bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Learning Technology Curriculum: The First Step
Authors: Vest Carlos R.
Published: May 2005

The concepts of learning technology are based on several decades of research and demonstration. A formal curriculum to train people to enter this field, however, does not exist. To initiate the development of such a course of study a conference was held at American University on March 11 and 12, 1975. This meeting, sponsored by American University and the Society for Applied Learning Technology, brought together a group of experts in this field with experience in both theoretical concepts and general applications. Topics covered included the following: performance architecture; instructional delivery methods and management; learning systems design; and, the cost and economics of various approaches to learning technology. Most concepts were illustrated with a number of current applications. As a result of the meeting it was recommended that a learning technology curriculum be specified, broadly consisting of the following categories: 1) a section on performance architecture or systems design, 2) a grouping devoted to instructional delivery methods, 3) a treatment of costs and economics, and 4) a series of case studies for training in the problem solving process.
The Determination of Death
Authors: Devins Gerald M. , Diamond Robert T.
Published: May 2005

Recent developments in medical science and technology have rendered obsolete the traditional medical criteria for determining death in a small but growing number of terminal patients. Philosophical problems encountered in attempts to develop a more sophisticated set of operational procedures are discussed. Both the traditional conditions indicating death as well as more recent reformulations required to pronounce a state of brain death in those moribund individuals in whom the traditional signs have been obscured are reported. Finally, some of the medical, legal, and social considerations which arise from recognition of the brain death definition are discussed briefly.
The Proletarianization of Nursing in the United States, 1932–1946
Authors: Wagner David
Published: May 2005

There have been many studies of the development of an industrial work force with all its attendant hardships as newly proletarianized peasants were thrown off the land and into factory labor. The author postulates that a similar process occurred in the creation of at least one modern “profession”—nursing—as the traditional autonomy of private practice nursing was displaced by institutional nursing in hospitals and nursing homes.

Prior to the Depression, most nurses worked in private duty—as independent entrepreneurs—without the regimentation, rigid division of labor, and intense supervision characteristic of modern hospitals. The collapse of the U.S. economy made it impossible for most nurses to continue to earn a living privately at the same time that hospitals required cheap labor power in order to develop as viable businesses. Despite the promise of job security in hospital work, most nurses resisted the change by criticism, sabotage, walking away from jobs, and attempts at unionization. Hospitals sought in response to inculcate loyalty by a variety of methods, including screening of applicants, in-service training, and professional ideology. In some instances, hospitals coerced private nurses into “staff jobs by threatening their ability to secure business on their own. By the end of World War II, the majority of nurses were employed, for the first time, as wage earners for institutions. The entire period was marked by such discord and revolt on the part of nurses, however, that the American Nurses' Association was transformed as an organization in order to avoid massive unionization.

The study points out that this unwritten history of nursing has been obscured by professional nursing leaders who are still suppressing revolts of rank-and-file nurses against the conditions of hospital work.
The Later Prehistory of Meyersdale, Pennsylvania, and its Surroundings: An Overview
Authors: Means Bernard K.
Published: May 2005

Publicly-funded archaeological investigations, in the form of work relief programs in the 1930s and compliance excavations in the 1970s and 1990s, generated the data presented in this overview of Late Prehistoric sites in the vicinity of Meyersdale, Pennsylvania. A consideration of information on community patterns, subsistence, and chronology suggested that the adoption and cultivation of maize inspired social and cultural changes that led to the development of village life and participation in the Monongahela culture by the native inhabitants of the Meyersdale area. The rise of village life both anticipated and paralleled regional trends occurring throughout northeastern North America.
Family Planning and Fertility Decline in Korea: Retrospect and Prospect
Authors: Yang Jae-Mo , Watson Walter B.
Published: May 2005

The decline in total fertility in Korea from 6.3 children per woman in 1960–1961 to 4.5 in 1970–1971 is attributable, among other factors, to the family planning program. Strikingly, fertility has declined most rapidly in the rural areas where the family planning program was particularly strong. Total fertility, however, has not declined since 1967–1968, generally because budgetary problems for the family planning program have been severe. The present annual population growth rate is 2.2 per cent and the prospects are bleak that a 1.5 per cent growth rate will be achieved in 1976, a goal made explicit in the government's Third Five-Year Plan. Government planning has not sufficiently recognized that even if age-specific fertility continues to decline, a changing age structure will increase the national growth rate to 1.8 or 1.9 per cent by 1981. The authors reconsider the stated national goal of a 1.5 per cent growth in 1976, concluding that it can only be achieved with increased government commitment to family planning, higher targets, incorporation of abortion into the program, and a great increase in the number of sterilizations.
Calculator Usage at the Middle School Level: A National Survey
Authors: Pagni David L.
Published: May 2005

