bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Synthesis of Current Research on Marijuana
Authors: Brubaker Timothy H.
Published: May 2005

This paper is a synthesis of the research which has been recently completed to ascertain the effects of the drug marijuana on human behavior. Since the isolation of the active component of marijuana (THC), studies have revealed various effects to the memory, specific physiological effects, and definite visual effects to individuals while under the influence of marijuana. Furthermore, it has been noted that the sociological aspects of the drug are of great importance to the study of this drug. It appears that these sociological aspects may stimulate an individual into the use of this drug. The state of euphoria is cited as one of the factors which stimulate the usage of marijuana. It appears that an individual cannot participate normally in expected societal roles while under the influence of marijuana.
Reminiscing: The State of the Art as a Basis for Practice
Authors: Haight Barbara K.
Published: May 2005

This integrated review presents the state of the art in reminiscing and life review as derived from a review of the literature from 1960–1990. Reports, reviews, and research are categorized and critiqued with the purpose of clarifying the use of reminiscing for practice. Out of ninety-seven published articles describing reminiscing, only seven report negative outcomes; the remainder are either positive or nonevaluative. As a result, the author concludes that clinicians should use reminiscing in their practice, and researchers should continue to define the variables that lead to successful reminiscing.
Who Cares if I Say Good Morning: An Unobtrusive Study of the Elderly
Authors: Kapeller Jack A. , Krueger Albert H.
Published: May 2005

Senior Citizens from three high rise apartment buildings were studied to find if the elderly present special needs. The investigation consisted of a number of shopping trips by chartered bus to a supermarket. A tally was kept recording responses to a greeting on a cue day and responses on a non-cue day when no greeting was given. Four null hypotheses were tested resulting in evidence that the elderly respond more often when a verbal stimulus is present, than when not. It was found that the elderly do present unique needs and society must communicate more with them and with those who are dealing with the elderly on a regular basis.
Group Processes in Helping Groups: Toward a Developmental Perspective
Authors: Lakin Martin , Bremer Janis , Oppenheimer Bruce
Published: May 2005

Ten interaction dimensions of group behavior and three emotional atmosphere categories were coded and analyzed on the basis of interactions among old and young participants in experimental “support-discussion” groups. The seven groups of elderly and five groups of young differed significantly with respect to frequencies of Boundary, Self-disclosure, and Support behaviors. In addition, the young were rated as showing signs of boredom more frequently. The implications of these results for development and age-linked assumptions about helping group interactions and interventions were explored. The results suggest that this approach is promising in generating knowledge that could facilitate age-appropriate group intervention strategies.
Computers in Physician Licensure and Certification: New Methods of Assessment
Authors: Norcini John
Published: May 2005

The newer methods of assessment that could become part of a licensure or certification program for physicians in the next decade include standardized patients which assess clinical skills and four computer-based methods that provide an assessment of cognitive ability: simple computerized tests, computer simulations, adapting item presentation, and continuous testing. The prognosis for standardized patients is mixed, with implementation more likely to occur outside of the U.S. Over the next five years, simple computerized tests will be implemented and significant strides will be made in computer simulations and adapting item presentations. These two methods should be implemented toward the end of the decade. The prognosis for the use of continuous testing is poor because so much fundamental work is needed.
Raw Deal for Workers: Why Have U.S. Workers Experienced a Long-Term Decline in Pay, Benefits, and Working Conditions?
Authors: Tilly Chris
Published: May 2005

Pay, opportunities, and job quality have worsened for most U.S. workers over the past 30 years, across most sectors of the economy. This decline is related to fundamental changes in the economy and society, including sluggish productivity growth and employer assaults on workers' rights and protections. Productivity growth has slowed as companies no longer invest as much in equipment and training. Businesses have attacked workers' protections; unionization is down, and the minimum wage is worth about two-thirds as much as at its high point in the late 1960s. The National Labor Relations Board, other federal agencies, and the courts are stacked with anti-labor appointees. And businesses have pushed more and more risk onto workers, with a growth in temporary work and much reduced work-related benefits.
Residential Mobility and Living Arrangements among the Elderly: Changing Patterns in Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Areas
Authors: Clifford William B. , Heaton Tim , Fuguitt Glenn V.
Published: May 2005

