bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Concurrent Validity of the Personality Assessment Inventory Alcohol Problems (ALC) Scale in a College Student Sample
Authors: Ruiz Mark A. , Dickinson Kelly A. , Pincus Aaron L.
Published: July 2003

The concurrent validity of the Alcohol Problems scale (ALC) was investigated in a college student sample (N = 200). The relationships between the ALC and associated features of alcohol problems (e.g., consumption patterns, expectancies, maladaptive coping, and stress) were examined. The validity of the ALC for identifying clinically significant alcohol problems (assessed with the Structured Clinical Interview for the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ) was also examined. The ALC was related to the associated features and was a valid indicator of alcohol problems. T scores of 80, 85, and 90 had superior hit rates for alcohol abuse; and scores of 80, 85, and 90 had superior hit rates for alcohol dependence.
Temporal Stability of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test in a Chronic Traumatic Brain Injury Sample
Authors: Greve Kevin W. , Love Jeffrey M. , Sherwin Elisabeth , Mathias Charles W. , Houston Rebecca J. , Brennan Adrianne
Published: July 2003

The aim of the present study was to investigate the temporal stability of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) in a clinical population with documented brain pathology, stable cognitive deficits, and for whom repeated testing is common: chronic severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Participants were 34 patients at least 1 year postsevere TBI living at a large residential rehabilitation facility. The WCST was administered in standard fashion with both the standard and 64-card versions scored. All derived scores with norms were examined. Results indicated acceptable temporal stability of most scores for both the standard and short WCST, although the stability of the WCST-64 was poorer than for the standard WCST. Three sets of significant change indices are provided for clinical use.
MMPI-A Structural Summary Variables
Authors: Pogge David L. , Stokes John M. , McGrath Robert E. , Bilginer Lale , De Luca Victoria A.
Published: July 2003

This study examined the prevalence and correlates of Archer and Krishnamurthy’s MMPI-A Structural Summary (SS) dimensions in a sample of 632 adolescent psychiatric inpatients through a series of correlational analyses. These analyses examined the relationship between factor dimensions and categorically defined dimension elevations and external criterion measures that included chart review data, therapist ratings, chart diagnoses, and cognitive test performance. The SS dimensions provided additional interpretive yield for some within-normal-limits profiles. An examination of the pattern of correlations revealed small to moderate relationships between all SS variables and external criterion measures.
MMPI-2 Characteristics in a Chronic Pain Population
Authors: Slesinger David , Archer Robert P. , Duane William
Published: July 2003

This study investigated the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–2 (MMPI-2) characteristics of 209 chronic pain patients in an inpatient pain treatment program. Patients completed the MMPI-2, Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale, and Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire. Participants in this sample were matched with comparison participants from the MMPI-2 normative sample on the demographic variables gender, age, and ethnicity. Chronic pain patients reported higher levels of general maladjustment and affective distress than did the normative control group, including more anxiety, depressive symptomatology, and somatic complaints. The MMPI-2 basic scales Hypochondriasis, Depression, and Hysteria were the most useful discriminating factors between chronic pain patients and normal controls, and the content scales Health Concerns and Depression showed significant elevations for the chronic pain group. The 1-3/3-1, 1-2/2-1, and 2-3/3-2 code types accounted for more than two thirds of all two-point classifications for the chronic pain group, and four cluster analysis types classified nearly half of all of these protocols.
Screening for Adolescent Psychopathy among At-Risk Youth
Authors: Rogers Richard , Vitacco Michael J. , Cruise Keith R. , Sewell Kenneth W. , Neumann Craig S.
Published: July 2003

Psychopathic youth pose special challenges to clinicians in providing effective treatment and safe management. Because comprehensive assessments of psychopathy are time intensive and require specialized training, programmatic research is needed to develop time-efficient and useful screens that eliminate from further consideration acting-out adolescents who are unlikely to be psychopathic. The clinical utility of the Survey of Attitudes and Life Experiences as a psychopathy screen was investigated by combining three samples of adolescent offenders (total N = 223). Its primary purpose was the identification of nonpsychopaths who were distinguished from adolescents in either the mixed or psychopathic ranges. A Psychopathy Screen (PS) Scale was developed with 24-item (PS-24) and 11-item (PS-11) versions. Both appeared moderately effective in excluding nonpsychopaths from further evaluation. Preliminary data on response styles suggest that these scales are not susceptible to social desirability.
Development of the Muscle Appearance Satisfaction Scale
Authors: Mayville Stephen B. , Williamson Donald A. , White Marney A. , Netemeyer Richard G. , Drab Danae L.
Published: July 2003

