bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Constructing Community in a Postsecondary Virtual Classroom
Authors: Bielman Virginia A. , Putney Leann G. , Strudler Neal
Published: May 2005

Interactional ethnography with a social constructionist perspective was used as an orienting theoretical framework to investigate how a community of learners was constructed in a postsecondary distance education class. The question guiding this research was: How do the interactions of the participants in an on-line classroom construct the social culture of a distance education classroom? Three analytical components of this larger study are expanded upon in this article: a) how the on-line conversational topic was changed to the on-task analysis of the weekly readings; b) how the use of an object became part of the class's repertoire; and c) how members compensated for the lack of face-to-face verbal and non-verbal conversational cues. Benefits of the study include providing insights into how the on-line communications resulted in student perception of being part of the classroom culture and providing practical examples of on-line application of student-centered pedagogical techniques.
The Rhetorical Case: Its Roman Precedent and the Current Debate
Authors: Mendelson Michael
Published: May 2005

Because of the recent emphasis on rhetorical context in business and technical writing (BTW) instruction, the problem-solving case has become a staple in BTW classrooms. However, a number of critics have voiced concerns about the use of the rhetorical case. These concerns recall an ancient debate among Roman rhetoricians over an early case-study method called declamation. For contemporary theorists, the debate over case study revolves around its value as a stimulant to problem-solving skills, its ability to imitate the realistic circumstances of professional BTW, and its emphasis on persona and audience along with its deemphasis of the teacher. A full spectrum of arguments on these and other issues in the case-study debate indicates that the discipline is entering a new phase in its deliberations over the role of problem-solving and pragmatics in the BTW classroom.
The Effects of a Gay and Lesbian Speaker Panel on College Students' Attitudes and Behaviors: The Importance of Context Effects
Authors: Grutzeck Sasha , Gidycz Christine A.
Published: May 2005

The current study investigated the effect of a gay and lesbian speaker panel presentation on the attitudes and behaviors of an undergraduate population. In order to control for context effects, subjects were led to believe that they were participating in two, unrelated, research projects. Contrary to the results obtained in previous investigations that have not controlled for context effects, these findings suggest that this type of intervention does not significantly alter intolerant attitudes and behaviors. Most respondents started out as moderately homophobic, and then simply remained that way, regardless of whether they had been exposed to the panel discussion.
Why Dig Another Mill Site? Archaeological Investigations of the East Creek Mill
Authors: Morin Edward M.
Published: May 2005

A program of historical research and archaeological data recovery was conducted at the East Creek Mill Site in southern New Jersey. The historical research provided most, if not all, of the information concerning the site's chronology, siting criteria, structural and technological changes, and operation. Archaeological data provided new information concerning structural changes to the mill; however, these changes could only be dated grossly and could not be related to documented environmental or social/economic variables that might have caused these changes. The results of this study, and review of other archaeological investigations of mills in the region, forced us to question the ability of archaeological research to provide important information on changing mill technology, and the role mills played in the social and economic fabric of the areas they served. This does not mean that archaeological studies of mills should not be done, but that different research issues relating to mills need to be explored.
Death Anxiety and Sexual Fantasy
Authors: Mednick Robert A.
Published: May 2005

Degree of death anxiety as a function of the frequencies of sexual fantasy was examined. Two groups of volunteer male and female graduate students were administered the Livingston-Zimet “Death Anxiety Scale” (DAS). The ninety-eight members of group I were asked to extemporaneously self-estimate the frequency of sexual fantasies per month, while the thirty-six in group II made actual daily counts of sexual fantasies with the use of wrist counters. Both groups I and II were individually divided into three subgroups as to “high,” “moderate,” and “low” death anxiety by rank-ordered scores on the DAS. Sexual fantasies were examined in three fantasy conditions: “Daydream,” “masturbatory,” and “during sex relations.” Findings from both groups I and II supported the hypothesis that those having “high” and “low” death anxiety will have more frequent sexual fantasies than “moderate” death anxious subjects.
A Review of Recent Research on the Golden Section
Authors: Benjafield John
Published: May 2005

The Golden Section has long been considered by many to be the most pleasing proportion. Several recent experiments concerning its aesthetic quality are reviewed. While current measurement techniques are too imprecise to yield a definitive conclusion, the possibility still exists that the Golden Section is more pleasing than other proportions. Another set of studies dealing with a different aspect of the Golden Section is also reviewed. These studies indicate that the Golden Section informs the way we make distinctions such that whenever we divide one thing into two parts we tend to make the division using the Golden Section. Originally a concept in aesthetics, the Golden Section may also be useful for understanding other forms of experience in addition to the aesthetic.
Health Worker Strikes: Social and Economic Bases of Conflict
Authors: Badgley Robin F.
Published: May 2005

