bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Impact on Mood of Verbal Reminiscing in Later Adulthood
Authors: Fallot Roger D.
Published: May 2005

The impact on mood of verbal reminiscing was compared with that of talking about the present or future in a group of thirty-six female participants between the ages of forty-six and eighty-five. Self reports of mood showed a relatively more positive effect of reminiscing and thus support the hypothesis that reminiscence may serve an adaptive function in later life. Participants over sixty-five years of age, however, did not report a different impact on mood than the younger participants, calling into question the age-specific nature of this phenomenon. Potential theoretical explanations and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.
Attitudes regarding Alcoholism: The Volunteer Alcoholism Clinic Counselor After Training
Authors: Paine H. , Ferneau E.
Published: May 2005

The authors conducted a follow-up study of the attitudes of a group of alcoholism counselor trainees upon the completion of an intensive counselor training program.

The instrument used in the assessment of attitudes was a questionnaire consisting of forty statements which the respondents were asked to scale.

Subsequent to an earlier survey, administered at the initiation of the program, the results indicate positive development in attitudes and greater openness to the complications of alcoholism.
Peer Group Approach to Drug Education
Authors: Lawler John T.
Published: May 2005

Since our drug raid during the Fall of 1969 and the present application of the peer group approach much has been explored concerning the changing of attitudes and behavior. The complexities of the learning process, including the student, methodology and materials, must be re-examined.

Drugs are not the problem. Finding ways to communicate so that the student has a chance to involve himself actively in the learning process is the secret. An active exchange of honest information will, in the long run, provide more lasting impact.

Many approaches to solving the drug problem are being tried. The main advantage of the peer group approach is that we are involving students to help us with a mutual problem. The realization that students are an untapped resource to help society influence others is the hope of the seventies.
Strength and Aging: An Exploratory Study
Authors: Liemohn Wendell P.
Published: May 2005

Strength measurements were administered to 52 men ranging in age from 42 to 83 years, who were then randomly assigned within their respective age group to either the Isometric-training Group (ITG) or to the Control-exercise Group (CEG). At the conclusion of a six-week training program all initial measurements were again administered. No significant differences were found in (1) strength trainability by age group, and (2) in strength trainability by muscle group when the upper-extremity-strength ratios were compared with the lower-extremity-strength ratios. When the initial and final strength scores of the ITG were subjected to a t test for correlated samples, the findings included: (1) the four age groups of the ITG experienced statistically significant gains in strength for six of the eight strength measurements, and (2) as age increased, strength trainability appeared to decrease.
A Small Group Approach to Youth Education about Alcohol
Authors: Kunkle-Miller Carole , Blane Howard T.
Published: May 2005

A small group affective education approach to teaching high school youth about alcohol stresses group exploration of student-generated questions and concerns by creating an atmosphere of free emotional interchange in which students can sort feelings, facts, and myths. Students develop awareness and respect for values and beliefs of peers and examine their own drinking behavior. Groups meet weekly for eight to ten weeks. Techniques include exercises to build up trust, skits based on student-suggested incidents, and free art activities.
The Effect of Earlier or Later Transition into Middle School on Students' Psychosocial Adjustment and Drug Use
Authors: Ried L. Douglas , Martinson O. B. , Weaver L. C.
Published: May 2005

This study compared the psychosocial adjustment and drug use of eighth grade students beginning middle school in the fifth, sixth, or seventh grade. Eighth grade students beginning middle school in the fifth and sixth grade had more favorable drug use attitudes, had more drug using friends, and felt their friends were less opposed to using drugs than did students beginning middle school in the seventh grade. Eighth grade students beginning middle school in the sixth grade used drugs more frequently than students beginning in the seventh grade. The school organization variables were not statistically significant in a model which accounted for 67 percent of the variance in the drug use variable. The significance of the grade-level organization of schools is discussed.
Unsettled, Uncertain and Striving to Understand: Toward an Understanding of the Situation of Persons with Suspected Dementia
Authors: Robinson Petra , Ekman Sirkka-Liisa , Wahlund Lars-Olof
Published: May 2005

The main purpose of this study was to understand the part played by clinical diagnosis in relation to persons with suspected dementia. Interviews were held with eight persons who had been evaluated clinically because of suspected dementia. A phenomenological-hermeneutic analysis inspired by Ricoeur's philosophy was performed. The findings revealed the overall meaning of “making sense” of early experiences of memory loss in terms of a clinical diagnosis by which participants are provided with a means of interpreting and ascribing some meanings to the changes in themselves. When a meaning cannot be established and the future is unknown, these experiences are found to pose an existential threat that projects into future existence. The study suggests that understanding how an informed diagnosis is comprehended by the client becomes essential when evaluating persons due to suspected dementia.
Development and Validation of an Instrument for Assessing the Psychosocial Environment of Computer-Assisted Learning Classrooms
Authors: Teh George P. L. , Fraser Barry J.
Published: May 2005

