that the answers require further studies of the characteristics of the periods in the business cycle and of how these periods affect people's lives, living conditions, and behavioral patterns in general.
Iteration and Prototyping in Creating Technical Specifications
Authors: Flynt John P.
Published: May 2005

During the creation and review process of software engineering specifications, developers seek to anticipate the design and development of a product before work on the product begins. Labor developers expend during early planning stages tends to substantially reduce rework during late stages. The people who write specifications can tremendously aid the development process if they employ basic iteration and prototyping techniques as they guide the document creation process. Software configuration management (SCM) practices provide ready models for iteration and prototyping. One model depicts a six-stage process in which developers see the product evolve from a scratch to a release condition. Use of such models will assist writers to guide document creation processes and will bring the documentation process itself into line with other software development management techniques.
Individual Differences in the Effects of Disease and Disability on Depressive Symptoms: The Role of Age and Subjective Health
Authors: Jang Yuri , Poon Leonard W. , Martin Peter
Published: May 2005

Each person is affected by disease and disability differently. This study examined the role of age and subjective perception of health in determining the links of depressive symptoms with disease and disability among older adults of different ages. The hypothesized effects of age and subjective health were tested using 252 older adults divided into three age groups (i.e., 60s, 80s, and 100s). Two major findings emerged. First, individuals with advanced old age had higher levels of health problems, as expected. However, their perceptions of health and depressive symptoms were less affected by disability when compared to the younger old. Second, regardless of age, the effects of disease and disability on depressive symptoms were mediated through subjective health. Findings suggest age differences in the consequences of health problems, and the importance of subjective perception to bridge physical and mental health. Issues such as age differences within older populations, the resilience of centenarians, and the intervening roles of subjective health are further discussed.
Effects of Microworld Training Experience on Sorting Tasks by Young Children
Authors: Brinkley Vickie M. , Watson J. Allen
Published: May 2005

The effects of microworld microcomputer training on sorting behaviors of 124 two-and three-year-old male and female day care children were studied. Subjects were divided into two age groups (mean ages were 2.5 and 3.0 years) and then into three treatment groups (microworld, real world, and combination) and a control group (no intervention). All treatment groups received one and one-half training hours on an inside/outside a house sorting task using ten familiar, age-appropriate objects. All subjects were pretested and posttested. To assess learning transfer, the posttest included objects on which the children were both trained and untrained. Findings from a 2 × 4 ANCOVA showed a significant age group difference on posttest objects for which children were not trained ( p = .0317) and a near significant trend on objects for which the children were trained ( p = .0654). Three-year-olds learned better than two-year-olds ( p = .0001), with learning increasing over time. One-third of the three-year-olds manipulated the computer and task independently. The abstract microcomputer task was shown to be no more difficult for young children than was the concrete doll house task.
Butler's Life Review: How Universal is it?
Authors: Merriam Sharan B.
Published: May 2005

In the nearly thirty years since Butler first proposed the life review, the notion that older persons review their lives in the face of approaching death has become firmly entrenched in both the literature and practice of gerontology. This article examines the commonly-held assumptions underlying the life review and reviews what previous studies have found in testing these assumptions. Findings from a recent study of centenarians are also presented that further call into question some aspects of the life review.
The Rationale for International Assistance to Population Programs in the Developing World
Authors: Harkavy Oscar
Published: May 2005

This article reexamines the rationale for international assistance to population programs in the developing world. Defining the idea of development as a rationally guided effort toward better human conditions, population work is justified if it improves the welfare of the individual family. The renewed interest in providing family planning as part of comprehensive health and nutrition programs reinforces this approach. Allocation of funds for control of fertility is also justified on societal grounds. Excessive population growth hinders poor nations in their quest for adequate food supplies, job opportunities, education, and the other goals of development. It is argued, however, that fertility reduction is a necessary, but not a sufficient condition to achieve improved levels of living in poor countries; birth control should not be considered a substitute for traditional modes of development assistance, nor as a divergence from needed social and economic reform. A new approach to development assistance emphasizing equity in income distribution, even at the expense of overall increases in gross national product, suggests new hope for social justice as well as for the long-run reduction of fertility.
From Players to Programmers: A Computer Game Design Class for Middle-School Children
Authors: Smith Glenn Gordon , Grant Barry
Published: May 2005

