bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Asbestos and Health in the Third World: The Case of Brazil
Authors: Berman Daniel M.
Published: May 2005

Almost all of the asbestos used in Brazil is mined by an enterprise wholly owned by two European multinational companies, which also produce and market over two-thirds (by weight of asbestos) of the products made from asbestos. About 80 percent of the asbestos used in Brazil is finally consumed in the form of asbestos cement: for roof tiles and roofing panels, wall-board, and domestic and industrial water tanks. A survey of consumer literature and advertising printed by Eternit, S.A., and Brasilit, S.A., disclosed no mention of a potential danger from exposure to asbestos dust, and no recommendations for cutting down exposure to that dust.

The situation at smaller, Brazilian-owned firms is reputed to be disastrous from the standpoint of workers' exposure to asbestos dust at the point of production. At a large asbestos-cement manufacturing plant owned by Eternit, however, exposure to asbestos dust (according to company records) seemed to be kept under 2.0 fibers per cc., the present standard for the United States.
The Persuasive Proposal
Authors: De Bakey Lois
Published: May 2005

Although you write the proposal before, and the report after, you do the research, both require the application of principles that will demonstrate to the reader two skills needed by every investigator: clear thinking to produce worthwhile research, and clear writing to communicate the results of that research. Sharp delineation of the problem to be addressed, thoughtful preliminary preparation, careful outlining, and concentration on orderly sequence of ideas in the first draft will help produce a unified, coherent proposal. Critical revision, with emphasis on simple, direct, forceful language will enhance the persuasiveness of the proposal.
Presentation Media, Information Complexity, and Learning Outcomes
Authors: Andres Hayward P. , Petersen Candice
Published: May 2005

Cognitive processing limitations restrict the number of complex information items held and processed in human working memory. To overcome such limitations, a verbal working memory channel is used to construct an if-then proposition representation of facts and a visual working memory channel is used to construct a visual imagery of geometric spatial information. Recent findings suggest that these two channels augment each other in enhancing cognitive processing, thereby increasing comprehension and retention. Multimedia computing provides a variety of information presentation modality combinations (i.e., text, pictures, narration, animation, and video). The fact that educators have observed that visuals enhance learning suggests that multimedia presentations should be superior to text-only and text with static pictures in facilitating optimal human information processing and, therefore, comprehension. This article reports the findings from a 3 (text-only, overhead slides, and multimedia presentation) × 2 (high and low information complexity) factorial experiment. Subjects read a text script, viewed an acetate overhead slide presentation, or viewed a multimedia presentation depicting the greenhouse effect (low complexity) or photocopier operation (high complexity). Multimedia was superior to text-only and overhead slides for comprehension. Information complexity diminished comprehension and perceived presentation quality. Significant interactions indicated that multimedia was able to reduce the negative impact of information complexity on comprehension and increase the extent of sustained attention to the presentation. These findings suggest that multimedia presentations invoke the use of both the verbal and visual working memory channels resulting in a reduction of the cognitive load imposed by increased information complexity. Moreover, multimedia superiority in facilitating comprehension goes beyond its ability to increase sustained attention; the quality and effectiveness of information processing attained (i.e., use of verbal and visual working memory) is also significant.
Development, Reliability, and Validity of the Children's Questions about Death Scale
Authors: Richardson Frank J. , Baker Richard C. , Kastenbaum Robert
Published: May 2005

Most measures of parent-child communication about death are specific only to families of chronically ill children. In contrast, The Children's Questions About Death Scale (CQADS) was constructed to assess how effectively mothers respond to questions about death that their healthy children are likely to ask them. The CQADS originated from a pool of 237 questions that mothers ( N = 116) reported they had been asked by their children regarding death. Final item selection was determined by categorizing the questions using four categories (essence, intentionality, loss of relationship, and self-oriented) and selecting a representative set of four items in each category that demonstrated adequate response variability and inter-rater agreement. The scoring criteria for the CQADS were established on the basis of expert opinion in the literature. Operationally defined scoring criteria were developed so that mothers' written responses to each of the questions on the CQADS could be rated for effectiveness on a scale from 1 ( not at all effective) to 5 ( very effective). Total scores could range from 16 to 80, with higher scores indicating greater effectiveness in responding to children's questions about death. The CQADS has excellent test-retest reliability ( r = .95, p < .05), and inter-rater reliability greater than .80.
An Interprofessional Model for Serving Youth at Risk for Substance Abuse: The Team Case Study
Authors: Cobia Debra C. , Center Hayden , Buckhalt Joseph A. , Meadows Mark E.
Published: May 2005