The Calculators and Mathematics Project, Los Angeles (CAMP-LA) (NSF Grant #MDR-8651616)1 has produced mathematics lessons for grades K-6 that make use of the basic four-function calculator. Experiences at mathematics education conferences where these lessons were shared, indicated that there was interest among middle school mathematics teachers to develop similar lessons appropriate for that level. We decided to explore this interest by sampling from a larger and more diverse audience before expanding the project to include middle school materials. In addition, it was decided that the new materials should consider using newly developed calculators that could compute with fractions. Thus, the following questionnaire was developed to determine the most current information on the use of calculators in middle school mathematics classes. The questionnaire was designed to ascertain 1) how often and in what ways calculators are being used; 2) teachers' opinions on the impact calculators should (could) have on the mathematics curriculum; 3) how familiar teachers are with various so-called “fraction” calculators; and 4) what types of curriculum materials (if any) should be developed if students used a fraction calculator.
Response Bias in Studying Hospice Clients' Needs
Authors: Bass David M.
Published: May 2005

Client-centered needs assessments are a useful tool in attempting to design hospice programs so that they meet the needs and wants of their clients. Because of its recent development, hospice proponents face difficult decisions concerning what services would best serve their clients. Needs assessments provide empirical data on issues that are of most concern to hospice clients. This information can then be used to select services to meet those concerns. In gathering data from hospice clients, researchers must be aware that the sensitive nature of the life event may lead to a response bias in client surveys. This paper examines the response bias that occurred in one needs assessment study. The results showed that the bias may have eliminated clients having had the most difficult illness experiences from the study. Had the bias gone unnoticed, the needs of the nonrespondents may have been neglected in the construction of the hospice program.
A Do-it-Yourself Usability Kit
Authors: Harris R. Allen
Published: May 2005

Usability testing is now recognized as essential to quality documentation, but, unfortunately, the costs and the time required for fullblown testing are prohibitive for many projects. This article presents a set of very practical guidelines for a small documentation team to design and conduct its own usability study—including discussions of preparing task lists, recruiting participants, conducting the study, and analyzing the data.
Koro Associated with Phobia for AIDS
Authors: Chand Suma P.
Published: May 2005

Koro, in its complete, classic form has been described as a culture bound syndrome. It usually occurs in otherwise healthy individuals in the context of acute, severe anxiety. The incomplete form of Koro is said to occur as part of a recognizable primary psychiatric disorder. A case report is presented for the first time of Koro in association with phobia for AIDS. A cognitive-behavioral approach was utilized in the management of the AIDS phobia and symptoms of Koro.
Care, Cure, and Hospital Dying Trajectories
Authors: Mumma Christina M. , Benoliel Jeanne Quint
Published: May 2005

The study was designed to examine the relationship of cause of dying, length of hospital stay, and age to medical treatment effort orientation and amount of work effort expended. The data were obtained through retrospective analysis of patient hospital records of 184 adults who died in an urban teaching hospital. Descriptive variables included demographic characteristics, ascribed medical condition day of death, and code status. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to analyze the relationship of the dependent variables to the independent variables. The findings showed that the medical treatment orientation was overwhelmingly toward the cure end of the care-cure continuum, despite the fact that the majority of patients had been designated no code (non-use of cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and had conditions labeled by their physicians as either grim prognosis or terminal.
Perceptions of the Effectiveness of Online Instruction in Terms of the Seven Principles of Effective Undergraduate Education
Authors: Guidera Stan G.
Published: May 2005

This study investigated the perceived effectiveness of online instructional delivery among full-faculty experienced teaching online as well as in traditional classroom environments and variables of instructional experience, rank, academic field, online instructional experience, and course level as they related to Chickering and Gamson's Seven Principles of Effective Undergraduate Education. These principles assert that good instructional practice encourages student-faculty contact, encourages cooperation among students, encourages active learning, gives prompt feedback, emphasizes time on task, communicates high expectations, and respects diverse talents and ways of learning. Respondents rated online instruction as slightly more effective overall and also more effective for promoting prompt feedback, time on task, respect for diverse learning styles, and communicating high expectations, but was rated less effective for promoting student-faculty contact and cooperation among students. Perceived effectiveness was higher for experienced faculty and increased with the number of online courses taught and with course level of the online class. Academic field had a more limited influence.
The Threat Index: An Additive Approach
Authors: Robinson Paul J. , Wood Keith
Published: May 2005