Muscle dysmorphia has recently been described as a variant of body dysmorphic disorder that involves an intense preoccupation with one’s perceived lack of muscle size. Currently, no assessment measures specific to the cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions of the construct of muscle dysmorphia have been published. To address this need, the authors developed the Muscle Appearance Satisfaction Scale (MASS), a brief, 19-item self-report measure for the assessment of muscle dysmorphia symptoms. Psychometric evaluation of the MASS across two samples of male weight lifting participants (total N = 372) revealed a stable five-factor structure. An evaluation of factor content resulted in the following factor labels: Bodybuilding Dependence, Muscle Checking, Substance Use, Injury, and Muscle Satisfaction. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and construct validity were established with the MASS total score and its subscales. The authors believe the MASS will be a useful measure for research and applied work relating to muscle dysmorphia.
Psychiatric Patient– and Informant-Reported Personality
Authors: Ready Rebecca E. , Watson David , Clark Lee Anna
Published: July 2003

The authors investigated the criterion and incremental validity of personality reports from psychiatric patients and knowledgeable informants in predicting patient substance use, social and risky behaviors, and psychological distress. Patient and informant reports of patient personality and behavior were collected from an adult psychiatric sample (N = 94). Hierarchical regressions indicated that patient reports of personality accounted for significant variance in both concurrent (17%-42%) and future behavior assessed 1 year later (17%-40%). Informant reports contributed significantly to the prediction of several behaviors and most strongly to social behaviors. Behaviors were predicted equally well by self-reports and informant reports in prospective as in concurrent regressions. Thus, both patient and informant reports of personality contribute importantly to prediction of behavior, and predictive ability is stable across time.
Psychometric Properties and Predictive Validity of the Mt Scale of the MMPI-2
Authors: Lauterbach Dean , Garcia Mark , Gloster Andrew
Published: July 2003

The College Maladjustment (Mt) Scale is a 41-item supplementary scale of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. It was designed to identify college students classified as maladjusted. Very little research has been conducted on the Mt Scale in the 40 years since its inception. The current study had the following four goals: (a) provide additional data on the internal consistency reliability, (b) examine the relationship between Mt Scale scores and various school-related domains, (c) examine the relationship between Mt scores and indices of distress (trauma exposure, post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD] symptoms, and history of psychological treatment), and (d) examine the diagnostic accuracy of cutting scores across the full spectrum of possible scores using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses. The Mt Scale is relatively internally consistent (alpha = .85). Elevations on the Mt Scale were significantly associated with lower current grade point average, arriving late to classes more often, the PTSD symptoms of avoidance and arousal, and a history of treatment. Last, the findings from the ROC analyses suggest that the previously obtained cutting scores of 15 and 22 are too low and that values of 29 or higher are more likely to yield the best diagnostic utility values.
The Role of Neurotrophins in Neurotransmitter Release
Authors: Tyler William J. , Perrett Stephen P. , Pozzo-Miller Lucas D.
Published: July 2003

The neurotrophins (NTs) have recently been shown to elicit pronounced effects on quantal neurotransmitter release at both central and peripheral nervous system synapses. Due to their activity dependent release, as well as the subcellular localization of both protein and receptor, NTs are ideally suited to modify the strength of neuronal connections by “fine-tuning” synaptic activity through direct actions at presynaptic terminals. Here, using BDNF as a prototypical example, the authors provide an update of recent evidence demonstrating that NTs enhance quantal neurotransmitter release at synapses through presynaptic mechanisms. The authors further propose that a potential target for NT actions at presynaptic terminals is the mechanism by which terminals retrieve synaptic vesicles after exocytosis. Depending on the temporal demands placed on synapses during high-frequency synaptic transmission, synapses may use two alternative modes of synaptic vesicle retrieval, the conventional slow endosomal recycling or a faster rapid retrieval at the active zone, referred to as “kiss-and-run.” By modulating Ca2+microdomains associated with voltage-gated Ca2+channels at active zones, NTs may elicit a switch from the slow to the fast mode of endocytosis of vesicles at presynaptic terminals during high-frequency synaptic transmission, allowing more reliable information transfer and neuronal signaling in the central nervous system.
Book Review: Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors: Electrical and Chemical Signaling Properties
Authors: Coutinho Victoria , Knöpfel Thomas
Published: July 2003

Over the last two decades, glutamate has been established as the main excitatory neurotransmitter in the mammalian brain. Glutamate released from synapses activates ion channel-forming receptors at postsynaptic cells and consequently mediates fast postsynaptic potentials. These receptors are termed ionotropic glutamate receptors (iGluRs). The subsequent discovery of metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) revealed that glutamate can also mediate slow synaptic potentials, modulate ion channels, and directly couple to GTP binding proteins. In contrast to the iGluRs, the mGluRs possess seven transmembrane domains and a large intracellular C-terminus that involves interactions with a variety of other intracellular signaling systems. Eight functionally distinct mGluR subtypes are known to be localized to specific neuron types at presynaptic and/or postsynaptic membranes. Their physiological functions involve the generation of slow excitatory and inhibitory synaptic potentials, modulation of synaptic transmission, synaptic integration, and plasticity. The classical role of glutamate as a fast excitatory synaptic transmitter was largely extended by mGluRs acting as a neuromodulator and even as an activator of inhibitory mechanisms at certain synapses.
Book Review: GABA and Glutamate in the Human Brain
Authors: Petroff Ognen A. C.
Published: July 2003

