bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Our Self-Destructive Youth: A Look at the Problems and Their Causes
Authors: Hunter Brother Eagan
Published: March 2007

Many young people today engage in self-destructive behavior. This writer looks at the role society—and educators—can play in preventing such behavior.
Self-Esteem in the School: More Than a "Feel-Good" Movement
Authors: Youngs Bettie B.
Published: March 2007

The level of a student's self-esteem is central to school reform, change agentry, foreign competition, and just making sure kids turn out as we know they should. Here's why.
Do Educators Use the Literature of the Profession?
Authors: Latham Glenn
Published: March 2007

Educators make little use of the professional literature, according to this writer, who compared the reading habits of educators with subjects in three other professions.
Dealing with Violence and Threats of Violence in the School
Authors: Frisby David , Beckham Joseph
Published: March 2007

In today's increasingly violent society, principals might want to be informed about how much force is appropriate to use in confrontations with students. A police official and former teacher pro vide an overview of general guidelines.
Teaching Students To Be Active Learners: The Principal's Role
Authors: Nelson-Nasca Donald
Published: March 2007

The goal of having students become competent thinkers has long been an educational ideal. And, for just as long, this ideal has eluded too many students in too many schools. Here's what principals can do to ensure the goal is met.
Alternative Certification of Principals: Is Less More?
Authors: Gordon Bill K. , Howley Aimee
Published: March 2007

Despite opposing trends and recom mendations nationwide, West Virginia has launched a "less is more" cam paign with respect to the certification of its school principals and other administrators. What has happened? Why? What are the implications? Here's one point of view.
Teacher Assessment: Some Issues for Principals
Authors: Airasian Peter W.
Published: March 2007

What should a teacher know and be able to do to be considered a success in the classroom? What actions or practices are useful for improving the quality of instruction in schools? These questions are particularly per plexing to principals, who generally are responsible for instructional lead ership in their schools.
Reducing the Risk Of Teen Parenthood: An Approach That Works
Authors: Haynes Norris M.
Published: March 2007

Teen parenthood continues to be a sig nificant educational and social issue among middle level and high school stu dents. The level of sexual activity and the rate of teen pregnancy among school children require serious attention and strong, urgent action. Here's a look at a middle school teen parenthood preven tion program that has proved to be ef fective.
Developing Healthy Adolescents— A Progressive Health Care Partnership Program
Authors: Griesemer Bernard A. , Hough David L.
Published: March 2007

SportsPACE is a program that integrates health care programs into the core cur riculum, helping to ensure that the lines which formerly separated the athletic, health education, and physical education programs are becoming less distinct.
Global Competition and High School Reform— What Will It Take?
Authors: Elford George
Published: March 2007

Any long-term solution to the current need to improve the American workforce through high school reform must address the fundamental issue behind the press for youth apprenticeships; that is, the cre ation of a formal, national system that joins the worlds of work and schooling in ways that improve learning, motivation, and readiness to do serious work.
Strategic Planning for School Success
Authors: Herman Jerry J.
Published: March 2007

A SWOT analysis can be an integral step in the strategic planning process. This writer describes the process and illustrates how it can work.
Politics in the Nation's Schools: The Battle for the Principalship
Authors: English Fenwick W.
Published: March 2007

Too many educators believe that good education is above politics. Not so, says this writer, who asserts that education is in every respect a battleground, one in which the principalship is key.
How To Evaluate A Language Program
Authors: Robertson Linda
Published: March 2007

When evaluating both language teacher performance and language programs as a whole, several factors must be consid ered. Here are some guidelines for eval uation.
Impressions of Principal Training In Russia and Ukraine
Authors: Arredondo Daisy E.
Published: March 2007

An examination of the ways in which Russian school directors are trained has the potential to provide lessons useful to our own reform efforts.
Information Literacy: A Challenge for the Future
Authors: Lenox Mary F. , Walker Michael L.
Published: March 2007

Developing an effective response to the information age requires leadership. Only effective leadership will make pos sible the coalitions of faculty, resource specialists, community leaders, parents, and legislators needed to equip today's students with the processes they will need tomorrow.
The Student Wellness Check: Conducting a Student Health Survey To Assess Needs
Authors: Fertman Carl I. , Sobehart Helen
Published: March 2007

A well-constructed student health survey can provide administrators with the in formation they need to develop policy and curriculum materials and to refine existing services.
Technology Education and Societal Change
Authors: Gilberti Anthony F.
Published: March 2007

Perhaps the best way to understand technology education is to understand its goals, its purpose, and its impor tance in human affairs.
Maine Students Learn to Appreciate Diversity
Authors: Flood Pamela S.
Published: March 2007

For a time in my career as a reporter I got to live and work in Europe. What impressed me about my neighbors in Rome and London was their knowledge of geography, which was not considered to be solely the province of those with advanced degrees or the money to travel. The super in my apartment building knew because of what he read each day in the newspapers and what he heard on TV at night where various places were in the world…

