bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Neurotrophic Factor Protection against Excitotoxic Neuronal Death
Authors: Tatter Stephen B. , Galpern Wendy R. , Isacson Ole
Published: March 2007

Neurotrophic factors are polypeptides capable of promoting neuronal survival in both the developing and the adult brain. In addition to the neurotrophins, NGF, brain-derived neurotropic factor, and NT-3 to -6, other neurotrophic factors include ciliary neurotrophic factor, fibroblast growth factors, insulin-like growth factors, members of the transforming growth factor superfamily, members of the epidermal growth factor family, and other cytokines such as leukemia inhibitory factor, oncostatin M, and interleukins-6 and -11. One condition under which these factors promote survival is the challenge of neurons with analogs of excitatory amino acid transmitters. Such analogs, including quinolinic acid, kainic acid, and ibotenic acid, are frequently employed as models of neurological diseases such as Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, cerebellar degenerations, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Excitotoxicity also plays a role in neu ronal death caused by focal ischemia, hypoglycemia, or trauma. Although much has been learned about the mechanisms of both the action of neurotrophic factors and of cell death in response to excitotoxins, the mechanism of protection by these factors remains uncertain. This review explores the biochemical and phys iological changes mediated by neurotrophic factors that may underlie their ability to protect against excito toxic cell death. Second messenger pathways used degenerately by both excitotoxins and neurotrophic factors are discussed as a potential site of interaction mediating the protective effects of neurotrophic factors. Particular attention is also paid to the importance of the route of neurotrophic factor delivery in conferring neuroprotection in particular excitotoxic models. The Neuroscientist 1:286-297, 1995
Clostridial Neurotoxins in Synaptic Research
Authors: Fields R. Douglas
Published: March 2007

Research on clostridial neurotoxins provides a recent illustration of how medical research can spark fundamental breakthroughs in basic science. Clostridia are anaerobic bacilli that live in dust, soil, vegetation, and the gastrointestinal tract of animals and humans. Most are benign, but the pathogenic species produce potent neural toxins. In addition to their involvement in disease and germ warfare, interest in these toxins has increased within the basic research community with the appreciation that these agents can be used as precise experimental tools for dissecting the molecular basis of synaptic transmission, which is without question the most essential process in the nervous system. NEURO SCIENTIST 4:324-328, 1998
Review : Gene Therapy: Applications to the Neurosciences and to Neurological Disease
Authors: Tuszynski Mark H.
Published: March 2007

Gene expression is involved in some way in every human disease. As our knowledge of gene structure and function has blossomed in the last 2 decades, so too has our potential genetically-based repertoire for combating disease. Gene therapy refers to the manipulation of gene expression, either by augmenting the expression of therapeutic genes or by diminishing the expression of deleterious genes. In some neurological diseases, such as trauma, ischemia, and neurodegenerative disorders, gene therapy might be used to express genes for such substances as growth factors or neurotransmitters to prevent neuronal degeneration or to compensate for lost function, respectively. In other cases, gene therapy could be used to block the expression of genes that cause disease such as β-amyloid precursor protein or the Huntingtin gene. In inherited diseases of the nervous system such as muscular dystrophy, normal gene copies could be placed into the nervous system to compensate for lost function resulting from abnormal gene expression. The tools for achieving well-targeted, sustained, and safe gene delivery in the nervous system are now becoming available, and this technology is likely to substantially alter the nature of neurological therapy in the future. NEUROSCIENTIST 4:398-407, 1998
■ REVIEW : Plasticity in the Human Motor System
Authors: Hallett Mark
Published: March 2007

The organization of motor representation in the human brain is plastic in a number of situations. Plasticity may be caused by unmasking of pre-existing connections, activity dependent synaptic changes, changes in membrane excitability, or growth of new connections. In peripheral injury, such as amputation, regions of brain no longer have a peripheral target. Neighboring motor representation areas targeting muscles ipsilat eral and proximal to the amputation stump enlarge into this territory. Some changes can occur quickly, whereas others require years; this probably reflects different processes. In early brain injury, including pa tients with hemispherectomy, some recovery of function seems related to enhancement of ipsilateral path ways. Stroke in adult life may cause some reorganization in the lesioned hemisphere, and the role of ipsilateral pathways is not yet well established. Patterns of use and motor learning can influence brain organization. Use of a body part increases its representation, whereas disuse reduces representation. In motor learning, such as learning a finger sequence, the representation of muscles involved with the learning increases in size. Plasticity can even be cross-modal, as demonstrated by the functional role of the visual cortex when the blind read Braille. NEUROSCIENTIST 5:324-332, 1999
Unifying Concepts in Parents' Experiences with Health Care Providers
Authors: Dixon Donna M.
Published: March 2007