The prospect of making computer games has often be used to “hook” students into learning programming or cognitive skills. There is, however, little research on using computer game design classes to teach computer skills. This article provides an answer to the question: Can a computer game design course employing the new generation of game authoring tools set middle school students on the path of learning a broad and sophisticated range of computer skills? The answer, based on the senior author's experiences teaching such a course eight times is, Yes. Students learned: an authoring system specifically designed for creating computer games; Windows 95 file management and other basic computer literacy skills; how to integrate outputs from several programs in one project—a form of computer literacy vital for multi-media designers; “if-then-else” logic; and rudimentary knowledge of programming with real-time events. Students also mastered a process for creating unique games and developed skills as autonomous learners.
Sexual Intimacy and Replacement Children after the Death of a Child
Authors: Johnson Sherry
Published: May 2005

The stress on couples who have a child die is tremendous. Fourteen couples who had a short or long preparation time for their child's death were interviewed. All parents expressed guilt. It was also discovered that because of this grief and the accompanying guilt, sexual intercourse was performed only by three couples within the first three days after the death, with sexual guilt occurring with one couple. Hugging and being held, however, became a comforting behavior found in all but one couple. This behavior was a new experience for the men. Although sex was perceived as undesirable, it was again initiated for a specific reason: to produce a replacement child. Although the literature indicates that replacement children could be potentially pathological, the question arises whether a replacement child could be a “normal” need for parents of childbearing years.
The Impact of Coping Styles on the Control of Juvenile Diabetes
Authors: Tietz Walter , Vidmar J. Ted
Published: May 2005

The relevance of psychosocial factors to the control of diabetes has been referred to in the literature, and previous studies have shown a particular relationship between family behavior and degree of control.

This study of twenty-one children from the U.S.C. Pediatric Diabetes Clinic was undertaken to evaluate the extent to which specific variables correlate with control of diabetes. Statistically, no correlation was found between degree of control and: age of onset, duration of illness, number of siblings, intactness of family, degree of family psychopathology, intelligence of child and parents, knowledge about diabetes, birth rank or ethnic and social class. Positive correlation existed between family history of diabetes and good control. Children who appeared to be in the midst of an “adolescent growth spurt” clustered in the group with fair or poor control.

Clinical observations of individual patients and their families suggest that the reactions to the onset of diabetes did influence the styles of coping with fears, anxieties and guilt. Case examples are given. The relation of psychologic and neurophysiologic mechanisms is discussed.
Using Teachers as Change Agents in the Control of Tropical Diseases—An Extra-Curricular Approach
Authors: Ekeh Helen E. , Adeniyi Joshua D.
Published: May 2005

For years the teaching of health education has always been a problem in the Nigerian schools either due to the absence of the subject on the curriculum or inadequate professional preparation of teachers to handle it. This study introduces an extracurricular approach using four endemic diseases as an example in the teaching of health education in five secondary schools. The findings revealed that: 1) teachers can be successfully used as informal agents in the school environment if exposed to appropriate health education techniques, and 2) endemic diseases can be controlled through the provision of learning experiences in the school environment where feasible.
Dialogic Education and the Schemas to Guide Dialogue: An Example from Malaria Research in Guinea
Authors: Gordon Andrew J. , Baldé Karim Abdul
Published: May 2005

This article first reviews the importance of dialogical education in general and in malaria control specifically. Dialogical education requires knowledge of how people think as well as what people think. Through a mutual appreciation of the educators' and learners' respective frame of reference, the intended learners may come to appreciate differences between the educators' and learners' viewpoints and the ways these differences may constrain understanding and acceptance of new knowledge and practices. Dialogical education is presented as a means by which all involved in health education (professionals and non-professionals, those educating on-the-job, and those doing it informally) may be involved in health education. The appropriate presentation of research findings is central to the task of preparing for dialogical education. This article then discusses the discovery and the presentation of a culture's schemas. Schemas are concisely stated formulations of cultural orientation. They are core principles and rules. The schemas of the intended learner are critical for the educator to know so as to educate in a dialogic mode, to motivate acceptance and understanding. The schemas for malaria held by the Fulani of Guinea, West Africa, are presented as a case in point for a presentation of research findings in a form that is concise, comprehensible, accessible, and useful for nourishing dialogical education.
How Much is Enough? The Payment of Doctors-Implications for Health Policy in Canada
Authors: Wolfe Samuel , Badgley Robin F.
Published: May 2005