Using data from the 1960 and 1970 Public Use Samples and the 1975 Current Population Survey, this study examines the relationship between residential mobility and living arrangements among the elderly. Particular attention is given to temporal change in that relationship as well as to metropolitan-nonmetropolitan differentials. Persons with living arrangements indicative of greater dependency (i.e., persons who are other relatives of household heads) evidence greater mobility than those with greater independence (i.e., primary individuals and heads or spouses of heads). Results further suggest that outmigration from nonmetropolitan areas is particularly selective of those elderly in dependent type living arrangements. Over time, there is also a noticeable increase in migration of heads or spouses, especially from metropolitan to nonmetropolitan environments. It appears that temporal shifts in living arrangements partly account for changes in residential mobility within and between metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas.
Health and Subjective Well-Being: A Replicated Secondary Data Analysis
Authors: George Linda K. , Landerman Richard
Published: May 2005

The purposes of this article are to use replicated secondary data analysis to summarize information about the relationship between health and subjective well-being and to assess the strengths and weaknesses of replicated secondary data analysis as a mode of research synthesis. The findings from thirty-seven replications in seven surveys suggest a moderate and robust relationship between self-rated health and subjective well-being. Physician-assessed health, in contrast, exhibits weaker and less robust associations with subjective well-being. Further, the relationship between health and subjective well-being is conditioned by age and is stronger for measures of negative than positive affect. The principal advantages of replicated secondary data analysis, vis-a-vis other modes of research synthesis, are cost-effectiveness, increased ability to apply multivariate statistical techniques, and greater control and flexibility for the investigator. We suggest, nonetheless, that different modes of research synthesis can best be used for different purposes.
Measuring Changes in Attitude toward Drug Abuse: A Preliminary Report of a Method
Authors: Heistad Gordon T. , Zimmermann Robert L. , Wong Martin R.
Published: May 2005

Actual drug related incidents occurring in public schools were used as the basis of a testing instrument designed to detect changes in teachers' attitudes as a result of a drug education course using the Social Seminar as a focus. Trial results on 200 teachers indicate that the instrument does measure changes in attitude occurring as a result of drug education. The changes occurring reflect a move from punitive to rehabilitative measures in response to major drug incidents and an increasing tendency to ignore minor infractions. Pretreatment-posttreatment differences were statistically significant but accounted for a relatively small portion of the total variance.
Issues of Educational Uses of the Internet: Power and Criticism in Communications and Searching
Authors: Iseke-Barnes Judy M.
Published: May 2005

This article draws upon poststructuralism in its discussion of issues in using the Internet with preservice teachers. A research study examines a group of preservice teachers' interactions with the Internet in searching for information and in communications. An in-depth case study allows for the characterizing of communications on the Internet, discussions of embodied computing, and issues of being silenced by communications. Other topics include: brotherhoods on the Internet, ethical issues, issues of privacy versus the public nature of the Internet, the sharing of text and sharing of voice, language of Internet searches, and explorations of the Internet. Discussion of these issues includes asking what does it mean to be active and who is in control? A comparison of information versus knowledge as power on the Internet is also important to the discussion of the Internet.
Alcohol and Cigarette Use among Early Adolescents
Authors: Bloom Marie D. , Greenwald Michael A.
Published: May 2005

Five hundred and ninety-six fifth through seventh graders in Western Pennsylvania were assessed regarding their cigarette and alcohol behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge. Approximately one third of the students were experimental users of these substances. Pro-smoking and pro-drinking attitudes were directly related to use. Knowledge about smoking and drinking were inversely related to use. No difference in cigarette and alcohol use were found between sexes or among the three grade levels. Cigarette smoking was found to be a peer oriented behavior for this age group whereas drinking was a more family oriented behavior.
Resistances to Naturalistic Observation in a Geriatric Setting
Authors: Watson Wilbur H.
Published: May 2005

Two residential floors for the disabled in a Home for the Jewish Aged were the settings for this research. One stationary camera with an audio-video taping system was used on each floor to collect data on staff-elderly interactions. This procedure permitted systematic comparisons of staff-initiated touching in relation to naturalistic variations in (1) the physical appearances of patients, and (2) the sex, age, and social statuses of interaction partners. This procedure is discussed with regard to the methodological and ethical problems it posed.
Intuition: Two Caregivers' Descriptions of How They Provide Severely Demented Patients with Loving Care
Authors: Hellner Britt Mari , Norberg Astrid
Published: May 2005

To understand how caregivers reason when faced with patients in late states of dementia, two recognized expert caregivers were interviewed about their experiences of caring for severely demented patients. Combined in the precontext were hermeneutic, psychodynamic, and existentialist perspectives with regard to theories of human development and care ethics. Ethical reasoning, exemplified by tender descriptions of relatedness to patients, indicated that expert caregivers use sound knowledge combined with imagination, empathy, and intuition, to reach a total grasp of the situation, where the patient is regarded as a person with worth, dignity, and integrity.
The Fears Expressed by Elderly Men and Women: A Lifespan Approach
Authors: Croake James W. , Myers Kathleen M. , Singh Abe
Published: May 2005