Three models of interprofessional education appropriate for serving youth at risk for substance abuse are described. One of the models, the team case study, was evaluated by school personnel trained in its use. Results indicated that participants were more sensitive to the multiple needs of youth at risk, experienced increased comfort in seeking consultation from other agents working with such youth, and were more confident of their abilities to select and implement appropriate interventions for youth at risk for substance abuse following their training.
Downward Spiral: A Pedagogical Game Depicting the Dangers of Substance Abuse
Authors: Czuchry Michael , Sia Tiffiny L. , Dansereau Donald F. , Dees Sandra M.
Published: May 2005

We have developed a pedagogical game called Downward Spiral that illuminates the dangers associated with continued drug use (including alcohol). The game provides facts, quotes, and episodic consequences that can adversely affect each player's mental and physical health, social support, and financial/legal situation over the course of the game. The conceptual and empirical foundations of the game (both a college prevention version and substance abuse treatment version) are discussed. Pilot studies with college students and residents at a substance abuse treatment facility for probationers indicate that Downward Spiral is engaging, informative, and thought provoking. Plans for examining the impact of this game as a preventive technique (for the college setting) and as an approach to increasing motivation for substance abuse treatment are described.
Predictors and Characteristics of Erikson's Life Cycle Model among Men: A 32-Year Longitudinal Study
Authors: Westermeyer Jerry F.
Published: May 2005

To assess Erikson's life cycle model, 86 men, initially selected for health, were prospectively studied at age 21, and reassessed 32 years later at age 53. Using the Vaillant and Milofsky (1980) modification of Erikson's model, 48 men (56%) achieved generativity, an advanced developmental stage, at follow-up. Results generally support Erikson's model and show that generativity was significantly associated with successful marriage, work achievements, close friendships, altruistic behaviors, and overall mental health. Successful young adult predictors of Erikson's model at midlife included a warm family environment, an absence of troubled parental discipline, a mentor relationship, and, most importantly, favorable peer group relationships. Significant predictors of Erikson's model were of moderate effect size and involve young adult social relationships rather than physical symptoms or parental social class standing.
Problems of Psychiatric Care of a Deaf-Blind Population
Authors: Seligson Jose L.
Published: May 2005

Technical difficulties in the evaluation and care of psychiatric disturbances in a deaf-blind population are described. Experience at the National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults demonstrated the relevance of etiological, developmental, adaptive, and social factors for the understanding of the clinical syndromes commonly encountered. The importance of such understandings for adequate diagnosis, treatment, and vocational planning is discussed.
The Effect of Word Processing on the Quality of Writing and Self-Esteem of Secondary School English-As-Second-Language Students: Writing without Censure
Authors: Silver Nettie W. , Repa J. Theodore
Published: May 2005

Current research on the academic and social status of ESL students focuses upon the three major changes that have occurred in large urban centers throughout the United States: the increased population of limited-English-proficient youngsters, the increased dropout rate among these students despite a decrease among the native-speaking population, and the installation of microcomputers in all city secondary schools.

The effect of using word processing on the self-esteem and quality of writing of sixty-six beginning ESL students in an urban secondary school was the focus of this research. A quasi-experimental study using a pretest/posttest design was conducted for a period of one cycle of thirteen weeks. It was hypothesized that the use of word processing would improve the quality of writing and self-esteem. The findings established that there was a statistically significant difference in the quality of writing between the experimental group, which used word processing, and the control group, which used traditional pen and paper procedures. The expectation of improvement of self-esteem was not supported.
Testing of a Causal Model: Acceptance of Death in Hospice Patients
Authors: Ita Dona J.
Published: May 2005

This survey study examined a proposed causal model of acceptance of death, through a chart review and interviews of sixty-nine home hospice patients, their primary caregivers, and hospice staff. Path analysis revealed an overall significant effect of the model, explaining 23 percent of the variance in the dependent variable planning for death. Patient values was found to have a significant direct effect upon planning for death. Spirituality was negatively related to death anxiety and positively related to social support. Age had a direct effect upon spirituality, with older patients having a higher level of spirituality. Ethnicity was related to patient social support, with whites having higher social support. Correlations conducted between variables further specified the model, revealing relationships between age and ethnicity, and social support and hospice values.
Three Stages of Hypno-Family Therapy for Psychosomatic Problems
Authors: Brink Nicholas E.
Published: May 2005

In dealing with psychosomatic complaints it has been found useful and necessary to bring together three stages or techniques of psychotherapy. First, along with teaching relaxation, the therapist directs the client to define the symptom in a symbolic or figurative way describing size, shape, color, consistency, smell, and sound. These descriptors assess intensity and, over time, change in intensity of the symptom. Second, several hypnotic techniques are used to determine the dynamic pattern that has created the symptom. Such uncovered patterns have been found to invariably involve family dynamics. Third, hypnotic and family therapy techniques assist the client in changing the pattern. Examples are presented.
Prehistoric Shellfish Preservation and Storage on the Northeast Coast
Authors: Black David W. , Whitehead Ruth Holmes
Published: May 2005