Incomes of physicians, and differentials in incomes of different kinds of physicians, are reviewed in Canada, where the federal-provincial medical care and hospital insurance plans have been grafted onto an essentially fee-for-service private enterprise system of medical practice. In a detailed discussion on the supply and distribution of Canadian doctors, concern is expressed about the continued simplistic use of doctor-population ratios for health manpower planning. The authors advocate a restriction on immigration of foreign medical graduates to Canada, and a closing of the present open-ended fee system, as well as the creation of a “medical establishment” or quota of doctors in each province who would derive their incomes from the publicly financed medical care insurance plan. They also strongly urge the support of community health centers as part of a restructuring of the health services under a national health insurance scheme. The implications are great for the experience about to unfold in the United States.
Archaeological Survey and Historic Preservation at the Site of a Revolutionary war Cantonment in New Windsor, New York
Authors: Fisher Charles L.
Published: May 2005

This paper describes the archaeological survey recently conducted by the New York State Bureau of Historic Sites at New Windsor Cantonment, near Newburgh, New York. This site was the last winter encampment of the Continental Army during 1782–83. A research project which emphasized non-destructive field methods was undertaken and has provided new information regarding the daily life of the Continental soldiers at the cantonment. The results of ground-penetrating radar, magnetometer, soil chemical surveys, and the reexamination of an existing collection are discussed in terms of acquiring new understandings of this site, while preserving the historic remains there.
The Logic and Rhetoric of a Table of Contents
Authors: Wright Palmer
Published: May 2005

Much like a sentence or paragraph, the table of contents for a technical report can be designed systematically on the basis of a logic and rhetoric developed from experience. Being true to technical subject matter requires a full use of four basic logical techniques normally employed in scientific problem solving: classifying, partitioning, causally subordinating, and comparing. The logical approach that uses these techniques for the division and subdivision of topics is necessary, but not sufficient, for structuring the outline of a report. As can be shown in a typical library research report, the logical approach must be supplemented by three other approaches to the problem of topic arrangement that are more distinctly rhetorical: the conventional approach that depends on the convenient habituation rendered by standard format, the pedagogical approach that depends on the effective methods and order of technical presentation suited to the reader's level of comprehension, and the empathic approach that depends on the need to keep the reader from enduring topics of excessive length or complexity. These four approaches together provide for a strategy of topic outlining.
Recommendations for Implementing Internet Inquiry Projects
Authors: Jones Brett D.
Published: May 2005

The purpose of this study was to provide recommendations to teachers who are interested in implementing Internet inquiry projects. Four classes of ninth- and tenth-grade honors students ( N = 100) participated in an Internet inquiry project in which they were presented with an ecology question that required them to make a decision based on information that they gathered, analyzed, and synthesized from the Internet and their textbook. Students then composed papers with a rationale for their decision. Students in one group had access to pre-selected relevant Web sites, access to the entire Internet, and were provided with less online support. Students in the other group had access to only pre-selected relevant Web sites, but were provided with more online support. Two of the most important recommendations were: 1) to provide students with more online support; and 2) to provide students with pre-selected relevant Web sites and allow them to search the Internet for information.
Effects of Intentional Touch on Complicated Grief of Bereaved Mothers
Authors: Kempson Diane A.
Published: May 2005

Loss of one's child represents one of the most traumatic events a human may endure. Few effective interventions have been documented. The purpose of this research was to determine the effect of touch therapy on grieving mothers. Bereavement responses of mothers who had lost a child in the previous 6–60 months ( n 31, intervention group; n 34, comparison group) were evaluated for significant differences between intervention (touch therapy) and comparison groups, measured by the Grief Experience Inventory (GEI). Analysis of the nine clinical scales of the GEI demonstrated statistically significant differences for the intervention group on the following scales: despair ( F 8.290, p .006), depersonalization ( F 4.904, p .031), and somatization ( F 6.833, p .012). Significance of findings as they relate to treatment of complicated grief is discussed.
Using Corporate-Based Methods to Assess Technical Communication Programs
Authors: Faber Brenton , Bekins Linn , Karis Bill
Published: May 2005