In the past, fear of death and death anxiety have been shown to be directly related to how well “own death” has been integrated into an individual's personal construct system. Other, more recent evidence, has demonstrated that fear of death and death anxiety are also influenced by the degree to which an individual has actualized his/her life goals. The present study, designed to investigate the role of actualization and integration, provides clear evidence that actualization and integration have an additive effect on fear of death and death anxiety.
Funeral Roles: Ritualized Expectations
Authors: Rodabough Tillman
Published: May 2005

One hundred funerals in a southern state serve as the data base for the observation and description of the different funeral roles enacted by ministers, family members, and friends. Variations by church size, the overlap of role styles, and the process by which socialization into the various roles occurs are discussed. The complementary interaction between roles is examined along with its implications for the stability and change of role sets.
Is Reasonable Access What We Want? Implications of, and Challenges to, Current Canadian Policy on Equity in Health Care
Authors: Birch Stephen , Abelson Julia
Published: May 2005

Considerations of equity in the context of health care systems are often related closely to the presence or level of prices incurred by users of health care services. Some politicians and commentators have suggested that the removal of user charges under the Canadian health care system has led to equal access to care. But it is not clear that the equity principle inferred from these claims corresponds to the equity goals of current Canadian health policy. In this article the authors identify the precise equity principle that lies behind current health policy in Canada and consider the extent to which that principle is reflected in the performance of the system. They then consider other approaches to equity in health care in the context of the stated objectives of Canadian health policy and identify the implications of pursuing reasonable access in future health policy. The authors suggest that the implications of the current equity goals have not been recognized by policy makers, and if they were to be recognized it is not clear that they would be acceptable to Canadian populations and/or policy makers. Moreover, some of the implications would appear to be incompatible with other stated objectives of public policy.
New Pedagogies and Re-Usable Learning Objects: Toward a New Economy in Education
Authors: Collis Betty , Strijker Allard
Published: May 2005

While the idea of reusing objects in digital learning environments is not new, continual strides are being made toward improving the prospects of reusability. However, three of the main steps in reusability—finding a pedagogy in which both contribution and reusability are regular aspects, having a convenient technology for all stages of contribution and reuse, and finding institutional motivation and support for reuse—are far from common procedures in most higher education and company training settings. In this article we describe a shift in pedagogy and technology requirements that we see as major steps in accelerating the reusability process. We also position the reusability process in a broader context: an evolution in education and training toward either a Stretching the Mold Scenario or a New Economy Scenario.
Perceived and Preferred Orientations of Abstract Art
Authors: Lindauer Martin S.
Published: May 2005

The independence of aesthetic judgments about art from personal preferences about that art was investigated with abstract paintings which were shown in different orientations. Two groups of undergraduate subjects, N = 24 and N = 22, judged works by Davis, DeKooning, and Pollock in either their upright (correct) or inverted (incorrect) orientations. While correctly and incorrectly positioned paintings were equally liked, the former were judged as more appropriately oriented than the latter. The results indicate: 1) the independence of aesthetic perception from personal preference; and 2) that the perception of orientation is more dependent on the properties of the stimulus than on recognition.
Scandinavian Research on Stress in Working Life
Authors: Gardell Bertil
Published: May 2005

This paper discusses research strategies and summarizes pertinent knowledge that has influenced Scandinavian legislation and trade union policies in the field of stress at the workplace. Work stress is shown to be problematic in two ways. First, there may be a direct relation between certain objective working conditions, physiological and psychological stress, and ill health. Second, certain stress conditions may create fatigue and/or passivity and thus make it more difficult for individuals to actively involve themselves in changing those working conditions—including physical and chemical risk factors—that may be detrimental to health. This latter aspect is especially relevant for prevention on the systems level, where one has to rely on collective means for changes in technology and the organization of work.
The Effective Use of Audiovisual Aids in Presenting Technical Information Orally
Authors: Meyer James I.
Published: May 2005

This is one of the papers from technical writing students that the Journal publishes from time to time.

