bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Impact of Outliers on Cronbach's Coefficient Alpha Estimate of Reliability: Visual Analogue Scales
Authors: Liu Yan , Zumbo Bruno D.
Published: June 2007

The impact of outliers on Cronbach's coefficient α has not been documented in the psychometric or statistical literature. This is an important gap because coefficient α is the most widely used measurement statistic in all of the social, educational, and health sciences. The impact of outliers on coefficient α is investigated for varying values of population reliability and sample sizes for visual analogue scales. Results show that coefficient α is not affected by symmetric outlier contamination, whereas asymmetric outliers artificially inflate the estimates of coefficient α. Coefficient α estimates are upwardly biased and more variable sample to sample, with increasing asymmetry and proportion of outlier contamination in the population. However, these effects of outliers on the bias and sample variability of coefficient α estimates are reduced for increasing population reliability. The results are discussed in the context of providing guidance for computing or interpreting coefficient α for visual analogue scales.
Measuring Emergent Organizational Properties
Authors: Goddard Roger D. , LoGerfo Laura F.
Published: June 2007

This article presents a theoretical rationale and empirical evidence regarding the validity of scores obtained from two competing approaches to operationalizing scale items to measure emergent organizational properties. The authors consider whether items in scales intended to measure organizational properties should prompt survey takers to provide self- or group-referent responses. To achieve this, the general question of how items should be worded is studied through the specific case of the measurement of perceived collective efficacy, a perceptual variable referring to the beliefs of group members regarding their conjoint capability. Structural equation modeling results indicate that intergroup variability in goal attainment is explained well when organizational members are asked questions focused on group processes and outcomes. Aggregated perceptions of self-capability, on the other hand, do little to explain variability among groups in goal attainment. The results are important for the development of scales in future studies of emergent organizational properties.
Implications of Self-Deception for Self-Reported Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivational Dispositions and Actual Learning Performance
Authors: Hirschfeld Robert R. , Thomas Christopher H. , McNatt D. Brian
Published: June 2007

The authors explored implications of individuals' self-deception (a trait) for their self-reported intrinsic and extrinsic motivational dispositions and their actual learning performance. In doing so, a higher order structural model was developed and tested in which intrinsic and extrinsic motivational dispositions were underlying factors that were each manifested in four distinct propensities that were measured. The authors also tested whether controlling for self-deception influenced predictive relationships. Analyses of data from 429 college students supported the validity of the higher order model and indicated that self-deception was positively related to intrinsic and negatively related to extrinsic motivational dispositions. Self-deception was negatively related, whereas intrinsic and extrinsic motivational dispositions were positively related, to learning performance. Removing the influences of self-deception altered some of the predictive relationships.
Correction for Attenuation With Biased Reliability Estimates and Correlated Errors in Populations and Samples
Authors: Zimmerman Donald W.
Published: June 2007

Properties of the Spearman correction for attenuation were investigated using Monte Carlo methods, under conditions where correlations between error scores exist as a population parameter and also where correlated errors arise by chance in random sampling. Equations allowing for all possible dependence among true and error scores on two tests at both the sample and population levels were derived and compared to simulation results. The additional influence of biased estimates of reliability at both levels was examined. Research settings under which the correction for attenuation can be useful in data analysis and those under which it is inaccurate and extremely variable were distinguished.
Unbiased Estimates of Variance Components With Bootstrap Procedures
Authors: Brennan Robert L.
Published: June 2007

This article provides general procedures for obtaining unbiased estimates of variance components for any random-model balanced design under any bootstrap sampling plan, with the focus on designs of the type typically used in generalizability theory. The results reported here are particularly helpful when the bootstrap is used to estimate standard errors of estimated variance components. For the p × i design, Wiley (2000) provided formulas for correcting for bias in bootstrap estimates of variance components. This article extends Wiley's results to any design and any bootstrap procedure. There are important differences in approach, however. In particular, in this article unbiased estimates of variance components are obtained directly for any bootstrap sample through the use of modified expected T-term (uncorrected sums of squares) equations.
requivalent, Meta-Analysis, and Robustness
Authors: Gilpin Andrew R.
Published: June 2007

Rosenthal and Rubin introduced a general effect size index, requivalent, for use in meta-analyses of two-group experiments; it employs p values from reports of the original studies to determine an equivalent t test and the corresponding point-biserial correlation coefficient. The present investigation used Monte Carlo—simulated meta-analyses to examine the impact on requivalent effect sizes of research using independent-groups, pooled-variance t tests with that using a less powerful median test. As expected, estimates based on t were higher. These differences were consistent even in the presence of strong variance heterogeneity when data were distributed normally, but not when data were nonnormal. The results suggested that the use of requivalent be confined to combining studies using inferential tests with comparable power and robustness; they also cast doubt on the use of requivalent when data are not distributed normally.
Estimating the Standard Error of the Maximum Likelihood Ability Estimator in Adaptive Testing Using the Posterior-Weighted Test Information Function
Authors: Penfield Randall D.
Published: June 2007

