bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Differential Perceptions of Health among Eighth-Grade Girls and Boys in Amman, Jordan
Authors: Baydoun Eliyas , Ahlawat Kapur S.
Published: May 2005

Controlling for age, education, socio-economic background, and residential location, sex differences were investigated between male and female pupils' perception of health. A twenty-item multiple response questionnaire was given to 190 girls and 181 boys studying in the eighth grade in well-to-do area city schools. Tests of significance for independent sample proportions were used to determine differences in the proportions of girls and boys endorsing each item. Nine out of twenty differences were statistically significant ( p < .05 or p < .01). Twenty items were rank ordered separately for girls' and boys' samples and Spearman rank order correlation was calculated to test for the degree of similarity of ordered preferences of girls and boys. A relatively high value of rho .924 indicated close similarity between the preferential patterns of girls' and boys' perceptions of health. Possibility of reaching alternative conclusions from different analyses of the same data is indicated and implications for health education curriculum development are suggested.
Potential Public Health Hazards of Biosynthetic Milk Hormones
Authors: Epstein Samuel S.
Published: May 2005

The use of biosynthetic milk hormones raises fundamental ethical, social, and economic considerations, including the continued viability of the small family dairy farm and adverse veterinary effects. The past and expanding use of synthetic bovine growth hormone manufactured by the Agricultural Chemicals Division of Elanco (Eli Lilly and Co.) in conjunction with Dow Chemical Co. and Upjohn Co., and its methionyl analog, manufactured by American Cyanamid Co. and Monsanto Co., also poses significant potential public health hazards which have not so far been investigated. These concerns are exacerbated by the domination of synthetic hormone research by industry and its indentured academics, by failure of the industries concerned to disclose their unpublished data, by their manipulation of published data, and by refusal to label milk and meat from cows treated with biosynthetic hormones, and by denial of consumers' rights to know. These concerns are further exacerbated by the abdication of regulatory responsibility by the Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Thoughts about Death and Dying in an African Sample
Authors: Guana E. W. M. , Louw J. , Manganyi N. C.
Published: May 2005

The attitudes toward death and dying of 163 Xhosa-speaking respondents living in Transkei, South Africa were assessed by means of semi-structured interviews. Eight aspects of death were studied: personal death, death of others, the right to know about one's impending death, preferred length of life span, preferences for manner of dying, and place of death, euthanasia, and suicide. A number of critical factors in the formation of attitudes were related to the above: age, gender, belief in life after death, educational level, and exposure to death and dying. The findings concerning the salient aspects of death and dying were in many ways similar to those from previous studies in African as well as western societies. Age, gender, belief in life after death, and education influenced the number of respondents reporting certain attitudes in a number of cases.
Twelfth Grade Follow-up of the Effectiveness of a Middle School-Based Substance Abuse Prevention Program
Authors: Shope Jean T. , Copeland Laurel A. , Kamp Mary E. , Lang Sylvia W.
Published: May 2005

A twelfth-grade follow-up afforded the opportunity to assess the long-term effects of substance abuse prevention delivered in sixth and seventh grades. A social pressures resistance skills curriculum implemented by classroom teachers had been evaluated with short-term positive results previously reported. Students completed self-administered questionnaires at sixth grade pre- and posttests, and at seventh and twelfth-grade posttests. Curriculum group students received lessons on alcohol, tobacco (cigarettes and smokeless), marijuana, and cocaine, which were later incorporated into the Michigan Model for Comprehensive School Health Education. This evaluation used data from 262 students who completed all four questionnaires and who received the complete two-year intervention or no intervention. Repeated measures analyses of variance demonstrated that significant effects evident at seventh grade for alcohol use and misuse, as well as cigarette, cocaine, and other drug use were generally not maintained through twelfth grade. Ongoing reinforcement of effective prevention is recommended.
Attachment, Loss of Spouse, and Grief in Elderly Adults
Authors: Sable Pat
Published: May 2005

Contrary to much of the literature that claims elderly persons accept and, thus, adjust better to bereavement, personal interviews with eighty-one women between the ages of twenty-six and eighty-two, widowed one to three years, revealed they do not tolerate or adapt to bereavement more successfully than younger women. A standardized, self-report scale, the Texas Inventory of Grief, found that older women showed more intense grief at the time of the interview than younger women. They also reported more feelings of anxiety and depression. It is possible that loss in later years is not so easily accepted, and that there is a more lasting sadness than generally assumed. The theoretical framework of attachment was used for the study. Perceiving the desire for attachment to be life-long, adult relationships such as marriage are apt to be cherished indefinitely. The loss of this affectional bond may never feel timely or readily acceptable to the survivor. The study suggests that society give more attention to the distress and loneliness that bereavement brings to an elderly spouse.
Job Strain among Post Office Mailhandlers
Authors: Cahill Janet , Landsbergis Paul A.
Published: May 2005