Recently, there has been an exchange in the archaeological literature of the Northeast coast regarding the interpretation of some Northeastern coastal shell middens as resulting from the intensive exploitation and preservation of shellfish resources. This article examines both sides of this exchange critically. It is concluded that, while the ethnohistoric evidence supports interpretations of prehistoric preservation and storage, archaeological evidence for these practices will be difficult to discern.
Symptoms and EEG Findings in the Borderline Syndrome
Authors: Cowdry Rex W. , Pickar David , Davies Robert
Published: May 2005

Symptomatology and electroencephalographic abnormalities were examined in thirty-nine individuals with borderline personality disorder, compared with twenty unipolar depressed patients. Borderline individuals showed a much higher incidence of symptoms commonly seen in complex partial seizures or episodic dyscontrol, and in addition had a much higher incidence of EEG abnormalities, particularly posterior sharp activity. These findings suggest that neurophysiological dysfunction may contribute to the borderline syndrome.
Attendance at Religious Services, Interleukin-6, and other Biological Parameters of Immune Function in Older Adults
Authors: Koenig Harold G. , Cohen Harvey Jay , George Linda K. , Hays Judith C. , Larson David B. , Blazer Dan G.
Published: May 2005

Objective:

First, to examine and explain the relationship between religious service attendance and plasma Interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels, and second, to examine the relationship between religious attendance and other immune-system regulators and inflammatory substances.

Methods:

During the third in-person interview (1992) of the Establishment of Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (EPESE) project, Duke site, 1718 subjects age sixty-five or over had blood drawn for analysis of immune regulators and inflammatory factors, including IL-6 measurements. IL-6 was examined both as a continuous variable and at a cutoff of 5 pg/ml. Information on attendance at religious services was available from the 1992 interview and two prior interviews (1986 and 1989).

Results:

Religious attendance was inversely related to high IL-6 levels (> 5 pg/ml), but not to IL-6 measured as a continuous variable. Bivariate analyses revealed that high religious attendance in 1989 predicted a lower proportion of subjects with high IL-6 in 1992 (beta −.10, p = .01). High religious attendance in 1992 also predicted a lower proportion of subjects with high IL-6 levels in 1992 (beta −.14, p = .0005). When age, sex, race, education, chronic illnesses, and physical functioning were controlled, 1989 religious attendance weakened as a predictor of high IL-6 (beta −.07, p = .10), but 1992 religious attendance retained its effect (beta = −.10, p = .02). When religious attenders were compared to non- attenders, they were only about one-half as likely to have IL-6 levels greater than 5 ng/ml (OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.40–0.84, p < .005). Religious attendance was also related to lower levels of the immune-inflammatory markers alpha-2 globulin, fibrin d-dimers, polymorphonuclear leukocytes, and lymphocytes. While controlling for covariates weakened most of these relationships, adjusting analyses for depression and negative life events had little effect.

Conclusions:

There is a weak relationship between religious attendance and high IL-6 levels that could not be explained by other covariates, depression, or negative life events. This finding provides some support for the hypothesis that older adults who frequently attend religious services have healthier immune systems, although mechanism of effect remains unknown.
Completed Suicides: Correlates of Choice of Method
Authors: Peck Dennis L.
Published: May 2005

The relationship between social and psychological correlates of youthful suicide victims and methods of lethality is examined. Data on those who commit suicide are also used to explore the suicide intent hypothesis, and the findings are discussed in light of recent claims that choice of method of lethality is useful for understanding completed suicide. The results suggest that a wide range of factors may be related to youthful intent and suicidal behavior, but only minor differences are observed among a single cohort of committers.
Health, Nutrition, and the Roots of World Population Growth
Authors: Marshall Carter L.
Published: May 2005

As concern over the expansion of world population has grown, much of this “population explosion” has been attributed to the introduction of modern medical and public health techniques in developing countries. There is little evidence, however, to support this belief. Malaria eradication, immunization programs, improved sanitation, and the use of antibiotics are cited as examples of the kind of medical intervention that has sent death rates into downward spirals on a global basis. Yet what is often ignored is the fact that, while each of these measures is medically effective, none is universally applied, a condition that must be achieved before the potential value of these measures can be realized. Sustained population growth has been found to precede the development of medicine and public health as effective weapons against mortality, both in the population expansion of Europe, which began in the 17th century, and in that of modern developing countries.