The standard error of the maximum likelihood ability estimator is commonly estimated by evaluating the test information function at an examinee's current maximum likelihood estimate (a point estimate) of ability. Because the test information function evaluated at the point estimate may differ from the test information function evaluated at an examinee's true ability value, the estimated standard error may be biased under certain conditions. This is of particular concern in adaptive testing because the height of the test information function is expected to be higher at the current estimate of ability than at the actual value of ability. This article proposes using the posterior-weighted test information function in computing the standard error of the maximum likelihood ability estimator for adaptive test sessions. A simulation study showed that the proposed approach provides standard error estimates that are less biased and more efficient than those provided by the traditional point estimate approach.
Regional Variations in Walking for Different Purposes
Authors: Leslie Eva , McCrea Rod , Cerin Ester , Stimson Robert
Published: June 2007

Where people are located can influence behavioral choices and health outcomes through the effects of place on health. Walking is the most commonly reported form of nonoccupational and nonhousehold physical activity for adults. It is a behavior of particular interest to those in the transportation, urban planning, and public health fields. Researchers have examined patterns of walking from both an individual perspective (psychological and social factors) and from a broader community focus (location and built environment factors). The majority of studies have examined walking in the context of urban environments. Variations within regions (urban, periurban, and rural, for example) in walking have not been previously described. We use data from a regionally based quality of life survey to examine subregional variations in walking for particular purposes. Both the social and contextual variations that may underlie these differences are considered. This is useful in helping identify particular factors that may be further investigated in disaggregated analyses using GIS methods to identify specific differences in objective attributes between subregions that may influence peoples' choices to walk, such as walking infrastructure and the availability of destinations.
Responses to Six Major Terrestrial Biomes in Terms of Scenic Beauty, Preference, and Restorativeness
Authors: Han Ke-Tsung
Published: June 2007

This study examined 274 college students' psycho-physiological responses to the six major terrestrial biomes (desert, tundra, grassland, coniferous forest, deciduous forest, and tropical forest), while taking into account the influences of three perceived physical variables (complexity, openness, and water features) presented in the biomes. The purpose of the study was to examine which specific natural setting can evoke the most positive reactions from people. ANCOVA tests and post hoc comparisons using the setting scores across the participants' data on the responses to 48 biome slides regarding scenic beauty, preference, the Short-version Revised Perceived Restorativeness Scale and the Short-version Revised Restoration Scale were performed. The results indicated that tundra and coniferous forest were the most favored biomes, whereas desert and grassland were the least favored. These findings appeared to support the forest hypothesis rather than the long-held savanna hypothesis. In addition, the results of multiple regression analyses indicated that the three perceived physical factors explained 9% more variance of the respondents' reactions than the biome classification. This finding suggested that a nonhabitat-specific approach to environmental responses holds more promise than a habitat-specific approach.
Meeting God: When Organizational Members Come Face to Face with the Supreme Leader
Authors: Gabriel Yiannis
Published: June 2007

This paper focuses on a theme which features in numerous organizational stories, in which an "ordinary" member of of an organization comes face to face with the organization's top leader. This theme echoes not only the archetypical religious scene of meeting God as supreme judge, but also several well-known scenes in drama, opera, and literature. Through a psychoanalytic study of this theme, a set of primal phantasies projected by organizational members onto their leaders are explored. The paper also throws into sharp relief the underlying asymmetry of the relationship between leader and follower: while the follower may shake the leader's hand once, the leader will shake innumerable hands. The paper is based on a detailed interpretation of three narratives supplied by students, drawn from 6-month industrial placements (internships) which they undertook as part of their studies. In the first narrative, a student describes her encounter with the leader in almost religious terms as a liminal moment in her life; the student idealizes the leader who serves as a role model. In the second narrative, the student feels shunned by a leader who is inadequately briefed for his meeting with her; she proceeds to demonize the leader as well as the entire organization. In the third narrative, a student loses his faith in his departmental head, when he realizes that he is not truly independent bur merely follows directives from above. The three narratives are used to identify four core fantasies about the lader: (1) the leader as someone who cares for his/her followers; (2) the leader as someone accessible; (3) the leader as someone who is omnipotent and omniscient; and (4) the leader as someone who has a legitimate claim to lead others. Two groups of follower fantasies are then examined. The charismatic and the messianic. It is then suggested that the leader may be seen as a reincarnation of the primal mother, restoring the members' narcissism and rewarding them for who they are rather than for what they have achieved. Alternatively, the leader may be envisioned more closely to the Freudian image of father substitute, who rewards and punishes, arousing at once fear, loyalty, jealousy, and suspicion. It is suggested that the former is close to Kohut's account of charismatic leadership fantasy, while the latter is closer to his account of messianic leadership fantasy.
Graduates' Construction Systems and Career Development
Authors: Fournier Valerie
Published: June 2007