The calm regard of Americans for a nasty and complicated globe is shaken time and time again by surprises which shouldn't be surprises. Kuwait sitting on its enormous lake of oil moved from being a clue in the crossword puzzles to a place where American troops were dying incredibly rapidly. Somalia had just entered the American lexicon when American troops were entering Somalia. This represents a pretty lousy way to learn geography, sending troops over, but if you look back over the long century that we're about to end it seems one of the few ways that we expand our geographical horizons…

If we're being asked to make decisions as a people about other places in the world and their fate and their future, it seems that Americans would have an interest in not constantly finding themselves with a hot foot, some surprise that some nasty little crisis has presented them with…

Excerpted from the testimony of Ray Suarez, host of National Public Radio's “Talk of the Nation,” at the May 26, 1994, public hearing in Washington, D.C., on the national geography education standards.
Defining Administrative Tasks, Evaluating Performance, and Developing Skills
Authors: Herman Janice L. , Herman Jerry J.
Published: March 2007

The authors encourage using Critical Success Factors (CSFs) to develop job descriptions. They then link these CSFs to an evaluation system and a Personal Improvement Plan designed by the administrator and his or her supervisor as a way to improve administrative performance.
Helping Students Celebrate Diversity in Our Schools
Authors: Heller Gary S.
Published: March 2007

The celebration of cultural diversity allows students to achieve both aca demic and developmental success. A responsive school must help young sters recognize their worth as human beings. To accomplish this, schools must use a multi-faceted approach to creating a positive school climate.
Meeting the Needs of All Students: Making Ability Grouping Work
Authors: Segro Gene
Published: March 2007

Commitment to a professional devel opment program that equips all teachers with a knowledge of ability grouping research, a problem-solving and thinking skills curriculum, and varied instructional models is essen tial to make ability grouping positive for all students.
Are Multi-Age Grouping Practices A Missing Link in the Educational Reform Debate?
Authors: Miller William
Published: March 2007

The practice of grouping by age and grade may be creating a significant barrier to meeting the goals of equity and instructional excellence in schools.
Are We Censoring Student Newspapers in Our High Schools?
Authors: Martinson David L.
Published: March 2007

Secondary school student publications can present a complex and at times conflicting array of considerations, but that does not excuse efforts to stifle controversy, argues this author, who presents his views of the issue.
The Need for Structure Among High School Students: When Is Enough, Enough?
Authors: Sawyer Emmett
Published: March 2007

Some students need only sketchy instructions from a teacher to accomplish a task, while others feel they cannot get started without knowing exactly what the teacher wants.
The Multifaceted Role Of Guidance and Counseling In the Middle Level School
Authors: McGee Linda , Fauble-Erickson Terri
Published: March 2007

What are the roles of the counselor, the teacher, and the administrator in a developmental guidance and counsel ing program at the middle level?
Career Awareness: Successful Strategies That Work
Authors: Hogan Canary C.
Published: March 2007

The more students know about them selves and the world of work, the more likely they will be to make satis fying decisions about their future. School counselors at the middle level are in a unique position to offer stu dents a variety of career awareness experiences.
The Master Schedule and Learning: Improving The Quality of Education
Authors: Kruse Carol A. , Kruse Gary D.
Published: March 2007

In this era of reform, many aspects of a school's structure and function are coming under scrutiny as we seek to improve the quality of education in public schools.
Virginia's 4 x 4 High Schools: High School, College, and More
Authors: Edwards Clarence M.
Published: March 2007

If high schools are to be prepared to educate every student to successfully compete in the global community, some changes must be made. This author has some suggestions to make the high school schedule more responsive to the nation's concerns.
Computers in Public Schools: Changing the Image with Image Processing
Authors: Raphael Jacqueline , Greenberg Richard
Published: March 2007

The kinds of technologies setected for use in the classroom can make all the difference between uninspired, rote computer use and challenging learning experiences for students.
Supervising Knowledge Work: A Different Kind of Supervision
Authors: Duffy Francis M.
Published: March 2007

Knowledge Work Supervision™ may bring about a better fit between supervisory processes and the purposes, goals, and outcomes of a school system that wishes to become increasingly effective.
Standards, Assessments, and Students: Encouraging Both Equity And Excellence
Authors: Haas Jim
Published: March 2007

Who shall decide what the national standards shall be, to what degree students shall achieve them, and how we can—if we can—guarantee equity while encouraging excellence through their adoption? There are no more vital questions in education.
How Are State Curriculum Frameworks in Science Changing Across the States?
Authors: Blank Rolf K.
Published: March 2007

State curriculum guides or frameworks can be a useful resource for principals, teachers, and local curriculum developers, but often they have been too general in their recommendations about subject content or have only listed specific curriculum objectives that form the basis for a state test.
The School Bell and The Bell Curve. Why They Don't Mix
Authors: Sternberg Robert J.
Published: March 2007

As educators, we are constantly faced with the temptation of blaming the ills of society in general, and of our schools in particular, on things over which we have no control. The Bell Curve plays right into this temptation.
A Survivor's Guide to the Principalship: Overcoming The Challenges
Authors: Mackler Jill
Published: March 2007

Principals must face and overcome many challenges, including their ability to do the job they want to do without giving up a life of their own. Survivors and non-survivors offer their experiences.