The present study filled a gap in past learning environment research in that it involved the development and validation of a new instrument tailor-made specifically for use in computer-assisted learning (CAL) classrooms. The new instrument assesses student perceptions of the levels of gender equity, investigation, innovation, and resource adequacy. Use of this instrument with a sample of 671 students from the second year of high school in Singapore revealed that each scale displayed satisfactory factorial validity, internal consistency reliability, discriminant validity, and predictive validity, and differentiated between the perceptions of students in different classrooms. The use of the new instrument in an evaluation of an innovation in CAL showed that, compared with control students, CAL students perceived their classes as having greater gender equity, investigation, innovation, and resource adequacy.
Student Computer Achievement, Attitude, and Anxiety: The Role of Learning Strategies
Authors: Tsai Meng-Jung , Tsai Chin-Chung
Published: May 2005

People are living in a society with numerous applications of computer technology; hence, achieving the goal of computer literacy is currently implemented in schools at various levels. In general, computer literacy includes basic knowledge and skills of computer technology (computer achievement), computer attitudes, and computer anxiety. This study viewed students' learning strategies as an important variable related to their computer literacy. Through collecting research data from 75 Taiwanese eighth graders enrolled in a computer course, this study revealed that students with higher-order metacognitive skills in monitoring their comprehension, selecting main ideas, and using resources helpful for learning tended to have higher computer achievement, better computer attitudes, and lower computer anxiety. In particular, the strategy of finding and using other study aids seemed to help the students have better attitudes and lower anxiety of learning computers.
Knowledge and Information about Drugs in Australia
Authors: Makkai Toni , McAllister Ian
Published: May 2005

This article uses a national population survey conducted in 1988 to examine drug information needs within the Australian population. The analysis concentrates on three types of informational needs–knowledge and contact with drug services, the nature of the drug information sought, and the sources of drug information. The results show that almost half of the respondents in the survey considered that they had an adequate amount of information about drugs and there were generally high levels of factual knowledge about the drug and alcohol services available in the community. Knowledge of drug services was found to be unrelated to the need for information, although high levels of knowledge did correlate with a willingness to use a variety of medical, welfare, and social support services to obtain information. The data indicated that contact significantly correlated with both a desire for information and a willingness to consult a variety of services. Finally, users of all types of drugs reported higher levels of knowledge, with users of illicit drugs, in particular, expressing a greater desire for information about all types of drugs and an increased willingness to use a variety of welfare and social support agencies.
Cultural Influences on Caregiving Burden: Cases of Koreans and Americans
Authors: Lee Yoon-Ro , Sung Kyu-Taik
Published: May 2005

This study compared cultural influences on caregiver burdens of Korean adult children and American adult children caring for parents with dementia, and identified culturally specific values, norms, and customs associated with low or high burden. The findings suggested that the low burden of the Korean caregivers was associated with extended family support and high filial responsibility while that of the American caregivers was related to the use of formal services and high gratification from caregiving. Obversely, the high burden of the Koreans was seen to be associated with limited formal services outside the family and low gratification from caregiving for in-laws while that of the Americans was suggested to be due to limited extended family support and low filial responsibility. Needs for culturally-appropriate interventions are discussed.
Effects of Enforced Relocation on Life Adjustment in a Nursing Home
Authors: Smith Richard T. , Brand Frederick N.
Published: May 2005

A group of 75 institutionalized elderly patients was studied to determine the relationship of involuntary relocation to life adjustment in a nursing home. Data were collected by means of medical records and structured questionnaire. Patients who had experienced enforced relocation from other institutions expressed greater life dissatisfaction than those who had relocated voluntarily from their own home environment. For the group in general, life dissatisfaction was correlated with financial dependence, poor health, and limited social participation. Length of stay in the institution was not related to life satisfaction. The evidence suggests that involuntary placement, multiple moves, disruption of social networks, and financial dependence may contribute to life dissatisfaction among institutionalized elderly.
The Advantages and Problematics of Using the Electronic Spreadsheet in Biology Teaching as Perceived by Actively Engaged Teachers
Authors: Dreyfus Amos , Feinstein Benjamin , Talmon Janet
Published: May 2005