The paper draws on the Chicago School's conceptualization of career and on Personal Construct Psychology to examine the relationships between graduates' construction systems and patterns of career development during the first 4 years of employment. It seeks to identify differences in trends of constructive revision between "successful" and "less successful" graduates. The study is based on 33 graduates who completed repertory grids on entering employment (T1), 6 months later (72), and 4 years later (T3), re-eliciting constructs each time. The results show some significant change in the nature of the constructs elicited by graduates over the 4 years; in particular, graduates made greater use of constructs related to achievement, cynicism, and organizational politics. Graduates whose career was more "successful" (i.e., who experienced one or two promotions during the 4 years of the study and felt generally satisfied with their careers) were more likely to use constructs related to social behavior and flexibility at T1, while graduates whose career was "less sucessful" (i.e., no promotion and felt dissatisfied with their careers) were more likely to construe themselves in terms of achievement and work competence at T1. Four years on, "successful" graduates tended to rely more on constructs related to achievement and flexibility, while "less successful" graduates were more likely to use constructs related to social behavior. The significance and implications of these results for organizational recruitment and development practices are discussed.
A Popperian View of Change in Innovative Organizations
Authors: Shareef Reginald
Published: June 2007

The cognitive model used by theorists and practitioners to understand organization change is most likely based on Kuhn's paradigm scheme of normal (i.e., the routine verification of the dominant theory in any historical period) vs. revolutionary (i.e., the abrupt development of a rival paradigm that can only be accepted gradually by the scientific community) science. This perspective suggests that scientific revolutions are rare. However, this article contends that changes are occurring so rapidly in innovative organizations that Kuhnian notions of "scientific revolutions" do not adequately describe this phenomena. Rather, these changes are more congruent with Sir Karl Popper's concept of "revolution in permanence." The conclusions of this research should allow organization stakeholders to better understand (1) the process of change in innovative organizations, and (2) how to facilitate these changes.
The Theory of Logical Types: A Tool for Understanding Levels and types of Change in Organizations
Authors: Roach David W. , Bednar David A.
Published: June 2007

In this article, we develop a framework for clarifying constructs based on Bateson's (1972, 1979) theory of logical types and present an extended example to illustrate the use of the logical types framework. We then use the framework to (1) critically review descriptions and definitions of the types and levels of organizational change (Bartunek & Moch, 1987; Golembiewski, Billingsley, & Yeager, 1976; Miller, 1990; Senge, 1990), and (2) clarify the literature concerning organizational change.
Phases of Conflict in Africa
Authors: Kadende-Kaiser Rose M. , Kaiser Paul J.
Published: June 2007

The contributions included in this volume revolve around the central and west African regional conflict zones, along with two essays that provide divergent perspectives on Africa’s role in the “war on terrorism.” They are organized chronologically by phase, thus providing insights into the complexities of conflict processes that follow similar trajectories, but that vary in time and space.
Africa in the War on Terrorism
Authors: Glickman Harvey
Published: June 2007

Locating the African political scene within the new global paradigm of the war on terrorism, we inquire into the impact of the events of 9/11 on the international relations of African states within emerging new transnational forces, centering on American foreign policy toward Africa and on possible scenarios of African responses. We explore pressures and opportunities emerging and contemplate practical reactions by a new generation of African leaders. Africans have a stake in resisting terrorism and playing a role in a winning coalition. Their interests in development, security, open societies, and decent governance are enhanced by cooperation in the war on terrorism that also include elements of the African diaspora and the North American Africanist community.
The African Aesthetic in World Creativity
Authors: Frederic Gerald J.
Published: June 2007

With a focus on the African aesthetic in the context of world creativity, this article explores the conception of “vibrational affinity dynamics” formulated in Anthony Braxton's Tri-Axium Writings. From an African-centered position that exposes the historical and cultural interconnectedness of all modes of knowledge in world culture, Braxton's conceptual tools are examined in conjunction with a critique of the negative implications of Western culture that are associated with the tendency to suppress the multiformity of knowledge types that are perceived as Other. Braxton's related notion of “affinity insight” is analyzed and compared with related models from the European postphenomenological tradition. Braxton's affinity concepts are shown to facilitate the comprehension of the role that African culture has played in the re-spiritualization of Western culture—especially through creative music—in the past century, as well as the continued role that Africa will play in the positive transformation of world culture.
Stressful Life Events and African American Political Participation
Authors: Peterson Steven A. , Gabbidon Shaun L.
Published: June 2007