Cortical excitability reflects a balance between excitation and inhibition. Glutamate is the main excitatory and GABA the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian cortex. Changes in glutamate and GABA metabolism may play important roles in the control of cortical excitability. Glutamate is the metabolic precursor of GABA, which can be recycled through the tricarboxylic acid cycle to synthesize glutamate. GABA synthesis is unique among neurotransmitters, having two separate isoforms of the rate-controlling enzyme, glutamic acid decarboxylase. The need for two separate genes on two chromosomes to control GABA synthesis is unexplained. Two metabolites of GABA are present in uniquely high concentrations in the human brain. Homocarnosine and pyrrolidinone have a major impact on GABA metabolism in the human brain. Both of these GABA metabolites have anticonvulsant properties and can have a major impact on cortical excitability.
Book Review: Forced Limb-Use and Recovery following Brain Injury
Authors: Tillerson Jennifer L. , Miller Gary W.
Published: July 2003

Animals subjected to exercise display significant alterations in brain function and neurochemistry, reflecting the innate plasticity of the adult brain to environmental challenges. Following injury, the brain is sensitive to reorganization and regeneration, and thus may be primed for influence by external behavioral demand such as increased use of an injured forelimb. The focus of this review is on the effects of altered use of the impaired forelimb in unilateral rodent models of brain injury. Both the benefits of increased use and the detrimental effects of decreased use following injury will be discussed.
Matrix Metalloproteinases and Neuroinflammation in Multiple Sclerosis
Authors: Rosenberg Gary A.
Published: July 2003

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are extracellular matrix remodeling neutral proteases that are important in normal development, angiogenesis, wound repair, and a wide range of pathological processes. Growing evidence supports a key role of the MMPs in many neuroinflammatory conditions, including meningitis, encephalitis, brain tumors, cerebral ischemia, Guillain-Barré, and multiple sclerosis (MS). The MMPs attack the basal lamina macromolecules that line the blood vessels, opening the blood-brain barrier (BBB). They contribute to the remodeling of the blood vessels that causes hyalinosis and gliosis, and they attack myelin. During the acute inflammatory phase of MS, they are involved in the injury to the blood vessels and may be important in the disruption of the myelin sheath and axons. Normally under tight regulation, excessive proteolytic activity is detected in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid in patients with acute MS. Because they are induced in immunologic and nonimmunologic forms of demyelination, they act as a final common pathway to exert a “bystander” effect. Agents that block the action of the MMPs have been shown to reduce the damage to the BBB and lead to symptomatic improvement in several animal models of neuroinflammatory diseases, including experimental allergic encephalomyelitis. Such agents may eventually be useful in the control of excessive proteolysis that contributes to the pathology of MS and other neuroinflammatory conditions.
Gap Junctions and Neuronal Injury: Protectants or Executioners?
Authors: Velazquez Jose L. Perez , Frantseva Marina V. , Naus Christian C.
Published: July 2003

The authors review concepts and recent experimental observations that relate gap junctional communication to the pathophysiology of neuronal injury, specifically ischemic or traumatic damage. The role played by this type of direct intercellular communication during the progression of the injuries can be conceived to be either detrimental or beneficial, depending on the arguments employed. The data indicate that, far from being a simple matter of judgment, the contribution of gap junctions to cell injury is a complicated phenomenon that depends on the specific insult and network in which it operates.
Muscarinic and Nicotinic Cholinergic Mechanisms in the Mesostriatal Dopamine Systems
Authors: Zhou Fu-Ming , Wilson Charles , Dani John A.
Published: July 2003

The striatum and its dense dopaminergic innervation originating in the midbrain, primarily from the substantia nigra pars compacta and the ventral tegmental area, compose the mesostriatal dopamine (DA) systems. The nigrostriatal system is involved mainly in motor coordination and in disorders such as Tourette’s syndrome, Huntington’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease. The dopaminergic projections from the ventral tegmental area to the striatum participate more in the processes that shape behaviors leading to reward, and addictive drugs act upon this mesolimbic system. The midbrain DA areas receive cholinergic innervation from the pedunculopontine tegmentum and the laterodorsal pontine tegmentum, whereas the striatum receives dense cholinergic innervation from local interneurons. The various neurons of the mesostriatal systems express multiple types of muscarinic and nicotinic acetylcholine receptors as well as DA receptors. Especially in the striatum, the dense mingling of dopaminergic and cholinergic constituents enables potent interactions. Evidence indicates that cholinergic and dopaminergic systems work together to produce the coordinated functioning of the striatum. Loss of that cooperative activity contributes to the dysfunction underlying Parkinson’s disease.
Spreading Acidification and Depression in the Cerebellar Cortex
Authors: Ebner Timothy J. , Chen Gang
Published: July 2003