The main hypothesis of this study was that secondary school biology teachers who had persevered in the use of optional spreadsheet assisted activities were those who believed that 1) their rationale is sound; 2) the use of the spreadsheet does not impose any unnecessary extrinsic “cognitive load” on the students; 3) the administration of the school encourages the teachers to use of the spreadsheet; and 4) the administration expresses encouragement by providing some minimal conditions, some facilities which are essential to make the use of the spreadsheet efficient or possible at all. The picture of the persevering teachers which emerges from this study is somewhat different: they joined because of their personal interest, remained because of their individual perception of the contribution of the activities to their students, and persevered in spite of the perceived difficulties and of the lack of some facilities, without attributing their difficulties to the behavior of the administration.
Distinct Chemical Patterns in Late Mississippian Caborn-Welborn Ceramics of the Lower Ohio River Valley
Authors: Shergur J. , Popelka R. S. , Robertson J. D. , Pollack D.
Published: May 2005

Trace element analysis was conducted on ceramics from Mississippian Caborn-Welborn sites located in the lower Ohio River Valley. Elemental concentrations were measured for each sherd using both neutron activation analysis (NAA) and particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE). By using principal components analysis and posterior discriminant analysis, it was possible to compositionally distinguish lower Ohio Valley ceramics from ceramic samples collected from archaeological sites located in the southeastern part of the United States. Similar statistical analyses applied to an examination of the elemental composition of Caborn-Welborn ceramics and their distribution within the Caborn-Welborn region documented minimal variation between the samples based on either site location or ceramic type. Ceramics classified as Caborn-Welborn as well as central Mississippi Valley types and Oneota-like sherds recovered from Caborn-Welborn sites appear to have been locally produced from similar clays. However, the clays used to produce ceramic vessels differed from those used as daub on house walls.
Adult Grandchildren and Their Grandparents: The Enduring Bond
Authors: Hodgson Lynne Gershenson
Published: May 2005

This article presents findings from a national survey of 208 adult grandchildren concerning relationships with their “closest” grandparent. Levels of contact and perceptions of closeness are two indices used to evaluate the strength of the bonds between the cross-generations. The evidence suggests that along these two dimensions, grandchild/grandparent relationships are significant and meaningful. Although there is diversity among the respondents, interaction levels are high for the majority of the sample. Additionally, most respondents report that their relationships with their grandparents are close and enduring. A comparison of ranked means suggests that several factors are related to the strength of the grandchild/grandparent bonds: age, lineage, geographical proximity, the child/parent relationship, and the parent/grandparent relationship. This research provides a new understanding of a significant family role, that of adult grandchild.
From Inquiry to Judgment: Age and Sex Differences in Patterns of Adult Moral Thinking and Information-Seeking
Authors: Pratt Michael W. , Golding Gail , Hunter William , Norris Joan
Published: May 2005

This research examined age and sex variations in moral judgment processes across the life-span, primarily using objective questionnaire techniques. Both stage level of judgment and patterns of requests for further information following dilemma presentation were studied in 242 respondents, ages fourteen to ninety-two, in order to measure individual differences in judgment orientations hypothesized by Gilligan and suggested by theorists of aging. There were few indications of sex differences in either stage or patterns of information-seeking, except for a generally greater preference for additional information in decision-making by women. With respect to age trends, participants over age seventy-five scored at significantly lower stage levels than younger adult groups. However, elderly adults' judgments did not appear simply “regressed” to earlier developmental levels. On both objective and open-ended measures, older participants seemed more likely than younger groups to assimilate moral dilemma information to their own general cognitive frameworks, consistent with an hypothesis of greater synthesis in judgment among the elderly.
Life Events, Social Support, and Immune Response in Elderly Individuals
Authors: McIntosh William Alex , Kaplan Howard B. , Kubena Karen S. , Landmann Wendall A.
Published: May 2005

One hundred ninety-two elderly men and women were investigated to determine the effects of recent life events, psychological adjustment, and social support on lymphocyte count, controlling for nutritional status, age, education, income, and the presence of lymphocyte-altering drugs. Effects of specific recent life events were found. For elderly males, recent sexual dysfunction lowers lymphocyte count, while psychological adjustment and percentage kin in the intimate network elevates it. For elderly females, the experience of either family or legal problems elevates lymphocyte count as does frequent interaction with members of the intimate network. These results suggest that life events have very different effects on elderly men and women's immune systems. Social support has direct but mediating effects on lymphocyte count for both genders.
Caregiver and Elder Experiences of Cambodian, Vietnamese, Soviet Jewish, and Ukrainian Refugees
Authors: Strumpf Neville E. , Glicksman Allen , Goldberg-Glen Robin S. , Fox Renee C. , Logue Elizabeth H.
Published: May 2005