Much research has been done on African Americans' political behavior. However, the role of stressful life events on participation has not often been explored. This research carries out a state-level analysis to determine what effects stressors and their effects have on African Americans' political behavior. Results suggest a place for stressful events in predicting participation. Implications of the findings are discussed.
The Pedagogy of Huey P. Newton
Authors: Hughey Matthew W.
Published: June 2007

This article examines and finds problematic the gap in the existing literature of intersections of Dr. Huey P. Newton and critical pedagogy. A cultural sociology approach critically interrogates Newton's writings and speeches, seeking the following: First, situate Newton in historical context, focusing on how his theoretical development was both constrained and enabled by the political milieu. Second, unpack the labor of representation of both his vilification and deification that work to hyper-mythologize his legacy, making pragmatic accessibility to him less viable. Third, undergo an analysis of his rhetorical appeals that urged a (re)articulation of Black educational strategy as an Afrocentric imperative and technique.
Father Presence, Family Structure, and Feelings of Closeness to the Father Among Adult African American Children
Authors: Thomas Patricia A. , Krampe Edythe M. , Newton Rae R.
Published: June 2007

Previous literature primarily defines father presence and absence in terms of the father's residence in the home. This definition may purport an exceedingly negative image of African American families. The present study, however, seeks to redefine father presence in the context of feelings of closeness to the father as well as frequency of father visitation. Results suggest that a considerable portion of African American nonresident fathers visit their children on a daily or weekly basis, while at the same time a substantial proportion rarely have contact with their offspring. African American adult children with nonresident fathers feel significantly closer to their fathers than do their White peers. African American adult children were more likely than were Whites to believe that their mothers supported their relationship with their father and to have positive perceptions of their parents' relationship with each other across all family configurations.
W. E. B. Du Bois and the Study of Black Humanity
Authors: Monteiro Anthony
Published: June 2007

Scholars have often viewed Du Bois as a Eurocentric thinker concerned with Black people yet inhibited by his Eurocentric method from a thorough study of them. This essay shows the opposite. Du Bois clearly sought new methods and philosophical foundations for studying Black humanity. His work is the earliest engagement with the philosophical and scientific assumptions and foundations of the White supremacist study of Black humanity. He seeks out through theory, philosophy, and empirical and historical studies ways to study Africans from the standpoint of being an African. In most respects, he achieved his goal. The author terms his achievement an epistemic rupture and revolutionary breakthrough in knowledge.
Dorothy and the Boyz
Authors: Saunders Vicci Lovette
Published: June 2007

The Wizard of Oz and Boyz N the ` Hood are the same story. The protagonists, Dorothy and Tre, are the same character. A critical examination of the literary and cultural similarities between The Wizard of Oz and Boyz N the ` Hood will prove their mirror reflections. Yet, racial bias clouds this reflection and influences what moviegoers pay to see, how they perceive what they see, and what they choose as their favorite films. The theories and writings of three of the foremost authorities on the screenplay and the art of dramatic writing, Lajos Egri, Syd Field, and Robert McKee, demonstrate the connections between The Wizard of Oz and Boyz N the ` Hood. Respectively, the young protagonists, Dorothy and Tre, are both facing death while trying to survive and escape their dangerous environments. Absent of racism, an audience should be able to see similarity in character and accept any good story, well told.
Rooming in the Master's House
Authors: Hall Ronald E.
Published: June 2007

Politics contemporaneously may be the most potent extension of domination characteristic of slaves during the American antebellum. As slaves, “house negroes” were the psychologically dominated, mixed-race offspring of the antebellum master class. The political descendants of antebellum house negroes are today's Black Conservatives. Their political aspirations represent a corrupted version of the “American dream.” In particular, those who are scholars take part in contrived research in their mandate to serve the political status quo. Black Conservatives must become cognizant of their unique role—that of advocating for the interests of Black people, their class, their community, as well as their country.
bell hooks, Carter G. Woodson, and African American Education
Authors: Strong-Leek Linda
Published: June 2007

The following is a “conversation” between two of the most prominent and prolific African American scholars and intellectuals, bell hooks and Carter G. Woodson. Though their works were published more than 60 years apart, many of the issues Woodson addressed in his now-classic work, The Miseducation of the Negro, remain significant for African American intellectuals today. What is education? And what does is mean to truly “transgress” the boundaries of tradition?
Cheikh Anta Diop's Two Cradle Theory
Authors: Allen Troy D.
Published: June 2007

For many scholars, the concept of race to discuss the ancient Egyptians is a modern ideological and social construct that fails to have agency in antiquity. Therefore, scholars have attempted to negate the ancient Egyptians' African identity by stating either that race does not exist or that the Egyptians were a race of their own. This article seeks to discuss Cheikh Anta Diop's two cradle theory by using historical and linguistic evidence to place ancient Egyptian culture in its proper cultural context. This study examines the “proto-cultures” of the three “cradles” posited by Diop: northern, southern, and the zone of confluence.
Malcolm X, Smethwick, and the Influence of the African American Freedom Struggle on British Race Relations in the 1960s
Authors: Street Joe
Published: June 2007