Optical imaging of activity-dependent pH changes using neutral red has revealed a novel form of propagated activity in the cerebellar cortex: spreading acidification and depression (SAD). Evoked by surface stimulation, SAD is characterized by a propagation geometry that reflects the parasagittal architecture of the cerebellum, high speed of propagation across several folia, and a transient depression of the molecular layer circuitry. The properties of SAD differentiate it from other forms of propagating activity in the nervous system including spreading depression and Ca++ waves. Involving several factors, SAD is hypothesized to be a regenerative process that requires a functioning parallel fibers-Purkinje cell circuit, glutamatergic neurotransmission, and is initiated by increased neuronal excitability. Three possible neuronal and glia substrates in the cerebellar cortex could account for the propagation geometry of SAD. Recently, the authors demonstrated that blocking voltage-gated Kv1.1 potassium channels plays a major role in the generation of SAD. This observation has lead to the hypothesis that the episodic and transient disruption in cerebellar function that characterizes episodic ataxia type 1, a Kv1.1 channelopathy, is due to SAD occurring in the cerebellar cortex.
Two-Pore-Domain (Kcnk) Potassium Channels: Dynamic Roles in Neuronal Function
Authors: Talley Edmund M. , Sirois Jay E. , Lei Qiubo , Bayliss Douglas A.
Published: July 2003

Leak K+ currents contribute to the resting membrane potential and are important for modulation of neuronal excitability. Within the past few years, an entire family of genes has been described whose members form leak K+ channels, insofar as they generate potassium-selective currents with little voltage- and time-dependence. They are often referred to as “two-pore-domain” channels because of their predicted topology, which includes two pore-forming regions in each subunit. These channels are modulated by a host of different endogenous and clinical compounds such as neurotransmitters and anesthetics, and by physicochemical factors such as temperature, pH, oxygen tension, and osmolarity. They also are subject to long-term regulation by changes in gene expression. In this review, the authors describe multiple roles that modulation of leak K+ channels play in CNS function and discuss evidence that members of the two-pore-domain family are molecular substrates for these processes.
Plasticity of Cortical Projections after Stroke
Authors: Carmichael S. Thomas
Published: July 2003

Ischemic stroke produces cell death and disability, and a process of repair and partial recovery. Plasticity within cortical connections after stroke leads to partial recovery of function after the initial injury. Physiologically, cortical connections after stroke become hyperexcitable and more susceptible to the induction of LTP. Stroke produces changes in the distribution and laterality of sensory, motor, and language representations within the brain that correlate with functional recovery. Anatomically, ischemic lesions induce axonal sprouting within local, intracortical projections and long distance, interhemispheric projections. This postischemic axonal sprouting establishes substantially new patterns of cortical connections with de-afferented or partially damaged brain areas. Axonal sprouting after ischemic lesions is induced by a transient pattern of synchronous, low-frequency neuronal activity in a network of cortical areas connected to the infarct. This pattern of neuronal activity that induces axonal sprouting in the adult after ischemic lesions resembles that seen in the developing brain during axonal elongation and synaptogenesis. Thus, stroke induces a process of remapping and reconnection within the adult brain through changes in neuronal activity that may involve a reactivation of developmental programs in areas connected to the infarct.
Dystonia: Lessons from Brain Mapping
Authors: Meunier Sabine , Lehéricy Stéphane , Garnero Line , Vidailhet Marie
Published: July 2003

Functional neuroimaging with positron emission tomography, single photon emission computer tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and magnetoencephalography have provided powerful tools to elucidate anatomo-functional impairment underlying movement disorders such as dystonic movements. They have revealed that presymptomatic cerebral abnormalities may be a common feature in dystonia whatever the clinical status. Techniques using specific markers have recently focused on the type of receptors that may be dysactivated and on the kind of neurotransmitter that may be dysregulated in dystonia.
Weaving Babies Lost in Pregnancy Into the Fabric of the Family
Authors: Côté-Arsenault Denise
Published: July 2003

During four qualitative research studies on pregnancy after perinatal loss, parents spoke of their dead babies and various ways they remembered them. Thus, they were a continued part of their lives. A secondary analysis was done of all relevant data and is reported here. The overall finding was that parents weave remembered babies into the fabric of their families in multiple ways. Specifically, the following five themes of ways babies were remembered and incorporated into family life emerged from the data: rituals, symbols, visible presence, holding a place in the family, and lifelong impressions. Clinical implications focus on recognizing the excellent care these families received that enabled them to heal and grow after the death of their babies so that such care can be expanded to other families in need. Parents could be encouraged to find their own ways of honoring their deceased babies.
“Homelessness Is Not a Choice!” The Plight of Homeless Women With Preschool Children Living in Temporary Shelters
Authors: Averitt Sandra S.
Published: July 2003