This article reports one of the first studies of adult fears, specifically in an elderly population. Results indicated that older women expressed greater fearfulness than older men, a sex differential also observed in children and adolescents. When compared to other adult groups, significant differences were noted on several categories of fears. The elderly group ranked aging and sickness as their foremost fears, although the absolute degree of fearfulness did not differ from the comparison groups. Considered with previous investigations, these results suggest that some fears may change or intensify over the lifespan, and that within each period females report greater fearfulness than males. Additionally, this article describes a new entity, “fisity,” which accounts for the popularity and the intensity of fears in a single measure.
Toward a Rational View of Drug Education
Authors: Bedworth David A.
Published: May 2005

This paper deals with solving the problems which are encountered in the implementation of drug education programs. The author reviews the current teaching methods being used in drug education programs, presents a rationale for program evaluation, and proceeds to make recommendations for comprehensive health and drug education programs.

The author concludes that teacher training, classroom activities, university-school district relationships, school-community relationships, and administration of health and drug education programs must be re-examined if one is to come to a rational view of drug education.
Life Satisfaction and Death Anxiety in Aged Women
Authors: Tate Lenore Artie
Published: May 2005

The life satisfaction and death anxiety of elderly women were investigated as a function of demographic, life history, and stress variables. Through multiple regression, life satisfaction was predicted by number of friends, good health, and, surprisingly, by having fewer offspring living in the same city. Health problems, change in living conditions, and relatively high educational level were predictors of death anxiety. It was concluded that life satisfaction and death anxiety are a function of past and present life experiences and conditions.
Drug Abuse among Military Offenders
Authors: Ratliff Bascom W. , Eads Jerry
Published: May 2005

A survey of military offenders' drug abuse histories both prior to, and after entry on active duty was conducted at the United States Army Retraining Brigade in the fall of 1975. Results indicated that a substantial number of trainees began to abuse drugs prior to entering the military, but increased that use once on active duty. There was also a strong correlation between drug abuse and the court-martial offenses of AWOL, drug sales and possession, and disrespect. Findings clearly showed that individuals who commit offenses have substantial histories of alcohol and drug abuse.
Prediction and Prevention of Drug Abuse
Authors: Webb R. A. J. , Egger Garry J. , Reynolds Ingrid
Published: May 2005

This paper uses the infectious disease model as an approach to the prevention of narcotic or poly drug abuse. More specifically, it follows up the previous paper in which the characteristics of the potential addict were described at an age where preventive intervention was possible. The paper advises on the safe use of information so gained about young individuals and warns of the dangers of labelling.

It lists and discusses the productive and counter-productive educational techniques on the basis of research findings and international reports on the outcomes of effective and counter-productive programs.
Illinois Trends in Elementary School Drug Education: “The Soft Sell”
Authors: Brown James D.
Published: May 2005

Elementary school drug education in Illinois has recently undergone some major philosophical changes. Elementary schools are changing from a fact centered, “hard sell” crash program approach to programs emphasizing value activities and personal decision making about drugs within such health areas as nutrition, human growth and development, safety, disease, and mental health. Existing drug education programs have been selected from three different levels to illustrate the soft sell approach: 1) the recently published drug education curriculum guide from the Illinois State Department of Public Instruction; 2) the Drug Education Project of the Health Education Institute, Inc., of Hinsdale, Illinois, and 3) a research and development project on teacher preparation in elementary school health education at the University of Illinois.
A Cross-Cultural Health Study of Japanese and Caucasian Elders in Hawaii
Authors: Peterson Marvelu R. , Rose Charles L. , McGee Robert I.
Published: May 2005

A study of 1098 Japanese and 873 Caucasians sixty years of age and over from Hawaii State Department of Health data files revealed that better health was predicted not only by younger age, higher family income, and maintenance of work role, but also by Japanese ethnicity. Standardized partial regression coefficients showed ethnic membership per se to be as important as any of the demographic variables. Canonical correlation yielded the best correlation of the independent variables with a health index made up of number of chronic conditions, number of bed days and number of restricted days, with each of equal weight. Findings suggest the importance of ethno-cultural supports in health maintenance of the elderly, and have theoretical relevance for the role of culture in health.
Parent-Child Relationships and Single and Two Parent Families: Implications for Substance Usage
Authors: Selnow Gary W.
Published: May 2005