Entrenched social and economic inequities combined with spiralling inflation have led to a growing number of health worker strikes. The bases of conflict, as yet unresolved, challenge the caste-like structure of health systems. By highlighting the need for change, health worker strikes may foster an internal dynamism and the more democratic organization of working conditions in health services.
Try a Fresh Look at a Trite Subject
Authors: Foley Louis
Published: May 2005

Over a long period of time, among people interested in writing, there has been endless discussion of the “split infinitive.” Both those who castigate it and those who are disposed to accept it have generally missed the point. Whatever one may think of its importance in itself, it can furnish an interesting approach for examining the real principles of sentence-structure and the logical arrangement of words.
The Stigma against Dying and Suicidal Patients: A Replication of Richard Kalish's Study Twenty-Five Years Later
Authors: Lester David
Published: May 2005

A study of prejudice directed toward deviant and psychiatric groups as well as toward religious and ethnic groups replicated the results reported by Richard Kalish twenty-five years ago. The deviant and psychiatric groups, including people dying from cancer and who had attempted suicide, were the recipients of more prejudice than the religious and ethnic groups. In addition, it was found that extraversion was associated with less prejudice toward almost all of the groups.
The Distant Mourner: An Examination of the American Gravedigger
Authors: Petrillo Gay
Published: May 2005

Despite innumerable thanatological research, little has been done concerning the gravedigger and his role in the mourning process. What is known about him, consequently, is based primarily on myths, superstitions, and prejudices. To examine the validity of these myths, a preliminary investigation was undertaken into the gravedigger's function. A mail survey and personal interviews were conducted, which focused on the psychological dimensions of the gravedigger in relation to his job. Of concern were the ways in which he views his job's positive and negative characteristics and the degree to which he is affected by the daily encountered sadness of his job. The findings show that several issues are of concern to the gravedigger; the sadness of his job is multi-faceted; its intensity varies and is managed accordingly. Results indicate that the gravedigger who emerges from this study's profile and the gravedigger of popular myth are incongruous.
The Naive Reader: Anarchy or Self-Reliance?
Authors: De Beaugrande Robert
Published: May 2005

Though literary theorists have increasingly placed the reader at the center of the literary transaction, the expert or ideal reader has received far more attention than the naive real reader often found in ordinary settings. This neglect is usually justified with the argument that, being outside the institutional framework of criticism and literary study, the naive reader is likely to respond in a mode of anarchy, of mere subjective chaos. This article reports the results of a project showing that when such readers are encouraged to be self-reliant and creative, their responses are far more likely to be systematic and coherent.
Market Commodities and Poor Relief: The World Bank Proposal for Health
Authors: Laurell Asa Cristina , Arellano Oliva López
Published: May 2005

Investing in Health is the World Bank's blueprint for a new health policy within the context of structural adjustment. While this document includes a broad range of arguments, its implicit premises are neoliberal as can be deduced from its “agenda for action.” Health is defined as a private responsibility and health care as a private good. This leads to a health policy based on two complementary principles: the reduction of state intervention and public responsibility, and the promotion of diversity and competition (i.e., privatization). Thus, public institutions should provide only a limited number of public goods and narrowly defined, cost-efficient forms of relief for the poor. All other health-related activities are considered private duties, to be resolved by the market, NGOs, or families. The World Bank policy provides a pragmatic contribution to efforts to achieve fiscal balance. However, it also pushes to recommodify health care and to turn health into a terrain for capital accumulation through the selective privatization of health-related financial and “discretionary” services. The proposal implies large-scale experimentation and dismantling of public institutions which are the only alternative now accessible to the majority. It rejects health as a human need and a social right, and violates basic values by claiming that life and death decisions can be justly made by the market or through a cost-effectiveness formula.
Hospitalizations of Children and Access to Primary Care: A Cross-National Comparison
Authors: Casanova Carmen , Starfield Barbara
Published: May 2005