Assessment continues to be an important issue for technical communicators in both practitioner and academic contexts. In this article, we investigate methods of program assessment used by corporate learning sites and we profile value add methods as a new way to both construct and evaluate academic programs in technical communication. Our goal is to introduce value added assessment methods as one way to supplement and expand current methods of program assessment. The article initially reviews Return on Investment (ROI) indicators as a widely used model for assessing programs. However, we are critical of these indicators, suggesting that they are biased against technical communication in both practitioner and academic contexts. The article then examines and critiques assessment methods from corporate training environments. These include methods employed by corporate universities and value added process-based assessment methods. The second half of the article profiles value added methods by applying them in a brief assessment of a technical communications certificate program. We conclude that while the program uses ROI indicators as a marketing device, the value the program brings and adds to its university is the “portal” it creates for university and business community collaboration. This value cannot be fully demonstrated solely through the use of ROI indicators. The article then discusses the kinds of programmatic negotiations value added processes require within university contexts that may impose non-value added activities on departments and programs. The article concludes by critically examining the appropriateness of corporate assessment methods for academic contexts.
Preferability, Pleasingness, and Interestingness: Relationships between Evaluative Judgements in Empirical Aesthetics
Authors: Russell P. A.
Published: May 2005

Using evaluative rating scales, different groups of subjects made judgments of the preferability, pleasingness and interestingness of three types of stimuli: colors, music, and surnames. For all three types, preferability was strongly positively correlated with pleasingness. For the colors and music, preferability was also positively correlated with interestingness. For surnames, however, preferability was weakly and negatively correlated with interestingness. Also for surnames, the preferability judgments of different subjects were related in different ways to pleasingness and interestingness. For example, the preferability judgments of some subjects were strongly related to pleasingness while the those of others were not. Also, the former subjects tended to prefer low interestingness names, while the latters' preferences were unrelated to interestingness. The results have implications for the comparability of studies using different evaluative scales and for the future choice of scales. It is suggested that difficulties may attach to the commonly-used preferability scale.
The Unwritten Story of Women's Role in the Birth of Occupational Health and Safety Legislation
Authors: Sass Robert
Published: May 2005

Women's role in the formation of trade unions and development of collective bargaining, as well as in labor's historical struggle to improve day-to-day working conditions, has been conspicuously underplayed, if not ignored. Yet, when one reviews the history of the reduction of working hours, prohibition of child labor, elimination of homework in tenement slums, reform of factory legislation, and investigations into accidents precipitating early workers' compensation legislation, the literature is rich with women's investigative reports and studies on unhealthy and unsafe working conditions. This was the case from the late 19th century in North America up until the 1950s and the Cold War. The women's movement and political activities requiring factory reforms then seemed to go underground, re-emerging in full force during the 1960s. Women's involvement in the environmental movement, especially in the United States, has been significant in politicizing occupational health as well. Their efforts led to the 1970 passage of the U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Act.
An Operational Approach to Development Planning
Authors: Waterston A.
Published: May 2005

After gaining virtually worldwide acceptance, questions are being raised about the usefulness of planning in accelerating the rate of development. Part of the problem with conventional planning is methodologic and part of it is based on the inadequacy of data; but the greatest part of the problem is that conventional planning is based on wrong assumptions about the environment in which plans must be implemented. After discussing the shortcomings of conventional planning, the author proposes another approach involving “planning from the bottom up” which includes annual plans, improved budgets, and multi-annual sector programs. After testing the new approach in countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, the author concludes that this approach is more promising than the conventional one.
Two-Year Follow-up of a Social-Cognitive Intervention to Prevent Substance Use
Authors: Snow David L. , Tebes Jacob Kraemer , Arthur Michael W. , Tapasak Renee C.
Published: May 2005