Our purpose was to describe and compare Cambodian, Vietnamese, Soviet Jewish, and Ukrainian refugee caregivers and elders on life experiences, health status, and knowledge of available services. Detailed interviews were conducted with 105 female caregivers and 52 elders. Similar patterns emerged across all groups with regard to filial obligation, minimal knowledge of services, impact of immigration, and retention of cultural ties. Findings confirmed the special health and social service needs of refugee families in transition.
Youthful Ideas about Old Age: An Analysis of Children's Drawings
Authors: Falchikov Nancy
Published: May 2005

Youthful ideas about old age are investigated by means of an analysis of children's drawings of young and old people. The age of the artists ranged between ten and a half years and eleven and a half years of age, and each artist drew four pictures (a young woman, an old woman, a young man, and an old man). Analyses consisted of a content analysis of drawings; the calculation of standard scores by means of the Harris-Goodenough Draw-A-Person (DAP) test scoring procedure (in order to effect comparisons of scores within each child's corpus of drawings); and measurement of the height of each drawing. The content analysis suggested a greater degree of stereotyping in boys' pictures of young women and in girls' pictures of old men than in other drawings. Pictures of old people overall were no more stereotyped than were those of young people, though they were more negative in content. Results of the DAP standard score calculation comparisons found consistent differences between children's drawings of old and young people, with pictures of old people attaining lower standard scores than those of young people. Size measurements revealed pictures of old people to be significantly smaller than those of young people. Explanations for these differences are discussed and further investigations recommended involving a wider population of artists and focusing particularly on the size of drawings.
A Descriptive Analysis of Drug and Alcohol Use among Selected Native American High School Students
Authors: Olsen Larry K. , Baffi Charles R.
Published: May 2005

The purpose of this study was to analyze the self-reported substance use among selected Native American high school students. In the population studied, 83.6 per cent reported having experimented with alcohol and an additional 43 per cent reported using some combination of alcohol and other drugs on a fairly regular basis.

Native American students appear to use alcohol or drugs or some combination of these substances at levels similar to those of their non-Native American counterparts. It is important for educators to initiate programs which will enhance student self-esteem and decision making skills and result in a decrease in students' substance use.
The Marihuana Perception Inventory: Stage 1 — Development
Authors: Gabany Steve , Eiseman Seymour
Published: May 2005

A perceptual inventory was developed in order to determine the relationship between societal or familial factors and the onset of marihuana use among youths, and to discover if these perceived relationships differed by demographic characteristics such as ethnicity, religious persuasion, and sex of respondent. This study reports the initial results of analyzing responses to the thirty-four-item inventory. Factor analysis revealed a five-factor, twenty-six-item solution; scales were labeled Rebelliousness; Societal Issues; Parental Limitations; Maturational Difficulties; and, Inherent Predispositions. Preliminary demographic analysis is included. It is hoped that continuing study of responses of additional samples will aid drug education programs by providing increased subject-matter focus, and will establish a data base to construct an inventory with widespread generalizability.
Alcohol Use and Psychosocial Outcome of Two Preventive Classroom Programs with Seventh and Tenth Graders
Authors: Baer Paul E. , McLaughlin Robert J. , Burnside Mary A. , Pokorny Alex D.
Published: May 2005

Two preventive intervention programs on alcohol and other substance use were devised for classrooms of junior and senior high school students. One program focused on resistance to social influence, and the other on attitude change and decision making. Youngsters undergoing these interventions were compared with controls who had no intervention on both alcohol usage measures and nonusage psychosocial indices at a pre-intervention baseline, at one-year post-intervention for tenth graders, and at two-year post-intervention for seventh graders. No difference in outcome between the two interventions was found for tenth graders, but one-year post-intervention tenth graders who had either of the interventions used less alcohol than controls. Nonusage measures were not affected. Seventh graders showed no usage effects of interventions two years post-intervention, but the nonusage measures suggested more prosocial behavior. Also among seventh graders, those with a high score on peer or parent alcohol use modeling responded better to the social resistance intervention, while those with a low score responded better to the attitudinal intervention.
Out of the Wilderness: A Proposal for Regulating Drugs
Authors: Sorey Kenneth
Published: May 2005

Many knowledgable professionals in medicine and related fields have written extensively about the contradictory and inconsistent laws and attitudes of both the public and the experts concerning the problem of drug abuse and addiction. Proposals for correcting this situation have ranged from de-controlling all drugs to strict federal and state control of all drugs, including alcohol, tobacco and caffein. This article proposes that, (a) all drugs be regulated by physicians, (b) the FDA be only a research and information agency, and (c) that the education of physicians emphasize the facts, not myths, of drug abuse. Thus, any drug use would be solely a matter between a physician and his patient.
Stereotypes and Stigma: Biased Attributions in Matching Older Persons with Drawings of Viruses?
Authors: Deangelo Leanna M.
Published: May 2005