A historical overview of the research related to parent and nurse interaction in the context of an acutely ill hospitalized child provides the pediatric nurse with information about parent needs, stressors, and activities that can guide both practice and future research. Most of the research is descriptive, with little integration across studies. Because it focuses on the inpatient setting, this research has decreasing usefulness; care of chronically ill children now occurs more often in outpatient or home settings. A new research base addresses health care relationships between professionals and parents of these children. Sixteen studies were identified that focused on the formation of relationships between parents of chronically ill children and health care providers. Although these studies addressed a variety of research questions and were based on different conceptual frameworks, the common themes of trust, information gathering, participation in care, and decision making emerged.
Involvement in Health Care Decisions: Parents and Children with Chronic Illness
Authors: Angst Denise B. , Deatrick Janet A.
Published: March 2007

Little is known about the processes or the relative outcomes of involving children in decisions about their own health care. The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine the involvement of school-age children and adolescents in such decisions. A secondary analysis of two data sets composed of individual interviews regarding involvement in health care decisions was completed. One sample was composed of 20 school-age children with cystic fibrosis (CF) and both parents of each; the other was composed of 8 children and adolescents who were having surgeryfor scoliosis secondary to a chronic condition, and one parent of each. Dimensional analysis was used to summarize and contrast the data according to child, adolescent, and parent perspectives across the two data sets. The type of decision, view ofthe decision, involvement in the decision-making process, and satisfaction with the decision-making process were themes common to both data sets.
Major Themes in Parent-Provider Relationships: A Comparison of Life-Threatening and Chronic Illness Experiences
Authors: Kirschbaum Mark S. , Knafl Kathleen A.
Published: March 2007

The nature and quality of parent-professional relationships in two contrasting illness situations was explored in this study. Results are based on a secondary analysis of 32 families in which a child had diabetes and 20families in which a child had life-threatening illness. Data analysis revealed three patterns of decision making across parents in the two illness situations: dependent, independent, and collaborative. These patterns varied in terms of the nature and amount of reliance on health care professionals. In addition, parental expectations of providers, placement of trust, and information exchange also varied and served to further define group differences.
Perinatal Death: Helping Parents Find Their Way
Authors: Malacrida Claudia A.
Published: March 2007

Perinatal death is a profound and common experience, and one that is often underestimated in terms of itsfrequency and its impact. As primary caregivers of parents suffering perinatal loss, nursing and medical staffhave tremendous power to shape parental experiences. In this qualitative, exploratory study, unstructured interviews were conducted with 26 individuals (21 women and 5 men) who had experienced perinatal loss. Subjects' experiences ranged from parents whose perinatal losses had occurred during the 1st trimester, to one man who had lost two children in late pregnancy and a third child to sudden infant death syndrome shortly after birth. Using grounded theoryfor the analysis, this study identifies a number of areas parents cited as problematic during interactions with medical and nursing personnel and also reports gestures and interventions that parentsfound extremely helpful and supportive. Recommendationsfor ways caregivers couldfacilitate parental grief proactively and with insight are offered.
Report: Infopac—Researchers Learn Research Dissemination by Doing
Authors: TYDÉN THOMAS , NORDFORS DAVID
Published: March 2007

To facilitate the interplay between researchers and practitioners, a creative experimental interaction has been developed. An information package—INFOPAC—is attached to each new research project receiving financial support from two research-funding organizations in Sweden. Project leaders are offered one day of training in both theories concerning research dissemination and practical application. The first task for the participants in the training is to write a press release and send it to chosen media. An information consultant attached to the projects then measures the outcome. The information consultant also follows up and helps the course participants during the period of the project funding. The trial with INFOPAC has been in progress for three years, and the results achieved so far are reported in this article and placed in their theoretical context.
Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior to Predict Research Dissemination
Authors: BRESLIN CURTIS , LI SELINA , TUPKER ELSBETH , SDAO-JARVIE KATHY
Published: March 2007

Constructs of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) were used to predict dissemination of an addiction program among ninety-eight counselors. As part of a training workshop, ninety-eight participants completed a questionnaire that assessed TPB constructs (e.g., attitudes toward the program). At baseline, attitude and social norms predicted 56 percent of the variance in intention to adopt the program. At the six-month follow-up (n = 86), intention to adopt and perceived control predicted 19 percent of the variance in level of actual program use. The results lend support to the use of TPB and to the idea that research dissemination should attempt to influence attitude formation and social norms initially, and later in the adoption process it should focus on enhancing perceived control to increase motivation to adopt.
Dimensions of Civic Science
Authors: CLARK FIONA , ILLMAN DEBORAH L.
Published: March 2007