A sample of 4,018 U.S. Post Office mailhandlers nationwide completed a questionnaire assessing job demands, decision latitude, hazardous conditions, supervisory support, physical exertion, physical/psychological strain, sleeping problems, muscle strain, and job dissatisfaction. Scales were obtained from Karasek's Job Content Questionnaire. Comparative data were available from the U.S. Quality of Employment Surveys (for “mail carriers and handlers”) and two samples of contemporary working populations. Hierarchical multiple regressions controlled for age, sex, education, length of postal service, Vietnam veteran status, and marital status. Mailhandlers reported significantly higher levels of negative job characteristics than both the national and contemporary samples, and their levels of job demands and decision latitude place them in the “high strain” quadrant of Karasek's model. Women not only reported higher strain, job dissatisfaction, and sleeping problems than men, but also higher levels of negative job characteristics. While other demographic variables, particularly Vietnam veteran status, were associated with stress-related outcomes, structural aspects of the work environment were more strongly associated with outcome. The authors conclude that postal mailhandlers face a highly stressful work environment.
Making Technical Writing Easier
Authors: Hawes L. Clinton
Published: May 2005

A number of “shortcuts” to make technical writing easier or more effective are described. These have to do with such tasks as documentation, filling in omissions by asking questions, taking notes, organizing material, and writing introductions. Outlines are uniquely classified as review, planning, master, and writing outlines. The latter is particularly useful because it is dynamic. Its use eliminates much note taking, aids the organization of source material, and helps guide the writing. An annotated bibliography has been included.
Rethinking Suicide: Notes toward a Critical Epidemiology
Authors: Hopper Kim , Guttmacher Sally
Published: May 2005

Where the genesis of “disease” owes much to causes that are social and economic in nature, epidemiology holds unrealized potential as a tool of social criticism. A particularly interesting example is provided by suicide and suicide research. Methodological difficulties are explored in detail, major findings reviewed, and the dominant interpretations of such findings criticized. Research has consistently pointed to the risks of marginal or minority status, unemployment, weak community supports, situational crises, and the pressures people are subjected to during periods of economic depression. It is argued that the sociostructural implications of such research have been systematically ignored, attention being devoted instead to more efficient management of the suicidal individual—this in spite of the lack of success of suicide prevention centers. Initial steps toward an alternative framework are outlined, with emphasis laid on the need to disaggregate the suicide act. It is further suggested that self-destruction is a far commoner—indeed, integral—part of our social environment than the bare rack of suicide statistics would suggest.
Relationship of Alcohol Consumption and Recreational Boating in Beaufort County, North Carolina
Authors: Glover Elbert D. , Lane Susan , Wang Min Qi
Published: May 2005

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between alcohol use and recreational boating activities. Two hundred eleven ( n = 211) boaters were surveyed at three boating access locations in Beaufort County, North Carolina. The survey questionnaire consisted of fifteen questions designed to obtain information on boat operators and their use of alcoholic beverages while engaging in boating activities. Prevalence and amount of alcohol use while boating were significantly associated ( p < .05) with the type of activity engaged in. Among those boaters who had received some type of boating safety education, a higher prevalence of alcohol use while boating was observed. The prevalence and amount of alcohol use while boating were found to be significantly ( p < .05) associated with the location (public versus private) of boating access. In light of the findings, it is apparent that boating alcohol education and legislation for the North Carolina boating population need assessment and revision. The implications of the findings could have far-reaching effects upon education and prevention among the recreational boating population, particularly if further research in this area supports these findings.
A Hospital Service Population Model and its Application
Authors: Bay Kyung S. , Nestman Lawrence J.
Published: May 2005

The concept of hospital service population and its estimation techniques is refined and generalized from a model-building point of view, and the generalized model is applied to the Alberta, Canada, hospital system. The assumptions underlying the so-called relevance and commitment index methods are investigated. A set of computer programs is developed for estimating the service population of Alberta hospitals. The programs use census, patient origin, and hospital statistics related to costs as input, and provide resource allocation and utilization rates on an age-sex adjusted per capita basis for all Alberta general acute hospitals and hospital districts. The estimates based on relevance and commitment index methods are compared and found to be very similar, except at the extreme tail areas of the distribution.
Rhabdomyolysis in Retrospect: Are Psychiatric Patients Predisposed to this Little-Known Syndrome?
Authors: Johnson Steven B. , Alvarez William A. , Freinhar Jack P.
Published: May 2005