In February 1965, Malcolm X visited Smethwick, a small U.K. town that had recently elected Peter Griffiths as its Member of Parliament on a borderline racist anti-immigration platform. His comments there caused a minor furor in the British press. An examination of the events leading to his visit reveals crucial differences between racial attitudes in the United Kingdom and the United States; his arrival threatened to erase these differences. Malcolm X's appearance in a town near Enoch Powell's Wolverhampton constituency played a key role in the development of the racial atmosphere that peaked in April 1968 with Powell's notorious “Rivers of Blood” speech, which expressed profound discomfort at the development of race relations both in the United States and the United Kingdom. Malcolm X's comments also offer further evidence of his broadening conceptions of race and racism, offering suggestive pointers as to the increasing importance of Islam to his thought.
Using Multimedia to Engage African American Children in Classroom Discourse
Authors: Leonard Jacqueline , Hill Marc Lamont
Published: June 2007

The purpose of this study is to examine the discourses that emerged among third- and fourth-grade African American students and their teachers as they read stories about the Underground Railroad and complete a computer module. The study is framed by emergent, sociocultural, and critical race perspectives. Qualitative methods are used to determine the amount and quality of science discourse that emerged in three urban classrooms. Results show culturally relevant texts engage students and teachers in high levels of classroom discourse that is rich in science content. Students are also successful on the science section of a computer-based assessment, suggesting culturally relevant multimedia is effective in science instruction. Findings also reveal the use of culturally relevant multimedia supports science inquiry and changes the social norms and discourse dynamics in classrooms when issues of racial injustice are addressed.
Racial Differential Experiences of Employment Equity for Women Teachers
Authors: Mogadime Dolana
Published: June 2007

Studies of teachers' lives, careers, and working environments (within the Canadian context) have until recently excluded the narratives of minority and Black women. This gap in knowledge when interrogated provides an informed angle from which to gage the effectiveness of educational policies and initiatives. The particular policy identified in this article is affirmative action, for women teachers that are focused on their promotion to educational administration. This article is informed by a teacher's reconstruction of her experiences “working against the grain” of a White teaching profession and conservative board of education in Southern Ontario that was reticent to accept employment equity for “racial-minority” women teachers before the advent of 1992 racially inclusive legislation. The time frame of the subject's narrative and her struggle for inclusion occurred between 1970 and 1983. The study draws attention to how a Black professional woman finds she must resist these limitations in her day-to-day professional life.
An Afrocentric Critique or the Locating of Dislocation
Authors: Archie Marlene M.
Published: June 2007

Black Studies as Human Studies, a contemporary literary work identified as an African American Studies text, is the focus of this article. That drive to humanize suggested in the title of Joyce's book is maneuvered not by the “particular cultural voice of the composite African” but rather is guided conceptually by Eurocentric constructs. Joyce indicates awareness of the deep-seated ethnocentric European structure of human studies in the academy, where the formal bodies of academic knowledge attribute European knowledge as universal, but she works primarily within the confines of a European episteme. Joyce approaches literary criticism from a multitude of currents; her plan, however, is not approached Afrocentrically. Nor is her language along the lines of Afrocentric thought. Because of Joyce's training in the Western tradition and because there are elements of cultural dislocation in this work, Joyce appears to be bipositional, with tendencies toward a multi-positional place or location.
Speaking Up
Authors: Leverette Tru
Published: June 2007

Within Black communities, individuals of mixed Black/White parentage have faced diverse reactions, ranging from elevation to scorn. These reactions have often been based on the oppressions of history, the injustices of the present, and the hopes for a radically different future. This article traces the common historical responses, both positive and negative, within Black communities to mixed race identities, thereby elucidating contemporary reactions to race mixture within Black communities. In so doing, it argues that an historical understanding of these reactions as well as a recognition of the positions mixed race individuals occupy can challenge assumptions about race, difference, identity, and community—fostering new ground on which individuals can stand for common causes within heterogeneous communities.
“The Brothers on the Walls”
Authors: Rolston Bill
Published: June 2007

The article considers in detail a particular aspect of the political murals painted by the republican movement in Northern Ireland, namely their references to international themes rather than solely Irish matters. These murals are seen as an instance of solidarity with people in struggle elsewhere—against imperialism and state oppression—and thus represent recognition by Irish mural painters of their affinity to liberation movements elsewhere. As such, the phenomenon points to the potential of subaltern nationalism to be progressive. Finally, the article briefly considers the difficulties facing the other main mural tradition in Northern Ireland, that of the loyalists, to engage in a similar process of recognition and solidarity.
Deconstructing Cartesian Dualisms of Western Racialized Systems
Authors: Pfeifer Theresa H.
Published: June 2007