Lt. Meyer, formerly a student at New Jersey Institute of Technology, discusses static and dynamic audiovisual aids. Included are flip charts, graphs, pictures, transparencies, slides, cassette tapes, and movies.
Management Education for Health Services
Authors: Richardson William C.
Published: May 2005

This paper examines the implications of the recent emergence in the United States of three major factors for management education in health services. The factors are: new organizational forms for delivery of services, increased emphasis on public accountability, and the proliferation of agencies intended to monitor and coordinate health services providers. Several questions are considered, including the degree to which training for various managerial careers within health services should be differentiated; the degree to which professional education should occur in the academic setting as distinct from the work setting; and, most importantly, the appropriate content of graduate education. It is argued that formal education for health services management should place substantial emphasis on the development of a student's analytic skills, with particular reference to quantitative methods. While these technical skills are not likely to become the dominant ingredient of successful and effective management, they do provide the manager with the ability to identify courses of action which will benefit the organization, and strengthen his hand in dealing with groups that are necessarily in conflict with its goals. It is stressed that training in this area should be oriented toward the needs of the prospective manager rather than the quantitative methods specialist.
The Dissociative Experiences Scale-II: Descriptive Statistics, Factor Analysis, and Frequency of Experiences
Authors: Zingrone Nancy L. , Alvarado Carlos S.
Published: May 2005

Psychometric aspects of the Dissociative Experiences Scale-II were studied with 308 American community college students. The overall DES mean was 21.70. Item-corrected correlations ranged from .30 to .62. The scale's Cronbach Alpha was .92. There were no significant correlations between DES scores and sex or religiosity. Age was negatively and significantly correlated to DES scores ( r = -.24). A factor analysis showed only a single factor. Descriptive statistics of the DES-T were also presented. We obtained a mean of 13.81 and a Cronbach Alpha of .75. The DES-T was significantly correlated to the rest of the scale ( r = .79), and to the age of the participants ( r = -.22). The findings show that the DES II has good inner consistency.
Gender Differences in Computer Attitude among Ninth-Grade Students
Authors: Kadijevich Djordje
Published: May 2005

A study of fifty-four female and fifty-nine male Gymnasium (high school) students from four ninth-grade classes oriented toward natural sciences and mathematics surveyed students' attitudes toward computers in relation to gender and computer experience and found that males showed a more positive attitude toward computers than females, even when computer experience was controlled. An additional study of fifty-one females and fifty-four males from the initial sample found that males did show more interest in computer science than females, but these differences could not explain gender differences in computer attitude.
Perceived Dangerousness of Recreational Drugs
Authors: Luce Terrence S. , Merrell Judy C.
Published: May 2005

In Study One, a sample of 230 college students were asked to estimate the abuse potential and lethality of commonly used recreational drugs, both licit and illicit. In Study Two, a sample of 103 degreed nurses were asked to estimate the lethality of the same recreational drugs. The findings indicate that the illicit drugs under consideration are perceived as presenting the greatest danger to the user and that dangers attributed to the use of licit recreational drugs are generally minimized. Perception of danger was found to be unaffected by exposure to reported drug education programs. Results are discussed in terms of public health implications.
Economic Determinism: A Model of the Political Economy of Medical Care
Authors: Helt Eric H.
Published: May 2005

Existing economic models of the medical care sector are characterized by unrealistic assumptions concerning (a) the relationship between medical care and health, (b) the economic behavior of both consumers and providers of health care, and (c) the nature of politics in the American culture. The model of the economy of medical care proposed here attempts to correct for these logical and empirical inconsistencies. The central argument is that the medical care system promotes not the health of the people, but instead, economic, political, and cultural inequality for a health profession's and economic elite. When stresses within the medical system threaten the institutional conditions that sustain this inequality, they are reestablished through state-sanctioned collective action.
Critical Elements in the Design of Help and Hypertext Systems
Authors: Wasserman David
Published: May 2005

The demand for help and hypertext systems has created a problem for many documentation departments, particularly those in smaller companies inexperienced in creating these forms of online documentation. The scarcity of existing literature compounds this problem. Literature that specifically addresses how to create such systems with limited resources and considerable time constraints would ease the burden faced by these companies.

This article gives writers in small companies with limited resources some suggestions for undertaking a hypertext project. The writer views help text as a simple form of hypertext, and, as such, frequently refers to both simply as “hypertext.” This article is not concerned with describing in detail the various design features of hypertext.
Speech Recognition Technology for Disabilities Education
Authors: Tang K. Wendy , Kamoua Ridha , Sutan Victor , Farooq Omer , Eng Gilbert , Chu Wei Chern , Hou Guofeng
Published: May 2005

Speech recognition is an alternative to traditional methods of interacting with a computer, such as textual input through a keyboard. An effective system can replace or reduce the reliability on standard keyboard and mouse input. This can especially assist dyslexic students who have problems with character or word use and manipulation in a textual form; and students with physical disabilities that affect their data entry or ability to read, and therefore to check, what they have entered. In this article, we summarize the current state of available speech recognition technologies and describe a student project that integrates speech recognition technologies with Personal Digital Assistants to provide a cost-effective and portable health monitoring system for people with disabilities. We are hopeful that this project may inspire more student-led projects for disabilities education.
Psychological Factors in Mid-Trimester Abortion
Authors: Kaltreider Nancy B.
Published: May 2005