This article examines the relationship between substance usage and parent-child relationships and the number of parents with whom the child lives. These relationships were examined through initial and cross-validation studies. Findings disclosed that youngsters who lived with both parents were less likely to report higher substance usage than those who lived with one parent. Also, youngsters who reported better parent-child relationships were more likely to report lower substance usage. Evidence is offered that parent-child relationships may be more important in predicting substance usage than the number of parents at home.
Expert and Novice Performance in a Hypermedia Learning Environment for Classroom Observation Skills: The Impact of Prior Teaching Experience
Authors: Fitzgerald Gail E.
Published: May 2005

This study examined the process and outcomes of novice and expert teachers who learned a classroom observation coding system through a hypermedia learning environment. The training program was designed as a modular, skills-based approach following the stages of learning model. It allowed users nonlinear and user-controlled access to tutorials, guided practice, and multiple classroom situations for independent practice. Outcome measures included: 1) a coding test to assess knowledge of the behavioral codes and procedures, and 2) a reliability test to access proficiency with the code and routines under rigorous, timed conditions. It was found that novice teachers outperformed expert teachers in learning and using their observation skills. Implications focus on a discussion of the differences in observational experiences by novice and expert teachers which may form biases and the importance for hypermedia developers to consider the accuracy and adequacy of prior knowledge to help users assimilate new information and skills.
Age and Present and Future Perceived Quality of Life
Authors: Staats Sara R. , Stassen Marjorie A.
Published: May 2005

Future expectations of quality of life and present evaluations of quality of life were measured in three age groups using four measures. Expectations were found to exceed present evaluations on all four measures. There was a significant correlation between age and the Faces Scale for future expectations. Age also related to differences between future expectations and present quality of life estimates. Expectations, the cognitive dimension of hope, merit more intensive study.
The Second Evaluation of the Curricular Program “Hashish and Marihuana” in Israeli High Schools
Authors: Weiss Shoshana , Moore Michael
Published: May 2005

The purpose of this article is to describe the impact of the revised preventive interdisciplinary auricular program “Hashish and Marihuana” on attitudes and intentions towards hashish use among high school students in Israel. The redesigned curriculum, implemented by trained teachers, produces statistically significant attitude gains. The findings suggest that the program has a potential for a desired attitudinal modification within the target population, and that the contemporary “fourth generation” of preventive programs in drug education remain an effective prevention strategy. As the result of the evaluation research, the program will be officially disseminated to high schools during 1987–1988 by the Israeli Ministry of Education and Culture in collaboration with Haifa University.
Peer Cluster Theory and Adolescent Alcohol Use: An Explanation of Alcohol Use and a Comparative Analysis between Two Causal Models
Authors: Rose Christopher D.
Published: May 2005

This study tests the premise of peer cluster theory as it applies to individual alcohol use, and makes a comparative analysis between its ability to explain alcohol use and marijuana use. Using the results of a 1996 drug and alcohol survey of 1312 Western Kentucky University students, path analysis was used to measure the influence of six of peer cluster theory's psychosocial characteristics on the percentage of the respondent's college friends who use alcohol. All of these variables were then regressed on the respondent's alcohol use. The results of the causal models did show some support for peer cluster theory. The direct effect of the student's association with alcohol-using peers on individual alcohol use was shown to have the strongest direct influence on this outcome variable. However, a few limitations of this theoretical perspective were identified. The causal model for alcohol use showed that the indirect influence of two of these psychosocial characteristics (parental attitudes on alcohol use and success in school) was weaker than their direct influence on individual alcohol use. And, the comparative analysis showed that peer cluster theory is better suited to explain the use of marijuana than the use of alcohol.
Methodological Considerations to Improve Anti-Smoking Research
Authors: O'Rourke Thomas W.
Published: May 2005

One of the most extensively studied areas of health behavior is that related to smoking. However, significant methodological limitations often limit the usefulness of research efforts. The purpose of this paper is to identify several of the more significant limitations found in the present research and to present suggestions to improve further research in smoking behavior.

Several significant limitations of smoking research include the lack of common definitions of various behaviors, honesty of subject response, the lack of prospective studies and the problems inherent in such a design, and the preponderance of univariate types of analyses. Also, evaluation of program effectiveness is often limited by lack of appropriate criteria of what is meant by “success.” Lastly, much of the current research appears to focus on cessation or modification of the smoking habit. Less emphasis is directed at the area of prevention, especially involving an educational approach. Suggestions for improving anti-smoking research efforts are presented.
The Fifty-Year-Old Woman and Midlife Stress
Authors: Campbell Shirley
Published: May 2005

It has been assumed that the fifties are a relatively stable decade; however, women in their fifties are susceptible to many stresses, internal and external. The possibilities of widowhood, divorce, or poverty, combined with intra- and interpersonal strains, make this a time of insecurity about aging for many women. Some suggestions as to why women nonetheless cope successfully with aging are considered.
Government and Private Industry Programs: An Overview
Authors: Burgess Mary M.
Published: May 2005