Rhabdomyolysis is a potentially lethal syndrome that follows skeletal muscle injury, both traumatic and nontraumatic. The literature on this syndrome remains sketchy, and rhabdomyolysis may often go unrecognized. The history, clinical presentation, laboratory findings, etiology, and treatment of rhabdomyolysis are reviewed. Factors which predispose psychiatric patients in particular to this syndrome are discussed. Recommendations to reduce morbidity and mortality are offered.
The Use of Macintosh Authoring Languages in Effective Computer-Assisted Instruction
Authors: Cook E. K.
Published: May 2005

Computer-assisted instruction has many widely-recognized benefits, such as reduced learning time, higher final exam scores, improved attitude, and better individualization. Detriments have been an inadequate theoretical focus, poorly conceived and reported studies, high cost, and machine-dependent, inflexible authoring languages. The microcomputer has mitigated some of these problems, and recent Macintosh authoring languages have been flexible and powerful enough to prompt much recent courseware development. A survey of the major authoring languages is presented, with an overview of projects currently in work.
Anticipatory it in Scientific Discourse
Authors: Rodman Lilita
Published: May 2005

Based on a 70,000-word sample of eight journal articles and four textbook chapters, this article examines the communicative value of anticipatory- it clauses in scientific and technical texts. The main discourse function of the 205 clauses appears to be to provide author comment, with the meaning of the verb or the meaning of the adjective determining the particular type of comment. Many of these comments are evidential; that is, they are concerned primarily with the reliability or source of knowledge. Anticipatory- it clauses are also used to mark the introduction of a topic, to forecast, to summarize, and to direct the reader in interpreting a graphic or recognizing the most salient points in an argument. Rather than being a structure to avoid, the anticipatory- it clause is probably one whose effective use indicates academic acculturation.
Community Physicians: Perceptions of Their Role in Treating Psychiatric Disorders
Authors: Hull J.
Published: May 2005

Although many leaders of the medical profession feel that community physicians should take responsibility for the psychiatric disorders of their patients, only a little more than half of the respondents in the current study agreed. The variations in willingness to take on this role and in interest in psychiatric activities seem to be related to a number of what we have called predisposing variables, including some personal characteristics of the physicians and professional attitudes, as well as to certain enabling variables, including their knowledge of psychiatry, and, to a lesser extent, the ability of patients to pay for their services.
Technical Writing in the Netherlands
Authors: De Vet Dominique M. W.
Published: May 2005

This article is about the profession of technical writing in the Netherlands. The data are mainly based on two studies. The first was directed at technical writers who work as freelancers (external writers). It was done with the objective of learning about the characteristics and backgrounds of external technical writers and about their wishes concerning the development of the profession. The second study was directed at technical writers who work inside organizations (internal writers) and focused on questions about text quality and the writing problems that threaten this quality.

We will focus on three issues. After the introduction in the first section and the description of the design of our studies in the second section, we will give a global profile of technical writers in the Netherlands. In the fourth section we will give an impression of the writing problems internal technical writers have to deal with. In the fifth section opinions concerning more professionalism in the field of technical writing are discussed. Also attention is paid to current developments in professionalism.
Perceived Mental Health and Disablement of Primary Care and End-Stage Renal Disease Patients
Authors: Parkerson George R. , Gutman Robert A.
Published: May 2005

Objective:

To compare perceived current mental health and disablement between primary care and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients, and to study social support and stress and severity of illness as possible determinants of mental health and disablement.

Method:

Observational cross-sectional analysis of 414 primary care patients in a rural community health center and 125 ESRD patients requiring hemodialysis in two community dialysis units. The Duke Health Profile (DUKE) anxiety-depression scale was used to assess mental health; the DUKE disability scale, to indicate disablement; the Duke Social Support and Stress Scale, to measure support and stress; and the Duke Severity of Illness Scale, to rate severity of illness.

Results:

Perceived current mental health in terms of anxiety and depression symptoms was worse for primary care than for ESRD patients, and perceived current disablement was no different for the two groups. Patients' perception of their health status and of stress from family members were more closely associated with their level of anxiety and depression symptoms than were their diagnostic profiles or overall severity of illness. In turn, their level of anxiety and depression symptoms was the principal correlate of their disablement.