A civic scientist has been described by Neal Lane, former presidential science adviser, as one who “engages the public in a dialogue about science and society.” The concept of the civic scientist has received considerable attention nationally with the recent publication of a report on the subject by the National Science Board. But concepts and terms used in the literature and the press to characterize civic scientists and civic science have been ambiguous, if not conflicting. This article analyzes these recent articulations of the civic science concept, situating these ideas within the context of the existing science communication landscape.
Marienthal and After
Authors: Nowotny Helga
Published: March 2007

The article traces the contributions of Austrian social science in the inter-war period, comparing it briefly with the time after 1945. It shows how the response to local development was nevertheless closely linked to global ones and how the shift from politically relevant research to policy relevance occurred.
Some Personal Recollections about Howard Davis's Impact on Program Evaluation
Authors: Ciarlo James A.
Published: March 2007

These remarks are made to honor Howard R. Davis and his pervasive influence on the field of evaluation of mental health services. I hope that they will suggest something of the influence of this creative man upon someone who has worked for many years in this area, and that sharing these thoughts with the reader again honor Howie and the worthy goals to which Howie had dedicated his career.
The Circuitry of Enlightenment
Authors: Weiss Carol H.
Published: March 2007

It is a sad pleasure to contribute this article to a journal issue honoring the legacy of Howie Davis. It is fitting that this article should be dedicated to Howie, because he encouraged and supported my work on this subject with his characteristic enthusiasm. Without the continuing commitment that he and his office at NIMH maintained for research on knowledge utilization, very little of the work that I discuss in this article would have been done. All of us who are committed to using research as a strategy for reform owe a lasting debt to Howie for his farsightedness and his dedication to improving the linkage between knowledge and action.
Summing Up, Starting New
Authors: Hastings Margaret M.
Published: March 2007

Howard Davis had a vision as to how he could improve the lives of all people in the future. His profound interest in the plight of individuals at the grass roots is embodied in his references to the mythical Mrs. Swanson. This daring man communicated his caring concerns to the colleagues with whom he worked. He entered their lives substantially with impact on their careers and research interests in order to achieve the first goal: improvements in the quality oflifefor all persons. Colleagues contributing to this journal expanded Davis's ideas and dreams. Each contributor develops further Davis's scientific exploration in mental health service delivery, knowledge utilization, planned change, and program evaluation. They underscore Davis's desire for the production of useful knowledge, not just an empty response to the academic reward system. Of greater importance is the recognition of his leadership in the transfer and utilization of significant new findings from the research community to public policy and service delivery.
Relevance of the Rationalist/Constructivist/Relativist Controversy for the "Validation" of Scientific Knowledge-Claims
Authors: Brownstein Larry
Published: March 2007

The framework set out in this article attempts to synergistically engage both "external" influences and "internal" constraints in an assessment of the process of scientific inquiry that does justice to relevant aspects of the various rationalist, constructionist, and relativist perspectives. The framework's assessment structure is deeply qualitative in character and the conclusion reached is that such non-quantitative assessments are not only possible but can be systematically and reliably made and "rationally "justified. The article ends with a constructive critique of the present development of the framework.
Simulation Models and the Study of Information Utilization in Public-Sector Decision Making
Authors: Mandell Marvin B.
Published: March 2007

Progress in understanding the utilization of policy information in decision making can be accelerated by reliance on a variety of research approaches. One research approach that has not been widely employed to date in studies of information utilization is simulation modeling. In this article simulation modeling and its potential contributions to the study of the utilization of policy information in decision making are explored, along with the relationship between simulation modeling and other approaches to studying knowledge utilization.
Implementation Aspects of Dissemination
Authors: Crandall David P.
Published: March 2007

This paper traces the evolution of the federal role in school unprovement, especially as it relates to stimulating the development and implementation of innovations intended to give teachers classroom-relevant improvements. A historical overview is followed by a review of selected research. The paper closes with an argument to strengthen the infrastructure that supports meaningful, but admittedly not revolutionary, change in typical schools.
Information Selection in the House of Representatives
Authors: Quadrel Marilyn Jacobs , Rich Robert F.
Published: March 2007