Surveying a wide range of company policies and programs on alcohol and other drug abuse, the author interviewed such divergent types of employer as a law enforcement agency, an electronics manufacturing company, a public transportation authority, a life insurance company, an insurance brokerage house, and a bank. Some of the private firms and public agencies have long-standing and successful alcoholism programs. Others, while they have had problems with alcoholism on the job, have handled such cases individually and have established no formal alcoholism program. All have had some experience with the use of other drugs among employees—in varying degrees—and all expect this problem to become more widespread as more young persons enter the work world. Approaches to the use of our legal drug—alcohol—and the illegal drugs are varied and may be helpful to other employers seeking to establish effective programming.
Outdoor Recreation in Two European Countries
Authors: Rubenstein James M.
Published: May 2005

A questionnaire randomly distributed to 138 elderly individuals in Luxembourg and 100 in Thionville, France, revealed the high extent of participation in outdoor recreation in the two European countries. This cross-cultural study of a subject shown by others to be an important predictor of successful aging, identified similarities and differences in socio-economic characteristics, attitudes, and environmental factors associated with outdoor recreation participation in the two industrialized countries.
Drug-Related Cognitions among Minority Youth
Authors: Myers Vincent
Published: May 2005

Interviews with a nationwide sample of young and low-income black, chicano, and Caribbean men and women, as well as with their nonminority counterparts, reveal that the large majority are uninformed about the effects of licit and illicit drugs; nor do they know much about a range of other drug-related consequences. Of the ethnic groups queried, Caribbean men, and white men and women are most informed. These data, coupled with other findings drawn from a more lengthy report, lead to the conclusion that although one-half of the respondents have used illicit drugs, new sources of accurate information which are attuned to the backgrounds and language of youthful minorities are required for successful drug abuse intervention.
A Cognitive Processing Account of Individual Differences in Novice Logo Programmers' Conceptualisation and Use of Recursion
Authors: Gibbons Pamela
Published: May 2005

This article describes a study which investigated individual differences in the construction of mental models of recursion in Logo programming. It was hypothesized that differences in individuals' cognitive profiles would be reflected in differences in their computer programming problem solving behavior. The learning process was investigated from the perspective of Norman's mental models theory and employed diSessa's ontology regarding distributed, functional, and surrogate mental models. Analysis of the processes underlying mental model construction and of individual differences in these processes was based on the Luria model of brain function with particular regard to the relative contribution of simultaneous and successive cognitive processing abilities to conscious mental activity. Results generally confirmed predictions regarding the involvement of these abilities in the manifestation of individual differences in the stages of conscious mental activity contributing to the progressive development of mental models of recursion.
Altruistic Moral Judgment among Older Adults
Authors: Midlarsky Elizabeth , Kahana Eva , Corley Robin , Nemeroff Robin , Schonbar Rosalea A.
Published: May 2005

This study investigated altruistic moral judgment among the elderly, and examined its relationships to demographic and personality variables, self-reported helping, and subjective social integration (the perception that one is integrated into one's social milieu). The moral judgment interview included three stories, each of which contained a moral dilemma. Participants solved each dilemma and gave reasons for their solutions. The moral dilemmas and scoring system emphasized the positive, prosocial aspects of morality, rather than a prohibition-oriented approach. The categories used most often were, in descending order of frequency 1) pragmatic needs-of-others oriented reasons, 2) empathy-based reasons, 3) reasons based on internalized and/or abstract moral principles, and 4) hedonistic reasons. Of the higher levels of moral judgment, only reasoning based on abstract internalized principles had significant positive relationships with self-reported helping, the personality correlates of helping, and with subjective social integration into one's social milieu.
The Use of Node-Link Mapping in the Chemical Dependency Treatment of Adolescents
Authors: Collier Craig R. , Czuchry Michael , Dansereau Donald F. , Pitre Urvashi
Published: May 2005

The current study examined treatment perceptions of youth adjudicated to an eight-month residential treatment facility. Participants were randomly assigned to standard or mapping-enhanced counseling. They completed established questionnaires assessing group sessions, program features, treatment motivation, and number of program infractions. Mapping residents rated group sessions as deeper over time. Mapped sessions appeared to also maintain residents' arousal over time. Mapping residents rated themselves as more motivated to get along with staff, and also tended to be more motivated to engage in the treatment process. In addition, mapping residents had fewer program infractions thirty days after the beginning of the experiment compared to standard residents. These findings extend previous research on node-link mapping in adult treatment settings.
Computerized Adaptive Testing: Tracking Candidate Response Patterns
Authors: Lunz Mary E. , Bergstrom Betty
Published: May 2005