A comparative psychiatric evaluation of eighteen women with similar backgrounds who sought legal abortion suggests that the delay of the decision until second trimester involves multiple psychological factors. The eight women who presented late had a pattern of disturbed parental relationships, reliance on denial as a defense mechanism and ambivalence towards the pregnancy. They related strong feelings of identification with their “baby” and post-abortion expressed a sense of loss. Professional staff dealing with these patients need their own support system to intervene effectively in the crisis situation.
Active Physics Learning—Combining the Marketing Concept with Information Technology
Authors: Maharshak Arie , Pundak David
Published: May 2005

The subject of physics presents a difficult challenge to students. Research studies conducted around the world indicate that many students aren't able to grasp the fundamentals of the subject. Most institutions in the world still teach physics using the traditional approach. In the last decade, however, a number of new teaching methods have been developed. These methods, based on Information Technology (IT), encourage the active involvement of the student and demonstrate a significant improvement in physics learning. Many lecturers aren't very quick to adopt these methods, and therefore the problem remains. This article attempts to confront the difficulties of implementing innovative approaches to teaching physics. A marketing approach is proposed in which the student is the customer who is supposed to receive the service that will make it possible to meet the demands of the subject.
Measuring the Lengths of Punctuated Units in Prose: An Application to Hawthorne
Authors: Froese Robert
Published: May 2005

An author's punctuation, though easily neglected as a stylistic feature, contains valuable information about the process of writing prose. Earlier authors, in particular, punctuated according to sound as well as syntax. Quantitative measurement of the lengths of punctuated units (or “utterances”) reveals the prevailing patterns according to which an author segments a text. By this approach, the present paper aims at a first approximation of Hawthorne's fundamental generative unit above the lexical level. The study combines a computer analysis with close reading and limits its scope to eighteen of the short stories. The data indicate that Hawthorne works with a phrase-size unit of five to seven syllables and that rhythm is a strong factor in determining the linear arrangements of words in the text.
Restricted Emotional Processing and Somatic Attribution in Fibromyalgia
Authors: Brosschot Jos F. , Aarsse Henriette R.
Published: May 2005

Objective:

Medically unexplained symptoms or syndromes, such as fibromyalgia (FM), might be partly caused or sustained by a mechanism involving restricted emotional processing (REP) and the subsequent attribution of emotional arousal to somatic or syndrome-consistent causes. In this study, it was hypothesized that FM patients, compared to healthy individuals, would be higher on trait measures of REP (defensiveness and alexithymia), and would show affective-autonomic response dissociation, that is, higher standardized scores of heart rate responses than affective responses, during negative emotional stimulation. Additionally, FM patients were expected to attribute their bodily symptoms more to somatic than to psychological causes.

Method:

Emotional movie excerpts were shown to 16 female FM patients and 17 healthy women. Affective response and heart rate were monitored continuously, while symptoms and their causal attributions were measured before and after the excerpts. Repressor coping style and alexithymia were measured, along with negative affectivity and habitual attributions of somatic complaints.

Results:

FM patients nearly all showed the relatively uncommon combination of high defensiveness and high anxiousness. Compared with healthy women FM patients were more alexithymic, showed a higher level of affective-autonomic response dissociation, and lower within-subject emotional variability. The groups showed opposite attributional patterns, with FM patients attributing symptoms less to psychological causes and more to somatic causes. There was no evidence of a shift in these attributions caused by the emotional stimuli.

Conclusions:

The results provide preliminary support for the hypotheses. Both at trait and at state level, FM showed restricted emotional processing on most of the parameters measured, and a high ratio of somatic to psychological symptom attribution, coupled with high negative affectivity.
Instructing Faculty to Develop and Deliver Distance Courses with Computer Network Technology
Authors: Eastmond Daniel V. , Lawrence Betty H.
Published: May 2005

The Center for Distance Learning (CDL) at SUNY Empire State College offers over 100 undergraduate courses each term to approximately 2200 students located in New York State and throughout the country. These courses are delivered across a range of delivery formats—from tutor telephone and e-mail interaction with students to computer conferencing on the Web. To meet the increasing need for faculty to effectively incorporate computer network technology into its courses, CDL has developed useful instructional activities and materials. These resources outline various instructional design, development, delivery, and evaluation procedures for faculty to follow in using Internet technologies appropriately for student learning. This article presents a typology of delivery techniques and discusses how CDL has trained and supported its faculty with each type of technology.
A Substance Use Profile of Delinquent and Homeless Youths
Authors: Forst Martin L.
Published: May 2005