This article postulates that the roots of the present population crisis are to be found in a worldwide improvement in nutrition that is based less on the amount of food produced than on a greatly enhanced capacity to distribute it. Better food distribution in Europe followed in the wake of the Industrial Revolution and reached the developing countries late in the 19th century as the Third World came increasingly under the political domination of the West.
The Golden Section and the Shape of Objects
Authors: Boselie Frans
Published: May 2005

Though the claim that the golden section has special aesthetic value is a very general one, till now it has been tested only for a very small number of different shapes, most research being restricted to the golden rectangle. An experiment is reported in which the way golden ratios are implemented in sides of objects is varied, producing a variety of shapes. It was found that the golden section does not have a special aesthetic quality as compared to the ratio 1.8.
Labor-Management Mediation: The Mediator in a Complex Communication Situation
Authors: Dubose Philip B. , Veglahn Peter A.
Published: May 2005

Labor-management negotiations present a complex situation for mediators and negotiators. To a considerable extent, the complexities stem from the fact that at least four different types of negotiations are occurring simultaneously: distributive bargaining; integrative bargaining; intra-organizational bargaining; and attitude structuring. If the negotiations are in a public employment situation, the political environment may be a factor causing additional complexities. Mediators in such situations must fill a number of roles, all of which are related to the communication process. The authors will show how the cited factors complicate labor-management negotiations and, concomitantly, affect the mediation process. This article concentrates on the role of the mediator as a communicator in the labor-management context.
Prehistoric Raised Fields in the Upper Midwestern United States: An Innovation in Response to Marginal Growing Conditions
Authors: Riley Thomas J. , Moffat Charles R. , Freimuth Glen
Published: May 2005

The prehistoric garden beds or ridged fields of Michigan and Wisconsin have puzzled Midwestern prehistorians for more than a century. Experimental studies and field reconnaissance undertaken by the authors indicates that the ridged-fields probably served to prevent frost damage to the crops grown on them. The problem of the origin of these features is discussed. While it is possible that the idea of ridged-field construction diffused from the tropical lowlands of Central or South America via Florida, Georgia and the central Mississippi River valley, the authors believe it to be more likely that the ridged fields of the Upper Midwest represent an independent innovation which occurred in response to peculiar local environmental conditions.
Effects of Death Education on Fear of Death and Attitudes towards Death and Life
Authors: Leviton Dan , Fretz Bruce
Published: May 2005

The effects of a death education course were determined for two different classes of students, comparing them with students of sex education and introductory psychology. All students completed a variety of attitudinal, motivational and demographic background measures before and at the end of their courses. The results indicated that initially the death education students did not differ greatly from the students in the other two courses in their beliefs, attitudes and backgrounds. The death education course did affect students' views such that at the end of the course they viewed death as more approachable and wished to experience death in a more interpersonal as compared to a technological context.
Gender Differences in Complicated Grief among the Elderly
Authors: Bierhals Andrew J. , Prigerson Holly G. , Fasiczka Amy , Frank Ellen , Miller Mark , Reynolds Charles F.
Published: May 2005

The resolution of grief has been frequently posited to progress through stages. Seventy-one widows and twenty-six widowers bereaved from five months to thirty-seven years were studied to determine if their resolution of grief-related symptoms could be mapped onto a stage theory of grief and to examine if men and women follow the same temporal course. An analysis of variance was used to test for differences in complicated grief symptoms over time and between widows and widowers. Widowers bereaved three years or longer were found to have increased bitterness. By contrast, widows who were bereaved three years and beyond were found to have lower levels of complicated grief. These preliminary findings suggest that grief may not resolve in stages and that symptoms of complicated grief may not decline significantly over time. Rather symptoms of complicated grief appear to remain stable at least for the first three years of bereavement for both men and women but, thereafter, among widowers tend to increase and among widows to decrease.
Job: On Death and Dying
Authors: Niccolls Thomas
Published: May 2005

Although Job has been seen primarily as a theodicy, the continuing appeal of the book may also be due to its insights into our human reactions to the threat of death. The stages of dying described by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross are vividly portrayed in the words and actions of Job, his wife and his friends. Job articulates his isolation and anger, his self-justification and bargaining, his grief and hopelessness as well as his faith and acceptance of death. Job's plea for human as well as divine understanding is especially pertinent for those who seek to comfort the dying with a religious context.
The Rockefeller Foundation's Antimalarial Program in Latin America: Donating or Dominating?
Authors: Franco-Agudelo Saul
Published: May 2005