The colors white and black function as deep metaphors, or binary oppositions, for a plethora of sociocultural dividing lines in contemporary society. In this article, the author examines a number of these dualisms to illustrate how linguistic connotations of “whiteness” and “blackness” are at the heart of a variety of commonsense mythologies of race and racial difference. The author attempts to disentangle these densely woven dualisms from the fabric of linguistic common sense and, in particular, to wrest blackness from the treacherous snare of Western ocularcentrism and its Platonic/Cartesian origins.
The Attitudes of Black and White College Students Toward Gays and Lesbians
Authors: Jenkins Morris , Lambert Eric G. , Baker David N.
Published: June 2007

Despite greater acceptance of gay rights and relationships in recent decades, significant homophobia still exists in the U.S. population. There are consistent demographic differences in levels of homophobia; specifically, men, older persons, less educated persons, and conservatives tend to be more homophobic than women, younger persons, more highly educated persons, and liberals. Additionally, there is a perception that Blacks are more homophobic than Whites, and that this difference is because of the importance of religion in the Black community, another factor frequently associated with homophobic attitudes. This perception has not been empirically tested to any great extent. In the current study of 551 Midwestern college students, both independent t-test results and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis find that there are no significant racial differences between Black and White students in indexes measuring views toward, rights for, and willingness to socialize with gays and lesbians. Gender is a significant predictor of homophobia for both groups, although age and measures for the importance of religion are significant predictors for White students only.
Globalisation and UK Trade
Authors: Barrell Ray , Choy Amanda , Kirby Simon
Published: June 2007

Recent data on the UK balance of payments suggest that the deficit is deteriorating, and this may lead to downward pressure on the exchange rate. Of course some of the recent deterioration is due to temporary factors, such as the need for expensive gas imports and the inclusion of the estimated payment of insurance claims by Lloyd's of London due to Hurricane Katrina. However, there are some structural factors to look at. In this note we explore the effects of globalisation on UK trade and draw some conclusions for the UK economy. We first discuss European integration and its possible effects on trade, after which we look at changes in the world trading environment, both in terms of regulations and also in relation to technology. We then turn to estimating relationships for exports and imports. The level of exports and the degree of import penetration in the economy depend upon the level of world activity, the nature of the goods produced in the UK as compared to those demanded by consumers, the price competitiveness of UK products and the general trading environment facing the economy.
The Role of Grammar in Second Language Lexical Processing
Authors: Paribakht T. Sima
Published: June 2007

The role of grammatical knowledge in second language (L2) lexical processing is far from clear. Providing evidence from a recent introspective study, this paper seeks to demonstrate the significant contribution that such knowledge can make to inferring the meanings of unfamiliar words while reading, and to possible consequent acquisition of L2 vocabulary. The findings of the study point to the importance of learners’ knowledge of grammar in L2 lexical processing and L2 vocabulary acquisition process, and lends support to the intrinsic value of grammar instruction.
Meaning Recall and Retention: The Impact of the Translation Method on Elementary Level Learners’ Vocabulary Learning
Authors: Ramachandran Sharimllah Devi , Rahim Hajar Abdul
Published: June 2007

Whilst the communicative approach advocates the use of the target language and implicit/incidental learning in vocabulary teaching, recent literature suggests that there is a need for these methods to be reconsidered. This is motivated by studies which suggest that for effective vocabulary learning process to occur explicit learning should be complemented with implicit learning. Given this, a study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of the translation method in teaching vocabulary to elementary level ESL learners in Form 4. The translation method is used in the study because it uses the learners’ L1 as the medium of instruction and it involves explicit learning. The findings of the study reveal that the translation method has a positive impact on learners’ recall and retention of the meaning of words that they learned. Recommendations are made in the paper for the incorporation of this method in the Malaysian English language syllabus and its implementation in English language classrooms, in particular, in teaching vocabulary to elementary level learners.
Controlled‐Release Formulations of Propranolol and Verapamil
Authors: Dunn James
Published: June 2007

The in vitro and clinical behavior of new controlled‐release formulations of propranolol and verapamil are reviewed. In vitro dissolution studies have proved to be of little value in determining the clinical activity of these new dosage forms. There is a difference between the blood levels found with the new formulations and those of the reference products. The once‐daily verapamil product was evaluated in black hypertensive patients with promising results and suggests that this dosage form of verapamil may be successful as monotherapy for treating this patient population.
Effectiveness of Antihypertensive Medications in Office and Ambulatory Settings: A Placebo‐Controlled Comparison of Atenolol, Metoprolol, Chlorthalidone, Verapamil, and an Atenolol‐Chlorthalidone Combination
Authors: Durel Lynn A. , Hayashi Peter J. , Weidler Donald J. , Schneiderman Neil
Published: June 2007