Conclusions:

The demonstration of strong relationships among anxiety and depression symptoms, disablement, and family stress in these two very different patient populations should stimulate further research and motivate clinicians to evaluate all three parameters as part of routine patient care.
Pharmaceutical Research and Development and the Patent System
Authors: Love James
Published: May 2005

The pharmaceutical industry routinely exaggerates its expenditures on research and development, but it does spend billions annually. But not all R&D is equally important. The patent-based system provides incentives to invest heavily in marketing and marketing-related measures masquerading as research. Innovators are rewarded with a marketing monopoly, and this drives what kind of research they do and what practices they follow to profit from their products. It is a system that creates incentives for marketing more than for research, which inevitably drives the marketing mission to corrupt the R&D process.
Fort Ancient Agricultural Systems and Settlement: A View from Southwestern Ohio
Authors: Nass John
Published: May 2005

Models of Fort Ancient settlement are based on assumptions about social organization, adaptation, and site function. Fundamental to testing settlement models is the question of village autonomy among coeval communities, especially the question of economic self-sufficiency. This question is explored by using catchment analysis as a technique for measuring the amount of usable soils around six nucleated Fort Ancient villages in southwestern Ohio. Economically, each of the sites discussed is shown to have sufficient soil for growing the necessary cultigens to support its resident population on a year-round basis. These results are in agreement with Graybill's (1981) thesis that all Fort Ancient communities, regardless of size, shape, complexity, or time, are self-sufficient social aggregates.
A General Causal Model to Guide Alcohol, Tobacco, and Illicit Drug Prevention: Assessing the Research Evidence
Authors: Birckmayer Johanna D. , Holder Harold D. , Yacoubian George S. , Friend Karen B.
Published: May 2005

The problems associated with the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs (ATOD) extract a significant health, social, and economic toll on American society. While the field of substance abuse prevention has made great strides during the past decade, two major challenges remain. First, the field has been disorganized and fragmented with respect to its research and prevention practices; that is, there are often separate ATOD prevention “specialists.” Second, both the prevention researchers who test the efficacy of specific prevention strategies and the practitioners who implement prevention efforts often lack an overall perspective to guide strategy selection. To address these limitations, we present an ATOD causal model that seeks to identify those variables (Domains) that are theoretically salient and empirically connected across alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs. For the researcher, the model demonstrates important commonalities, as well as gaps, in the literature. For the practitioner, the model is a means to recognize both the complexity of the community system that produces ATOD problems and the multiple intervention points that are possible within this system. Researchers and practitioners are thus challenged to work synergistically to find effective and cost-effective approaches to change or reduce ATOD use and associated problems.
Implementation and Evaluation of a Course Concept Based on Reusable Learning Objects
Authors: Van Zele Els , Vandaele Pieter , Botteldooren Dick , Lenaerts Josephina
Published: May 2005

This article describes the implementation and evaluation of a learning objects based computer aided system for an advanced engineering course at Ghent University, Belgium. A new syllabus concept was introduced: students had access to a Web-delivered component and received an identical printed component as two sources of information additional to the altered lectures. The latter were redesigned as interactive, application-oriented sessions, centered around two case studies which actively engaged students in the learning process. Both pre-test and post-test surveys were conducted to investigate the impact and the effects of the new teaching approach. The following issues were addressed: changes in students' attitudes toward the use of ICT; the impact of the new approach on students' ways of learning; and their appreciation for the entire course concept. The issue whether multimedia and lectures are complementary or alternative in nature as well as some gender related issues are also discussed.
“Landlocked” Salmon and Early Holocene Lacustrine Adaptation in Southwestern Maine
Authors: Yesner David R. , Hamilton Nathan D. , Doyle Richard A.
Published: May 2005

While early Holocene sites are rare in northeastern North America, and by implication early Holocene populations were relatively low, Middle Archaic sites (7000–9000 BP) are particularly abundant in the “Lakes” region of southwestern Maine and southeastern New Hampshire. Since sea level in this region (western Gulf of Maine) was as much as 50 m below present at that time, site abundance in the “Lakes” region may be explained by an unusual set of conditions which allowed populations of anadromous fish to develop earlier than elsewhere. Data from the Sebago Lake region of southwestern Maine suggest the development of a subsistence regime in Middle Archaic times based on intensive exploitation of anadromous fish, turtles, and aquatic mammals. In addition, it is likely that “landlocked” salmon populations became established at this time, resulting in a diverse, abundant, and stable resource base that supported sedentary encampments, particularly near outlets to important spawning grounds.
“Official Documentation” of the Black Suicide Experience
Authors: Peck Dennis L.
Published: May 2005

This paper explores methodological limitations confronted by researchers who test theoretical statements using suicide data generated by public officials. A discussion of official reporting procedures observed in one medical examiner's office suggests that investigative standards for assessing equivocal death among blacks may be minimal in comparison to the more uniform evaluations and documentation of questionable death for whites. Data pertaining to socioeconomic characteristics, religious preference, and the influence of interpersonal and intrapersonal factors thought to impact upon the black victim's decision to engage in life-destructive behavior are reported and discussed. The findings suggest that the social worth criterion of the victim may influence the recording of suicide data. Suggestions are offered for increasing the reliability of official suicide data.
Social Class Differences in Health and Functional Disability among Older Men and Women
Authors: Rahkonen Ossi , Takala Pentti
Published: May 2005

