bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Health Care in Poland: From Crisis to Crisis
Authors: Millard L. Frances
Published: May 2005

During its first twenty years the Polish health service represented a neglected sector of government activity, as the development of heavy industry remained the predominant economic goal, with social policy regarded as a “nonproductive” sphere. When Edward Gierek came to power in 1970, the promise of reform extended throughout society to include health. However, despite a fundamental organizational reform, the health service has remained in a state of crisis, currently worsening as a result of mounting economic dislocation and political tension. Inadequate access to treatment, lack of continuity of care, poor quality of care, profound shortages of drugs and supplies, and the absence of preventive medicine are some of the manifestations of this crisis. Its main causes lie in the political weakness of the Ministry of Health, with consequent underfunding and the nonfulfillment of its plans. This situation is exacerbated by continuing organizational fragmentation, the neglect of primary care, the existence of conflicting aims in health policy, and the dominance of an ideology of clinical specialism.
Enhancement of Death Acceptance by a Grief Counseling Course
Authors: Irwin Harvey J. , Melbin-Helberg Elizabeth B.
Published: May 2005

The impact of a grief counseling course was investigated in terms of Klug and Sinha's two-component formulation of death acceptance [1]. Compared to a control group, participants in the course showed a significant and sustained increase in cognitive confrontation of death, and in the assimilation of these attitudes at an emotional level. Identified predictors of the extent of the effect include the individual's initial level of death acceptance and performance in two of three aspects of course assessment.
Parental Marital Style and Completed Adolescent Suicide
Authors: Kaplan Kalman J. , Maldaver Marshall
Published: May 2005

The present article is aimed at delineating the effects of specific types of parental marital structure on completed adolescent suicide. Parental types showing incongruency between individuation and attachment are more highly associated with adolescent suicidal behavior than are those showing congruency between these two life factors. These results emerge both in a literature review of some eighty-five studies and in an independently conducted study on completed adolescent suicide.
The Selection and Use of Procedural and Declarative Information in Software Manuals
Authors: Ummelen Nicole
Published: May 2005

Some research results suggest that declarative information in a software manual is of little value to a user. However, most research methods are aimed at measuring specific information effects. They hardly ever yield data about what users select and use if they have a choice. Also, the concepts of procedural and declarative have not been operationalized consistently. Finally, one type of user has been the main focus of investigation so far: the tutorial user. In an attempt to specifically investigate the selection and use of procedural and declarative information, a new approach is described. In an experiment based on this new approach, special attention was paid to the operationalization of the information types and three different user types were included. The results show that users use more declarative information than is often assumed.
The Simulated Professional Meeting: A Context for Teaching Oral Presentation in the Technical Communication Course
Authors: Potvin Janet H.
Published: May 2005

Each semester, undergraduate technical writing students at The University of Texas at Arlington learn to adapt and present written material orally and visually by participating in a three-or four-day simulated professional meeting. Each student gives a ten-minute oral presentation, followed by a five-minute question-and-answer period. Presentations are grouped in panels of five papers; each panel is moderated by a session chairperson. Students receive copies of the schedule and presentation abstracts prior to the opening sessions. Presentations are evaluated by the students and the instructor for technical content, visuals, and delivery using a standardized evaluation checklist. Students learn to analyze and speak to a heterogeneous audience; to distinguish the strengths and weaknesses of presentations and visuals; and to convey assessments to others in a professional manner.
A Biopsychosocial Examination of Symptomatic and Asymptomatic HIV-Infected Patients
Authors: Wolf Thomas M. , Dralle Penelope W. , Morse Edward V. , Simon Patricia M. , Balson Paul M. , Gaumer Richard H. , Williams Mark H.
Published: May 2005

This study evaluated twenty-nine symptomatic and asymptomatic HIV-infected homosexual/bisexual men between eighteen and forty-five in the areas of psychiatric/psychosocial, neuropsychological, family, and immunological functioning. The subjects were referred by physicians, nurses, and mental health professionals from the Tulane/Louisiana State University AIDS Clinical Trials Unit and the C-100 outpatient Primary Care Clinic for HIV-infected patients served within the Charity Hospital of Louisiana at New Orleans. All subjects and their significant others were evaluated between November 1987 and October 1988 at the C-100 Clinic. The outcome measures were mood disturbance, psychological distress, and CD4 cell count. The most significant other family member, as selected by each subject, completed family measures. The subjects experienced psychological distress and neuropsychological problems. Active-behavioral coping appeared adaptive (related to enhanced mood) as did perceived social support (related to positive mood and lower psychological distress). Higher levels of neuropsychological functioning (verbal memory, visual memory, motor speed, and visual-motor sequencing) were associated with enhanced psychosocial functioning and/or immunological status. The findings from this study highlight the importance of conducting longitudinal studies using a multidimensional approach in which HIV-infected persons and their most significant other family members are evaluated within a biopsychosocial model.
The Application of Social Network Theory to Hospital Cost Containment
Authors: Elwood Thomas W.
Published: May 2005