The purpose of this study was to describe the lived experiences of homeless women with preschool children living in temporary shelters. Two shelters were selected as sites for data collection: a large metropolitan shelter housing up to 110 women and children and a small shelter providing housing for up to six families. Six focus groups were conducted that included a total of 29 participants. An interpretive phenomenological approach to data analysis was used. Themes and exemplars were identified. The interpretation of the data was brought back for group validation to assure the analysis presented an accurate reflection of the women’s voices. The findings from this study may be used to understand the experiences of homeless women with preschool children living in temporary shelters. Shelter sites offer nurses a unique practice setting in which innovative interventions could be designed to promote the health and welfare of homeless women and their children.
Family Nursing Labs: Shifts, Changes, and Innovations
Authors: Moules Nancy J. , Tapp Dianne M.
Published: July 2003

This article describes recent innovations and shifts in the family skills labs that have been offered since 1995 in the undergraduate family nursing curriculum at the University of Calgary. The authors describe a shift from a strict adherence to role play as a way to teach and hone skills in working with families to more experiential and interactive exercises aimed at creating personal, meaningful, and realistic possibilities in learning. The lab activities are based on the belief that family nursing is a relational practice that is best learned through experiential and inquiry-based activities. Student feedback suggests these changes in the delivery of the family nursing labs are notably reshaping students’ thinking and practices in the nursing of families.
Arenas, Platforms, and the Biotechnology Movement
Authors: Bauer Martin W.
Published: July 2003

In this article, the author discusses key assumptions of a comparative research project on the public controversies over biotechnology and genetic engineering in as many as sixteen different countries. Key ideas of arenas, platforms, and the technology movement are briefly introduced with markers to empirical results comparing the three arenas of regulation, mass media coverage, and public perceptions and their interrelations in different contexts. A dynamic map of similarities and differences of the public controversy is emerging across several public spheres of biotechnology. The article concludes with reflections on future research: the analysis of the responses to public controversy in the biotechnology movement. Such evidence will complete the conceptual space and contribute to a functional analysis of resistance in the development of new technology.
Austria and the Transatlantic Agricultural Biotechnology Divide
Authors: Torgersen Helge
Published: July 2003

In contrast to shifts in other European countries in the late 1990s, the Austrian position on agricultural biotechnology has remained constant over the past decade. Although Austria's position was initially considered restrictive in comparison, developments elsewhere narrowed the gap, and the European Commission adopted measures that Austria had endorsed for a long time. Taking Austria as an example, this article considers some frequent explanations for the transatlantic divide in agricultural biotechnology that emphasize the link between public opinion and policy. Such explanations stress nongovernmental organizations and media campaigns triggering technophobia among an uninformed public, governments giving in to public pressure and abandoning sound science, and protectionism in agricultural policy that prevents free trade. While not entirely to be dismissed, there also are arguments against a cause-effect relationship between public pressure and policy. Differences in the perceived roles of agriculture seem more important, however.
Biotechnology in Switzerland
Authors: Dahinden Urs
Published: July 2003

The public debate over biotechnology has been especially intense in Switzerland. The frame theory is introduced as a promising approach for better understanding this controversy. One shortcoming of current frame research is the diversity of frame typologies. An attempt to compare and integrate several frame typologies is presented. The theoretical analysis suggests that most of the frames are not issue specific but of a more general nature. The empirical section presents the framing of biotechnology over the past thirty years, during which increasing conflicts paralleled a higher diversity of frames in the media.
Challenging the Risk Society
Authors: Rusanen Timo
Published: July 2003

Recent Eurobarometer surveys in 1996 and 1999 show that Finland has very low risk perception in relation to biotechnology when compared to other similarly knowledgeable, technologically advanced European countries. This article explores factors that may contribute to relatively low risk perceptions in relation to biotechnology. Inglehart's materialist-postmaterialist schema is used to analyze values in postindustrial Finland as a background to public risk perception. In Finland, uniquely, postindustrial socioeconomic conditions may coexist with traditionally materialist values. Finnish risk perceptions in relation to biotechnology are a proxy for the study of the interrelationships between industrial (economic) modernization and cultural values in contemporary European societies.
GM Food Labeling
Authors: Einsiedel Edna F.
Published: July 2003

The battle over genetically modified foods is one reflecting ongoing battles over controversial science, and the labeling of these foods is one arena in which these controversies are played out. This article argues that labeling represents attempts to balance consumers' rights to information, their desires for foods with preferred qualities, industry interests in beneficial production arrangements as well as matching market preferences, regulatory interests in consumer protection, and interests of the state in promoting innovation. On another level, labeling, like many other science controversies, represents the social dimensions within which technology is embedded. It is symbolic of public confidence and trust in institutions and is reflective of the social values consumers may bring to bear in their conceptions of a technology.
From “Burning Library” to “Green Medicine”
Authors: Väliverronen Esa , Hellsten Iina
Published: July 2003