When I first ascended to the principalship I planned to be there 20 years. It was the only job I'd ever wanted. After a cou ple of years I came into my office and I just looked at the chair and I said, "Do I really imagine that I'm going to be sitting there for 17 more years?" I felt the bottom falling out. It had decayed out, or maybe it was never as substantial as I thought it was.
Modifying Structure: A Resource For Improved Student Achievement At the Middle Level
Authors: Williamson Ronald D.
Published: March 2007

Many middle grade schools use teaming or other organizational models to create smaller teaching and learning units. The value of such struc tures lies in the conditions that result when teachers and students engage in thoughtful, collaborative work that affects the success of middle level students.
Effective Middle Level Inservices: Facilitating Knowledge and Meeting Needs
Authors: Spiegel Lisa A.
Published: March 2007

Quality inservices result from communication among administrators, educators, and presenters and upon the knowledge and needs of these groups. By recognizing their benefits and limitations, inservices and those to whom they are delivered will become stronger.
Reducing School Violence Through Conflict Resolution Training
Authors: Johnson David W. , Johnson Roger T.
Published: March 2007

While violence prevention programs can be helpful in solving the prob lems facing society and schools, they are an incomplete intervention to prevent destructive conflicts from occurring. Conflict resolution train ing is needed. Training every student how to negotiate and mediate will ensure that future generations are prepared to manage conflicts constructively.
Protecting Your School and Students: The Safe Schools Handbook
Authors: Buckner Kermit G. , Flanary Richard A.
Published: March 2007

Violence affects the entire school community. School leaders must take the initiative in aggressively seeking a workable and sustainable solu tion for reducing violence in schools. The Safe Schools Handbook can help you develop and implement a plan to create a more secure learn ing environment for your school community.
Zero Tolerance Policy: Combating Violence in Schools
Authors: Burke Ethelda , Herbert Don
Published: March 2007

The challenge of preparing students for the twenty-first century is an enormous responsibility. We can maximize the success of restructuring efforts by developing nonviolent environments in which students and staff members can settle differences through discussion, debate, and compromise.
Drug Use Intervention and Crisis Prevention: Restructuring the School Counselor's Role
Authors: Daugherty Richard F. , Smaby Marlowe H.
Published: March 2007

There are many successful drug use intervention models available and development of fresh strategies is limited only by individual and col lective creativity and commitment. The school counselor may be uniquely qualified to facilitate and coordinate long-term and commu nity-based programming that can ensure positive change in our schools and communities.
Designing and Implementing Teacher Selection Systems
Authors: Smith Mary C. , Knab Karen M.
Published: March 2007

What would be the components of a system that would make teacher selection efficient, reliable, and valid? Tools from the worlds of indus trial psychology and business can be designed to meet the needs of schools and school systems.
The Basics + Plus Curriculum
Authors: Myers Miles
Published: March 2007

When students read widely, they develop an awareness of the purpose and structure of texts, and when they experiment frequently with sen tence combinations, they develop syntactic awareness.
Taking Another Look at Behavior Modification and Assertive Discipline
Authors: Palardy J. Michael
Published: March 2007

Among the most frequently proposed approaches to dealing with disci pline in schools is behavior modification. Although behavior modifica tion is anything but a new approach, it has received an increasing amount of attention and notoriety since the 1980s, largely because of Lee Canter's advocacy of "assertive discipline."
Improving Principal Preparation: A Review of Common Strategies
Authors: Daresh John C.
Published: March 2007

In recent years, there has been an increased awareness of the importance of the school principal. There has also been an appreciation of the fact that littte effort has been directed at improving the ways in which people have been made ready for this critical educational role. Here is a brief overview of 10 different strategies.
Thoughts on a Richer View of Principals' Development
Authors: Lemley Ray
Published: March 2007

Our imaginations and our creative spirits are riveted by a sense of inquiry and wonder over what we may discover in the twenty-first cen tury. What are some of the developmental issues that principals should consider as we move toward the millennium? What issues will affect principal growth and development?
Sharpening Experienced Principals' Skills for Changing Schools
Authors: Ricciardi Diane
Published: March 2007

Public schools have changed dramatically over recent decades. Issues related to student achievement, staff empowerment, technological management, school safety, and parental involvement have existed for years; yet, these issues and others seem to be confronting admin istrators with an increased sense of urgency and are serving to change the role of the public school principal.
Responsible Inclusion: Celebrating Diversity and Academic Excellence
Authors: Malloy William
Published: March 2007