This study presents two-year follow-up results of the Adolescent Decision-Making Program initially implemented when students were in their sixth grade. The intervention was found to maintain a positive effect on mean tobacco use, but no differences were observed for mean alcohol, marijuana, or hard drug use. In a test of the differential effectiveness of the intervention, program students living with married parents reported lower mean tobacco use than control students living with married parents and program and control students living with single parents. Logistic regression analyses examining the proportion of users at follow-up revealed a negative program effect for alcohol and no differences for the other substances. Subsequent attrition analyses strongly suggested that the positive effect for tobacco use at follow-up was most likely even stronger, and that the negative effect for alcohol was spurious. The importance of examining both program and attrition effects when evaluating the impact of longitudinal preventive interventions was emphasized, and the need to consider alternative models to guide the conceptualization and evaluation of adolescent substance use prevention programs was discussed.
Micro-Sociological Analysis of Social Support Following Traumatic Bereavement: Unhelpful and Avoidant Responses from the Community
Authors: Dyregrov Kari
Published: May 2005

This article explores the reasons why parts of the social support to survivors of traumatic deaths fail. The data is based on in-depth interviews with 69 parents who lost their offspring due to suicide, SIDS, or accident between August 1, 1997 and December 31, 1998. Despite considerable positive support from their social nework, the majority of the survivors also experienced some unhelpful encounters or lack of anticipated support. Network members often find it difficult to communicate support in a way that is helpful, and this is termed “social ineptitude.” This ineptitude on the part of networks is explained by the lack of norms to guide this uncommon type of social encounter. The bereaved parents claim that “openness” and frankness about their situation is their best empowering strategy to meet this “social ineptitude.” These concepts, as they are elaborated in survivors' accounts are discussed within a communicational and interactional perspective. A micro-sociological model of communication provides the frame of reference for the discussion.
Mississippian Solstice Shrines and a Cahokian Calendar: An Hypothesis Based on Ethnohistory and Archaeology
Authors: O'Brien Patricia J. , McHugh William P.
Published: May 2005

This article examines the hypothesis that early Middle Mississippians had a calendric system which tied agriculture and religious ritual together. It also suggests that to that end they built solstice shrines as a means of recording the passage of time through the behavior of the sun and the moon. Using data from structures having possible astronomical alignments, from historic-ethnographic-linguistic sources, and from agricultural planting cycles, a “Cahokian calendar year” is constructed. The year begins with the summer solstice and the Great Busk ceremony. At the next full moon the “great corn” is planted to be harvested at the autumnal equinox. At the winter solstice winter begins while the vernal equinox is marked by a ritual for the Great Sun, their ruler. At the next new moon after that rite a “little corn” is planted which is harvested at the Great Busk. In their five-day, thirteenth month, just before the Busk, all the fires in the society are extinguished to be relit at the summer solstice Great Busk ceremony.
The Role of a Community Coalition in the Development of Health Services for the Poor and Uninsured
Authors: Bibeau Daniel L. , Howell Keith A. , Rife John C. , Taylor Martha L.
Published: May 2005

Access to primary health care for indigent citizens presents a dilemma for many communities in the United States. In response, communities have developed a variety of strategies to effectively deal with the problem. This article describes the evolution of a small free clinic into a comprehensive primary care clinic developed through the actions of a community-based coalition. The clinic originated within an umbrella organization for indigent residents as free medical service provided at a night shelter by a local physician once a week. Through a coalition of business, religious, medical, hospital, foundation, lay volunteer, county health department, and chamber of commerce representatives, the service was enlarged into a formal clinic operation with a small staff and volunteers providing services for about 3,500 patient visits each year. As the demand for services increased beyond resources, an expanded coalition created Health-Serve Medical Center, a comprehensive primary care clinic operating 40 hours per week. The Health-Serve Board is currently active in supporting service delivery at the clinic, with plans to serve 24,000 medical and dental visits annually by mid-1995. The evolution process was based upon the characteristics of effective community coalitions and the commitment of individuals from diverse community sectors.
Health Beliefs and Practices of Kenyan Primary School Students
Authors: Clark Noreen M. , Muugi George K. , Gallant Mary P.
Published: May 2005

A study of 224 primary school students in Kenya was conducted to determine if health belief model variables predicted their health behavior, specifically, using safe drinking water. One health belief model construct, belief in benefits, was associated with the behavior ( p = .05). Living in an urban environment ( p = .01), and proximity to a tap ( p = .004) were also significant predictors of safe water use. Implications for further research and health education programs are discussed.
The Role of Meaning and Purpose in Life in Bereaved Parents Associated with a Self-Help Group: Compassionate Friends
Authors: Wheeler Inese
Published: May 2005