The overall health status of delinquent and homeless youths is of increasing concern. These high-risk youth populations have a variety of health problems, including relatively high levels of substance abuse. This study provides empirical data on the substance use behaviors of a sample of delinquent and homeless youths in San Francisco, California. The data, secured within the context of medical examinations, indicate that both samples use tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs at higher rates than the general adolescent population. The study concludes that drug education and prevention programs must be tailored to fit the needs and lifestyles of these two populations, and that the programs should be provided within the broader context of adolescent health care.
An Early Archaic Toolkit from Virginia
Authors: Hranicky Wm. Jack
Published: May 2005

This article presents an analysis of a single find of an Early Archaic Virginia toolkit containing Nottoway River point types and associated tools. The toolkit offers an excellent opportunity to examine a probable single-user toolkit as well as to determine what tools constitute the toolkit make-up. The toolkit is described and illustrated. The single-user aspects and implications for an analysis of an individual in prehistory are examined.
Polio Eradication Initiative in India: Deconstructing the GPEI
Authors: Sathyamala C. , Mittal Onkar , Dasgupta Rajib , Priya Ritu
Published: May 2005

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) promised eradication of polio by the year 2000 and certification of eradication by 2005. The first deadline is already a matter of history. With the reporting of polio cases in 2004, the new deadline for polio eradication by 2004 is postponed further. This article seeks to argue that the scientific and technical bodies spearheading the GPEI, including the WHO, UNICEF, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, have formulated a conceptually flawed strategy and that it is not weak political will that is the central obstacle in this final push for global eradication. The validity of the claims of “near success” by the proponents of the GPEI is also examined in detail. By taking India as a case study, the authors examine the achievements of the GPEI in nine years of intense effort since 1995. They conclude that the GPEI is yet another exercise in mismanaging the health priorities and programs in developing countries in the era of globalization.
Nutrition and National Development: The Case of Chile
Authors: Solimano Giorgio , Hakim Peter
Published: May 2005

This study is an historical analysis of food consumption and nutrition in Chile emphasizing the influence of political and economic factors on nutritional standards. It attempts to document and explain the persistence of malnutrition as a widespread social problem in Chile even as the country achieved a relatively advanced state of economic development and boasted an unusually progressive record of social legislation. The major findings of the study were: (a) Chile's pattern of development, social reform efforts notwithstanding, consistently discriminated against low-income groups, and (b) this discrimination perpetuated low standards of nutrition and low levels of food consumption among the country's poor and undermined the effectiveness of specific measures to alleviate malnutrition.
A New Way of Teaching Statistics
Authors: Coulter Xenia
Published: May 2005

Teaching statistics through computer-assisted simulations eliminates the constraints and challenges associated with teaching the course using mathematics. It also provides students with a practical means for solving real-life problems and a solid conceptual grasp of the problem-solving nature of the discipline. A text that deemphasizes mathematics and introduces simulation as a means of understanding concepts, along with software designed for computer-intensive statistical methods and a workbook of journal article selections provide the foundation materials for such a study of statistics. A special course guide also was developed to provide a clear introduction to the software for naive users, show how the software and the text are related, and connect the simulation techniques to standard statistical tests. Altogether these materials not only provide a positive experience for students studying statistics, but they allow them to study the subject independently and at a distance.
Collative Variables versus Prototypicality
Authors: North Adrian C. , Hargreaves David J.
Published: May 2005

Recent research on experimental aesthetics has been dominated by debate on the relative importance of two theories concerning arousal-mediating and cognitive variables respectively. The present article discusses two arguments which suggest that this debate may be potentially spurious and unnecessary. First, the apparent importance of either theory may be partly dependent on the stimuli employed. Second, it is impossible to distinguish between the two classes of variables, such that variations in arousal-mediating factors also reflect variations in cognitive factors. A discussion of the implications of these arguments suggests that it is possible to reconcile the two approaches, such that both can make a useful contribution to the understanding of aesthetic processes.
Age and Alcohol, Marijuana and Hard Drug Use
Authors: Donnermeyer Joseph F. , Huang Tung Chung
Published: May 2005

Developmental theories of adolescent alcohol, marijuana and hard drug use have emphasized the factor of age as an explanatory variable. However, studies have not attempted to examine the manner in which age interacts with other explanatory variables to predict usage. This article examines the interactive nature of age in predicting alcohol, marijuana and drug use based on a sample of 435 students from schools in a north-central county of Illinois. The results indicated statistically significant interaction terms for age with peer and social control factors for each type of usage. These findings suggest that many factors commonly associated with adolescent usage may be conditioned by age. The article also recommends that additional research examine the interactive nature of age, as well as other factors, when testing theories of alcohol, marijuana and drug use among adolescents.
Repeat Prescription Patients: Are They an Identifiable Group?
Authors: Balint Michael
Published: May 2005

In this article, Dr. Balint examines the use of repeat prescriptions in medical practice as a way of dealing with patients' personal emotional problems and as an attempt to diminish conflicts in doctor-patient relations.