To test whether germs are perceived as more harmful and threatening in stigmatized groups, photographs of young Black, young Hispanic, young White, and older White persons were shown for five seconds. Participants ( N = 62) matched photographs with five drawings of viruses. The viruses were pre-rated by a separate sample ( N = 39) and it was determined that the viruses formed a continuum along a 5-point scale from benign to threatening. Utilizing ANOVA, statistical significance was found ( F(3,183) = 3.77, p < .05) between the four groups of photographs, with post-hoc analysis indicating differences between young Hispanic and older White persons. Perceptions of attractiveness ( r = .5) may have influenced choice of virus matched with person.
The Theoretical Model: Diagnostic Assessment and Placement in Prevention Treatment Mode by School Personnel
Authors: Sullivan Arthur P. , Guglielmo Robert , Polak Roxane
Published: May 2005

The process by which children in the New York City Public Schools are identified and provided one of the several types of substance abuse prevention education or intervention services is presented as a formal model. The aligning of the students with services is compared to a psychological diagnostic-prescriptive process, and it is concluded that the school personnel, using observations available to them, make essentially the same decisions trained mental health professionals would. The types of student problems matched to each prevention service is shown in terms of comparable match between DSM III diagnostic categories and suitable treatment procedures. The exact nature of the decision model, the differential diagnoses, the different prevention dynamics, and the match of student-to-service are displayed schematically.
State-Local Partnership against Addiction: A Report on a Drug Education—Prevention Pilot Project in Metropolitan New York
Authors: Wolfe Harold , Haynes Donald
Published: May 2005

In 1969–70 the New York State Department of Mental Hygiene received $400,000 in state funds to conduct a drug education pilot program in Metropolitan New York. To provide technical support and promote citizen participation in such a program in high risk areas of Brooklyn, Manhattan, the Bronx, and Rockland County, contracts were made with seven local mental health and social service agencies, which then formed partnerships with community organizations and citizen groups. While drug information activities were not evaded, primary emphasis in each project was placed on dealing with drug-related social and economic problems and finding alternatives to drug abuse. Through site visits, meetings and reports, it was found that while the programs were not directly reaching large numbers of people, high risk groups were receiving intensive attention. Alternatives to drug abuse—employment, recreational, training, and counseling services—were better received than informational programs. Numerous problems and successful approaches were experienced and described. The question of the causes of drug abuse was discussed by each project director.
“It's the Pepsi Generation….” Accelerated Aging and the Television Commercial
Authors: Francher J. Scott
Published: May 2005

“You've got a lot to live and Pepsi's got a lot to give,” is the Madison Avenue credo around which this article is written. The American youth complex and its disenfranchising effect upon the aging is examined via the medium of the television commercial The study takes a random sampling of one hundred television commercials and examines each according to a number of guidelines. Emphasis then shifts to the Pepsi-Cola commercial in order to illustrate the threefold youth complex which is seen as one of the critical factors in the societal process of disenfranchising the aging. The major concern here is that these commercials oriented toward youth produce anxiety and tension in the aging which, in turn, may cause them to exhibit symptoms of senility. Despite our awareness of the mass media's impact on the individual, further serious inquiry must be made concerning its multiple effects on the aging process.
An Exploratory Study of the Possible Impact of Cerebral Hemisphericity on the Performance of Select Linear, Non-Linear, and Spatial Computer Tasks
Authors: McCluskey James J.
Published: May 2005

In the present study 160 upper-class (junior and senior) undergraduate journalism students enrolled at two major Southwestern universities volunteered to participate. Each subject was found to fit into one of four groups. It was determined that forty subjects ( N = 40) were left-brain dominant (right-handed, right-eyed), forty of them ( N = 40) were mixed-brain dominant (right-handed, left-eyed), forty of them were also mixed-brain dominant (left-handed, right-eyed), and the remaining forty ( N = 40) subjects were right-brain dominant (left-handed, left-eyed). Handedness was indicated by each subject's preference, while eye preference was determined by a test developed and used in a study by Parish and Huslig [1]. Subsequently, these students were taught how to design/develop projects (referred to as “stacks”) using software called HyperCard used on Macintosh computers. The findings generally supported the notion that right-brain dominant individuals significantly outperformed their left-brain and mixed-brain dominant counterparts, while left-brain dominant individuals significantly outperformed the remaining two groups of mixed-brain dominant subjects in several areas. Future studies are encouraged to survey greater numbers of subjects, possibly in different disciplines or investigating this research from different cultural or gender-related perspectives.
Prevalence of and Factors Related to Cigarette Smoking among Students in Grade 6
Authors: Pederson L. L. , Baskerville J. C. , Lefcoe N. M.
Published: May 2005