This article focuses on information selection in the United States House of Representatives. It asks, "Is the selection process in the House similar to the information selection process in other organizations?" Information selection fills three primary roles: an informing role, a supportive role, and a legitimizing role. The latter two roles may be more important in the House than in other organizations, since it is a more political setting. The article is based on an analysis of all hearings between 1978 and 1982 that dealt with the licensing and siting of nuclear power plants and nuclear waste management. It is shown that the organizational perspective is informative in explaining information search and selection processes within the House of Representatives.
Data on the Federal Research System in the United States
Authors: Chubin Daryl E. , Robinson Elizabeth M.
Published: March 2007

In response to a request by the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives, the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) undertook a wide-ranging study of the federally funded research system and its challenges in the 1990s. Central to the OTA report, Federally Funded Research: Decisions for a Decade, is the role of data for decision making as an issue in U.S. research policy. This article summarizes the availability and state of such data and suggests additional information that could be collected for manipulation in the aggregate by Congress and the executive branch (especially the Office of Science and Technology Policy) and at the program and project levels within the research agencies. The authors focus on the analysis and presentation of data —on research expenditures, personnel, the research process, and the outcomes of research -for monitoring changes in the U.S. research system for the decade ahead.
A New Look at Adaptation
Authors: Buttolph Diana
Published: March 2007

Adaptation is a dynamic diffusion of innovations process in which adopters change innovations according to their individual needs. Adaptation may be explained by three factors: (a) the differing interpretation of innovation components by individual adopters, (b) an individual's level of adopter innovativeness or readiness to accept change, and (c) the generative learning process whereby an individual relates new information to prior knowledge and experience. Adaptation may occur unconsciously at the beginning of the diffusion process. Those who study the adaptation process should begin at the initial awareness stage when potential adopters are forming their opinions and ideas about an innovation.
None Too Solid
Authors: Kerwin Ann
Published: March 2007

Our ignorance encompasses, at least, all the things we know we do notknow (known unknowns); all the things we do not know we do not know (unknown unknowns); all the things we think we know but do not (error); all the things we do not know we know (tacit knowing); all taboos (forbidden knowledge); and all denial (things to painful to know, so we suppress them). Medical ignorance seems especially threatening to many of us. If, however, we are to cope with our vast ignorance of the human body, its powers and processes, we must learn to acknowledge our nescience and optimize it. To do so, we need to rethink the nature and interrelations between knowledge and ignorance. We need to expand our capacities for self-learning and refine abilities to map our complex experience.
Acquiring Knowledge of Implementation and Change
Authors: Owen John M. , Lambert Faye C. , Stringer William N.
Published: March 2007

There has been an increasing interest in evaluation strategies that encourage utilization. This article outlines a set of guiding principles that can lead to the more effective instrumental use of evaluation findings. These principles suggest that an evaluator needs to be involved in the action and change that emerge from the evaluation findings. These findings imply an extension of the range of expertise over and above skills currently associated with an effective evaluator, to include those expected of an effective change agent within agencies and organizations.
Metaphors—Messengers of Meaning
Authors: MAASEN SABINE , WEINGART PETER
Published: March 2007

Based on the idea that the central link between science and society is one established by a diffusion of knowledge, the authors present an outline of what might be called an evolutionary sociology of knowledge. The proposal is first to make use of the concept of metaphor whose characteristic features are well known within the literary realm. By introducing an unfamiliar analogy into a new context, both the metaphorical concept and the context challenge eventually may change each other. The authors claim that knowledge transfers, in general, might be analyzed in a similar fashion. Second, such a metaphor analysis of units of knowledge should be combined with discourse analysis as well as central concepts of evolutionary theory to uncover the institutionalized mechanisms by which certain bodies of knowledge become processed selectively.
The Exchange of Knowledge
Authors: KYVIK SVEIN , LARSEN INGVILD M.
Published: March 2007

This article explores in what ways and to what extent a small country is integrated in international science. It gives an overview of various types of contact between academic staff members at Norwegian universities and their colleagues abroad, including which countries are the most important for such contact, and shows to what degree faculty members in different fields of learning publish internationally. Faculty members in the social sciences and humanities have almost as many close contacts with foreign researchers as do their colleagues in the natural and physical sciences, but the extent of international publishing is considerably lower in the humanities and social sciences. The reasons for these field differences are discussed.
A Process Perspective on Participation in Scholarly Electronic Forums
Authors: ROJO ALEJANDRA , RAGSDALE RONALD G.
Published: March 2007