Using Massachusetts as an example of a state which is burdened with high health care costs, Social Network Theory is used as a basis for examining some factors which contribute to these high costs. Vignettes are described to indicate that some hospitalization may be a consequence of inappropriate social service intervention prior to onset of symptoms requiring medical attention.
Birth Dates and Death Dates: An Examination of two Baseline Procedures and Age at Time of Death
Authors: Harrison Albert A. , Kroll Neal E. A.
Published: May 2005

The present study continues analyses of variations in the frequencies of death in the near temporal proximity of decedents' birthdays. Observed frequencies were compared with expected frequencies as ascertained from two baseline distributions. One distribution was the usual rectangular distribution, based on summing the number of deaths across all frequency categories and then dividing by the number of categories. The other distribution was constructed by pairing one person's birth date with another person's death date. This latter distribution was intended to provide a true baseline, and provide a better gauge for assessing the likelihood that any obtained relationship reflected coincidence or chance. Two weeks before and two weeks after the birthday there were more deaths, and one week after the birthday there were fewer deaths, than would be expected on the basis of either baseline distribution. Day-by-day analyses within the birthweek confirmed earlier reports of high followed by low frequencies of death. Compared to relatively old men, relatively young men were more likely to die on the eve of their birthdays or on their birthdays themselves. Compared to relatively young men, relatively old men's death dip begins at an earlier point in time. Methodological and theoretical implications are discussed.
The Influence of Problems with Concentration and Memory on Emotional Distress and Daily Activities in Chronic Pain Patients
Authors: Jamison Robert N. , Sbrocco Tracy , Parris Winston C. V.
Published: May 2005

This study examined concentration and memory problems in chronic pain patients as they related to emotional distress and interference with daily activity. Three hundred and sixty-three chronic pain patients were divided into two groups based on how much they expressed difficulty in concentrating and remembering things. Each patient was given a physical examination and completed a pain evaluation questionnaire and an SCL-90. Physician ratings of the patients' depression and anxiety were also obtained. The results showed that problems in concentration and memory were related to emotional distress, poor family support, and interference with daily activities. It is suggested that techniques to improve concentration and memory should be incorporated as part of a multidisciplinary pain program.
Trends in College Students' Computer Use and Ownership
Authors: Kuenzi Jeffrey J.
Published: May 2005

Data from three surveys of undergraduates at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, collected over a five-year period, are examined to uncover the nature and source of change in students' computer use and ownership. Forty-five percent of the students surveyed in 1996 own their own computer. The results show that personal ownership was replacing reliance on campus computers over the five years. In addition, the proportion of students with no computer experience fell to almost zero. Analysis indicates that these changes were partly due to students' progression through college but primarily due to changes external to this experience. The impact of college experience on students' computer use is clearly evident in the data on word-processor use. The rate of word-processing increases with each year that students attend college; so that, first-year students increase their use of word-processors about 50 percent by the time they become seniors. The increasing use of e-mail, particularly in recent years, may be the most startling finding in this study. In 1996, two-thirds of the students used e-mail, compared to one-quarter in 1993 and one-tenth in 1991. This growth was due to changes external to the college experience—probably the extraordinary growth of the Internet. Nonetheless, the analysis suggests areas where campus policy can have an impact.
Chile Health Manpower Study: Methods and Problems
Authors: Hall T. L.
Published: May 2005

This paper describes the principal methods used to assess future health manpower requirements in Chile and the ability of the country to meet them. The first phase of the study, completed in late 1970, represents the preparation of a dynamic model of the entire health sector. A nationwide survey of the met and unmet demand for health care of 45,000 Chileans is the starting point for estimating the possible growth of demand. Alternative hypotheses regarding the future characteristics and targets of the sector are proposed and their implications for manpower and fiscal policies analyzed. The methods used to project the possible demand for care and to convert service requirements into manpower needs are considered in some detail. Procedures used for the analysis of manpower supply are simplified to the maximum so as to not interfere with other aspects of the study. Techniques are described for assessing the potential economic burden of alternative manpower targets while at the same time minimizing the hazards of long-range projections of economic growth and costs. The paper concludes with a discussion of some of the problems faced in the Chile study.
Using Focus Group Interviews to Understand Staff Perceptions from Training in the Therapeutic Community Model
Authors: Tsiboukli Anna , Wolff Kim
Published: May 2005