A clinical and statistical study of 1,000 patients of 10 medical practitioners suggests that repeat prescription patients need and seek a reliable, continuing, but non-threatening relationship with a physician as a substitute gratification for frustrations in certain life experiences. This search can lead to frequent contacts with doctors. resulting in tense or negative relationships which tend to be superficially relieved by introduction of the “repeat prescription regime.” Illness-centered medicine (“traditional diagnosis”) is contrasted with patient-centered medicine (“overall diagnosis”) in terms of their respective influence on the patient, his illness, and on the development of the relationship to his doctor.
Variations in Death Rates in the Proximity of Christmas: An Opponent Process Interpretation
Authors: Harrison Albert A. , Kroll Neal E. A.
Published: May 2005

Previous attempts to show that death is sometimes postponed until after an important social occasion have focused on the relationship between birthdates and deathdates. The present research uses Christmas as the focal social event. Study I, which involved the number of obituaries published in a major metropolitan newspaper during the eight weeks centering on Christmas, showed a significant death dip immediately prior to Christmas and a significant death surge immediately thereafter. Study II, which was based on the actual death dates of eminent Americans, yielded the same general pattern of results and also revealed that the post-Christmas upswing was significant only in the case of people who had surpassed the sample's median age. Study II, which involved a day-by-day analysis, showed that the post-holiday increase was very abrupt. All of these findings are fully consistent with Solomon and Corbit's opponent process theory of motivation.
The Role of Systematic Errors in Developmental Studies of Programming Language Learners
Authors: Segal Judith , Ahmad Khurshid , Rogers Margaret
Published: May 2005

We report on an investigation into the systematic errors made by a large group of programming language students over a period of two years. The investigation and the learner-centered longitudinal study of which it formed a part, were both inspired by recent research into second natural language acquisition. The results of the investigation demonstrate that students had major difficulties using the semicolon, the sequencing operator of the programming language ALGOL 68. We argue that this difficulty is due to the fact that students did not immediately understand a specific, simply stated rule of syntax, introduced in a decontextualized way, but rather that their understanding of the rule developed with their increasing experience of using it in different contexts. We suggest that such systematic low-level syntactic errors may be indicative of higher-level misconceptions regarding the structure of the language.
The Phonetics of Metrics
Authors: Lehiste Ilse
Published: May 2005

The purpose of this investigation is to test whether there is a connection between metre and the prosodic structure of a language. If a correspondence exists, the same meter should be realized in a phonetically different way in languages with different prosodic systems, and the differences in the phonetic realization of the metre should be explainable on the basis of the differences between the prosodic systems. The study begins with an examination of the realization of the trochaeic pattern (bisyllabic feet accented on the first syllable) in Finnish, Estonian, Swedish, and Lithuanian. This is followed by a consideration of the relationship between metric feet and poetic lines. Stress-timing is illustrated with reference to Icelandic.
The Advanced Clinical Skills Program in Medical Interviewing: A Block Curriculum for Residents in Medicine
Authors: Gordon James H. , Walerstein Steven J. , Pollack Simcha
Published: May 2005

Objective:

This study sought to demonstrate whether an intensive block curriculum would lead to learning of basic medical interviewing skills by first year residents in medicine.

Method:

Pairs of brief clinical interviews done before and after a four week block program in medical interviewing were rated using the Rhode Island Hospital Interview Checklist (RIC). The data were analyzed using the McNemar Test to look for possible improvement following the course.

Results:

Of the nineteen categories measured, fourteen showed statistically significant improvement ( p < .05) in Year 1 and twelve in Year 2. Combining the data for the two years gave statistically significant results in sixteen of the nineteen categories.