School reform strategies created to increase standards of academic excellence are on a collision course with strategies designed to increase the inclusion of exceptional students in general education classes. Responsible inclusionary practices, focused on all students, will eliminate this potential clash by providing an educational atmos phere that encourages heterogeneity in all classroom settings and school activities.
Motivation for Success in Advanced Math Classes: The Leadership Role c Teachers and Administrators
Authors: Alford Betty
Published: March 2007

Duncanvilte High School has taken measures to ensure more students participate in advanced classes with increased confidence and success. Their experiences show that efforts to increase participation and suc cess in advanced level mathematics classes provide an avenue for achieving this goat.
Using Participant-Satisfaction Forms To Evaluate Staff Development Programs
Authors: Popham W. James
Published: March 2007

Most staff development programs end with the ditribution of partici pant-satisfaction evaluation forms on which participants register their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the overall program or its parts. All too often, however, the result is an array of information ill-suited to the needs of the staff.
Can Technology Increase Course Opportunities for Migrant Students?
Authors: Perritt Denise C.
Published: March 2007

Although Hispanic students are following a more rigorous curriculum than they were a decade ago, those who are migratory are more likely than their Anglo peers to face a disorderly school environment. The exemplary programs outlined here appear to provide a structure that promotes consistent learning and allows Hispanic students to organize their new knowledge.
Converting Theory into Practice For Academic Success
Authors: Shupe Jim
Published: March 2007

Instructional strategies are powerful tools that are directly related to teacher expectations and student achievement. Many schools can increase both teacher expectations and student achievement by putting theory into practice.
Alternative Schedules: What, How, and to What End?
Authors: Wasley Patricia A.
Published: March 2007

Parents and students alike want schoolwork that is meaningful, that pushes the youngsters, that helps them to see the relationship between work at school and work in the world in which they live. Schedules should be designed to that end. But how do we do that?
Surviving the Downsizing: Ethical And Economic Considerations
Authors: Perreault Gerri
Published: March 2007

Administrators of schools that must downsize need to attend to the people who remain after the layoffs have occurred as well as the people who are terminated. What are the ethical considerations of fairness and honesty in this situation, as well as the economic considerations of cost effectiveness in the delivery of services to students?
Five Guidelines for a Successful Site-Based Administrator To Follow
Authors: Harris Sandra
Published: March 2007

Helping every student reach the level of his or her potential is like reaching for the stars. It is a worthy task, but it is not easy. It cannot be done quickly; it cannot be done without hard work; and it cannot be done alone.
The Road We Traveled: Scheduling in the 4 x 4 Block
Authors: Queen J. Allen , Algozzine Robert F. , Eaddy Martin A.
Published: March 2007

While there are many problems associated with the 4 x 4 block scheduling model, the many arguments for considering a move to alternative scheduling appear to be winning favor. Lincoln County Schools in North Carolina are among the many districts that decided to move to a 4 x 4 design. What did they discover on the road they traveled?
Current Tensions in the Principalship: Finding an Appropriate Balance
Authors: Ripley Dale
Published: March 2007

What kinds of tensions now exist in the principalship? How do princi pals deal with these tensions? How can principals help to create and maintain good schools in the face of these conflicting pressures? And how can principals use these tensions to create dynamic and produc tive school cultures?
Cyberspace for the Tenderfoot
Authors: Lemon Donald K.
Published: March 2007

Any computer user above the novice level already knows, either intu itively or practically, that cyberspace holds great personal promise. Oh yes, some of you are still intimidated—maybe even terrified. Don't be. This article will help you.
Product Design Engineering: A Successful Student-Centered Interdisciplinary Elective
Authors: Shelly Richard W. , Cannaday John E. , Weddle D. Kenneth
Published: March 2007

Take critical thinking, curriculum integration, authentic assessment, team teaching, practical problem solving, varied instructional strate gies, and hands-on engagement. Add business and college support, high student interest, creative use of time, and collaboration between acad emics and technologies and the result is Product Design Engineering, a process that can be adapted to the needs of a wide range of students and teachers in middle level and high school settings.
Fostering Critical Thinking Through Interdisciplinary Cooperation: Integrating Secondary Level Physics into a Weight Training Unit
Authors: Downing John H. , Lander Jeffrey E.
Published: March 2007

Should physical educators concentrate on the development of the phys ical by teaching activities that enhance strength and fitness, or should they expand its horizons by unifying mind and body via educating indi viduals through the physical, with an accent on holistic development?
Horseless Classrooms and Virtual Learning: Reshaping Our Environments
Authors: Bossert Philip J.
Published: March 2007