The current article is concerned with the use of focus group interviews in understanding staff perceptions of training to work with drug users during the different stages of change from addiction to rehabilitation in the Therapeutic Community model. The article discusses the use of the focus group interview as the most appropriate method for the scope of this study, based on the assumption that trainees are aware of their own needs and demands from training. Methodological issues relevant to the use of focus groups and the individual responses to the training program are discussed. The content and structure of the training program are also discussed. The article concludes that gaining information on people's own perceptions and experiences from the training process can contribute significantly to program improvement.
Death Anxiety Reduction as the Result of Exposure to a Death and Dying Symposium
Authors: Waldman David A. , Davidshofer Charles
Published: May 2005

The purpose of this study was to measure the effect of a three-week death and dying symposium at Colorado State University on attitudes and anxiety related to death, dying, and grief. A prepost control group design was employed using psychology undergraduate students as participants. Because of an overall finding of low participant attendance at the symposium events, participants who attended at least one event were assigned to the treatment group for data analyses. Results indicated lower death anxiety for students in both the treatment and control groups. The findings are discussed in terms of the widespread media coverage and informal discussions which accompany large-scale symposiums. Future research is suggested regarding the dynamic effects of such death and dying symposiums in relation to both attendants and nonattendants.
A Historical Review (1965–1997) of Studies on Class, Health, and Quality of Life: A Personal Account
Authors: Navarro Vicente
Published: May 2005

This article is based on a speech presented by the author at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association in November 1997, on the occasion of the association's homage to Professor Vicente Navarro's 30 years of research on the relationship between class, health, and quality of life. In the article, the author expands on the historical evolution of this type of research in the United States, its different dimensions and consequences.
Political Constraints to Nutritional Improvement: The Case of Guyana
Authors: Omawale
Published: May 2005

The processes generating malnutrition are examined with particular reference to Guyana. The theoretical framework includes the concept of limiting factors, which in this case means that the failure to alter a critical variable will prevent nutritional improvement, despite intervention in other variables. Among important factors found to cause malnutrition are low national production, inequitable income distribution, and maladaptive cultural practices. These are located in the economy of the country and in the institutions and ideas which support that economy. Power and politics therefore fundamentally affect nutritional outcome; and imperialist control of underdeveloped economies makes international relations an indispensible consideration. It is concluded that for Guyana the political process is the limiting factor which must be altered before significant nutritional improvement can occur.
Management of Delirium in Terminally Ill AIDS Patients
Authors: Fernandez Francisco , Levy Joel K. , Mansell Peter W. A.
Published: May 2005

Delirium is the most common neuropsychiatric complication of hospitalized AIDS patients. Typically, delirium is multifactorial in etiology and a complete evaluation to rule out all treatable, contributable medical conditions should be the first stage in the approach to a delirious AIDS patient. While a search for probable cause is underway, the next goal of treatment should be sedation. To help clinicians recognize and manage delirium in advanced HIV disease, we describe our experience with 206 AIDS patients.
Relationship between Interaction and Acceptance in Satellite Video-Conferencing
Authors: Shrestha Govinda M. , Sutphin H. Dean
Published: May 2005

The study focuses on the relationships between viewer interaction and their acceptance of programs delivered via satellite. The objectives were to i) describe the effectiveness of programs, ii) describe relations between the extent of audience interaction and levels of acceptance of programs, and iii) identify implications for practitioners, policy makers, and program developers. A cross-sectional survey was used to examine the responses of 240 Cornell Cooperative Extension field educators to satellite videoconferencing. Major findings were: viewer (educator) interaction among peers and interaction with the center were significantly correlated with the three levels (cognitive, affective, and behavioral) of acceptance of both administrative and in-service programs. Major implications include a) the need to emphasize interaction among viewers on site and interaction with presenters at the center, b) creation of a proper environment congenial to interaction, and c) the need to place greater emphasis on the role of instructional strategies to promote interaction in satellite distance education programming.
A Comparison of Coping Strategies of African American and Caucasian Widows
Authors: Salahu-Din Sakinah N.
Published: May 2005

This study, based on in-depth qualitative interviews with three Caucasian widows and four African-American widows, describes and compares the women's selection of coping strategies to deal with problems occurring after the death of their husbands. Results of this investigation suggest more similarities than differences in coping strategies adopted to deal with loneliness, difficulties with children, health issues, loss of task support, and the use of social support networks as a coping mechanism. Although the husbands' death was devastating, personal growth experiences were positive results of the loss. This study also suggests implications for professionals working with both Black and white widows.
The Influence of Navigation Map Scope on Disorientation of Elementary Students in Learning a Web-Based Hypermedia Course
Authors: Chiu Chiung-Hui , Wang Fu-Ming
Published: May 2005