The goal of this study was to explore the relationship of parental bereavement to meaning and purpose in life. Specifically, the study attempted to: 1) investigate the relationship of bereaved parents' perception of purpose in life, and specific parent, child, death, and grief characteristics; and 2) provide descriptive information on the role of meaning in parental bereavement. Two-hundred and three volunteers obtained through Compassionate Friends newsletters in seven cities in various parts of the United States completed a questionnaire consisting of the Purpose in Life Test, the Grief Experience Inventory and questions on meaning. Analysis of the results indicate that lower purpose in life for bereaved parents in this sample is related to less time since the death, loss by suicide, loss of an only child, and loss of more than one child. The descriptive data also indicates that a crisis of meaning may follow the death of a child. Implications for resolution are discussed.
An Evaluation of Lectures in a Computer-Based, PSI Introductory Psychology Course
Authors: Brothen Thomas , Wambach Cathrine
Published: May 2005

Many educators believe that adding computers and other technology to their teaching repertoire is useful. But as they add technology they often decide to continue that staple of higher education: lecturing. This article describes an evaluation of lectures in a computer-based, personalized system of instruction introductory psychology class. Students' instructor evaluations, student characteristics, and performance provided data on whether students come to lectures if not forced, whether lectures benefit student learning, and whether students appreciate instructors who create and deliver lectures. Results from this study question the use of lectures as a general teaching method or as a supplement to technological teaching. We urge instructors to examine the body of research on alternatives to lecturing as they plan to integrate technology into their teaching.
Principles That Underpin Effective School-Based Drug Education
Authors: Midford Richard , Munro Geoffrey , McBride Nyanda , Snow Pamela , Ladzinski Ursula
Published: May 2005

This study identifies the conceptual underpinnings of effective school-based drug education practice in light of contemporary research evidence and the practical experience of a broad range of drug education stakeholders. The research involved a review of the literature, a national survey of 210 Australian teachers and others involved in drug education, and structured interviews with 22 key Australian drug education policy stakeholders. The findings from this research have been distilled and presented as a list of 16 principles that underpin effective drug education. In broad terms, drug education should be evidence-based, developmentally appropriate, sequential, and contextual. Programs should be initiated before drug use commences. Strategies should be linked to goals and should incorporate harm minimization. Teaching should be interactive and use peer leaders. The role of the classroom teacher is central. Certain program content is important, as is social and resistance skills training. Community values, the social context of use, and the nature of drug harm have to be addressed. Coverage needs to be adequate and supported by follow-up. It is envisaged that these principles will provide all those involved in the drug education field with a set of up-to-date, research-based guidelines against which to reference decisions on program design, selection, implementation, and evaluation.
Importance of Tobacco Cessation Services at Higher Education Public Institutions in Texas
Authors: Friedman Karen E. , Smith Dennis W. , Zhang James J. , Perry Jennifer , Colwell Brian
Published: May 2005

While rates of tobacco use on university campuses rose over the past decade, little is known about what institutions are doing to address this rising concern. Health center directors at public institutions of higher education across the state of Texas were surveyed ( n = 42) regarding the perceived importance of smoking cessation, prevalence of interventions on their campuses, and perceived success of intervening efforts. While most health center directors regarded smoking cessation as important, over half of the directors indicated that their sites did not offer tobacco cessation services of any kind. Furthermore, of those offering smoking cessation, most believed that their smoking cessation programs were only somewhat or not at all effective. Findings revealed that there is a noticeable gap between perceived importance and actual implementation of smoking cessation programs within universitybased health centers. Recommendations include implementing innovative cessation methods, such as those that are Web-based and highly accessible to students.
Occupational Stress, Burnout, and Professional Support in Nurses Working with Dying Patients
Authors: Plante Anne , Bouchard Louise
Published: May 2005