Information and telecommunication technologies are reshaping every aspect of today's living, learning, and working environments. These tech nologies are not fully understood, however, and their impact upon the social and cultural institutions of our society are not yet fully clear. The revolution in transportation technologies that occurred at the turn of the last century may serve as a clarifying metaphor for the current transition.
Technology and Gender: Differences In Masculine and Feminine Views
Authors: Brunner Cornelia , Bennett Dorothy
Published: March 2007

The feminine attitude toward technology looks right through the machine to its social function, while the masculine view is more focused on the machine itself. What are some implications of these differences for the use of technology in the classroom?
The Northwest Experience: A Lesser Road Traveled
Authors: Kruse Gary , Zulkoski Mike
Published: March 2007

We are all searching for better ways to improve learning for our students, ways that result in substantive change. Formulating interdisciplinary teams of teachers created unexpected and positive dynamics that nobody at Northwest High School had expected.
Kenneth Burke On Human Communication: a Dissertation Proposal
Authors: Voskeritchian Taline
Published: March 2007

Though lives rarely have the conformity of entire plays, there are possible subdivisions corresponding to the acts of a play. A cycle or constellation of events separates itself from the general clutter--and since it can be classified, we can note its subsidence. The curtain descends upon a partial close, a converging or resolution of some factors. As I said farewell at the station, expressing my hopes of Florence's return in words which formally concealed the permanence of our adieu, I felt that the fundamental concerns of several years had been rounded off and finished. It was because of Florence that I had gone into this section of the country and attempted to reconstruct a new manner of living--so Florence had been primarily the force holding me here. She made me live as though there was a score I had to settle and as though living was a revenge. My fear of her had been the beacon for me to steer by. But now many conditions which I had schooled myself to cope with, were reversed. I had been pushing against a great weight--and with this weight gone, I fell forward. While her train hurried down the valley, I experienced such gloom as terrified me. For even a life of bitter ness was desirable compared with a life without purpose. "You have no reason," I whispered to myself, "for doing any single thing."

Then with clownishness, I marched precisely, turning the words into a military march, making the tune to fit at random, and centering my thoughts upon this arbitrarily invented conduct.1
Editor Bites Back
Authors: McCormally John
Published: March 2007

I've come today, at this point in my career and at this time of peril for the press, to talk about what I have learned in the career and what I think about the peril.
Mass Media as Language: The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis and Electronic Media
Authors: Cipolla John
Published: March 2007

... if the literacy of television exerts the type of influence I am suggesting it would seem to weak en the influence of primary liter acies. This, in turn, would seem to weaken the contention of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis (while pro viding evidence for it) unless the hypothesis is moved to a different level. That is, if the logic of a lan guage is understandably challenged before the user has fully internalized it as his language and as his logic, then that language must lose some authority.
Interpretive Research in Communication: A Hermeneutic Foundation
Authors: Deetz Stanley
Published: March 2007

While other philosophic bases exist for interpretive research, hermeneutics is one of the most original and widely , accepted Yet it is still largely misun derstood by and, in many cases, un known to persons studying commu nication in the United States. This paper develops the essential philo sophic nexus composing hermeneutics and considers the implications for in terpretive research in communication arising from this foundation.
Urban Communications Focus: A Special Obligation for Urban Universities in Post-industrial Society
Authors: Burd Gene
Published: March 2007

One way to respond to such a challenge would be for urban study cen ters to accept communications as a legitimate area of study so as to build this link with the outside world; and conversely, schools of communica tion might build around community functions rather than around the self interests of individual media empires.
Subliminal Stimulation : Hoax or Reality?
Authors: Trank Douglas
Published: March 2007

The notion that one individual can influence the thoughts and actions of another without the second individual's knowledge is a fascinating and potentially dangerous one.
The Limitations of Functional Analysis in Mass Communications Research
Authors: Daley Patrick
Published: March 2007

Despite Wright's optimistic claim in 1974 that func tionalism was alive and well, it seems that both con ceptually and empirically, functionalism has been o f little value... Mass communication theory needs a comprehensive research approach which takes into consideration producers (including vested interests) and consumers, as well as other definable groups and intervening social processes and relations.... What is needed is a theory of society that embraces not only the control mechanisms serving to maintain the social order but which also deals with the conflict ual processes that resist or attempt to subvert the "equilibrium"....
Epistemology as Formative Structure in the Communication Theory of Robert Park
Authors: Whitby Gary
Published: March 2007

With regard to communication theory and the every day practice of journalism, the significance of Park's insight is immense. The event orientation of Western journalism is due to scientized methods of news collec tion which typically ignore underlying tendencies, pressures, and attitudes that thrust certain events to the surface of human consciousness. The upshot of Park's thought would require that journalists take greater cognizance of the substratum of human events in a way that would, in turn, require them to become "acquainted with" their subject matter so as to know it virtually by heart.
Student Freedom of Expression: A Limited First Amendment Right
Authors: Mundt Whitney R.
Published: March 2007