The goal of this study is to determine the optimal scope for the navigation map in hypermedia courseware. The influence of the scope of the navigation map on disorientation was compared. One hundred and forty-six fifth-grade elementary students from four intact classes participated in this study. A multileveled design was adopted. The independent variable was the scope of navigation map, and the dependent variable was the degree of disorientation measured by the number of browsed pages, number of searching steps, and score of disorientation. The results show that the navigation map scope did impact pupils' performance in terms of searching steps. In particular, a larger field is better, although the field does not necessarily have to be global.
Attitudinal and Normative Predictors of Alcohol Use by Older Adolescents and Young Adults
Authors: Kuther Tara L. , Higgins-D'Alessandro Ann
Published: May 2005

A model of alcohol use based on the theory of planned behavior, expectancy theory, and the developmental literature on the influence of parents and peers was examined with 87 eleventh grade students, 105 college freshmen, and 107 college juniors. Specifically, the influence of attitudes about the positive and negative consequences of drinking, perceived parental and peer norms about alcohol consumption, and perceived control over drinking predicted self-reported alcohol use. The results suggest that, during adolescence, decisions to consume alcohol are rational, based on the consideration of the positive consequences of alcohol use and perceptions of control over drinking; however, the negative consequences of alcohol use are discounted. While perceived peer norms predicted alcohol consumption in all three age groups, the influence of perceived parental norms varied such that they predicted alcohol use only among the college juniors. Implications and avenues for future research are discussed.
Managed Health Care Companies' Lobbying Frenzy
Authors: Watzman Nancy , Woodall Patrick
Published: May 2005

The top dozen national managed health care companies and two industry trade groups spent at least $2,023,041 on lobbying expenses and campaign contributions to key lawmakers during last year's health care debate, according to an analysis of Federal Election Commission data and federal lobbying disclosure forms. Five of the top six spenders are large insurance companies that are rapidly transferring their business from traditional indemnity insurance to HMOs. Over half—52 percent—of campaign donations from the top managed care companies' and trade associations' PACs and employees went to members sitting on the five Congressional committees with jurisdiction over health care reform.
You-Perspective: Insights from Speech Act Theory
Authors: Campbell Kim Sydow , Riley Kathryn , Parker Frank
Published: May 2005

Advice about how and when to implement the you-perspective is sometimes vague or contradictory. Many authorities simply advise writers to use the second person pronoun as often as possible, in either subject or object position; others suggest that the first person pronoun may be preferable for certain types of messages such as negative ones. Concepts from speech act theory can be used to clarify the most effective use of first and second person pronouns in two types of structures frequently found in professional communication: commissives and directives.
Influence of Passive versus Active Information Access to Hypertextual Information Resources on Cognitive and Emotional Parameters
Authors: Zumbach Jörg , Reimann Peter , Koch Sabine
Published: May 2005

Learning with non-linear media has been one of the most prevalent topics in educational computing research during the last two decades. The present study examines the influences of navigation in hypertext learning environments and discusses advantages and disadvantages of hypertext as instructional media. Results suggest that subjects retrieving information by actively navigating hypertext do not differ in knowledge acquisition from counterpart-subjects assigned to a passive condition. In a yoked-control design the subjects in the passive condition retrieved the same nodes in the same sequence resulting from their counterparts' active navigation. Both experimental groups showed a significant increase of self-confidence in content-related knowledge compared with a control group. In order to assess subjects ability to apply their knowledge, participants completed an argumentation task using a concept mapping tool. Both experimental groups showed significantly better performance after the treatment, but did not differ from each other markedly. In addition, active access to hypertext information did not result in higher certainty about subjects' knowledge acquisition (self-ratings) compared to passive access. No evidence was found for increased self-confidence in subjects' argumentation ability resulting from active navigation.
Health as an Irreversible Part of the Welfare State: Canadian Government Policy under the Tories
Authors: O'Neill Michael A.
Published: May 2005

This article provides an assessment of the health policy of the Canadian Conservative government under Brian Mulroney, 1984–1993. Underlying this assessment is the need to test the theory of the irreversibility of the welfare state in the light of its health component. The author argues that despite a political rhetoric that might have presaged a sharp rollback of Canada's Medicare, either through residualization or progressive com-modification, Canada emerged from this period of New Right federal government with its state-funded health care system still in place. This argument is substantiated through a consideration of the social policy model inherited by the Mulroney government and how it was affected by the government's fiscal policies between 1984 and 1993.
Renewing the National Health Service: Labour's Agenda for a Healthier Britain
Authors: Barrantes Rae
Published: May 2005