This paper analyzes the origins, methods, and hidden objectives of the antimalarial campaigns carried out by the Rockefeller Foundation in Latin America. These campaigns are examined in the context of the imperialist domination of Latin America over the course of this century. The close relationship between prevailing economic, political, and military priorities and the thrust of the Foundation's work in the field of malaria is detailed. In spite of its relatively small financial investment in malaria research and eradication, the Rockefeller Foundation was able to reap enormous benefits from its work in this area. Not only was the Foundation able to increase the profit margins of the Rockefeller empire by ameliorating some of the dire economic consequences of malaria, but also it was able to use its participation to penetrate the public health field and consolidate the hegemony of scientific medicine. It is concluded that the Rockefeller Foundation's attention to the malaria problem reflected more than mere philanthropic concern.
The Design, Implementation, and Acceptance of a Primary Care-Based Intervention to Prevent Depression Relapse
Authors: Ludman Evette , Von Korff Michael , Katon Wayne , Lin Elizabeth , Simon Greg , Walker Ed , Unützer Jürgen , Bush Terry , Wahab Stephanie
Published: May 2005

Objective:

This article describes the conceptual underpinnings, implementation, and participation rates of a twelve-month low-intensity primary care-based intervention to prevent depression relapse. The intervention was designed to address the inherent problems in delivery of effective maintenance treatment in a population based sample of primary care patients.

Methods:

Patients at high risk of relapse based on psychiatric history who recovered from depression six to eight weeks after initiation of pharmacotherapy by their primary care physician were eligible; 194 were randomized to receive the intervention. The intervention combined education about depression, motivation-enhancing shared decision-making regarding the use of maintenance pharmacotherapy, and cognitive-behavioral strategies. The program included two visits with a Depression Prevention Specialist working in tandem with the primary care physician at the primary care clinic, with supervision and back up from a consulting psychiatrist, proactive follow-up telephone calls and mailed personalized feedback.

Results:

Ninety-three percent of patients attended both in-person visits; 97 percent attended one visit. Eighty percent of patients completed all three follow-up telephone calls, and 85 percent returned at least one mailed feedback form; 48 percent returned all four forms. Offered a menu of options for self-management, most patients chose medication as well as a variety of behavioral strategies. At six months, 72 percent of patients and at twelve months 62 percent of patients remained on antidepressant medication.

Conclusions:

We conclude that it is feasible to integrate a low intensity, twelve-month relapse prevention intervention for depression into a primary care clinic.
Philosophic Perspectives: Community, Communications, and Occupational Disease Causation
Authors: Samuels Sheldon W.
Published: May 2005

The caste in which workers and occupational health practitioners find themselves is plagued by intertwined but separable conflicts. A Cartesian model of causation, useful in the demonologies of regulation and toxic torts, is not heuristic in the revisions of health care, worker's compensation, and disability systems, nor in the prevention of violence in the workplace. Outside the caste, science progresses beyond mind-body bifurcations, the adverse effects of which are magnified within the caste. An argument is made for an ecological concept of causation, drawn from Darwin's community approach to the web of causal factors in both cultural and biological evolution, subsequently stimulated and developed by G. H. Mead and by biologically oriented and sociologically oriented human ecologists for application in the workplace. The ecological model is found in occupational biomedicine as practiced by leaders as diverse as Tichauer and Selikoff. The model integrates environmental, lifestyle, and genetic vectors in a community system bonded by communication and embracing a view of work unbifurcated from other activities.
The Use of Multiple Explanations in an Open-Ended Intelligent Tutoring System
Authors: Schulze Kay Gladwell
Published: May 2005

In developing intelligent tutoring systems, a great deal of effort has been spent in attempting to adequately represent the task domain knowledge, in modeling the student's problem-solving behavior and in diagnosing student errors. Our current research effort is aimed at providing the student with multiple explanations of how to solve the problem. This article describes an open-ended tutorial system designed to teach students how to generate equations involving two variable from an algebraic word problem. It provides a student with individualized tutoring by determining which of two tutoring strategies is most effective for him and with differential tutoring by providing four difficulty levels for each class of problems.
Ethical Problems in the Relationship between Health and Work
Authors: Berlinguer Giovanni , Falzi Gabriella , Figà-Talamanca Irene
Published: May 2005

Throughout history, the relationship between employers and workers has been subject to the equilibrium of power, to legislative norms, to ethical considerations, and more recently to scientific knowledge. The authors examine the ethical conflicts that arise from the application of scientific knowledge to preventive health policies in the workplace. In particular, they discuss the ethical conflicts in the application of screening practices, in the setting of “allowable limits” of harmful work exposures, and in the right of workers to be informed about work hazards. Ethical problems are also created by conflicting interests in the protection of the environment, the health of the general public, and the health of the working population, and by conflicting interests among workers, and even within the individual worker, as in the case of “fetal protection” policies. The authors emphasize the positive use of scientific information and respect for human dignity in resolving these conflicts.
Adopting Educational Technology: Implications for Designing Interventions
Authors: Bowman Joseph , Newman Dianna L. , Masterson Joann
Published: May 2005