In public discourse on the environment, scientific knowledge is often mediated by metaphors. In this article, the authors are concerned with the role of metaphors in the communication of biodiversity loss. More specifically, their examination focuses on such popular metaphors as “the library of life,” “biotic holocaust,” and “the Holy Grail” and on the role of these metaphors in putting biodiversity loss on the global environmental agenda. These metaphors reflect two opposite narratives on environmental politics: the apocalyptic narrative of species extinction and the new narrative of hope that looks at genetic engineering.
Enhanced Proper Orthogonal Decomposition for the Modal Analysis of Homogeneous Structures
Authors: Han S. , Feeny B. F.
Published: July 2003

Proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) is studied in an effort to increase its applicability as a modal analysis tool. A modification is proposed to make better use of spatial resolution and to accommodate arbitrary spacing in the discretization. The theory for this modification is rooted in the discrete approximation of the integral orthogonality condition for continuous normal modes. The modified POD is applied to a finite element beam and an experimental beam sensed with accelerometers, and the resulting proper orthogonal modes (POMs) are compared to the theoretical modes of the beam. The POMs are used as a basis for decomposing the signal ensemble into proper modal coordinates. The proper modal coordinates are used to evaluate the POMs and to match modes with modal frequencies and damping.
Nonlinear Modeling, Experimental Verification, and Theoretical Analysis of a Hydraulic Engine Mount
Authors: Jazar G. Nakhaie , Golnaraghi M. Farid
Published: July 2003

This paper addresses the nonlinear modeling of the decoupler in a hydraulic engine mount. The authors have introduced a simple nonlinear mathematical model in this case, which is in agreement with experimental results available in the literature. The novelty of the model is its simplicity, which makes it suitable for theoretical analysis. Using the multiple scale perturbation method, the authors have examined the behavior of the mount at resonance. The significant difference between the behaviors of the nonlinear model, as predicted here by the perturbation method, and the linear model at resonance is the existence of a jump phenomenon. The nonlinear resonance results in high-amplitude steady state or unstable behavior at high frequencies and is not predicted by the linear model.
Vibration Control of Unknown Flexible Beam Structures
Authors: Mohammad K. S. , Al-Dmour A. S.
Published: July 2003

Two approaches, namely, state space-principal component analysis (SS-PCA) and fuzzy logic-genetic algorithms (FL-GAs) controllers are introduced for constraining the transient motion of flexible structures. These two techniques require no prior knowledge about the physical modeling of such structures. The SS-PCA has the capability, among all the other available methods, of providing an estimation of the characteristics of the system under consideration from measured displacement outputs. Excellent control was achieved with both proposed techniques, though quite better results were obtained when applying FL-GAs. However, in the online processing, the FL-GA was found to need more computational time when compared with the SS-PCA.
Vibration Analysis of Rotor for Crack Identification
Authors: Saavedra P. N. , Cuitiño L. A.
Published: July 2003

A theoretical and experimental dynamic analysis of a rotor-bearing system with a transversely cracked shaft is presented. To model the system for FEM analysis, a finite element for a cracked cylindrical shaft is developed. The additional flexibility due to the crack is evaluated from the linear fracture mechanics, using a breathing crack model derived in a rigorous way. A simplified opening/closing crack model is proposed to reduce the computational effort. The resulting parametrically excited system is nonlinear, and the equations of motion are solved using Hilbert, Hughes, and Taylor integration method (HHT) implemented in Matlab platform, where the stationary vibration caused by gravity and unbalance is analyzed. The results show that for half the first critical speed, the super-harmonic 2 ×Ω and the typical orbit provide good indices for crack detection in rotating shafts.
Stability for Hopfield Neural Networks With Time Delay
Authors: Wang Linshan , Xu Daoyi
Published: July 2003

In this paper, the global asymptotic stability of the equilibrium point of Hopfield neural networks with interneuronal transmission delays is studied. Some sufficient conditions related to the existence of a unique equilibrium point and its global asymptotic stability are derived.
Research as Poetry: A Couple Experiences HIV
Authors: Poindexter Cynthia Cannon
Published: July 2003

Two poems that are extracted and formed from research interviews are presented as examples of a possible way to represent research data. The practice of developing research poetry is problematic due to a lack of evaluation standards. Yet poems can be a powerful narrative tool to further empathy and understanding and can serve education and advocacy goals.
Writing the Exotic, the Authentic, and the Moral: Romanticism as Discursive Resource for the Ethnographic Text
Authors: Marvasti Amir , Faircloth Christopher
Published: July 2003