In this report the Labour Party gives its view of the current status of the British National Health Service (NHS), and outlines its plans for the NHS under a Labour government. The values underlying the NHS—comprehensive health care, free at the point of use, based on need rather than ability to pay—have been betrayed. The truly national health service, created by a Labour government in 1948, has been replaced by a market-based service led by accountants. Patients are suffering, health care professionals are dissatisfied, some of the nation's finest hospitals are closing, community care is in chaos, and NHS dentistry has all but been privatized. Under the Tories, the NHS faces a future of privatization, competition, and markets, money wasted on bureaucracy, and the unfairness of a two-tier system. Under Labour, the NHS faces modernization, planned progress, money spent on frontline services, and excellence for all. Labour will follow a model of health care that is patient centered and community led, a properly coordinated and efficient public service.
A Comparison of Guilt in Bereaved Parents whose Children Died by Suicide, Accident, or Chronic Disease
Authors: Miles Margaret Shandor , Demi Alice Sterner
Published: May 2005

Based on a model of bereavement guilt developed by the investigators, this study assessed the frequency of guilt feelings, explored their sources, and compared the guilt experiences of parents whose children died by different modes–suicide, accident, and chronic disease. Of the 132 parents who participated in the study: sixty-two experienced a child's death by suicide; thirty-two by an accident; and thirty-eight by a chronic disease. Data from open-ended questions were analyzed using content analysis methods. Guilt feelings were reported by 92 percent of suicide bereaved parents, 78 percent of accident bereaved parents, and 71 percent of chronic disease bereaved parents. Furthermore, 34 percent of the suicide bereaved parents reported that guilt was the most distressing aspect of their grief, while none of the accident bereaved or chronic disease bereaved parents reported guilt as the most distressing aspect of their grief. Using the previously developed topology of guilt sources, findings supported the existence of six sources: Death Causation, Illness-related, Childrearing, Moral, Survival, and Grief Guilt. Sources differed by type of death. Death Causation and Childrearing Guilt were more prevalent among suicide and accident bereaved parents than among chronic disease bereaved parents. As expected, Illness-related Guilt was more prevalent in parents of children who died of chronic disease. Few parents reported Grief, Moral, or Survival Guilt. Implications of the findings for clinical practice with bereaved parents are discussed.
The Influence of Visualization on Intuitive and Analytical Information Processing
Authors: Epstein Seymour , Pacini Rosemary
Published: May 2005

To test the assumption in cognitive-experiential self-theory (CEST) that visualized experience is similar to real experience in people's intuitive-experiential system but not in their analytical-rational system, participants responded to a verbal description of the ratio-bias (RB) game of chance with and without vivid visualization of the situation. In real situations, people have consistently been willing to pay small sums of money for the privilege of drawing from a bowl that offered 10 winning items out of 100 in preference to one that offered 1 winning item out of 10. Some reported that although they “knew better,” they “felt” they had a better chance of drawing a winning item when there were more of them. Interestingly, this irrational response does not occur when people are simply asked what they believe they would do in a real situation. In support of prediction, vivid visualization of a verbal description of the game of chance reproduced the phenomenon that otherwise occurs only in real situations. Several subsidiary predictions based on CEST were also supported, including the biasing effect of intuitive-experiential thinking on subsequent attempts to think rationally. This effect, which has been demonstrated in several other situations, has important implications for understanding human irrationality.
Belief in and Experience with the Paranormal: Relations between Personality Boundaries, Executive Functioning, Gender Role, and Academic Variables
Authors: Spinelli Stacey N. , Reid Howard M. , Norvilitis Jill M.
Published: May 2005

The present study examined individual differences in beliefs in the paranormal. One hundred and ninety-three college students were given a questionnaire measuring executive functioning, boundaries of personality, masculinity and femininity, and college major. Overall, 75 percent of participants reported belief in at least one of four types of paranormal activity and 42 percent reported experiencing at least one of four types of paranormal activity. Thinness of personality boundaries was related to belief in, as well as experience with, the paranormal. There was also a relationship between belief and experience and gender role. There was no evidence for a relationship between belief in the paranormal and year in college or college major.
Conjectures concerning the Origins of Misconceptions in Logo
Authors: Lee Okhwa , Lehrer Richard
Published: May 2005

Adult students learning LOGO for the first time developed a series of misconceptions concerning the flow of control in their programs. Most errors consisted of violations of programming discourse or style conventions. Students with prior programming experience in BASIC developed a novel implementation of recursion in LOGO that reflected the iterative FOR … NEXT construct of BASIC. The origins of these violations of programming conventions were traced to general properties of cognition and also to specific instructional practices. Changes in instructional practices, implemented in a second study, reduced the general incidence of some types of errors. However, instances of negative transfer due to prior programming experience continued to occur.
A System to Assess the Semantic Content of Student Essays
Authors: Lemaire Benoit , Dessus Philippe
Published: May 2005