Computerized adaptive testing (CAT) uses a computer algorithm to construct and score the best possible individualized or tailored tests for each candidate. The computer also provides an absolute record of all responses and changes to responses, as well as their effects on candidate performance. The detail of the data from computerized adaptive tests makes it possible to track initial responses and response alterations, and their effect on candidate estimated ability measures, as well as the statistical performance of the examination. The purpose of this study was to track the effect of candidate response patterns on a computerized adaptive test. A ninety-item certification examination was divided into nine units of ten items each to track the pattern of initial responses and response alterations on ability estimates and test precision across the nine test units. The precision of the test was affected most by response alterations during early segments of the test. While generally, candidates benefit from altering responses, individual candidates showed different patterns of response alterations across test segments. Test precision is minimally affected, suggesting that the tailoring of CAT is minimally affected by response alterations.
“Natural Highs” in an Historical and Biological Context
Authors: Emboden William A.
Published: May 2005

Historical and contemporary patterns of substance use and abuse are recognized, and the error in believing psychoactive natural substances to be reasonably safe is pointed out. The plethora of literature on drug-induced ecstasies among diverse peoples produces over-confidence in the safety of inducing altered states by means of natural chemicals. Given the current level of experimentation, the lack of a context for use, and the lack of knowledge of the toxicity of many plant sources presents a very real problem. Documented evidence of recent changes in patterns of experimentation with diverse drugs, many from natural sources, suggests that the naive user may experience an unwarranted level of confidence. Diverse genera and species of plants that produce psychoactive effects are presented. Many of these are now in use and others will undoubtedly be the subject of uncontrolled experimentation in the future. Educators, researchers, legislators, physicians, and therapists should be aware of chemicals from natural sources, and the categories of experience that they provoke.
With Demand Lacking, Smallpox Vaccine Expiring
Authors: Smith Stephen , McMahon Jean
Published: May 2005

The Bush administration's campaign to vaccinate health care workers against smallpox has proved unpopular, largely because of concerns about the safety of the vaccine and who would pay for any needed medical treatment. State health departments have destroyed about 61,000 doses of expired vaccine—substantially more than the number actually administered.
Telling Tales Out of School: Modernist, Critical, and Postmodern “True Stories” about Educational Computing
Authors: Bryson Mary , De Castell Suzanne
Published: May 2005

This article presents an analysis of the discourses of educational computing in terms of modernist, critical, and postmodernist narratives which attempt to tell “true stories” of how and why new technologies are to be harnessed in the service of educational ends, and about the prospects and pitfalls therein. The authors argue that it is principally the interpretive constraints imposed by these stories, and only secondarily the material capacities and constraints of the technology itself, which differently construct possibilities for pedagogic relations amongst students, teachers, and educational technologies. The authors conclude with an argument for (a) an “ethics of narration” in the weaving of tales with the focus squarely on the possibilities for agency and equity as these are enabled and constrained within particular emplotments and (b) seeking out typically untold and suppressed accounts in determining which tales told about educational computing are most likely to produce and to enable liberatory outcomes.
Change in Self-Reported Health with Retirement
Authors: Ekerdt David J. , Bosse Raymond
Published: May 2005

Despite evidence to the contrary, the idea that retirement harms health continues to have wide credibility. This article examines the possibility that retirement contributed to decline in self-reported health among a panel of 112 men who retired between baseline measurement in 1975 and follow-up measurement in 1978. Within-individual changes in self-reported health for these retirees were compared with changes among 386 age peers (fifty-six to sixty-seven at follow-up) who continued to work from T1 to T2. For all men working and in favorable health at T1, eventual retirees had no greater age-adjusted incidence of health decline than did continuing workers. Moreover, when retirees were asked directly whether retiring had affected their health, only 2 per cent claimed a “bad” effect. Collating our findings with previous evidence, we concluded that retirement-related changes for the worse in self-perceived health were infrequent events.
Ego Functioning in Old Age: Early Adult Life Antecedents
Authors: Kuypers Joseph A.
Published: May 2005

Do aspects of intelligence, health, socioeconomic status, personality, and family relations in young adulthood relate to adaptability in old age? Correlations are reported between three alternative measures of old age adaptability (coping, defense, and disorganization) and measures in five areas of status and behavior in young adulthood (representing a 40 year longitudinal analysis). Coping ability in old age is most associated with variations in intellectual capacity and socioeconomic status, especially for women. Ego disorganization in old age is most related to variations in socioeconomic status and family relations in young adulthood. The data suggest that adaptability in old age is associated with environments and behaviors early along the adult life course but that the strength of over-time connection varies according to the sex of the subject, the model of old age adaptability used, and the aspects of status and behavior considered in young adulthood.
Another Alternative: A Ninety-Day Contractual Detoxification Treatment Program
Authors: Kahn Robert B. , Schramm Norman T. , Daoud Fawzi
Published: May 2005