Student assertiveness and adult reluctance notwith standing, it is a matter of settled law that First Amendment rights are available to students, albeit in a somewhat limited form. They do not "Shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate. "... And, contrary to the fond belief of some school administrators, it is clear that the State is not necessarily the master of what it creates.
Play: The Dynamic of Political Expression
Authors: Pilotta Joseph J.
Published: March 2007

While the literature based on the dramaturgical and play analytic has been most focused on behavioral or formal structure (rules), our interest is in develop ing the thesis that violence is an expression, a con crete symbolic presentation, of the communication of the repressed play as the dynamic of political expression.
A Culture of Cultural Studies: an introduction
Authors: Beliveau Ralph , Beliveau Ralph
Published: March 2007

What is the object of cultural studies? If we want to reconsider cultural studies we need an object for our attention. So what of the subject of cultural studies? Are we explained by Judith Butler's paradox of subjection: that we are the instrument of agency and at the same time the effect of subordination, or the deprivation of agency? (Butler, 1997, p. 10). Perhaps we are in a discursive formation that one learns (or has learned) to understand, and from that point on the formation partially constitutes its learner—its "taught." Our investigations then become a kind a literacy, a way of seeing :
The provision of business information and market research services by Research Associations
Authors: Petts Catherine , Rennie Janet
Published: March 2007

A survey carried out in 1983 and updated in 1985 showed that 22 out of the 36 Research Associations offered business information or market research services. The size of the units varies, and the services offered range from business enquiry services only, through the collection and dissemination of statistics to the provision of full scale market research services. Most associations will answer enquires from non- members but have reservations about providing information to market research organisations which are in direct competition with them.
How to find Canadian business information
Authors: Varma Divakara K.
Published: March 2007

Introduces and evaluates the leading sources of Canadian business information, as well as giving addresses for further information. Covers sourcebooks, government statistics, other government sources, market research and media sources, company information sources, industry information sources, and economic reviews/forecasting.
Research Index — how good is it?
Authors: Foster Pamela
Published: March 2007

Analyses Research Index, the business indexing service. Looks at scope, criteria for inclusion, indexing practice, cumulation policy, currency, price. Concludes that it is very current, cheap and relatively easy to use. Criticises the standard of indexing.
Finance and investment newsletters: a study of their content and use
Authors: Anthony Karen , Rennie Janet
Published: March 2007

Investigates investment and financial newsletters using content analysis and user interviews. Newsletters fall into eight general areas of coverage, each area being fairly distinct from the others. By analysing detailed subject coverage, potential areas of overlap were identified. Three categories of reader were defined from subject coverage. Newsletters are a valuable source of investment and financial information. They are mainly used for general awareness, and are considered to be unique information sources.
European business information: stock survey of selected sources
Authors: Evans Tracey , Rennie Janet
Published: March 2007

Surveys the provision of selected sources of European business information in 11 libraries with business collections
Evaluation of an Internet-based Decision-support System for Applying the ATS/CDC Guidelines for Tuberculosis Preventive Therapy
Authors: Dayton Charles S. , Scott Ferguson J. , Hornick Douglas B. , Peterson Michael W.
Published: March 2007

Preventive therapy for patients infected with tuberculosis (TB) remains an important component of TB control. To guide physicians in applying preventive therapy, the American Thoracic Society and Centers for Disease Control (ATS/CDC) developed guidelines based on PPD reactivity and on pretest probability of infection. The guidelines have become complex, and many clinicians find them challenging to apply. The authors developed a computerized decision-support system to assist clinicians in applying the ATS/CDC guidelines. This tool, published on the World Wide Web using hypertext markup language, delivers patient-specific recommendations based on physician-delivered patient-specific information. Four local TB experts derived eight TB infection scenarios and validated the web-based tool, which was tested for effectiveness using general internal medicine residents, randomly divided into two groups. Group A (n = 12) used the web-based tool and group B (n = 17) used pre-existing understanding of the guidelines and/or written resources to determine the need for preventive therapy in the case scenarios. Group A correctly used therapy in 92/96 possible cases (95.8%), group B in only 77/136 (56.6%) (p < 0.001). Group A required a mean of three mouse-clicks and 1.5 minutes per scenario to reach their choices, and they rated the web-based tool both intuitive and effective. These data demonstrate that a computer-based decision-support system for applying TB treatment guidelines can be delivered over the Internet and provide an efficient and effective resource for clinicians. Key words: decision-support system; practice guidelines; Internet; tuberculosis ; prevention. (Med Decis Making 2000;20:1-6)
Decision Analyses for Prophylactic Replacement of the Björk-Shiley Convexo-concave Heart Valve:
Authors: Steyerberg Ewout W. , Kallewaard Marjon , Van Der Graaf Yolanda , Van Herwerden Lex A. , Habbema J.Dik F.
Published: March 2007