Conflicting reports have been presented concerning changes in the prevalence of cigarette smoking among school-age children. The purpose of this study was to compare smoking rates among children who were in grade 6 in 1975 or 1978, and the variables related to smoking in these two years. Results from 1,428 children were available. After controlling for possible confounding variables, analyses using multiple regression models indicated that neither year of testing nor sex were significantly related to smoking, demonstrating that there was no discernible change in prevalence in this age group over a three year period and that the distribution of involvement with cigarettes by sex was similar for both years. In addition, it was found, using stepwise analysis, that peer smoking and attitude toward cigarettes showed the strongest relationship to involvement with cigarettes in both years. However, the final models were not completely concordant. Academic achievement and aspirations entered the 1975 model, while smoking exposure variables entered the 1978 model. Implications of the results for smoking education programs are discussed.
The Influence of Stress and Coping on Family Caregivers' Perceptions of Health
Authors: Killeen Mary
Published: May 2005

Family members are increasingly assuming a caregiving role for their frail elders. This role, which is added to their other responsibilities, competes for time and attention and may generate stressful situations. Previous research established that stress may have both adaptive and maladaptive effects on individuals. This study examines the extent to which caregivers perceive their situations as stressful, how they cope, and the associated influences of stress and coping on perceptions of their own health. The aim is to identify stressful aspects of caregiving and ways of coping that may be maladaptive for caregivers, placing them at risk for illness and disease.
The Modified Purpose in Life Scale: A Cross-National Validity Study
Authors: Chang Rosanna H. , Dodder Richard A.
Published: May 2005

Although the original 20-item Purpose in Life Test (PIL) has been subjected to various reliability and validity tests, its use has been limited largely to American culture. In this paper ten items were selected from the original scale, and both directionality and response categories were modified. This Ten-Item Modified Purpose in Life Test was then validated through item analyses by using two cross-national samples of elderly people. One sample consisted of 177 retirees from the school system in Payne County, Oklahoma, and the other consisted of 202 retired teachers in Taipei, Taiwan. It was concluded from this study that the Ten-Item Modified Purpose in Life Scale can be reduced to the Seven-Item Modified Purpose in Life Scale as an alternative measure for comparing the psychological well-being of the elderly cross-nationally.
Cognitive Research, Learning Theory, & Software Design: The Virtual Library
Authors: Nicaise Molly
Published: May 2005

The idea that theory and research on learning and cognition could influence the way we teach and structure learning environments has established a new paradigm for software designers [1]. According to a social-constructivist perspective, discourse, authentic tasks, exploratory and student-centered learning are integral to learning and understanding. The purpose of this article is to describe design considerations that were made for a software prototype called the Virtual Library—considerations that were framed by cognitive research and learning theory. When completed, the software will assist preservice teachers in learning about educational psychology and instructional design. The software resembles a library where students browse through a series of 3-D, virtual buildings to understand research, theory, and classroom applications of educational psychology and instructional design. Students have access to movies, text, images, and World Wide Web sites. They also have opportunities to participate in interactive lessons and e-mail conversations with other students, classroom teachers, educational psychologists, and instructional designers.
Adolescent Substance Use and Family-Based Risk and Protective Factors: A Literature Review
Authors: Vakalahi Halaevalu F.
Published: May 2005

Adolescent substance use has become a serious concern nationwide. Although there are many ways of viewing adolescent substance use, family influence has been established as one of the strongest sources of risk and protection. A review of the literature indicated relevant theories for understanding adolescent substance use and specific family-based variables influencing adolescent substance use. In general, there seems to be a relationship between adolescent substance use and family-based risk and protective factors. Relevant theories identified in the literature review include family systems theory, social cognitive theory, social control theory, and strain theory. Specific family-based risk and protective factors include family relationships such as with siblings and parents and family characteristics such as ethnicity and religious backgrounds. Future implications for research and prevention/intervention in relation to family-based risk and protective factors are discussed.
A Comparison of Attitudes of Parents and High School Senior Students Regarding Cigarette, Alcohol and Drug Use
Authors: Friedman Alfred S. , Santo Yoav
Published: May 2005