In the United States, hospital admissions for conditions sensitive to primary care are related to socioeconomic characteristics. The authors compare the prevalence of avoidable hospital admissions and their relationship to socioeconomic and primary care characteristics in Spain and the United States. A case-control analysis of the relationship between avoidable hospitalizations and socioeconomic characteristics (illiteracy, unemployment, income) and primary care characteristics (type of physician and facilities for primary care) of children's area of residence was conducted in Spain. Bivariate statistical tests and conditional logistic regression were used to test the strength of the association among the variables, and to calculate the probability of being admitted to hospital for treatment of an ambulatory care sensitive (ACS) condition. Neither socioeconomic nor primary care characteristics affected this probability, and the rate of admission for ACS conditions was lower in Spain than in the United States. The provision of universal financial access to care and the availability of a consistent and accountable primary care provider are associated with lower hospitalization rates for conditions that are preventable with good primary care.
Probing the Paradoxical Pattern of Cigarette Smoking among African-Americans: Low Teenage Consumption and High Adult Use
Authors: Feigelman William , Lee Julia
Published: May 2005

Based on secondary analysis of the 1990 California Tobacco Survey, of 24,296 adult and 7,767 adolescent respondents, this study investigates the enigmatic results established by past research, of comparatively low prevalence rates of smoking among African-American adolescents and high use patterns for African-American adults. Findings support the crossover hypothesis claiming that more young adult White smokers successfully relinquish cigarette use than same aged African-Americans. When Whites and Blacks were grouped according to gender and age, findings showed African-American males between ages eighteen to twenty-four and females between ages twenty-five and forty-four were less likely to be among the ranks of former smokers than their same aged and gender White counterparts. The findings suggest that targeting these groups for more antismoking information and for opportunities to participate in smoking cessation programs may be helpful to reduce the higher smoking rates now found among African-American adults.
How Australia Came to Have a National Women's Health Policy
Authors: Gray Gwen
Published: May 2005

A National Women's Health Policy was launched in Australia in 1989, and Australia became the only country to have a comprehensive policy on women's health. The policy is intended to provide a framework for decisionmaking in both mainstream and separate women's health services. The author examines the forces and factors that led to the formulation and adoption of the policy, then addresses the question of why Australia is alone in choosing a national policy as a focus for women's health action. A number of key influences, either absent or weaker in comparable countries, worked together to facilitate policy development. The activities of women working in a number of arenas coincided with the election of relatively supportive governments, creation of women's policy machinery in bureaucracies, employment of feminists in key positions, and opportunities for policy expansion afforded by federalism. These influences, within the Australian ideological context of strong support for social liberalism, account for the country's distinctive policy position.
Contemplated Suicide among Voluntary and Involuntary Retirees
Authors: Peretti Peter O. , Wilson Cedric
Published: May 2005

This study explored anomic and egoistic dimensions of contemplated suicide among voluntary and involuntary retired males. Significant differences were found in the participants' contemplation of suicide when considering degrees of anomie and egoism. Results indicated a direct relationship between anomie and egoism on the one hand, and contemplation of suicide on the other. Involuntary retirement tended to increase the probability of contemplated suicide under each condition.
Teenage Moms Living in Nova Scotia, Canada: An Exploration of Influences on Their Decision to Become a Mother
Authors: Jackson Lois A. , Marentette Hilary , McCleave Heather
Published: May 2005

Currently, there is an extensive North American literature outlining the social, economic, and cultural background of women who become teen moms. However, relatively little is known about the nature of the influences on teen women's decisions to become mothers. This qualitative study sought to add to the literature on teenage motherhood by exploring, from the perspective of the young women, the social, economic, and cultural influences on their decision to become a mom. The research is based on 40 semi-structured interviews with teen moms living in Nova Scotia, Canada. The results underline the fact that there are multiple and complex reasons why some teens decide to become a mother. In addition, the findings point to the importance of examining the neighborhood and societal-level forces influencing teens' decisions to become a mother.
The Anasazi Abandonment of the San Juan Drainage and the Numic Expansion
Authors: Ambler J. Richard , Sutton Mark Q.
Published: May 2005

The nature of the Numic expansion into the southwestern United States, the fortified nature of Pueblo III Anasazi sites, and the close temporal correspondence between the expansion of Numic speakers and the Anasazi abandonment of the San Juan River drainage by 1300 AD lead to the interpretation that population relocations in late prehistoric times were precipitated by Southern Paiute and Ute activities.
Sadness Evoked by a Film on Grief: An Experimental Study
Authors: Engel George L. , Frader Mark , Barry Carole , Morrow Gary
Published: May 2005