The influence of the literary discourse of romanticism on the textual construction of social problems is examined using secondary content analysis of classical and contemporary ethnographies. Three discursive elements of romanticism (the lure of the exotic, authenticity, and the moral project) are highlighted and critiqued in relation to the researcher-participant duality, the taken-for-granted self, and promises of amelioration. The analysis points to the relations of power and misrecognized realties embedded in how social problems and deviant others are written. It is recommended that ethnographers reevaluate the emancipatory potential of their texts by subverting and reinventing the constitutive themes of romanticism.
Ethical Dilemmas in Relational Narrative Inquiry With Children
Authors: Huber Janice , Clandinin D. Jean
Published: July 2003

In the fall of a school year, the authors began work in an elementary inner-city school. Positioned as teacher researchers, they spent the year in a 3/4 classroom. Their inquiry intentions were to more fully understand the experiences of children, families, and teachers of diverse backgrounds as they engaged with each other in the school. They are experienced researchers who have worked with adults, teachers, teacher educators, and principals as coresearchers in other relational narrative inquiries. The authors imagined negotiating similar coresearcher relationships with children. However, as they worked to negotiate coresearcher relationships with children, they encountered new relational inquiry complexities. In this article, the authors explore these complexities and make explicit four tensions they experienced in the study. They suggest a need for negotiating an ethic of relational narrative inquiry alongside children as coresearchers.
Storm Tracking: Scenes of Marital Disintegration
Authors: Foster Elissa
Published: July 2003

The purpose of the research was to explore the kinds of conflict cycles couples may engage in even as they struggle to overcome their problems. This script was developed from research notes, contemporaneously recorded during the weeks leading to the author’s separation from her husband, using autoethnographic processes of systematic introspection.1 The play script form was adopted to reflect the coconstructed, embodied, and embedded nature of relational cycles. A story in and of itself can “call” us into the heart and mind of another person, and a script shared publicly in performance can extend the process of relationship inquiry into another experiential domain.2 The disintegration of the author’s marriage as told in “Storm Tracking” mirrors the emotional complexity of relational endings in general. The author has employed a representational form that preserves and perhaps extends this complexity, rather than reducing the story to a finite explanation of what went wrong.
For Teri
Authors: Durham Aisha
Published: July 2003

In this poetic monologue based on the film Soul Food, the author uses Black feminist thought to explore the matrix of domination as it relates to Teri, the light-skin, married, high-powered attorney and eldest sibling in the matrifocal family. This framework enables the author to examine how Teri functions as the White capitalist patriarch within the Black family and the liaison between that family and the larger social institutions because of her occupied space within the matrix. The author also use poetics to offer commentary about representations of colorism, feminism, Black women, and meritocracy crystallized in her character.
On Being Amorphous: Autoethnography, Genealogy, and a Multiracial Identity
Authors: Gatson Sarah N.
Published: July 2003

The article is a sociologically informed approach to understanding the author’s own place and identity. Questions of personal identity serve to highlight larger insights about a crucial reality in the United States. The author engages a standpoint at the crux of America’s racial dilemma, combined with a specialization in research on race and ethnicity. First, the interactive and overlapping set of methodologies within which her own narrative of identity fits is discussed. These data are systematically collected and analyzed field notes, historical documents, and the embedded interactions from within a larger culture of literature, scholarship, and popular understandings. The body of the article consists of three examples that she characterizes as confronting her Blackness, confronting her multiracialness, and confronting her Whiteness.
To Speak of My Mother
Authors: Halley Jean
Published: July 2003

This is the second article in a series of experimental writing exploring childhood trauma and its subject. Here, the author examines or narrates herself within the particular social context of her family history. Through this experimental writing method, the author explores a repetitive, nonlinear way of knowing and speaking the world that both complements and challenges more traditional sociological ways of knowing.
Meeting Resistance: Autonomy, Development, and “Informed Permission” in Chiapas, Mexico
Authors: Simonelli Jeanne , Earle Duncan
Published: July 2003

All anthropological research, including student projects, involves dilemmas concerning informed consent and the oversight of institutional review boards. In Chiapas, the leadership of an autonomous municipality has designed their own process of research approval. During the intensive schedule of teaching a field program and assisting students to develop field studies, the authors learned how those with whom they work in the field structure their approval process, through meetings and consensus. In this ethnographic narrative, the authors examine the details of this negotiation, linking it to the process of seeking autonomy through development in Chiapas, where “informed permission” and committed collaboration add symmetry to the research endeavor.
Fading, Twisting, and Weaving: An Interpretive Ethnography of the Black Barbershop as Cultural Space
Authors: Alexander Bryant Keith
Published: July 2003

Barbershops in the Black community are discursive spaces in which the confluence of Black hair care, for and by Black people, and small talk establish a context for cultural exchange. This interpretive ethnography describes the barbershop in a Black community as a cultural site for ethnographic exploration and description. The article defines a cultural site not only as the chosen geo-social locale of the ethnographic gaze but also as a centralized occasion within a cultural community that serves at the confluence of banal ritualized activity and the exchange of cultural currency. It is the social experience of being in the barbershop that the article focuses on, knowing that social experience meets at the intersection of culture and performance, and at the confluence of reflection and remembrance.
Listening to the Heartbeat of New York: Writings on the Wall
Authors: Robertson Joanne
Published: July 2003