This paper presents Apex, a system that can automatically assess a student essay based on its content. It relies on Latent Semantic Analysis, a tool which is used to represent the meaning of words as vectors in a high-dimensional space. By comparing an essay and the text of a given course on a semantic basis, our system can measure how well the essay matches the text. Various assessments are presented to the student regarding the topic, the outline and the coherence of the essay. Our experiments yield promising results.
Setting National Health Goals and Targets in the Context of a Fiscal Crisis: The Politics of Social Choice in New Zealand
Authors: Beaglehole Robert , Davis Peter
Published: May 2005

The setting of national health goals and targets in New Zealand has taken place in the context of fiscal crisis. The mandate for State intervention for social goals has also been under a sustained ideological challenge. These circumstances, together with other developments within the New Zealand health service, prepared the way for the development of the first set of health goals and targets. Six criteria were used to identify health problems for which goals and targets could be set. Ten areas were included, and specific, timed and quantified targets were set in each area for the year 2000 with shorter term targets for 1995. The Minister of Health gave priority to three areas: tobacco control, secondary prevention of cervical cancer, and reduction of road accident injury and death. An important aspect of the program is that the goals and targets are to be the focus of the annual contract between the Minister of Health (the primary funder of health care) and the Area Health Boards (the primary providers of health care). A matrix of policy options is presented for resource allocation and public health. The case study described represents one solution to the set of policy choices presented by fiscal and ideological challenge; the “new managerialism” has been allied with the “new public health.” The authors argue that a combination of ideological renewal and fiscal probity has preserved a vigorous role for the State in health and health care. This matrix of policy options also underlines the necessity to consider health outcomes, as well as organizational goals, in the evaluation of the performance of health systems.
Employer Control and the Work Environment: A Study of the Swedish Public Dental Service
Authors: Bejero Eva , Theorell Töres
Published: May 2005

The Public Dental Service in Sweden has a system of surveillance and supervision based on time studies, piecework wages for dentists, and detailed time reporting. This control system and its development are described in this article. The focus is on the effects of the system on the staff. A representative group of Swedish dentists (n = 896) and dental nurses (n = 600) was asked to participate in a questionnaire study exploring the work environment in the Public Dental Service. The response rate was 87 percent. The dentists reported that they felt constantly supervised and evaluated. Their work tempo was related to surveillance, competition, and demands of the employer. There was no correlation between work tempo and piecework results. A high percentage of the staff mentioned weaknesses in the charging and piecework system that they thought could result in an undesirable influence on dentists' work. A majority would have preferred fixed salaries. The results are discussed in terms of gender, motivation, proletarianization, and management style.
Occurrence Schemas, Context Ambiguity, and Hypnotic Responding
Authors: Spanos Nicholas P. , Salas Jesus A. , Bertrand Lorne D. , Johnston Joseph C.
Published: May 2005

We assessed the extent to which observers classified the behavior of a videotaped model as a goal-directed action or as an involuntary occurrence while varying the social context in which the model's behavior was embedded. Observers watched a model: a) respond to an arm levitation suggestion in a situation explicitly defined as hypnotic, b) respond to the same suggestion in a situation not defined as hypnotic, or c) attempt to swat a bothersome fly. In both open-ended testimony and on questionnaires, observers consistently described the fly-tracking behavior as a goal-directed action and the hypnotic response as an involuntary occurrence. Observers showed more variability when describing the behavior of the model who received the nonhypnotic suggestion. For observers of the fly-tracking and hypnotic videos involuntariness ratings of the model's behavior failed to correlate significantly with observers' own hypnotizability. However, for those shown the nonhypnotic suggestion video the extent to which the model's behavior was rated as involuntary predicted observers' own level of overt and subjective responding to a test of hypnotizability. Theoretical implications are discussed.
Is Globalization Reducing Poverty and Inequality?
Authors: Wade Robert Hunter
Published: May 2005

Over the past 20 years or so, India, China, and the rest of East Asia experienced fast economic growth and falls in the poverty rate, Latin America stagnated, and the former Soviet Union, Central and Eastern Europe, and sub-Saharan Africa regressed. But what are the net trends? The neoliberal argument says that world poverty and income inequality fell over the past two decades for the first time in more than a century and a half, thanks to the rising density of economic integration across national borders. The evidence therefore confirms that globalization in the context of the world economic regime in place since the end of Bretton Woods generates more “mutual benefit” than “conflicting interests.” This article questions the empirical basis of the neoliberal argument.
Components of Computer Anxiety
Authors: Jones Paul E. , Wall Robert E.
Published: May 2005