This article describes participation in scholarly mailing lists and discusses the implications of such participation for scholars' social networks. The mixed-methods design included a qualitative study and a survey administered by e-mail (187 subjects in eleven electronic forums). Data were also retrieved from LISTSERV archives to determine each forum's profile in terms of contribution rate, adoption rate, and number of active contributors. The authors found that there was transient membership in the forums, a pattern of “few-to-many” exchange, and weak engagement with other forum members. However, the interaction generated by a small group of contributors seems to present scholars with a new social arena that may fulfill their affiliation and information needs.
The Environment as Theme and Package on a Local Television Newscast
Authors: CORBETT JULIA B.
Published: March 2007

This study investigated 601 stories in a segment called Earth KARE on a local TV newscast to determine how such a theme of coverage presented the environment. Despite previous findings of the prominence of science in media coverage of the environment, Earth KARE presented the environment as a government story, both in terms of news sources (40 percent) and arena of action (54 percent). The majority of station resources—use of reporters, video, and chitchat—also was allocated to government stories. The constraints faced by news directors in efficiently producing a daily thematic segment with good audience draw may create a reliance on (and deference to) the planned, reliable information provided by government and secondarily by business.
Journalists, Cognition, and the Presentation of an Epidemiologic Study
Authors: TRUMBO CRAIG W. , DUNWOODY SHARON , GRIFFIN ROBERT J.
Published: March 2007

Cognitive processes can inform an understanding of newswork. In this case study, the authors examine a growing literature relating cognitive theories to newsmaking and then apply some of the principles in that literature to media coverage of EPA-mandated reformulated gasoline in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In an analysis of how local Milwaukee television news presented an epidemiologic study answering health complaints associated with the gasoline additive, the authors find a number of cognitive processes at work, especially those involving bias and error. Finally, the authors consider implications of such processes for newsmaking.
Populism and Scientific Decision Making
Authors: WOOLLEY MARY
Published: March 2007

The author calls for science communication scholars to play a greater role in helping to understand the processes, impacts, and implications of an enhanced public role in science policy decision making. A number of potential research topics are listed, including the role of celebrities in information campaigns, how public input changes priority-setting activities, and the significance of technology-driven public access to scientific information.
Prevalence of Employer Self-Insured Health Benefits: National and State Variation
Authors: Park Christina H.
Published: March 2007

Many large employers prefer to self-insure health plans offered to employees rather than purchase them from insurance companies to save costs and to avoid the burden of complying with varying state mandates. This concerns state governments because they cannot directly regulate self-insured plans. This article describes the prevalence of employer self-insurance for the nation and by state in 1993 and examines what factors, especially state policies, contribute to the national and state variation in the prevalence of self-insurance. Data from the National Employer Health Insurance Survey on 34,604 private sector establishments are analyzed. Variation in the prevalence of self-insurance was largely explained by the firm size of the establishments. After all other factors were examined, very little was added to predict the rate of self-insurance for each state. While state premium taxation and benefits mandates were not associated with self-insurance, small-group reforms were significantly and positively associated with the probability of self-insurance.
Inequality in America: The Contribution of Health Centers in Reducing and Eliminating Disparities in Access to Care
Authors: Politzer Robert M. , Yoon Jean , Shi Leiyu , Hughes Ronda G. , Regan Jerrilynn , Gaston Marilyn H.
Published: March 2007

Reducing and eliminating health status disparities by providing access to appropriate health care is a goal of the nation’s health care delivery system. This article reviews the literature that demonstrates a relationship between access to appropriate health care and reductions in health status disparities. Using comprehensive site-level data, patient surveys, and medical record reviews, the authors present an evaluation of the ability of health centers to provide such access. Access to a regular and usual source of care alone can mitigate health status disparities. The safety net health center network has reduced racial/ethnic, income, and insurance status disparities in access to primary care and important preventive screening procedures. In addition, the network has reduced low birth weight disparities for African American infants. Evidence suggests that health centers are successful in reducing and eliminating health access disparities by establishing themselves as their patients’ usual and regular source of care. This relationship portends well for reducing and eliminating health status disparities.
Indications for Hysterectomy: Variation within and Across Hospitals
Authors: Arndt Margarete , Bradbury Robert C. , Golec Joseph
Published: March 2007

This study investigates the factors associated with the probability of finding specific clinical indicators (benign or malignant tumor, cancer in situfibroid, abscess/empyema, or positive culture of salpinx,fallopian tubefetus, or uterus) that validate necessity for hysterectomy. Data for the4,660 cases in the study come from 42 Pennsylvania hospitals. The probability that validating indicators were present varied significantly at the hospital level but not at the level of individual surgeons within hospital, suggesting that physicians in different hospitals adopted different practice styles. The results at the hospital level indicate that higher hysterectomy volume increased the probability of validating findings, whereas presence of an OB/GYN program was associated with lower probability of validating findings. The policy and management implications of these results are discussed.
Structure of Financial Incentive Systems for Providers in Managed Care Plans
Authors: Kwon Soonman
Published: March 2007