Nurses working with dying people are exposed to numerous stress factors. Their occupational stress may be so important as to lead to burnout. The aim of the present study is to examine the relationship among occupational stress, burnout, and professional support in nurses working with patients dying from cancer. The study has taken place in four palliative care and three medical oncology units of the Montreal metropolitan region. In all, seventy-six nurses of the N nurses fitting the entrance criteria of the study were selected. Participants completed a French version of the following instruments: the Occupational Stress of Nurses Working with Dying Patients, the Jones Staff Burnout Scale for Health Professionals and the Professional Support Scale. Results indicate that there is a significant relationship between occupational stress and burnout ( r = 0.462, p < 0.001) and between professional support and burnout ( r = −0.449, p < 0.001). Further, the results showed that the level of occupational stress and burnout was significantly lower for the palliative care nurses who received significantly more professional support than their colleagues working in medical oncology units. Professional support and training for nurses working with patients dying from cancer should be implemented in order to minimize the development of burnout.
The Neuropsychological Dimensions of Postinfectious Neuromyasthenia (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome): A Preliminary Report
Authors: Altay Huzur T. , Toner Brenda B. , Brooker Harvey , Abbey Susan E. , Salit Irving E. , Garfinkel Paul E.
Published: May 2005

Postinfectious neuromyasthenia (PIN) is a clinical syndrome of protracted and incomplete recovery after an apparent viral-like illness. Medical investigation yields few abnormalities which might account for the symptomatology. A substantial number of PIN patients complain of cognitive changes. Specific complaints include impaired attention, concentration and abstraction skills. This study was designed to systematically investigate whether the aforementioned subjective complaints could be quantified objectively using standard neuropsychological instruments. Results indicated that on all tests but one, the subjects' performances were significantly higher than those of their age matched groups in the normative data. Specifically, PIN patients scored significantly better than their age matched norms on tests of concentration, attention and abstraction. What is most striking is the discrepancy between the subjective complaints of cognitive impairment and the objective results of the subjects' performances on all tests. These findings suggest that psychological factors may play an important role in the cognitive functioning of individuals diagnosed with postinfectious neuromyasthenia.
Birth Control and the Argument of Saving and Investment
Authors: Fucaraccio A.
Published: May 2005

This paper critically analyzes the thesis that birth control is a valid means of increasing saving and investment to stimulate growth in underdeveloped countries. It is postulated that those arguments based on the Harrod-Domar model lack empirical evidence in the context of the Latin American economies. Indeed, the main assumption underlying those arguments is that capital is scarce in Latin America, and that a growing population tends to reduce the capital per capita; a second underlying assumption is that to increase development it is necessary to increase greatly the proportion of the gross national product based on investments. In this work, it is shown that, first, there is not a scarcity of capital in Latin America, but rather a great underutilization of capital; that is, capital appears scarce because it is being considerably underused. Second, part of this underuse occurs because control of capital is limited to the high-income sector of the population, as a result of a highly skewed distribution of income in those countries. Policies based on investment are aimed at maximizing still further this unequal distribution of income. Investments made in these sectors absorb very little of the labor force, increasing still further the unemployment situation in Latin America. The situation is overpopulation, then, growing in the same degree as capital accumulation. The strategy of birth control, aimed especially at those who are unable to save, will obviously increase neither investment nor saving. The so-called savings on education and public health are bound to be minimal because in the present distribution of resources these sectors consume very little of the national product. In this analysis it is thus concluded that the assumptions underlying the argument of population control do not hold for Latin America and do not have a scientific basis.
Death Concerns of Students, Employed Persons and Retired Persons
Authors: Stricherz Matt , Cunnington Linda
Published: May 2005

This study investigated the death concerns of three groups, 258 participants, in different temporal phases of life. These groups, 86 participants each, were high school students, X̄ 16.3 years, persons in the work force, X̄ 42.5 years, and a retired group, X̄ 68.9 years. The fifteen question survey developed by Epstein was administered individually to each participant [1]. Non parametric analysis indicated a difference existed between the groups on eight of the fifteen items. In the retired group, concern centered around being helpless and dependent. The working group's concern was greater than the student and retired groups for both pain in dying and dying before ready. The students had greater concern over losing persons cared for, death as finality and punishment after death than did the other groups. Combined responses indicate concern over losing persons cared for, making loved ones unhappy, taking a long time to die, and being helpless and dependent are central themes to all groups. Discussions of differences and problems encountered in surveying attitudes toward death provides the basis for future research.
The Role of Environment in System Change
Authors: Webster William E.
Published: May 2005