In a double‐blind, crossover study, five white men with mild‐to‐moderate hypertension received placebo and fixed doses of atenolol, metoprolol, chlorthalidone, Verapamil, and the combination of atenolol and chlorthalidone in a quasi‐random order. Daily dosages were: atenolol, 100 mg; metoprolol, 200 mg; chlorthalidone, 50 mg; verapamil, 240 mg; and the same doses of atenolol and chlorthalidone in combination. Standard office and daytime ambulatory blood pressures were assessed at the end of each month‐long trial. Atenolol, metoprolol, chlorthalidone, and verapamil controlled office blood pressure with similar reductions. Verapamil did not lower ambulatory blood pressure at this dose (which is lower than is now commonly used), but reductions in ambulatory blood pressure were similar for atenolol, metoprolol, and chlorthalidone. The combination of atenolol and chlorthalidone maintained blood pressure control more effectively than the single drug treatments in both office and ambulatory settings, and the combined hypotensive effects were additive. However, reductions in the office due to the combination appeared to overestimate hypotensive effectiveness in the ambulatory setting. This study suggests that the effectiveness of commonly prescribed antihypertensive regimens varies according to setting as well as drug, and that assessment of treatment effectiveness can be improved by automated ambulatory blood pressure monitoring.
Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Metformin in Healthy Subjects and Patients with Noninsulin‐Dependent Diabetes Mellitus
Authors: Sambol Nancy C. , Chiang Janie , O'Conner Michael , Liu Chui Y. , Lin Emil T. , Goodman Anita M. , Benet Leslie Z. , Karam John H.
Published: June 2007

This study was conducted to assess the effect of noninsulin‐dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) and gender on the pharmacokinetics of metformin and to investigate whether or not metformin exhibits dose‐dependent pharmacokinetics. The pharmacodynamic effects (on plasma glucose and insulin) of metformin in patients with NIDDM and in healthy subjects also were assessed. Nine patients with NIDDM and 9 healthy subjects received 4 single‐blind single‐dose treatments of metformin HCl (850 mg, 1,700 mg, 2,550 mg, and placebo) and a multiple‐dose treatment of 850 mg metformin HCl (3 times daily for 19 doses). After each single‐dose treatment and the final dose of the multiple‐dose phase, multiple plasma and urine samples were collected for 48 hours and assayed for metformin levels. Plasma samples were also assayed for glucose and insulin levels. There were no significant differences in metformin kinetics in patients with NIDDM compared with healthy subjects, in men compared with women, or during multiple‐dose treatment versus single‐dose treatment. Plasma concentrations of metformin increase less than proportionally to dose, most likely due to a decrease in percent absorbed. In patients with NIDDM, single doses of 1,700‐mg or higher of metformin significantly decrease postprandial, but not preprandial, glucose concentrations and do not influence insulin concentrations. With multiple doses, both preprandial and postprandial glucose concentrations and preprandial insulin concentrations were significantly lower than with placebo. The effect of metformin on glucose level is correlated with the average fasting plasma glucose level without drug. In healthy subjects, single and multiple doses of metformin showed no effect on plasma glucose, but significantly attenuated the rise in immediate postprandial insulin levels.
The Eleventh International Conference on AIDS: Cautious Celebration in Vancouver
Authors: Gibaldi Milo
Published: June 2007

For the first time in the short but turbulent history of the International Conference on AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome), participants found themselves in the midst of a sea change in the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease. Scientists, health policy experts, politicians, and AIDS activists alike shared the anticipation. Report after report heralded improved outcomes in patients receiving combination therapy rather than monotherapy with reverse transcriptase inhibitors, particularly when investigators combined these agents with newly available protease inhibitors. The drug combinations dramatically reduced viral load in plasma, in some cases to undetectable levels, resulting in sharp rebounds in immune function. Even more encouraging is the pipeline for new and possibly more effective strategies. The cost of the new therapy for HIV disease, however, will limit the benefit to no more than 10% of the world's population infected with the virus.
Temporal Variation in the Effects of Ophthalmic Timolol on Cardiovascular and Respiratory Functions in Healthy Men
Authors: Umetsuki Megumi Hara , Kotegawa Tsutomu , Nakamura Koichi , Nakano Shigeyuki , Nakatsuka Kazuo
Published: June 2007