This descriptive study employed a multi-group, pre-post design. Analyses were employed to answer the following questions: 1) As a result of the course, “Computers in Society,” are there reductions in students' computer anxiety scores? 2) Is course performance, as indicated by course grades, related to pre and post anxiety scores? 3) Does the amount of experience with computers relate to computer anxiety scores? 4) Are age and/or sex related to computer anxiety scores? Results indicated that computer experience, as indicated by the number of computer courses, is associated with reductions in computer anxiety. Age was significantly related to computer anxiety but a significant relationship between gender and computer anxiety was not found. Also, no significant relationship was found between anxiety and students' academic achievement in the computer course as measured by their course grades.
Probing the Sources of Lithic Assemblage Variability: A Regional Case Study near the Homolovi Ruins, Arizona
Authors: Sullivan Alan P.
Published: May 2005

Problems with the interpretation of regional lithic assemblage variability are briefly discussed. Several methods are introduced for controlling the sources of variation that influence the composition of lithic assemblages. The utility of these methods is illustrated with a statistical analysis of lithic artifact collections from thirteen sites near the Homolovi Ruins Group north of Winslow, Arizona. Results indicate strong technological differences between four site classes that cannot be attributed to site type, location, or time exclusively. Some arguments based on considerations of regional settlement and organization are proposed to account for the technological patterning that pertains to each site class. The Homolovi study shows that a comprehensive understanding of interassemblage variability necessitates that multiple lines of evidence be developed to ensure all potential sources of variability have been thoroughly examined.
The Effects of Internal and External Control Factors on College Students' Marijuana Use and Cessation of Use
Authors: Lo Celia C. , Globetti Gerald
Published: May 2005

The purpose of this study was to examine how selected internal and external control variables influence lifetime use, frequency of use, and cessation of use of marijuana. The internal control factor, comprising the variables 1) perceived risk of marijuana use and 2) attitudes toward prohibition of marijuana use, refers to a built-in personal tendency toward conventionality. The external control factor refers to social-environmental forces which discourage marijuana use. External control is indicated by factors including the number of extra-curricular activities in which an individual is involved; place of residence; the availability of marijuana; peer attitudes toward marijuana use; the number of an individual's friends who use marijuana; and the number of occasions on which an individual has observed others using marijuana. The study's results show that both internal and external control factors are significant predictors of the frequency of marijuana use. The external control factor, however, plays a more important role in explaining lifetime marijuana use and cessation of marijuana use.
Grief and Loss: Issues for Abortion
Authors: Kesselman Idell
Published: May 2005

I had my first abortion just after my seventeenth birthday; in 1966 abortions were legal only to save the mother's life. My parents took me to Mexico, under the guidance of their psychoanalyst. But we never talked about it. While we were gone our dog had puppies. It seemed a powerful irony-but we never talked about it. I had two more abortions years later, each linked to the ending of a marriage. I began to notice a pattern-but no one helped me talk about it. And so I wrote-vignettes, journals, poems, dreams, parts of short stories-never realizing that I was struggling with the unacknowledged, unresolved grief of three abortions, three deaths. Then in 1987 I took the class, “Death, Society, and Human Experience,” as part of my preparation for a master's degree in counseling. All of my fragmented, aborted efforts at writing came together: each vignette had been a part of my grieving. These writings finally helped me resolve my grief-over twenty years of it. I can't help but wonder what differences specific grief therapy might have made in my life-in 1966, in 1972, or in 1976. Whatever your position on the issue of abortion, we must acknowledge that at least one death occurs. In addition to the fetus, there is often the death of youth, of innocence, of dreams, of illusions. Grief therapy must be a part of any abortion counseling. Without a healthy resolution, the guilt and pain continue. For some, it becomes a numbness, a heaviness carried deep inside. For others, relationships, pregnancies, and self concept are affected.
Some Stylistic Features of Business and Technical Writing: The Functions of Passive Voice, Nominalization, and Agency
Authors: Kies Daniel
Published: May 2005

By studying a selection of business and technical texts, one can determine the functions of and the interactions between passive voice, nominalizations, and expressions of agency. One discovers that the distinction between dynamic and stative uses of verbs is crucial for understanding the various functions of passive sentences and nominalizations in business and technical writing. Then the functions of passive sentences and nominalizations are enumerated and illustrated with sentences from business and technical texts before discussing the various devices for expressing agency in passive and nominalized sentences. Only by understanding the various functions of these sentence types can instructors of business and technical writing offer specific and practical advice.
The Development and Implementation of a Cognitive-Based Intervention Aimed at Culturally Diverse Women at Risk for HIV/AIDS
Authors: Quadagno David , Harrison Dianne F. , Eberstein Isaac W. , Sly David F. , Yoshioka Marriane , Soler Hosanna
Published: May 2005