An important element of New York State Project Redesign, a statewide improvement effort, has been to change the relationships between the State Education Department and local school systems participating in the effort. By changing these relationships from a solely regulatory, supervisory stance to a collaborative, problem solving mode has changed the environment of the local school systems and the State Education Department. In this way both systems are changing.
Sources of Stress in Nursing Terminal Patients in a Hospice
Authors: Gray-Toft Pamela A. , Anderson James G.
Published: May 2005

A study was undertaken in the hospice unit at a large, midwestern community hospital to investigate the sources of stress experienced by hospice nurses. The case material reported in this article is based on observations, interviews with nurses, written stressful incident reports completed by nurses, and support group discussions. A number of sources of stress experienced by hospice nurses are identified. Physical characteristics of the unit as well as staffing policies designed to improve the quality of care resulted in conflict and feelings of alienation from other hospital personnel. Procedures followed in admitting patients to the hospice created stress when they were not fully supported by hospital administrators and physicians. Other policies related to the preparation of meals and open visitation increased the nurse's work load. At the same time, greater involvement with the patient and family during the dying process resulted in increased emotional demands on the nurse. Nurses experienced a sense of loss when a patient they had grown attached to died or was discharged to another institution. Stress also resulted from the nurse's exclusive involvement with terminally ill patients. Continual involvement with dying patients precipitated anxiety and superstitions concerning the nurse's own vulnerability and was particularly stressful when the nurse had experienced the death of someone close to her outside of the hospital.
Assessing Psychiatric Impairment in Primary Care with the Sheehan Disability Scale
Authors: Leon Andrew C. , Olfson Mark , Portera Laura , Farber Leslie , Sheehan David V.
Published: May 2005

Objective:

Several recent studies have documented that substantial functional impairment is associated with many of the mental disorders seen in primary care. However, brief measures of mental health-related functional impairment are not commonly applied in primary care settings. The Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS), a three-item instrument for assessing such impairment, is evaluated in this study. Method: A psychometric analysis of the SDS was conducted with a sample of 1001 primary care patients at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, California. The SDS and the Symptom Driven Diagnostic System for Primary Care assessments were completed.

Results:

The internal consistency reliability of the SDS is high, with coefficient alpha of 0.89. The construct validity was substantiated in two ways. A one-factor model fit the data quite well. Furthermore, patients with each of six psychiatric disorders had significantly higher impairment scores than those who did not. Finally, over 80 percent of the patients with mental disorder diagnoses had an elevated SDS score and nearly 50 percent of those with elevated SDS scores had at least one disorder.

Conclusions:

The psychometric properties of the SDS were evaluated in primary care. The internal consistency reliability was high. The analyses also lend empirical support for the construct validity. The scale is a sensitive tool for identifying primary care patients with mental health-related functional impairment, who would warrant a diagnostically-oriented mental health assessment.
Androgyny and the Life Cycle: The Bacchae of Euripides
Authors: Datan Nancy
Published: May 2005

The concept of androgyny appears in social psychology as an adaptive mixture of masculine and feminine traits unlinked to any age-specific schedule of development. The life cycle developmental view of androgyny is that sex-typed behavior is found early in the life cycle, in response to the “chronic emergency of parenthood,” but that in later life each sex recaptures the prerogatives surrendered earlier in adulthood—women recovering managerial, assertive traits, and men becoming more responsive to their needs for nurturance and dependency. This article proposes a reconciliation of social and developmental models of androgyny based on an analysis of Greek tragedy. The Bacchae, written by Euripides in his old age, suggests that the androgynous individual is advantaged throughout the life cycle, as social psychologists would claim today. However, the fate of Pentheus at the hands of Dionysus suggests that anxieties over the androgynous potential of the self may be heightened in young adulthood and ebb later in life, consistent with developmental observations of sex-typed behavior in young adulthood which gives way to the “normal unisex of later life.” A review of androgyny in psychoanalytic theory and literary criticism shows that recognition of androgyny is not new, but that each recognition has been short-lived—a problem in the sociology of knowledge which suggests that the fear of androgyny reaches into the scientific community.