Björk-Shiley convexo-concave (BScc) mechanical heart valves have a risk of outlet strut fracture. Decision-analytic models may support decision making regarding prophylactic replacement to avert the disastrous consequences of fracture. Assumptions and estimates from previous analyses were evaluated to develop an accurate new decision model, incorporating updated follow-up experience from 2,263 patients with BScc valves implanted between 1979 and 1985 in The Netherlands. The authors focus on estimation of fracture risks (50 events) and survival (883 deaths, excluding fractures). In previous analyses, fracture risk was estimated with widely varying combinations of patient, valve, and production characteristics. Two analyses assumed a constant fracture hazard during follow-up, while data from the present study suggest that risk decreases with increasing age during follow-up. An additive excess-risk model was applied in two analyses to estimate survival. The assumption of a constant additive excess risk was not supported by the Dutch data, which suggest that the life expectancies of patients currently alive with BScc valves may be shorter than previously believed. Based on the revised decision model, over 90% of the currently alive Dutch BScc valve patients do not benefit from replacement, since the fracture risk causes only a minor reduction of remaining life expectancy. The variation in essential assumptions of previous decision analyses directly affected the indication for prophylactic replacement. This study shows how detailed statistical analyses may guide modeling choices in a decision analysis. Key words: heart valve prosthesis; prosthesis failure; follow-up studies; life expectancy; risk factors; decision-support techniques; regression analysis; statistical models; survival analysis. (Med Decis Making 2000;20:20-32)
Measuring Post-decision Satisfaction
Authors: Sainfort François , Booske Bridget C.
Published: March 2007

Measuring satisfaction with a decision after a choice has been made is particularly important for difficult choice situations where there is no "right" decision and/or where long-term consequences are uncertain. While others have developed instruments that pnmarily focus on clinical decisions, the authors developed a scale—the decision-attitude scale—in the context of consumers' choice of health plan. They examined the reliability and validity of this scale using data from a sample of state employees. While the decision-attitude scale has been applied to a health-plan-choice problem only, it can be applied to a variety of other health-related decision problems, because it shares a core set of items with the existing Satisfaction with Decision Scale. The authors identify and discuss the similarities and differences between the two scales. They also observe that each scale uncovers an additional construct not addressed by the other, suggesting that the concept of post-decision satisfaction is multidimensional. A new instrument combining items from both scales may prove the best measure of decision satisfaction for a variety of health-related decision problems. Key words: decision satisfaction. (Med Decis Making 2000;20:51-61)
Design and Pilot Evaluation of a System to Develop Computer-based Site-specific Practice Guidelines from Decision Models
Authors: Sanders Gillian D. , Nease Robert F. , Owens Douglas K.
Published: March 2007

Background. Local tailoring of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) requires experts in medicine and evidence synthesis unavailable in many practice settings. The authors' computer-based system enables developers and users to create, disseminate, and tailor CPGs, using normative decision models (DMs). Methods. ALCHEMIST, a web-based system, analyzes a DM, creates a CPG in the form of an annotated algorithm, and displays for the guideline user the optimal strategy. ALCHEMIST'S interface enables remote users to tailor the guideline by changing underlying input variables and observing the new annotated algorithm that is developed automatically. In a pilot evaluation of the system, a DM was used to evaluate strategies for staging non-small-cell lung cancer. Subjects (n = 15) compared the automatically created CPG with published guidelines for this staging and critiqued both using a previously developed instrument to rate the CPGs' usability, accountability, and accuracy on a scale of 0 (worst) to 2 (best), with higher scores reflecting higher quality. Results. The mean overall score for the ALCHEMIST CPG was 1.502, compared with the published-CPG score of 0.987 (p = 0.002). The ALCHEMIST CPG scores for usability, accountability, and accuracy were 1.683, 1.393, and 1.430, respectively; the published CPG scores were 1.192, 0.941, and 0.830 (each comparison p < 0.05). On a scale of 1 (worst) to 5 (best), users' mean ratings of ALCHEMIST'S ease of use, usefulness of content, and presentation format were 4.76, 3.98, and 4.64, respectively. Conclusions. The results demonstrate the feasibility of a web-based system that automatically analyzes a DM and creates a CPG as an annotated algorithm, enabling remote users to develop site-specific CPGs. In the pilot evaluation, the ALCHEMIST guidelines met established criteria for quality and compared favorably with national CPGs. The high usability and usefulness ratings suggest that such systems can be a good tool for guideline development. Key words: clinical practice guidelines; computer-based systems; normative decision models; guideline development. (Med Decis Making 2000;20:145-159)
Response Shift and Adaptation in Chronically III Patients
Authors: Postulart Debby , Adang Eddy M.M.
Published: March 2007