Managed care plans, health maintenance organizations (HMOs) in particular, rely on a variety of financial incentive systems to induce providers to control health care expenditures. Based on the theory of incentive contracts, this study examines the unique nature of effective incentive systems for health care providers; applies the conceptual framework to managed care plans, viewing the incentive and payment system as the contract between the insurer and the provider; and analyzes the determinants of the structure of incentive systems in HMOs. This study shows that the group incentive scheme provides an essential control over the perverse incentives associated with excessive referrals by primary care physicians. The relative market power of an HMO and providers also affects the aggressiveness of incentive systems for providers. An analysis of the structure of physician incentive systems in HMOs provides valuable policy implications for cost containment because within the HMO market, various innovative incentive and payment systems are applied to providers to reduce expenditures.
Urban-Rural Differences in Employer-Based Health Insurance Coverage of Workers
Authors: Coburn Andrew F. , Kilbreth Elizabeth H. , Long Stephen H. , Marquis M. Susan
Published: March 2007

Prior research indicates that rural workers are less likely than urban workers to obtain health insurance coverage through their employer. The reasons for this differential in coverage rates are not well understood. This study uses data from the 1993 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Employer Health Insurance Survey to measure differences in the proportion of rural and urban workers who are offered insurance coverage and in their rates of participation in offered plans, and to assess the effects of firm size, wages, and other factors in explaining the residential differences. Both offer rates and participation rates are lower in rural areas, but the probability of employer-based coverage among rural workers rises to the level of that of urban workers when we adjust rural firm size and wages to urban levels. Rural firms and workers are not behaviorally different from urban firms and workers; they are, however, at a greater disadvantage because of their smaller size and lower wages.
Evolution of a Classification Scale: Medical Evaluation of Suspected Child Sexual Abuse
Authors: Adams Joyce A.
Published: March 2007

This article presents a revision of a system for classifying examination findings, laboratory findings, and children's statements and behaviors as to their possible relationship to sexual abuse. The revisions are based on published research studies and current recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect, and the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children. Part 1 of the classification system lists genital and anal findings that can be considered normal or nonrelated to abuse, nonspecific for abuse, concerning for abuse, and clear evidence of blunt force or penetrating trauma. Under Part 2, the overall classification of the likelihood of abuse is broken into four categories: no evidence of abuse, possible abuse, probable abuse, and definite evidence of abuse or penetrating trauma. Cautions in the use of the classification system, as well as controversies concerning a few medical findings, are discussed.
Reducing Recurrence in Child Protective Services: Impact of a Targeted Safety Protocol
Authors: Fluke John , Edwards Myles , Bussey Marian , Wells Susan , Johnson Will
Published: March 2007

Statewide implementation of a child safety assessment protocol by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) in 1995 is assessed to determine its impact on near-term recurrence of child maltreatment. Literature on the use of risk and safety assessment as a decision-making tool supports the DCFS's approach. The literature on the use of recurrence as a summative measure for evaluation is described. Survival analysis is used with an administrative data set of 400,000 children reported to DCFS between October 1994 and November 1997. An ex-post facto design tests the hypothesis that the use of the protocol cannot be ruled out as an explanation for the observed decline in recurrence following implementation. Several alternative hypotheses are tested: change in use of protective custody, other concurrent changes in state policy, and the concurrent experience of other states. The impact of the protocol to reduce recurrence was not ruled out.
What We Know About the Characteristics and Treatment of Adolescents Who have Committed Sexual Offenses
Authors: Becker Judith V.
Published: March 2007

This review examines recent empirical research literature on several aspects of adolescents who commit sexual offenses and their treatment. Presumed etiologies for the behavior are examined, along with research into personal characteristics, comparisons with non-offending groups, psychological, family, and behavioral characteristics, comorbid psychiatric conditions and arousal patterns. Outcomes following treatment are briefly reviewed. Although it is clear that considerable information has been gathered regarding male adolescent sexual offenders and limited information is available regarding female adolescent sexual offenders, many critical questions remain unanswered. The review concludes with suggestions for future research.
Credit, Saving, and Insurance Practices Influencing Satisfaction With Preparation for Financial Emergencies Among Rural Households
Authors: Sumarwan Ujang , Hira Tahira K.
Published: March 2007