The aims of the study were to describe the health of older men and women and to investigate the social patterning of health and functional disability among older men and women, with special reference to social class differences. The data were derived from the 1994 nationwide Finnish Survey on Living Conditions (N = 1,448). Functional disability, limiting long-standing illness, and self-assessed health were used as health measures. Sociodemographic measures were social class, marital status, and urbanization. The age-adjusted social class differences were clear. Farmers and workers reported more functional disability and poorer health than did the white-collar class. Differences were somewhat smaller among women than among men. Social class was a stronger determinant than urbanization and marital status of functional disability and health.
Medical Management of the Depressed Alcoholic Patient
Authors: Preskorn Sheldon H. , Goodwin Donald W.
Published: May 2005

Since the advent of modern psychopharmacology in the 1950s, use of medications in the treatment of many psychiatric disorders has become commonplace. Alcohol use is also widespread. As alcohol can interact with a wide variety of medications to alter drug effects, understanding the interactions between it and psychiatric medicines is important to the efficacious treatment of the depressed alcoholic with these drugs. This article briefly outlines the effects of alcohol and the mechanisms of its interactions with psychiatric medications. The most commonly used classes of psychiatric medicines, including antidepressants, CNS depressants, benzodiazapines, antipsychotics, psychostimulants, and lithium carbonate, are reviewed as to their potential interactions with alcohol. Clinical implications of these interactions are discussed.
Secular Eschatology: Beliefs about Afterlife
Authors: Walker Gail C.
Published: May 2005

The development of the concept of afterlife was traced through examination of extinctionism, existentialism, pre-historic Shamanism, the Hebrew Torah, the Judeo-Christian Bible, the Qur'an of Islam, Eastern religious and philosophical systems regarding reincarnation, pluralistic death, and secular alternatives of positivism and humanitarianism. Beliefs about afterlife were investigated for 270 healthcare workers and 414 university students. The extinctionist view was endorsed by 13.6 percent. The predominant view of 85.1 percent was a hope for an afterlife. Belief in a specific type of afterlife was acknowledged by 53.3 percent. Belief in reincarnation was indicated by 29.5 percent. The belief system of 13.6 percent was based on traditional religious concepts modified by secular influences about eternal life and resurrection into heaven or hell, depending on our earthly deeds. An additional 10.2 percent believed that we will all obtain heaven. Detailed post-hoc analyses by gender, race, and the religious identification categories of Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Jew, and agnostic are reported.
Covert and Overt Dependence in Suicidal Women and Their Male Partners
Authors: Canetto Silvia Sara , Feldman Larry B.
Published: May 2005

Dependence has traditionally been associated with suicidal behavior, especially in women. According to recent psychodynamic formulations, overt expression of dependence is influenced by covert mental representations and context-interactional variables. This study explored the covert mental representations and the interactional context of dependence in suicidal women and their male nonsuicidal partners. On the basis of theory, we hypothesized that suicidal women and their partners would have similar covert dependent needs, but opposite styles of dealing with these needs. The suicidal women would express these needs directly through overt dependent behavior while their partners would manifest their dependent needs indirectly through reinforcing dependent behavior in suicidal women. As predicted by theory, suicidal women and their partners were found to be similar in terms of covert dependence and different with regard to overt behavior—male partners tending to foster dependence in suicidal women. Contrary to prediction, most suicidal women did not directly express excessive dependence.
Studies of Superobesity III: Body Image Changes after Jejuno-Ileal Bypass Surgery
Authors: Schiebel Douglas , Castelnuovo-Tedesco Pietro
Published: May 2005

Changes in the perceptual-cognitive and affective components of the body image were studied in ten women who had undergone jejuno-ileal bypass surgery. As weight loss occurs, the cognitive body schema adjusts readily to the patients' new reality, whereas the affective component remains essentially unchanged during the first year after surgery. Implications of findings are discussed.
Effects of Forest Fires on Archaeological Resources at Grand Canyon National Park
Authors: Jones Anne Trinkle , Euler Robert C.
Published: May 2005

For a number of years archaeologists have discussed the effects of forest fires on archaeological resources. Studies under experimental conditions and of sites after they were burned form the bulk of this effort but, for the most part, they have not been published. This article examines the fire history of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and the effects of the Dutton Point wildfire on prehistoric architecture and artifacts—particularly ceramics. Armed with those data, a modest experiment useful in any proposed prescribed fire area containing cultural resources, was designed. This involved “before and after” studies of a ruin that was to be subjected to prescribed burning and included buried temperature controls and the varying effects upon the resource. Finally, a hypothesis regarding the effect of wildfires on archaeological sites is presented.
Imagery, Style, and Content in Thirty-Seven Shakespeare Plays
Authors: Simonton Dean Keith
Published: May 2005