The development and implementation of a culturally and gender sensitive, cognitive behavioral-intervention program aimed at preventing high-risk sexual and drug-use behaviors among culturally diverse women at risk for HIV/AIDS is described. The intervention stressed education, cultural/social barriers to change, and assertiveness/negotiation skill building. Methodological problems and their solutions are presented. The article stresses ways to recruit poor at-risk women, how to reduce attrition using incentives such as providing transportation, having food and child care at the intervention sessions, financial rewards, and a tracking system that includes many friends and family members of the participant. Preliminary findings indicated that the intervention was successful in promoting knowledge about HIV/AIDS. At the end of the six-week intervention protocol, the intervention group compared to the control group showed significant improvements in HIV/AIDS knowledge items dealing with clinical aspects of the disease, transmission knowledge, and partner risk knowledge. Knowledge, along with motivation to reduce risk and negotiation skills are essential in changing behaviors that put one at risk.
Psychosomatic Knowledge and the Role of the Physician: A Sociological View
Authors: Bergen Bernard J.
Published: May 2005

One of the important tasks for psychosomatic medicine is that of educating clinical specialties outside of Psychiatry to the way in which psychosocial factors are implicated in illness. There is reason to believe that this educative task is more complicated than it appears at first glance. One of the difficulties may lie in a resistance on the part of physicians to integrating psychosocial knowledge into their ongoing activities because of a threat which that information poses to the historical foundation of their role. Following Foucault's study of the origin of modern medicine, this foundation can be said to be grounded in the belief that the truth of the suffering patient is that which reveals itself in the space of the body to the informed gaze of the physician. Psychosocial knowledge confronts the physician with the need to accept coexistent realities of the suffering of illness. As disruptive as educating physicians to this idea of “coexistent realities of illness” may be, it is essentially a task, belonging to psychosomatic medicine, of bringing the physician into the circle of scientific modernity.
Aboriginal Sturgeon Exploitation on the Middle Snake River, Idaho
Authors: Plew Mark G.
Published: May 2005

This article examines the potential of harvesting and processing sturgeon and assesses its potential nutritional or dietary value as a food resource. Using examples from the Middle Snake River and other areas, catch ratios, handling time, and caloric values are calculated. Analysis of existing data suggests that while sturgeon were utilized, they may not have been optimal in the aboriginal diet.
A Graduate Student Information Management System
Authors: Miller M. Clinton , Wong Yu-Man Matthew , Michel Yvonne
Published: May 2005

This paper describes an online computerized Graduate Student Information Management System developed for the College of Graduate Studies at the Medical University of South Carolina. The system enables the staff of the Office of Graduate Studies to monitor the flow of requests for admission and graduate student compliance with degree requirements. The information system utilizes the MUMPS interpretive language and inverted tree data file structure. The system supports on-line key to disk data entry, editing, updating, sorting, and report generation. It is interfaced with statistical packages such as BMDP and SPSS for data analysis.
The Role of the Church in Adolescent Drug Education
Authors: Kutter Catherine J. , McDermott Diane S.
Published: May 2005

Despite drug education and prevention efforts, adolescent substance use is on the rise in the United States. In an exploration of correlates of substance use and components of effective drug education, three dimensions of religiosity—religious proscriptiveness, involvement in church activities, and the importance an individual places on church activities—emerge. Each has previously demonstrated an inverse relationship with adolescent substance use. In the present study, interactions among these three dimensions were evaluated in 238 adolescents. Religious proscriptiveness interacted with church involvement and with church importance in relation to adolescent use of alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, and other drugs. Additionally, among adolescents who had ever used alcohol, a positive relationship was observed between religious proscriptiveness and binge drinking such that the highest incidence of binge drinking was reported by those affiliated with prescriptive religious groups. The church may be an important vehicle for drug education. Implications for drug education are discussed, and further research is suggested.
Effect of Interactivity upon Student Achievement, Completion Intervals, and Affective Perceptions
Authors: Summers Jerry A.
Published: May 2005

This experimental investigation was aimed at determining the effect of interactivity upon student achievement, completion intervals, and affective perceptions. A professionally prepared training video tape was “repurposed” to an interactive videodisc medium. University students from a variety of academic majors were randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group experienced the repurposed interactive videodisc-based instructional unit; the second group experienced the linear video tape-based presentation mode. Records were maintained regarding the amount of time required to complete each unit of study. In addition, both groups completed a multiple choice examination and an affective response instrument. Computed f-tests revealed no statistically significant differences in student achievement or in the amount of time (interval) required to complete the unit of study. However, students expressed significant preferences ( p < .05) for the interactive videodisc-based instructional mode.