A family resource management framework was used to develop a model of relationships between socioeconomic variables, financial management practices, and satisfaction with preparation for financial emergencies. This study examined direct and indirect effects of socioeconomic charac teristics and mediating effects of financial management practices variables on satisfaction with preparation for financial emergencies. A sample of 297 money managers was randomly selected from two rural counties of a midwestern state. Results showed that households'monthly income was the only socioeconomic variable that had a significant direct effect on satisfaction with preparation for financial emergencies, whereas the effects of other socioeconomic variables were mediated through the effects offinancial management practices. Financial management practices such as the managerial behavior index, monthly saving, and the number of insurance types had significant positive effects on satisfaction with preparation for financial emergencies. Monthly debt payment had a significant but negative effect on satisfaction. The managerial behavior index and monthly debt payment had both direct and indirect effects on satisfaction with preparation for financial emergencies. Their indirect effects were mediated through monthly saving. Monthly saving and the number of insurance types showed only direct effects on satisfaction with preparation for financial emergencies.
Further Perspectives on Child Development Research: A Reconsideration and a Recall
Authors: Fabes Richard A. , Martin Carol Lynn , Smith Melanie C.
Published: March 2007

In this article, we respond to the call put forward by McKinney, Abrams, Terry, and Lerner (1994 [this issuel)for child development researchers to address concerns related to child poverty and diversity. We acknowledge the importance of these goals and also consider the ways in which researchers select topics for study and how we evaluate the importance of social problems. Although we agree there is a needfor increased attention to the integration of child development research and outreach, we issue a call of our own for child development researchers in home economics to be increasingly involved in both basic and applied research.
Quality of Adult Child‐Aging Parent Relationships: A Structural Equations Approach Using Merged Cross‐Generational Data
Authors: Mercier Joyce McDonough , Shelley Mack C. , Wall Bing
Published: March 2007

In a study of the attachment bond, determinants of the quality of the adult child‐aging parent relationship are analyzed from the child's perspective for 180 adult child‐aging parent pairs. Structural equation models are estimated for thefull sample andfor parent‐child pairs living more than 60 miles apart and within 60 miles of each other. In the full sample, quality of the adult child‐elderly parent relationship is enhanced by greater frequency of intergenerational interaction; a stronger sense of filial obligation; adult children who are married, have less education, and are in better health; smaller sibling unit size; only‐child status; and parents who are married, older, and are in better health. Different predictors are significant in thefull‐sample, near‐proximity, andfar‐proximity models, but the direction of significant effects is consistent across equations.
Determinants of Consumer Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction with the Performance of Apparel Products
Authors: Chen‐Yu H. Jessie , Williams Gloria , Kincade Doris H.
Published: March 2007

The purpose of the study was to investigate determinants of consumer satisfaction and dissatisfaction (CS/D) with the performance of apparel products at the purchase and productconsumption stages. An experimental design was used. The sample consisted of 120 students enrolled at a university located in a metropolitan area in the midwestern United States. Results showed that performance expectation was a significant determinant of CS/D at the purchase stage. Perception of product performance and confirmation or disconfirmation between perceived product performance and experience‐based norm were also significantly related to CS/D at purchase. Results indicated that the perception of product performance and confirmation or disconfirmation between perceived product performance and expectation held during purchase were also significant determinants of CS/D at the product‐consumption stage. CS/D at purchase was also significantly related to CS/D at the product‐consumption stage.
The Other Side of the Fence: Seeing Black and White in a Small Southern Town
Authors: Ellis Carolyn
Published: March 2007

In this ethnographic short story, the author wrestles with personal intricacies of being White in American society, posing contradictions of identity and community and problematizing the quandary of speaking openly about race and racism. The story of her romantic involvement with an African American male while growing up White in a small southern town provides a venue by which to portray race relations in the rural South during the 1960s. Returning to this small town to visit in 1993 sets the stage to reflect on this experience and to compare race relations in urban university communities during the 1990s. Readers are invited into the author's lived contradictory circumstances in the hopes that acknowledging and experiencing the experiences will help us figure out how to unthink and even unfeel processes that may perpetuate racism.
The Shortcomings of Western Science
Authors: Harman Willis W.
Published: March 2007

Modern science has become the only generally recognized cognitive authority in the modern world, yet Western science and technology are contributing to a society whose long-term sustainability is in doubt. Thus a crucial question becomes, "How can inquiry in the scientific spirit be so modified (in epistemology or more fundamentally) that it more completely serves the highest needs of humanity?" Most scientists assume that the epistemological question has been settled long ago in the definition of "scientific method. " Yet Western science is based on epistemological and ontological assumptions that, however well they may have served the prediction and control functions of science, are less suited to serving the understanding function of science. This article examines the need for a reexamination of scientific epistemology and proposes nine characteristics of a more suitable epistemology.
Reading Between the Lines: Interpreting Silences in Qualitative Research
Authors: Poland Blake , Pederson Ann
Published: March 2007