Using the Regressive Imagery Dictionary (RID), Derks [1] assessed the thirty-seven plays of Shakespeare on three content analytical variables: primordial content, conceptual content, and incongruous juxtapositions. In the current study, these three RID measures were shown to correlate with style and content attributes not examined in the earlier article. For example, primordial content was found to be positively associated with the proportion of lines in rhymed verse and negatively associated with the proportion of lines in prose. Moreover, although this study replicated some of Derks' findings with respect to incongruous juxtapositions, it also discovered a negative relationship between this variable and the play's level of thematic richness. It is possible that some of these results are not idiosyncratic to Shakespeare, but rather they may characterize literary creativity in general.
Enlarging the Caring Capacity of the Community: Informal Support Networks and the Welfare State
Authors: Walker Alan
Published: May 2005

In common with most modern industrial societies, Great Britain is facing the unique late 20th century phenomenon of rapidly increasing numbers of people, especially very elderly people, requiring health and social care. The response in Britain has been to search for ways to enlarge the caring capacity of the “community” and, thereby, reduce the demands on public health and social services. Similar policy responses have been developed in other capitalist societies such as Canada, France, and the United States. Although a policy of “community care”-the provision of state services in people's own homes-was followed by governments of both major British political parties over the postwar period, under the right wing neo-monetarist regime of the present Thatcher administration the locus of policy has shifted toward encouraging greater reliance on the informal support networks of kin, friends, and neighbors. The reasons for this sea-change are explored and the assumptions that these networks are “natural” and necessarily the proper matrix of care are examined critically. This analysis draws on the results of recent research which indicates that informal support networks have significant limitations and that a policy based on withdrawing public services in the hope that these networks will fill the growing care gap is likely to be counterproductive. In conclusion, the author indicates the areas where further research is required to provide a sound basis for policy.
Scientists: Can They Read What They Write?
Authors: Bostian Lloyd R. , Thering Ann C.
Published: May 2005

We evaluated scientists' abilities to process two writing styles, active and nominal in comprehension and reading speed, and determined their preferences for these styles. International scientists (with English as a first, second, or third language) were tested. Results show scientists comprehend nominal style as well as active style but process nominal style more slowly. Scientists with lower levels of English experience have proportionately greater difficulty processing nominal style than active style. Scientists prefer active writing to nominal writing and rate scientists who write actively higher than those who write nominally. Scientists should use more active style and technical editors should apply a heavy hand to nominal style.
Issues in Collaborative Research between Health Educators and Medical Scientists: A Case Study
Authors: Brieger William R. , Ramakrishna Jayashree , Demissie Petros
Published: May 2005

The inclusion of health education in medical research schemes, if it happens at all, is usually after major social, behavioral, and educational problems have surfaced that threaten the success or survival of the project. Lack of collaboration arises not only from a narrowly and inappropriately conceived role for health education but also from communications barriers inherent in differing professional orientations and methodologies. A case study on malaria research in a rural Nigerian community demonstrates that health educators need to take initiative in defining a role for themselves in biomedical research, even if the opportunity may seem to come too late. Any chance for interaction provides potential for learning and understanding that will pave the way for collaboration in the future.
Closing the it Gap for Race and Gender
Authors: McClelland Marilyn
Published: May 2005

Highly-skilled technology jobs like database administrators, systems analysts, and computer programmers are the fastest growing occupation in the United States. The demand for these jobs exceeds the available workforce. A potential source for additional Information Technology (IT) workers is in the populations of women and some minorities like African Americans and people of Hispanic origin which are underrepresented in highly-skilled IT jobs. There is evidence of cultural differences which contribute to the lower representation of some populations. Census data on computer use and ownership provide quantitative indications of differences. Perceptions of African-American college students provide other evidence of differences in values for spending money, gaining technology skills, lack of role models, and inequities in resources. The bridges needed to close the gap in representation in technology jobs include: positive role models, access, skills, encouragement, perceptions, and self-confidence. Increasing the pool of available IT workers will provide opportunities for maintaining a growing economy and world leadership in technology.
Community Health Education in Rural Ghana: The Danfa Project—An Assessment of Accomplishments
Authors: Ward William B. , Neumann Alfred K. , Pappoe Matilda E.
Published: May 2005