In May, 1974, Fresno County's Narcotic Abuse Treatment Program began a twenty-one-day outpatient methadone detoxification treatment modality. This short-term detoxification treatment was offered in addition to the maintenance program begun in November, 1973. During the course of its operation, an on-going evaluation of the program was accomplished to assess the efficacy of further utilization of this expensive and difficult treatment modality [1]. The results of the evaulation suggested an alternative treatment modality [2]. A ninety-day contractual detoxification program was offered to a group of patients who were eligible for admission to the maintenance program.

The purpose of this paper is to examine this alternative treatment modality, its characteristics, its therapeutic outcomes and the rationale for its use.
Quality in Grandparent/Grandchild Relationships
Authors: Kennedy Gregory E.
Published: May 2005

Five elements identified from the literature as expressive of quality in grandparent/grandchild relationships were used in this study. Three hundred ninety-one young adults at a midwest university responded to questions concerning the quality of their relationships with their “most close” grandparent. Responses of the students validated the following five elements of quality as being associated with successful grandparent/grandchild relationships: 1) a fairly high degree of closeness, 2) a strong sense of being known by the grandparent, 3) a strong sense of the young adult's knowing the grandparent, 4) a sense of the grandparent being a fairly strong influence in the life of the grandchild, 5) a sense of an authentic or independent grandparent/grandchild relationship not dominated by, but supported by, the middle generation. Analysis of variance identified the impact of seven independent variables on the quality of grandparent/grandchild relationships.
Values and Attitudes of High School Drug Users
Authors: Graham Donovan L. , Cross William C.
Published: May 2005

It is reported that there is a lack of reliable research information about illegal drug usage at the high school level. This study seeks to identify personal value orientations, philosophical attitudes, and social attitudes evident in this age group. Two questionnaires (Philosophical Attitude Description Inventory and Personal Attitude Questionnaire) were administered to 700 eleventh and twelfth grade students. Factor analysis yielded constructs of life styles. Significant differences were demonstrated between users' and non-users' values by discriminate analysis.
Everyday Interpersonal Conflicts of Middle-Aged Women: An Examination of Strategies and Their Contextual Correlates
Authors: Weitzman Patricia Flynn , Weitzman Eben A.
Published: May 2005

Everyday problem solving within the interpersonal domain has been identified as propelling cognitive development in adulthood, and may be particularly relevant to women's development. Yet few studies of everyday problem solving in adulthood focus on interpersonal problems, on women, or on the middle adult years. We examined strategies middle-aged women used for real-life interpersonal problems, and contextual variables associated with strategy use. In contrast to research with younger and older women, in which lower-level strategies were favored, strategy use here was fairly evenly split between higher and lower levels. Also in contrast to other research with younger and older women, participants here favored lower-level strategies that were directive, rather than submissive. Thematic analyses showed a high degree of felt emotional distress to be associated with lower-level strategy use, and attempts at controlling emotions and overcoming fundamental attribution errors in judgment to be related to higher-level strategy use.
Toward a Culturally Inclusive Understanding of Wisdom: Historical Roots in the East and West
Authors: Takahashi Masami
Published: May 2005

To establish a clearer definition of wisdom as a psychological concept, Western and Eastern historical literatures were reviewed and assessed within a general analytical/synthetic framework. In the West, either in an ancient Egyptian, biblical, or philosophical sense, wisdom had been often identified as a form of analytical ability such as an increase in the knowledge database or an increase in information processing efficiency. By contrast, the Eastern understanding of wisdom, primarily derived from the ancient Vedic text, had been more inclusive, with both analytical and synthetic domains regarded as necessary moments to the whole of wisdom. The inclusive account was also discussed with respect to two important Eastern themes of wisdom: “void” and “codependence.”
Reminiscence, Adaptation, and Social Context in Old Age
Authors: David Debra
Published: May 2005