Although speech is often the focus of qualitative research, what is not said may be as revealing as what is said, particularly since what is left out ordinarily far exceeds what is put in. The authors explore several potential interpretations of silence, beginning with a focus on silences embedded in interview transcripts, and how these are perceived and managed by researchers and participants. However, the limitations of interview tran scripts become apparent, and the need for a basis for understanding both silences and talk that is not limited to talk itself invites an examination of the role of context and, more specifically, the many structures of talk and interaction that can only be properly understood from an epistemological, theoretical, and methodological orientation that privileges neither structure nor agency, but the dense interpenetration of the two. Several consequences of such a perspective for the interpretation of silences are highlighted.
Meta-Jeopardy
Authors: Richardson Laurel
Published: March 2007

Multiple discourses create this experimental piece: televisual culture, cultural studies as a discipline, sociology as a discipline, feminist-poststructuralism, mother as a social category, mother as lived experience, mother as "current event,"familial contexts, ethics in ethnography, emotions, and writing as transformative.
The Making of a Whore
Authors: RUSSELL DIANA E. H.
Published: March 2007

This article opens with a lengthy personal account of a 23-year-old incest survivor who was interviewed in South Africa in 1991. She defined herself as a “whore” and described how her abusive maternal grandfather had groomed her for this role. The relationship between incest and prostitution in general is documented in the concluding section of this case study; relevant literature on this relationship is cited, and illustrative statements by the survivor are quoted. This case study provides a powerful example of how illusory the “choice” of prostitution as a lifestyle and/or a means of work can be for some incest survivors.
Females' Perception of Date Rape
Authors: VAN WIE VICTORIA E. , GROSS ALAN M. , MARX BRIAN P.
Published: March 2007

This study examined the effect of perceived token resistance and previous sexual contact on women's ability to discriminate when a female wants her partner to stop making sexual advances. Female college students were randomly assigned to one of four conditions. Prior to listening to an audiotaped date rape, participants were told that the couple had been on five dates. Participants were informed that on the previous date the man had manipulated the woman's breasts or genitals. In addition, participants were told the woman did not object to this contact, or the woman initially objected to the contact but subsequently stopped resisting contact. Compared to participants in the no resistance conditions, participants in the perceived token resistance conditions took significantly longer to determine when the man should refrain from attempting further sexual contact. The implications of the findings are discussed.
Bringing Order to Chaos
Authors: STEVENS LYNNE
Published: March 2007

One out of three women in the United States has been sexually abused by the age of 18. The legacy of the trauma influences, for example, the survivor's ability to trust others, to recognize appropriate boundaries, and to form intimate relationships. The dynamics of the therapeutic relationship can engender intense responses and activate many of the feelings from the original trauma. This article presents a framework that describes and explains the connections between past sexual abuse, the survivor's present symptoms, and the ways that these influence the transference and countertransference. The frame-work can help clinicians conceptualize the interplay between the sexual abuse and the treatment process. The therapist will therefore be able to avoid some problems in the therapy and better manage those that do arise.
The Battered Women's Movement Response to Children of Battered Women
Authors: PELED EINAT
Published: March 2007

An evaluation of societal responses to children of battered women in the last two decades reveals significant developments in professional awareness of the problem, knowledge about difficulties experienced by children, and services provided to children. Yet, current priorities and ideologies held by many in the battered women's movement (BWM) seem to interfere with attaining the goal of providing all children of battered women with the protection and support they need. This article critically analyzes the response of the BWM to children of battered women and outlines recommendations for change. Three major issues are examined: the perception of children as “secondary” victims, woman battering and child abuse, and battering men as fathers. It is hoped that the analysis offered will stimulate constructive discussion leading to an expansion and improvement of services to child witnesses of domestic violence.
Jane Tennison and the Feminist Police Procedural
Authors: CAVENDER GRAY , JURIK NANCY C.
Published: March 2007

This article presents an analysis of Prime Suspect, a public television film about detective chief inspector Jane Tennison. The authors focus on the film's images of gender, work, and justice and reveal several progressive feminist tendencies. The film portrays the problems and achievements of a woman in a predominantly male field. The film conveys the obstacles described by scholars that confront policewomen. It provides a critical view of how men officers investigate crimes of violence against women. Even so, Prime Suspect presents several unresolved ambiguities about working women generally and about those who work in traditionally male occupations such as policing.