The Danfa Comprehensive Rural Health and Family Planning Project was a joint effort of the Ghana Medical School, the Ministry of Health, UCLA, and USAID. A health education component was developed as an integral part of program inputs during the initial conceptual phase of the project. As a result non-equivalent experimental and control areas were designated permitting an assessment of program impact during a five-year period (1972–1977) for which baseline and follow-up study data were available. A new cadre of community-based workers (Health Education Assistants) was developed from existing health personnel in the country, and trained in health education and multipurpose health work. Although the HEAs were found to have difficulty in bringing about changes in health practices when other support services were not available, they did have measurable impact on villagers' adoption of family planning methods and a number of specific health practices.
The Recognition and Treatment of Late-Life Depression: A View from Primary Care
Authors: Callahan Christopher M. , Hendrie Hugh C. , Tierney William M.
Published: May 2005

Objective:

Efforts to improve the recognition and treatment of late-life depression in primary care are often based on the assumption that primary care physicians underutilize currently available and effective treatments. This article reviews the validity of this assumption and offers recommendations for future research.

Methods:

Clinical trials designed to improve the recognition and treatment of late-life depression in primary care are reviewed. Because studies limited to older adults are rare, we also include studies enrolling younger patients. These data are reviewed in the context of recent reviews on the prevalence of depression in primary care settings and the effectiveness of available treatments.

Results:

Although depressive symptoms are common among older adults, there is insufficient literature documenting the proportion of these patients who respond to currently available treatments. Patients with uncomplicated major depressive disorder constitute the minority of primary care patients with depressive symptoms. Nearly all available studies of treatment effectiveness of pharmacotherapy or psychotherapy focus on older adults with uncomplicated major depression. Currently available treatment options may apply to less than 15 percent of depressed primary care patients.

Conclusions:

More research is needed to help primary care providers manage their depressed patients with comorbid medical conditions, functional disability, or minor or chronic depressions. In addition, more research is needed to identify those patients who would benefit from specialized or interdisciplinary care.
The Opossum Problem: Implications for Human-Wildlife Competition over Plant Foods
Authors: Neumann Thomas W.
Published: May 2005

The Opossum Problem refers to the infrequent presence of opossum remains, relative to raccoon and squirrel remains, in sites in the eastern United States. The presence or absence of opossum remains is seen to be part of a larger pattern in prey selection in which hunting helped to reduce interspecies competition over plant foods. Spatial and temporal distributions of sites with opossum remains suggest that opossum was not selected as prey prior to ca A.D. 1000 because it did not participate to any significant degree in a plant food network used by people. After ca A.D. 1000 opossum were selected as prey because their activities as a persimmon predator rendered them a competitive threat. Human hunting patterns and prey choice may be better understood by considering how they affect human access to plant food sources.
Paleoindian Watercraft: Evidence and Implications
Authors: Engelbrecht William E. , Seyfert Carl K.
Published: May 2005

Most researchers have not taken the probable presence of boats into account in formulating Paleoindian adaptive models. While no physical remains of Paleoindian watercraft have been identified, the existence of such boats can be inferred from diverse lines of evidence including the presence of antecedent watercraft in Asia, the difficulty of crossing from Asia to the Americas without watercraft, and early settlements on islands. This article explores the implications of possible Paleoindian boat use for a new understanding of colonization, hunting, settlement location, and lithic procurement.
Disease and Rural Development: A Sociological Analysis of Morbidity in Two Mexican Villages
Authors: Laurell Asa Cristina , Gil José Blanco , MacHetto Teresa , Palomo Juan , Rulfo Claudia Perez , de Chávez Manuel Ruíz , Urbina Manuel , Velázquez Nora
Published: May 2005

It is suggested that the problem of the social causes of disease should be analyzed on the basis of the significant social processes of a given society. In this theoretical framework, a comparative study of two Mexican rural villages at different degrees of development is presented in order to clarify two related questions: what is the impact on morbidity of the rural development process, and what is the influence of socio-economic conditions on the distribution of disease in the population?

It was found that morbidity was significantly higher in the more “developed” village than in the one characterized by a predominantly subsistence economy. This finding is ascribed to the character of Mexican rural development, similar to that of other subordinated countries, which implies a change from subsistence agriculture to cash-crops in an unstable market, a massive conversion of peasants into wage laborers with unstable employment, and substantial migration; these phenomena give rise to new, unfavorable living and working conditions for large parts of the rural population. It is argued that it is not development as such that is responsible for the increase in morbidity, but the particular form that it assumes in the dependent countries.