This study examined the effects of ophthalmic timolol and time of administration on cardiovascular and respiratory functions in healthy young male volunteers. Eight participants (mean age ± standard deviation, 22 ± 0.9 years) received either 50 μL of 0.5% timolol or placebo in the lower conjunctival sacs of both eyes in the morning or evening. Intraocular pressure, blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory functions, including percent forced expiratory volume in 1 second and peak expiratory flow rate, were then measured for 3 hours after drug administration. Timolol reduced intraocular pressure and cardiovascular function at both administration times. However, a timolol‐induced reduction in respiratory function was observed only in the evening: percent forced expiratory volume in 1 second, peak expiratory flow rate, and expiratory flow rate at 75% vital capacity were reduced by 3%, 7%, and 12%, respectively, 3 hours after administration. These results indicate that ophthalmic timolol reduces cardiovascular and respiratory functions in healthy young male subjects and that bronchial sensitivity to timolol differs between morning and evening.
24‐Hour Recording of Intragastric pH in Clinical Trials: Preconditions, Methodology, and Standardization Strategies
Authors: Timmer Wolfgang , Wehling Martin , Theiss Uwe
Published: June 2007

At present, intragastric pH recording by stomach probe is the standard method for the assessment of the pharmacodynamic effect of newly developed antisecretory drugs, and it is being used increasingly as a diagnostic method. Intraluminal pH can be measured by a variety of different electrode systems, systematic differences among these systems require international standardization of the method. In clinical trials, some recommendations should be followed to standardize the study conditions to assure that repeated measurements are comparable. Standardization of food and liquid intake and a correct positioning of the stomach probe are of paramount importance in assuring that the data are reliable; but there are other factors that may influence the study results, for example, the daily activities of the study participants and the method of data processing. Furthermore, several technical aspects must be considered to guarantee accurate and reproducible recordings, including the type of pH‐sensitive electrode and the method of calibration used. Further efforts should be made to create an international standard for the method to assure more comparable study results.
The Correlation Between Pharmacodynamics and Pharmacokinetics: Basics of Pharmacokinetics‐Pharmacodynamics Modeling
Authors: Cawello Willi , Antonucci Tammy
Published: June 2007

This article gives an introduction to the combination of drug transports and drug action in a body system. With the law of mass action, the Emax model has been deduced as the basis of correlation between pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.
Nuclear Factor Kappa B: Important Transcription Factor and Therapeutic Target
Authors: Lee Jang‐Ik , Burckart Gilbert J.
Published: June 2007

Nuclear factor kappa B (NF‐κB) is an ubiquitous rapid response transcription factor in cells involved in immune and inflammatory reactions, and exerts its effect by expressing cytokines, chemokines, cell adhesion molecules, growth factors, and immunoreceptors. In this manner, NF‐κB contributes to immunologically mediated diseases such as allograft rejection, rheumatoid arthritis, and bronchial asthma. The prototypic inducible form of NF‐κB is a heterodimer composed of NF‐kB1 and RelA, which both belong to the NF‐κB/Rel family of proteins. Inactive NF‐κB is present in the cytoplasm complexed with an inhibitory protein, IκB. NF‐κB is activated by a number of incoming signals from the cell surface. Released from IκB inhibition, NF‐κB translocates into the nucleus and binds to the κB motif of the target gene. The NF‐κB activation process can be inhibited by pharmacologic agents at each activation step. Glucocorticoids inhibit NF‐κB by directly associating with NF‐κB or by upregulating IκB expression. Cyclosporin and tacrolimus prevent NF‐κB activation by inhibiting the action of calcineurin, a phosphatase that indirectly induces IκB degradation. Deoxyspergualin inhibits NF‐κB by blocking its nuclear translocation. Aspirin and salicylates inhibit upstream events inducing IκB phosphorylation. Tepoxalin and antioxidants inhibit NF‐κB activation by influencing the redox state of the cell. Further research is required to develop more specific inhibitors to treat diseases mediated by NF‐κB.
Steady‐State Relative Bioavailability of Three Oral Ganciclovir Dosage Regimens Delivering 6,000 mg/day in Patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus
Authors: Jung Donald , Griffy Kay , Wong Rodney , Colburn Wayne , Hulse Jim
Published: June 2007

This study was designed to determine the steady‐state relative bioavailability of ganciclovir after three dosage regimens designed to deliver 6,000 mg/day. The study design was an open‐label, randomized, three‐treatment crossover design in which 22 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) seropositive patients received in random order multiple oral doses of ganciclovir 1,000 mg six times a day, 1,500 mg four times a day, and 2,000 mg three times a day. Blood samples were obtained on day 3 of each oral regimen over a 24‐hour time interval. Mean steady‐state average serum concentrations of ganciclovir were greater than 1.0 μg/mL, which exceeds the median in vitro inhibitory concentration (IC50) of most CMV isolates (0.5–1.0 μg/mL). All three regimens resulted in values for area under the concentration—time curve from 0 to 24 hours (AUC0–24) that were comparable to those seen after maintenance ganciclovir intravenous infusions of 5 mg/kg/day. The 1,000 mg six times daily regimen resulted in an AUC0–24 that was significantly higher than that of the 1,500 mg four times daily or the 2,000 mg three times daily regimens, although the differences were less than 12.5%.