This in-depth case study tracks the development of a district's adoption of an educational technology plan over the course of a three-year time span. The site consisted of an urban city school district implementing a technology-supported curriculum involving support from administration, teachers, students, and parents. Key activities included technology planning, professional development training, development of technology supported curriculum, and technology implementation in the classroom. Analysis of the process allowed identification of a six-stage cycle of intervention: planning, applications training and learning styles, product development, implementation, assessment, and redesign. Further review indicated that the model was cyclical in nature, allowing for “loops” or cycles within and across stages. The model, as developed, is believed to be generalizable to other settings, being bounded only by the time frame and resources available for implementation.
On Test and Computer Anxiety: Test Performance under Cat and Sat Conditions
Authors: Shermis Mark D. , Mzumara Howard R. , Bublitz Scott T.
Published: May 2005

This article examines the differences between computer adaptive (CAT) and self-adapted testing (SAT) along with possible differences in feedback conditions and gender. Areas of comparison include measurement precision/efficiency and student test characteristics. Participants included 623 undergraduates from a large Midwestern university who took math placement tests in a 4 (condition) × 2 (feedback) × 2 (gender) design. The four conditions included: a) CAT; b) SAT—Global; c) SAT—Individual; and d) SAT—Placebo groups. Multivariate Analysis of Variance was used to analyze the data. The perceived control hypothesis was used as a framework to explain the differences between CAT and SAT. Results indicated that measurement efficiency is differentially affected by the type of test condition with the SAT—Global condition performing worse than the others. Moreover, there were significant gender effects with regard to ability, test length, and test anxiety. There was no relative advantage for the inclusion of item feedback. Implications for computerized adaptive testing and areas of future research are discussed.
Assessing the Impact of a Change from a Teaching Paradigm to a Learning Paradigm in the Introductory Course in Marketing Management
Authors: O'Neill Michael F. , Van Auken Stuart
Published: May 2005

This study is designed to investigate student response to a traditionally structured course compared to a course designed based on what research suggests contributes to increased student learning. In particular, a Principles of Marketing course was structured in two different ways: traditional and learning based. The two different course structures were assessed over time and were contrasted regarding both student perception and learning outcomes. Effects on pedagogy are discussed.
Workers' Participation and Occupational Health: The French Experience
Authors: Cassou Bernard , Pissarro Bernard
Published: May 2005

In France, workers' participation in occupational health was organized for the first time in 1947, when Hygiene and Safety Committees were created. However, these committees remained ineffective in many firms for more than 20 years. Their role and power were greatly extended in 1976; in 1982, the Auroux Laws gave wage-earners new rights, mainly rights of expression. Here too, the way these laws have been put into operation varies a lot. Generally speaking, a great many regulations and laws exist that should give workers very good protection, but control systems are weak, and wage-earners' information on health is insufficient. Workers' participation is generally set up through trade unions, which are more often nationwide than locally organized. Workers' membership in unions is rather weak. The recent creation and development of quality circles in many firms, controlled by the company, give a false impression of workers' freedom of speech and do not really improve participation. But recent social movements have shown that people increasingly wish to express themselves and to deal with their own employers without any go-between. Nevertheless, participation will become effective only if workers' knowledge is taken into account, if they are trained in analysis and expression, and if their suggestions are seriously considered.
Computer Based Simulations in Evaluating Registered Nurse Students in a Baccalaureate Program
Authors: Shaw-Nickerson Ethelrine , Kisker Katherine
Published: May 2005

Evaluating competencies in clinical judgement that registered nurse students bring into a generic or individualized baccalaureate program has frequently posed problems for nursing faculty. This article describes the use of computer based simulations to evaluate educational and experiential learning as a means of according appropriate credit for clinical nursing courses and facilitating admission and progression within the existing undergraduate curriculum. Simulations developed for five courses represent typical client situations congruent with course and level expectations. Preliminary findings of the project have been highly encouraging.
Notes toward a Definition of Technical Writing
Authors: Dandridge Edmund P.
Published: May 2005

Research in communication is continually underway in universities and colleges. This paper presents one project carried out in the stylistics of technical writing. A number of technical articles were examined; they ranged from report writing to professional and trade publications. The conclusions, while not definite, do shed some light on the difference between technical and nontechnical writing.
Is the Author Really Dead? An Empirical Study of Authorship in English Renaissance Drama
Authors: Craig Hugh
Published: May 2005