It was also found that socioeconomic characteristics such as people's position in production, the sector of economic activity, and migration patterns define groups of high and low morbidity more clearly than do sanitary conditions and access to professional medical care. These results suggest that the success of public health activities depends on the possibility to plan the process of change.
The Importance of following up Library Instruction
Authors: Tebeaux Elizabeth
Published: May 2005

At Texas A&M, the technical writing faculty discovered that the biggest weakness of students' long technical reports was lack of research. To remedy this weakness, a library instruction plan, here described, was developed. Because of the intensive nature of the library instruction, devised to aid approximately twenty-one different majors, a followup procedure was necessary. The library research report, also described, was designed to require students to examine the research tools shown them during library instruction. After this report is complete, students can draw from it information necessary to write their proposals for their long reports. Thus, library instruction, the library research report, and the proposal can be made interrelated studies which have both immediate and long-range instructional value for students.
Analysis of Parasites from 19th Century Privy Contexts, Wilmington, Delaware
Authors: Fries Cara R. , Beidleman D. Katherine , Custer Jay F.
Published: May 2005

This article reports the finding of parasite ova in samples from four privy features excavated in Wilmington, Delaware. The privies, from which the samples were derived, dated to a variety of time periods ranging between 1790 and 1920. The predominate parasites found were the common roundworm, Ascaris lumbricoides, and the whipworm, Trichuris trichura. The presence of parasite ova in privies may serve as indicators of human feces within the organic matrix and be a possible source of valuable information of the health conditions of past urban dwellers. Potential health hazards to archaeological field personnel excavating these contexts is discussed.
Peaked “T” Waves with Tranylcypromine (Parnate) Overdose
Authors: Quill Timothy E.
Published: May 2005

A case of tranylcypromine (Parnate) overdose is presented in which the main toxic effects were headache, obtundation, hypertension, and diffusely peaked T-waves on ECG. The latter effect, which occurred in the absence of hyperkalemia, has not been previously associated with monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOI). Recent case reports of tranylcypromine toxicity are briefly reviewed, confirming the potential for hypertension, hypotension, shock, hyperpyrexia, intracranial hemorrhage, agitation, hyperkinesis, coma and death in association with overdosage, or concommitant ingestion of sympathomimetic substances or other drugs. These ECG changes add to the worrisome list of potential toxicities in an era in which MAOI are finding increased clinical use.
Cognitive Style and the Selection of Logo Problem-Solving Strategies by Young Black Children
Authors: Howard Janice R. , Watson J. Allen , Allen Jean
Published: May 2005

The finding that field-independent individuals demonstrate superior problem-solving ability on computer programming tasks is well-documented in the literature. However, the ease with which preschool children acquire computer skills is less clear. There is conflicting evidence regarding whether or not young children can learn to program. The purpose of this study was to examine problem-solving strategies selected by stylistically different groups of minority (black) preschool children taught via a Logo computer curriculum using an age-appropriate format. Findings revealed that all children learned to program successfully with training at an age-appropriate level. Findings did not support the variety of cognitive style differences predicted for field-independent versus field-independent children. Implications for future training methods with software packages are discussed.
Exploring the Prevalence and Correlates of Methamphetamine use: Findings From Sacramento's Adam Program
Authors: Yacoubian George S. , Peters Ronald J.
Published: May 2005

Anecdotal reports have suggested that the use and abuse of methamphetamine is increasing in the United States. To date, however, few scholarly works have explored the prevalence and correlates of methamphetamine use in the United States. To address this limitation, a secondary analysis was undertaken with data collected through the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) Program. An examination of methamphetamine-positive rates among ADAM arrestees interviewed between 1991 and 2001 identified that its use is concentrated within the Western part of the United States. Supplementary analyses of Sacramento arrestees indicated that 71% were diagnosed as needing some form of alcohol or other drug treatment. Compared to those arrestees who were detected methamphetamine-negative, methamphetamine-positive arrestees in Sacramento were three times as likely to be white and to have been diagnosed in need of drug treatment. Implications for drug control policy are discussed.
Reactions to Cheap Art
Authors: Lindauer Martin S.
Published: May 2005

Mass-produced art (also known as factory art or kitsch) is a popular and affordable type of art found in homes, businesses, and public places, but not in museums. In order to understand more about this little studied form of art, and to verify its appeal to a mass audience, slides and photos of mass-produced art were rated in three studies. Subjects differed in sex and age (ranging from teen-agers to older adults), and in educational and art backgrounds. Across all studies, mass-produced art was generally liked, irrespective of individual differences. Other evaluative responses (whether the art was good, would be hung at home, and recommended for museum purchase) were also generally positive; familiarity and complexity were high; and all variables correlated with one another. Scenes from nature were most preferred, while still-lifes and cityscapes were not. The relationship of mass-produced to museum-caliber art, and the contribution of popular art to the psychology of art and aesthetic theory, are discussed.