PTA membership in two suburban schools (a high school and combined junior high schools) ( N=138) were surveyed regarding their attitudes toward children's use of drugs, alcohol and tobacco. Findings were compared with previous findings on attitudes of students in two Philadelphia high schools and the ISR National Survey of High School Students. Ninety-six percent of parents reported that they “strongly disapproved” of even “occasional” use of any substances stronger than marihuana, alcohol or cigarettes. Fifty-nine percent of parents responded that marihuana was physically addictive. Ratings of students' attitudes towards substance use by adults indicated that each generation demands a stricter standard of behavior from the other generation than from their own. However, not a single parent reported that he/she would notify the police that their child was using marihuana. Parents' ideas were compared with students' ideas regarding reasons for using drugs and alcohol, and regarding legalization of marihuana.
Social Support Exchange among Elderly Chinese People and Their Family Members in Hong Kong: A Longitudinal Study
Authors: Chou Kee-Lee , Chi Iris
Published: May 2005

This study examines the pattern of social support exchange between the elderly and their family members, focusing on financial aid and household care (both instrumental and emotional). The second objective of this study is to identify resource capacity factors (including education, physical health, and size of social network) that generate differences in the exchange of financial aid and household care between elderly people and their family members. The respondents were 213 people who had family members living in Hong Kong aged 70-years-old or older from a longitudinal study of a representative community sample of the elderly population in Hong Kong. Using multiple regression models, we found that the elderly subjects who received more household care from their family members were likely to provide more household care to their family members three years later, even after controlling for the impact of resource capacities; and the elderly subjects who provided more household care to their family members were more likely to receive more household care from their family members three years later. In assessing the impact of the resource variables on support exchange, functional disability and the number of close relatives were significantly associated with the amount of household care the old people provided, whereas the number of close family members were significantly associated with the amount of household care the old people received. Policy implications of the findings in this study were discussed.
Identifying Interventions to Improve the Retention of Biracial Students: A Case Study
Authors: Sands Nicole , Schuh John H.
Published: May 2005

Biracial students represent a growing number of students on many campuses and an increasingly significant segment of the population of the United States. Nevertheless, this group of students rarely has been studied with respect as to how their experiences affect persistence at colleges and universities. This case study reports on the experiences of biracial students at one institution. It also analyzes their racial identity development and presents recommendations designed to improve their persistence to graduation framed by Tinto's theory of academic departure. Recommendations for additional study are presented.
The Extended Effects of the Life Review in Nursing Home Residents
Authors: Haight Barbara K. , Michel Yvonne , Hendrix Shirley
Published: May 2005

To date, there is little information on the therapeutic effects of the life review beyond one year. This analysis followed fifty-two of 256 subjects who lived for at least three years in a nursing home. These participants received either a life review or friendly visit and took part in four repeated testings to determine the lasting effects of the life review at two and three years. Measures of integrity (life satisfaction, psychosocial well being, self-esteem) and despair (depression, hopelessness, and sucide intent) were used as pretest, posttest, and retest. Results showed a trend toward continued and by year three significant improvement over time in those who received the life review on measures of depression ( t = −2.20, p < .03), life satisfaction ( t = 2.51, p < .02), and self-esteem ( t = −2.31, p < .03).
Development of a Nursing Regime for an Antagonist Inmate Work-Release Program
Authors: Wiechert Victoria
Published: May 2005

This paper reviews the nature of nursing service innovations necessitated by an antagonist program operating out of a jail setting. The nursing philosophy of such a program is also discussed.
Intergenerational Affinities: Symmetrical Life Experiences of the Young Adults and the Aging in Canadian Society
Authors: Chellam Grace
Published: May 2005

The essential aim of this paper is to explicate the theoretical proposition that, in our society, the adolescent-young adults (fifteen to twenty-four years old) and the retired-aging “young-olds” (sixty-five to seventy-four years old) bear a symmetrical relationship to each other in terms of both their psycho-social propensities and “social location.” To this end, the concept of symmetry is analysed and its elements interpreted in the context of life experiences. Perspectives used here to illustrate and identify the composite elements of symmetrical relationship are those given by respondents from the two specific age groups mentioned above. They reflect personal views of goals, values, satisfactions and stresses of life as they experience it. A complementary purpose of the study is to indicate their expressed awareness of affinities and experiments in interaction between them, within the same social structure.
Public Interest Report No. 13: The Nursing Home Cover-up: Regulation Gaps and other Dirty Tricks Played on Old People
Authors: Butler Robert N.
Published: May 2005

The author charges that U.S. Social Security Administration has participated in a nursing home cover-up. Sadly, the SSA is not the consumer agency one might expect it to be. Now, however, if the public and professionals do not let the opportunity slip there is a chance to have nursing home Medicare inspection reports available in useful form in the 1168 SSA offices in the U.S.
Life-Span Learning: A Developmental Perspective
Authors: Thornton James E.
Published: May 2005