Conclusions:

An intensive block curriculum in medical interviewing led to a significant degree of learning of basic skills by first year medical residents as judged by interviews done at the end of the block. The intensive approach also allowed for a degree of personal growth and solidification of identity as a physician. These factors can be expected to influence interviewing proficiency as well.
Shared Hypermedia: Communication and Interaction in Web-Based Learning Environments
Authors: Riva Giuseppe
Published: May 2005

Internet-based information and communication technologies are changing how training is being conducted in colleges, universities, and private companies. However, to create successful learning environments the designers and developers have to understand how communication and interaction, two key features of the learning process, are changed by computers. Moreover, they have to explore the possibilities of successfully instructing via networks while proving the learning and cost effectiveness of these innovative systems. To support this process the article presents a framework for the development of Web-based learning environments. These environments can be considered a particular form of hypermedia: computer-stored information, which is connected and retrieved via links. A particular focus is given to the analysis of shared hypermedia, new Internet tools in which different users, who are simultaneously browsing the same Web site, can communicate with each other. To be successful, shared hypermedia have to develop communities of practice, an approach that involves collaborative peer relationships and teachers/students' participation in educational research and practice.
The Stream of Consciousness: XI. A Critique of James's Appendage Theory of Consciousness (Second Part)
Authors: Natsoulas Thomas
Published: May 2005

In this two-part article, I discuss William James's account of inner awareness as it is expressed in The Principles of Psychology. Inner awareness is the immediate awareness which we all have of some of our own mental-occurrence instances. An essential part of what it is for a mental-occurrence instance to be conscious, or to be a state of consciousness, is an actual or potential immediate awareness of it. Appendage theories hold that inner awareness requires a distinct mental-occurrence instance that has the respective conscious mental-occurrence instance as its object. Intrinsic theories argue that every conscious mental-occurrence instance includes, in its own structure, awareness of itself. On James's account, it is the total brain process that normally brings into existence any mental-occurrence instance, or basic durational component of the stream of consciousness. And then, this brain process often produces a further component of the stream that gives immediate awareness of the first component.
Examination of the Medical/Scientific Manuscript
Authors: Applewhite Lottie
Published: May 2005

The article consists of four sets of questions designed to help the author, reviewer, and editor examine the medical/scientific manuscript from four different aspects: 1) its medical/scientific contribution to its field (Gross Examination); 2) contents and coverage of topic (In-depth Examination); 3) rhetoric and punctuation (Minute Examination); and 4) the manuscript-package assembled for transmission to journal editor (Components of the Manuscript). When such examinations are used one at the time as needed, they will help individuals to separate content from mechanics of presentation and to distinguish scientific evidence from erroneous speculation. They will also help authors, reviewers, and editors to judge objectively the scientific worthiness of the paper, to improve the literary presentation, and to elevate the quality of effective medical/scientific communications.
An Analysis of the Readability and Style of Letters to Stockholders
Authors: Dorrell Jean T. , Darsey Nancy S.
Published: May 2005

One of the most effective communication links between corporate management and investors is the annual report. The letter to the shareholders in the report exemplifies the one-on-one communication attempt by chief executive officers and other high level executives with owners. This article examines thirty shareholder letters written by executives who are classified as highly successful based on their own annual salaries and/or the return to shareholders or company performance. The researchers found the letters written by these successful executives to fall within accepted readability levels. The letter writers adhere to convention in the use of numbers and the use of compound adjective. Section headings are not frequently used. The tone of the opening paragraph is usually equivocal or positive even though the first sentences frequently reflect a lack of “you attitude.” In general, the reports written by these successful executives conform to modern-day standards.
Information Needs of Recently Diagnosed Cancer Patients in Brazil
Authors: Pinto Renata Novaes , Chaves Ana Cristina , Lourenço Maria Theresa , de Jesus Mari Jair
Published: May 2005

Objective:

The communication and disclosure of medical information to cancer patients has been an important issue in oncology, reflecting changes in the physicians' approach when dealing with the patients' ethical right to receive information. The aim of this study was to assess the general and specific information desired by cancer patients regarding their health conditions and to evaluate minor psychiatric symptoms.

Method:

Two-hundred and ninety-eight patients were examined at an oncological cancer center in São Paulo, Brazil, using a questionnaire designed to investigate patients' preferences about cancer information and evaluate minor psychiatric symptoms.

Result:

Ninety-five percent of the patients were interested in obtaining information on their health condition, with regard to whether they had cancer (95%), the chances of recovery (89%), and the side effects during treatment (94%). Younger patients tended to show more interest in obtaining information than the elderly. The Self-Reporting Questionnaire classified 25.8% of the sample as a probable psychiatric case, but no correlation was found between Self-Reporting Questionnaire scores and patients' desires for medical information.

Conclusion:

The majority of patients wished to be informed about their illness condition, and no correlation was found between psychiatric morbidity and desire for information.