The purpose was to explore the impact of response shift on quality-of-life measurement and consequently on cost-effectiveness analysis. This was done by using data from an earlier study. Adaptation to illness provides a probable explanation for the occurrence of response shift. In the case of proxy respondents, it is likely that the adaptation effect is absent. Therefore, two hypotheses were tested: 1) retrospective quality-of-life measurement does not differ from ratings given by proxies; and 2) proxy ratings differ from prospectively assessed pretreatment quality-of-life scores. Quality of life was assessed using a visual analog scale (VAS), time tradeoff (TTO), and the standard gamble (SG). Analyses revealed that neither hypothesis could be rejected, indicating that prospectively assessed pretreatment quality of life is enhanced by adaptation to the imperfect health state during the pretreatment period. Consequently, the cost-effectiveness ratio is different when using proxy measures or retrospective assessments of pretreatment quality of life, compared with using assessments of the quality of life in currently ill patients. Key words: quality-of-life measurement; adaptation; response shift; proxy measurement; cost-effectiveness. (Med Decis Making 2000;20:186-193)
Prophylactic Mastectomy or Screening in Women Suspected to Have the BRCA1/2 Mutation
Authors: Unic Ivana , Verhoef Lia C.G. , Stalmeier Peep F.M. , Van Daal Willem A.J.
Published: March 2007

Background. Women suspected to have the BRCA1/2 mutation may choose between two management options: breast cancer screening and prophylactic mastectomy (PM). Objectives. To compare women's treatment choices with medical and decision-analytic recommendations and to explore variables related to the women's choices. Methods. After provision of information, individual time-tradeoff values for the health outcome "living after PM" were assessed and incorporated into a decision-analytic model, which compared the management options PM and screening with respect to their effects on quality-adjusted life expectancy. Results. Of the 54 women suspected to have the mutation, 51 completed the shared-decision-making procedure. Quality-adjusted life expectancy after PM management was longer for 67% of proven carriers and for 58% of women awaiting the DNA-test result. Twelve proven carriers made definitive treatment choices: eight (67%) chose PM and four (33%) chose screening. All carriers' treatment choices agreed with the normative decision-analytic recommendations. Four (33%) disagreed with the medical recommendations. Of the 36 women awaiting DNA-test results, 32 made hypothetical treatment choices. The agreement between these hypothetical treatment choices and the decision-analytic recommendations was good (78%). Combining data from all 48 women, being married (OR = 14.00, p = 0.006), having children (OR = 4.71, p = 0.02), low desire to participate (OR = 0.14, p = 0.004), high decisional stress (OR = 5.22, p = 0.01), a lower estimate of the "probability of cure for screen-detected breast cancer" (OR = 0.13, p = 0.004), and higher time-tradeoff values for PM (OR = 182, p < 0.0001) made a choice for PM more likely. Conclusions. The complete agreement between the decision-analytic recommendations and the carriers' choices suggests that women act in accordance with normative decision theory. The disagreement between the carriers' choices and the medical recommendations suggests that women's choices and physicians' recommendations were guided by different arguments. The strong association between time-tradeoff value and treatment choice suggests that the time-tradeoff is a valid method to assess preferences. Key words: breast cancer; prophylactic mastectomy; screening; shared decision making, utilities; time preferences. (Med Decis Making 2000;20:251-262)
Beliefs about Breast Cancer Risk and Use of Postmenopausal Hormone Replacement Therapy
Authors: Armstrong Katrina , Popik Sharon , Guerra Carmen , Ubel Peter A.
Published: March 2007

Background. Postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy (HRT) decreases the risks of coronary heart disease and osteoporosis, but increases the risk of breast cancer. Although only 20-30% of postmenopausal women in the United States take HRT, the relationship between breast cancer risk perception and use of HRT is not known. Objective. To assess the impact of belief that HRT increases breast cancer risk and high perceived risk of breast cancer on the use of HRT. Design. Cross-sectional mailed survey. Participants. 189 randomly selected postmenopausal women from a general internal medicine practice in the Philadelphia area. Main results. Of the 268 women (67%) who returned surveys, 189 were postmenopausal; 70 (37%) were currently using HRT and 21 (11%) had previously used HRT. Respondents' mean age was 59.6 years; 64% were Caucasian, and 33% had completed college. Fifty-nine women (33%) thought HRT increased the risk of breast cancer, 22 (12%) thought it did not, and 100 (55%) were unsure. Mean perceived lifetime risk of breast cancer was 31% (range 0%-100%). After multivariate adjustment, current use of HRT was inversely associated with age (OR 0.96 for each one-year increase, 95% CI 0.94-0.98), and positively associated with Caucasian race (OR 2.73, 95% CI 1.40-5.32). Use of HRT was not associated with belief that HRT increases the risk of breast cancer, breast cancer risk perception, or perceived severity of breast cancer. Conclusions. Belief that HRT increases the risk of breast cancer and high perceptions of breast cancer risk may not be important barriers to use of HRT. Efforts to improve decision making about HRT should focus on previously established barriers, such as perceptions of menopause and lack of physician discussion, rather than misconceptions about breast cancer risk. Key words: postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy ; breast cancer risk perception. (Med Decis Making 2000;20:308-313)