The article discusses learning as embedded processes of development and aging, and as social activity over the life course. The concept of life-span learning is proposed and outlined to discuss these processes as aspects of and propositions in life-span development and aging theory. Life-span learning processes arise and continuously develop in a dynamically complex body, brain, and the mind they support as essential features of development and aging over the life course. Life-span learning processes are established by evolutionary adaptive mechanisms, enriched by challenging environments, and continuously developed in supportive social structures. These ideas are derived from evolutionary biology and psychology, the cognitive sciences, life-span development and aging research, and adult development and learning studies. It is argued that life-span learning activities that challenge the body-mind-brain nexus are indispensable to optimize individual development and aging. Three global interventions and their strategies are discussed that enhance life-span learning: Learning to Learn, Learning for Growth, and Learning for Well-being.
The Relationship between Television Advertising and Drug Abuse among Youth: Fancy and Fact
Authors: Payne Donald E.
Published: May 2005

Television advertising of over-the-counter drugs has been suspected of being a contributing factor in drug abuse among youth. Recent research suggests that these suspicions are ill-founded. What is worse, they focus attention, effort and resources on a factor which is simply irrelevant to the problem.
Functional Age and Age-Related Measures
Authors: Dempster A. P.
Published: May 2005

The six estimates of functional age (laboratory, auditory, anthropological, ability, personality, social) that have been developed from data of the Normative Aging Study are based on measures that correlate with chronological age. The significance of these predicted or statistical ages obtained must be determined by showing that a man whose statistical age is, for example, markedly greater than his calendar age is in fact biologically and behaviorally older than a coeval whose statistical age is considerably less than his calendar age. Because predicted or statistical age is only an empirical estimate of functional age, it is subject to error inherent in the measures themselves as well as in the special nature of the study population. Longitudinal follow-up will provide the best way to see if the predicted statistical ages described will serve as useful indicators of rapid or slow aging.
The Importance of the Political and the Social in Explaining Mortality Differentials among the Countries of the OECD, 1950–1998
Authors: Navarro Vicente , Borrell Carme , Benach Joan , Muntaner Carles , Quiroga Agueda , Rodríguez-Sanz Maica , Vergés Nuria , Gumá Jordi , Pasarín M. Isabel
Published: May 2005

This article analyzes (within the conceptual frame defined in the previous article) the impact of political variables such as time of government by political parties (social democratic, Christian democratic or conservative, liberal, and ex-dictatorial that have governed the OECD countries during the 1950–1998 period) and their electoral support on (1) redistributional policies in the labor market and in the welfare state; (2) the income inequalities measured by Theil and Gini indexes; and (3) health indicators, such as infant mortality and life expectancy. This analysis is carried out statistically by a bivariate and a multivariate analysis (a pooled cross-sectional study). Both analyses show that political variables play an important role in defining how public and social policies determine the levels of inequalities and affect the level of infant mortality. In general, political parties more committed to redistributional policies, such as social democratic parties, are the most successful in reducing inequalities and improving infant mortality. Less evidence exists, however, on effects on life expectancy. The article also quantifies statistically the relationship between the political and the policy variables and between these variables and the dependent variables—that is, the health indicators.
An Experimental Evaluation of a Drug Education Course
Authors: Moskowitz Joel M. , Malvin Janet H. , Schaeffer Gary A. , Schaps Eric
Published: May 2005

This paper describes the third and final evaluation of drug education conducted by the Napa Project. In the present course students were taught decision-making skills, personal goal setting, a motivational model, peer and media influences on behavior, assertiveness training, and information on the consequences of, and alternatives to, alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use. The evaluation employed an experimental design in which seventh grade classes in two schools were matched and then randomly assigned to experimental and control conditions. Pre-, post-, and follow-up tests covered drug knowledge; drug attitudes; perceived benefits and costs of substance use; perceived peer attitudes toward, and use of, substances; and intentions to use, current use and lifetime use of various substances. The posttest and follow-up data were analyzed using hierarchical analyses of covariance controlling for corresponding pretest scores. The course was found to have had no significant effect on girls and only a few effects at follow-up for boys.
“Looking Back, What Period of Your Life Brought You the Most Satisfaction”
Authors: Field Dorothy
Published: May 2005

Common myths hold that old persons are fixated on childhood memories, that they believe that youth is the best part of life, and that old age contains few satisfactions. Berkeley Older Generation Study members, when asked on two occasions during old age ( M ages = 69.8 and 82.7) to name the periods of their lives that brought them the most and the least satisfaction, dispelled these myths. The thirties and forties were popular choices for periods of great satisfaction, but childhood and adolescence were quite unpopular for these old persons. “Right now” was named more often than any other life period as most satisfactory. Men and women did not differ in life periods nominated, but they did differ in the reasons given for their choices. Each period provided its own pattern of satisfactions and disappointments, and strong individual differences were apparent.