In this article, the author presents the ways in which her graduate students negotiate and scribe their understandings about the changing landscapes of their lives through dialogue, reflection, artwork, and writing. Secondly, she documents how the communal discourse of Lower Manhattan, more specifically, the “writings on the wall,” is testament to the ways people use multiple modes of representation to bear witness to the unimaginable. These “writings” are interspersed throughout the piece in bold, so as to give them prominence. Lastly, she describes the reflexive, hermeneutic, and interactive process by which she conceptualizes the domains of analysis and frames her understandings about the significance of this transformational literacy event.
Relationships—Responsibilities, Once Removed and Ever Connected
Authors: Staller Karen M.
Published: July 2003

The author explores her personal and professional intersections with the events of September 11th. This includes relationships and responsibilities existing in both spheres and the games she played filtering and isolating pieces of her life to protect herself. Not surprisingly, the author discovers that our personal and professional selves are inseparably intertwined. So in the end, she uses this bit of public space—in the aftermath of September 11th—to grieve for losses in both her worlds. She invites you to join in.
Emotional Space: Performing the Resistive Possibilities of Torch Singing
Authors: Jones Stacy Holman
Published: July 2003

Torch songs are standards—musical forms and formulas that recount the pain and suffering of unrequited love. But torch songs are also sites—interpretive spaces waiting to be filled by a performance. As such, torch singing is at once a product and producer of action—a site for concerted connection, deliberation, and contention. The resistive possibilities of a song of unrequited love are generated in the singing, in how a performance of a standard creates new spaces, new movements, and new meanings.
Metropolitan Employment Growth and Neighborhood Job Access in Spatial and Skills Perspectives
Authors: Zhang Zhongcai , Bingham Richard D.
Published: July 2003

The spatial mismatch hypothesis is representative research concerning the intrametropolitan spatial distribution of employment growth and its impact on central-city-confined low-skilled workers. The authors examine the determinants of neighborhood job access and intrametropolitan differences in five industry cohorts, classified by average earnings of workers. They further compare change of job access between 1990 and 1996 across intrametropolitan spatial divisions. Empirical evidence in support of the spatial mismatch hypothesis is found only in the central county context: labor-force-weighted low-wage job access in central-city neighborhoods was, on average, lower than in inner-suburban neighborhoods but greater than in outer-suburban neighborhoods.
The Promise of Urban Democracy
Authors: Alozie Nicholas O.
Published: July 2003

Black mayoral fortunes across America’s big cities improved dramatically in the 1990s. There is speculation on how to explain this shift—whether the factors known to affect black mayoral success have seen wholesale changes or whether this shift derived from marginal changes occurring within these known factors. The author examines pooled cross-sectional data. Black mayoral service was positively associated with black composition in the electorate, city size, and white education; black service was negatively associated with southern location. Marginal changes in factors known to affect black mayoral service accounted for big-city black mayoral success in the early 1990s.
Win, Place, Show
Authors: Fuchs Ester R. , Adler E. Scott , Mitchell Lincoln A.
Published: July 2003

The authors examine how the relative standing of candidates in public opinion polls during a primary campaign affects their ability to raise money. A theory is proposed that considers when individuals are most likely to contribute to the electoral campaigns of their most preferred candidate based on a rational model of political participation and concerns about a candidate’s likelihood of winning. The theory is then applied to the case of the 1989 New York City Democratic mayoral primary race. The data indicate that contributors are motivated to support candidates financially by the changing status of a candidate’s electoral prospects throughout the campaign.
The Changing Mode of Housing Provision in Transitional China
Authors: Zhu Jieming
Published: July 2003

Owing to political constraints, China’s economic reform has been carried out gradually. The failure of the old housing system under the centrally planned economy prompted innovations in creating a new structure of housing provision. The same strategy of incremental changes has been adopted in China housing reform as has been in the general economic reforms. The transitional mode of housing provision has alleviated the problem of urban housing shortages to a great extent. However, it has also complicated the attempt to achieve a market-oriented system of housing development and investment with clear and enforceable property rights because an old institution of housing provision, danwei, is still in place.
Transforming America’s Cities
Authors: Bowman Ann O’M. , Pagano Michael A.
Published: July 2003

City governments own or regulate vacant land and abandoned structures. In this article, the authors summarize new vacant-land survey data, examine the conditions and causes of vacant land, analyze city policy toward vacant land, and explore the possible interconnections among conditions, causes, and policies. They find that vacant land most often is associated with cities that have expanded their political boundaries, and the number of abandoned structures is related to a city’s change in population. Thus vacant land and abandoned structures are not interchangeable indicators of decay and destruction; rather, they have separate causes and need different policies.