It is commonly believed that reminiscence is adaptive in late life, but the sparse research on this topic has produced mixed results. This article suggests that one reason for inconsistent findings is the failure to consider social contexts. Interview data from three subgroups of residents of two retirement communities (widowed men, widowed women, and single women; N = 43) revealed sharp differences in the relationship between key aspects of reminiscence and two measures of adaptation (life satisfaction and self-esteem). For widowed men, elaboration of memories, life reviewing, and high importance of others were associated with positive adaptation, but the reverse was true for widowed women. Single women were intermediate, but those who had high peer contact were most similar to the adaptive pattern of the widowed women. Widowed men with high peer contact were most different from the widowed women. Several explanations for these differences are considered, including gender-role differences, life-course continuity, and the social composition of the retirement communities.
Forgetting and Use of Memory Aids in 20 to 70 Year Olds Everyday Life
Authors: Cavanaugh John C. , Grady Jayne G. , Perlmutter Marion
Published: May 2005

In order to examine age differences in everyday memory experiences, twelve younger (mean age = 28) and twelve older (mean age = 59) adults kept diaries of their experiences of memory failures and use of memory aids. There was a general increase with age in the absolute number of memory failures, upset ratings about memory failures, and frequency of memory aid use. There were no age differences in the relative frequency of particular types of memory failures or memory aids that were used. The results suggested that older adults experience more memory failures and are more concerned about memory failures than younger adults, but that they attempt to deal with this problem by increased use of memory aids.
Over-the-Counter Drug Advertising in Gender Oriented Popular Magazines
Authors: Vener A. M. , Krupka L. R.
Published: May 2005

A survey of 111 gender-oriented popular magazines showed that although seventeen more men's magazines than women's were examined, almost seven times as many over-the-counter drug advertisements were found in the latter than in the former. The majority of over-the-counter drug advertisements placed in women's publications centered around the concern for appearance, while the largest number of advertised products found in men's were for stimulants. Stimulants advertised as energizers were frequently merchandised as “look-alikes.” It was suggested that regulatory efforts should be enhanced against the advertising of approved drugs for unapproved purposes. The simulated sun tanning pill was presented as a case in point. Criteria were presented to help the editorial staffs of magazines and consumers to recognize deceptive advertisements, bordering on quackery.
Adolescents' Internet Search Strategies: Drawing upon Familiar Cognitive Paradigms When Accessing Electronic Information Sources
Authors: Guinee Kathleen , Eagleton Maya B. , Hall Tracey E.
Published: May 2005

The goal of this study was to evaluate and describe the Internet search strategies of adolescent learners. Participants were 161 middle and high school students. Collected data included students' descriptions of the search process, observations of student searching behaviors, and audit trail lists of search strings used by students. The students demonstrated three approaches for locating information on the Internet, seven methods for constructing search strings, and four techniques for recovering from unsuccessful search attempts. The results suggest that when conducting research on the Internet, adolescents tend to resort to familiar cognitive schemata: starting with what they know, maintaining paradigms from the physical world, and adhering to time-tested practices. This information can be used to develop scaffolded instructional environments for adolescents that support more effective Internet searching.
Life-Span Differences in Life Satisfaction, Self-Concept, and Locus of Control
Authors: Morganti John B. , Nehrke Milton F. , Hulicka Irene M. , Cataldo Jerry F.
Published: May 2005

The literature on age differences in life satisfaction, self-concept, and locus of control reveals a variety of conflicting findings. Nehrke et al. reported a study of elderly institutionalized males that attempted to control for some of the possible sources of variability [1]. The present study extended this effort to a noninstitutionalized life-span sample of males and females in six age groups (fourteen to ninety-four). The age main effect was significant for the locus of control measure. For self-concept, the age and sex main effects were significant. For life satisfaction, the age and sex main effects and their interaction were significant. Generally, lower levels of self-concept and life satisfaction and a more external orientation characterized adolescents and young adults while, with notable exceptions, the remaining age samples were more positive in self-concept and life satisfaction and were more internally controlled. Although the three dependent measures were significantly correlated for the total sample, the correlations involving locus of control were only moderate. The data suggest that at least the life satisfaction and self-concept measures may be viable tools to assess the psychological quality of one's life, and that reliable age differences in well-being can be demonstrated if moderating variables are controlled experimentally or statistically.
Results of a Pilot Program for Training Bar Staff in Preventing Aggression
Authors: Coutts Michelle Chandler , Graham Kathryn , Braun Kathy , Wells Samantha
Published: May 2005

One hundred and twenty-one staff from eight bars in Ontario, Canada participated in a three-hour training program that used a peer learning model to teach problem-solving skills regarding the prevention and management of aggressive behavior in bars. Participants showed significant positive changes in knowledge and attitudes regarding effective approaches to preventing aggression. The majority of participants reported that the training made them think about ways they handed problem situations and that they would change the way they handle problems in the future. Participants rated most aspects of the training as very useful, especially the group discussion. The program illustrates the potential for increasing skills and knowledge of bar staff in preventing aggression and associated injury.