For some time there has been debate in literary studies, and especially in the field of Shakespearean scholarship, about the importance of authorship in understanding and categorizing literary texts. In an analysis of affinities between 100 plays by various authors from the Shakespearean period, based on frequencies of very common words, authorship emerged as distinctly more important than genre or date in grouping plays. Cluster analysis showed further that, while authorial affinities are overwhelmingly dominant in the early stages of clustering, where only the closest pairings are considered, a small subset ofan author's plays typically remains apart from his other works as the analysis proceeds. The study indicates that in Shakespearean drama authorship is objectively detectable, and indeed very important, though it must also be acknowledged that these authors also regularly created texts which are not easily assimilable to the larger clusterings oftheir works.
Population Growth and Policy in France
Authors: Sauvy Alfred
Published: May 2005

The present population policy in France is examined from the perspective of its historical evolution. Certain factors unique to France's development, including a diminution in family size that occurred earlier than in other European countries, served to make urgent a dramatic reorientation of policy toward increased natality, especially in light of the pressures brought to bear by the First and Second World Wars. The consequences of the increased rate of postwar population growth for such areas as unemployment, immigration, and material, environmental, and human resources, has redirected the climate of opinion away from further population growth. Some current trends and prospects of population policy in France are discussed.
Psychogenic “HIV Infection”
Authors: Sno Herman N. , Storosum Jitschak G. , Wortel Cornelis H.
Published: May 2005

The case of a man who falsely represented himself as being HIV positive is reported. In less than one year he was admitted twice with symptoms suggestive of HIV infection. The diagnoses malingering and factitious disorder were consecutively made. Early recognition of Factitious Disorder is essential to prevent patients from harmful diagnostic procedures or surgical treatments. Psychiatric treatment is best focused on management and care rather than cure. Psychogenic “HIV infection” might become more common than acknowledged up to now. Physicians should consider the occurrence of psychogenic “HIV infection,” part of the symptomatology may be psychogenically determined, or indeed frankly simulated.
Death Orientation and Communication with the Terminally Ill
Authors: Eggerman Sinda , Dustin Dick
Published: May 2005

This study examines the relationship between attitude toward death and the terminal patient and communication with the terminally ill. Participants were medical students and family physicians at a Midwestern university. Instruments included a Terminal Illness Questionnaire and a Threat Index modified to include measures of identification with the patient, as well as of death orientation. Relationships were found between the indices and factors used in determining whether to reveal a terminal diagnosis.
Cognitive Processes in Reading Literary Texts: The Influence of Context, Goals and Situations
Authors: Meutsch Dietrich
Published: May 2005

Is literary meaning amenable to an explanation within the cognitive paradigm of psychology? A convention-oriented explanation exists as opposed to an autonomous ontology of meaning. The central difficulty of explanation is its lack of empirical bases. The hypothesis that encoding—which is action and goal specific—and retrieval are activated by specific conventions and caused by different types of elaboration and inference is tested. The dependent variables were studied in a 2 × 2 free recall experiment. The hypothesis mentioned was tested in a 2 × 2 × 2 recognition experiment. The results for a cognitive conception of literary meaning are significant. The methodological and theoretical consequences are discussed.
Life Course Transitions and Depressive Symptoms among Women in Midlife
Authors: Turner M. Jean , Killian Timothy S. , Cain Rebekah
Published: May 2005

This study examined the relationship between three midlife transitions and depressive symptoms among 952 women 50 to 59 years of age. Using longitudinal data from women interviewed for the 1992 and 2000 Health and Retirement Study, the study described changes in marital status, change to a parental caregiving role, and changes in perceived health across the eight years. Further, it examined the impact of these changes on mental health. The findings indicate that becoming widowed, becoming a caregiver, and perceiving health declines significantly increased depressive symptoms in the year 2000, even when controlling for pre-transition levels of depressive symptoms. The findings are consistent with the lifecourse perspective that individual development occurs in context and across the lifespan. The findings confirm and add to current midlife research literature.
Soils and the Prehistoric Archaeology of the Abbott Farm
Authors: Stewart R. Michael
Published: May 2005

Soils studies generated during recent archaeological investigations at the Abbott Farm Site Complex in New Jersey have partially resolved many of the stratigraphic problems and inconsistencies inherent in the earlier landmark work of Dorothy Cross, especially as concerns her excavations on the Abbott Farm “bluff.” The interaction of wind blown sediments with on-site erosion and redeposition of soils are viewed as the natural processes affecting site burial and the integrity of the cultural deposits on the high Delaware River terrace bluff. The burial of multiple “humuses” at Cross' Excavation 14 in the lowlands and the implications of burial processes for the archaeological remains are also reevaluated. The general applicability of these studies to other Eastern North American archaeological sites is discussed.
Responsible Science Reporting in a Technological Age
Authors: Kowal John Paul
Published: May 2005

Science reporting serves a critical role in educating and informing the public. In a democracy scientific and technological information takes on greater importance as the lay public assumes a decision making role in public policy. Examples of government and corporate information systems raise serious questions about what the public is told. Recent patterns in journalism and public relations only reinforce these problems. The science reporter/writer faces four important elements in trying to inform the public about scientific and technological developments. To successfully meet the challenge of those elements, new ethical and professional standards are suggested.
Clozapine Therapy in Patients with Neurologic Illness
Authors: Sajatovic Martha , Ramirez Luis
Published: May 2005

Objective:

This review will analyze the use of clozapine in patients with neurologic illness.

Methods:

A review of the literature was performed. Attention is focused particularly on patients with seizure disorder, head injury, mental retardation, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, tardive dyskinesia, and selected other neurological disorders.

Results:

This review discusses clinical difficulties/issues associated with clozapine therapy in patients with a variety of neurological disorders.

Conclusion:

Although clozapine therapy should be reserved for those patients who are refractory to conventional psychotropic medications, when used appropriately it may offer a safe and effective way of improving quality of life for patients with behavioral symptoms and neurologic illness.
Accident Proneness: Science or Non-Science?
Authors: Sass Robert , Crook Glen
Published: May 2005

The “accident proneness” thesis has been with us since the early 1900s. The early statistical studies that reputedly provided the scientific basis for this notion are examined and found to be lacking due to methodological errors and a fragmented view of industrial life. Accident proneness, as originally envisioned, has no empirical foundations. It has, however, become part of the tactical armanentarium used in “blaming the victim” for industrial accidents. It focuses on the personal characteristics of workers in relation to accident causation, while de-emphasizing the role of dangerous work environments. In this respect, it has acted as a barrier in the development of preventive occupational health and safety principles and practices. The notion has endured not only because it is tactically advantageous, but also because many members of the professions that deal with workplace accidents have accepted it without reservation and lent it credence. For the purposes of industrial accident prevention, however, it would be more appropriate to discard this notion in favor of a more integrated and broader understanding of the nature of the interaction between workers and their socio-technical work environment.
Constructing Knowledge through a Role-Play in a Web-Based Learning Environment
Authors: Arvaja Maarit , Rasku-Puttonen Helena , HÄkkinen PÄivi , Eteläpelto Anneli
Published: May 2005

This study aimed to find out how and on what level the students of two separate secondary schools shared and constructed knowledge on imperialism by interacting through historical role characters in a Web-based environment. Furthermore, the study aimed to find out how social and contextual features affected the nature of knowledge sharing and construction. The data about the history project were gathered by various means in order to validate the findings of the case study. The results demonstrated that the level of the Web-based messages remained quite low. Also the use of the Web-based environment in terms of shared knowledge construction was rather weak. In comparison, different instructional activities of the two teachers resulted in different learning activities in the two schools and, thus, different level of interaction in the Web-based environment. The findings of this research are discussed in terms of important factors influencing the knowledge sharing and constructing activities.
Emergency Psychiatric Services: A Study of Changing Utilization Patterns and Issues
Authors: Nurius Paula S.
Published: May 2005

Recent rapid and significant changes in the utilization patterns of emergency psychiatric services have culminated in markedly different patient profiles and intervention needs than those for which these services were originally intended. The resultant overextension and inappropriate utilization of the emergency unit have served to seriously jeopardize treatment efficacy and efficiency and to exacerbate the stress and difficulties associated with providing mental health intervention in an emergency room setting. Study findings of the patient profiles and patterns of use of emergency psychiatric services of a large metropolitan hospital are reported and examined in relation to these issues. Implications for a restructuring of treatment orientation and of the use of facility resources are discussed.
Brief Intervention for Co-Occurring Anxiety and Depression in Primary Care: A Pilot Study
Authors: Lang Ariel J.
Published: May 2005

Objective:

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a brief cognitive-behavioral intervention for co-occurring anxiety and depression in primary care patients.

Method:

Participants in this study were 35 veterans seeking care from a VA primary care clinic. Patients were selected for inclusion in this study based on mild to moderate levels of self-reported symptoms of anxiety and depression. Participants received four weekly sessions of cognitive behavioral intervention for their symptoms. The effectiveness of this intervention was compared with the passage of time alone. Measured outcomes included symptoms of anxiety and depression and quality of life.

Results:

Statistical testing demonstrated that the intervention led to significant reductions in depression and anxiety and improved role functioning. These changes were maintained except for some return of anxiety over a one-month follow-up period following the end of treatment.

Conclusions:

This study shows that primary care patients with co-occurring anxiety and depression can be successfully treated with a brief cognitive-behavioral intervention. It is also a test of a flexible treatment approach, whereby the patient and clinician together select the focus of the intervention. Limitations of this pilot work, including patient attrition, are discussed. Further research will be necessary to refine the intervention for primary care patients and to test its effectiveness.