“What Happened to Pity?,” a BBC documentary on the grief responses to the Aberfan disaster in 1966, powerfully affects viewers and is an effective tool for the study of sadness. Observations in the classroom and in the laboratory demonstrate that the great majority of viewers experienced some degree of sadness along with anger and sympathy. Subjects classified as high loss/grief experienced more intense and extended sadness than did those who had not had significant losses. They also displayed more apprehension, anger, shame-guilt, giving-up, anxiety, and irritation. Subjects experiencing the most sadness, compared with those less affected, were more initiating and talkative and their relationships in the laboratory were closer, more gratifying, task-oriented, therapeutic, and trusting. With the film they displayed more sympathy, role-identification, personalization, and like, but felt more drained. With respect to stable personality features they were warm, sharing, introspective, dependent, and more personally (than monetarily) motivated to volunteer for the study.
The Lady Vanishes …. or Getting Rid of the Body
Authors: Simpson Michael A.
Published: May 2005

When a death occurs in a public institution such as a hospital, one of the problems that arises is how to dispose of the body in a manner congruent with the way in which death itself is conceptualized and handled in the institution. There is general agreement that the body should be prepared and moved in a seemly and proper fashion, and according to due procedure. By looking at these procedures, we can gain a clearer conception of current professional attitudes towards death.
Psychological Burden in the Era of Haart: Impact of Selenium Therapy
Authors: Shor-Posner Gail , Lecusay Robert , Miguez Maria-Jose , Moreno-Black Geraldine , Zhang Guoyan , Rodriguez Noaris , Burbano Ximena , Baum Marianna , Wilkie Frances
Published: May 2005

Objective:

To determine the impact of nutritional (selenium) chemo-prevention on levels of psychological burden (anxiety, depression, and mood state) in HIV/AIDS.

Method:

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled selenium therapy (200 μ/day) trial was conducted in HIV+ drug users from 1998–2000. Psychosocial measures (STAI-State and Trait anxiety, BDI-depression, and POMS- mood state), clinical status (CD4 cell count, viral load), and plasma selenium levels were determined at baseline and compared with measurements obtained at the 12-month evaluation in 63 participants (32 men, 31 women).

Results:

The majority of the study participants reported elevated levels of both State (68%) and Trait (70%) anxiety. Approximately 25% reported overall mood distress (POMS >60) and moderate depression (BDI > 20). Psychological burden was not influenced by current drug use, antiretroviral treatment, or viral load. At the 12-month evaluation, participants who received selenium reported increased vigor ( p = 0.004) and had less anxiety (State, p = 0.05 and Trait, p = 0.02), compared to the placebo-treated individuals. No apparent selenium-related affect on depression or distress was observed. The risk for state anxiety was almost four times higher, and nearly nine times greater for trait anxiety in the placebo-treated group, controlling for antiretroviral therapy, CD4 cell decline (> 50 cells) and years of education.

Conclusions:

Selenium therapy may be a beneficial treatment to decrease anxiety in HIV+ drug users who exhibit a high prevalence of psychological burden.
“Thinking the Unthinkable”: The Prospect of Compulsory Sterilization in India
Authors: Minkler Meredith
Published: May 2005

The National Population Policy Statement adopted by the Government of India in April 1976 gave states the mandate to adopt coercive and compulsory sterilization measures toward the end of bringing under control the nation's massive population growth. Many states have since adopted stringent measures which penalize couples having three or more children, and four states additionally have proposed legislation for compulsory sterilization.

While the demographic impact of compulsory sterilization after the third child is undisputed, the administrative feasibility of such an undertaking has been widely questioned, particularly in light of the inadequacy of India's medical infrastructure in the rural areas. Critics further have raised questions concerning the social and ethical implications of compulsory sterilization and of measures which penalize the poor through means which may have adverse effects on their health and welfare. Finally, opponents of the new sterilization measures have suggested that they divert attention from the need for more basic changes in the nation's economic and social structure.

While the need for bringing down India's continued high birth rate is widely recognized, alternative population measures—e.g. increased abortion facilities and an enforcement of the raised age at marriage-have been advocated in lieu of the compulsory sterilization measures currently being proposed.
Interpersonal Aspects of Psychiatric Consultations in a General Hospital
Authors: Abram Harry S.
Published: May 2005

Interactions between referring physicians and psychiatric consultants are crucial issues in the overall care of the patient in the general hospital. This presentation concerns itself with these issues, in particular the types of referrers and consultants involved in the consultation process. Psychiatrists are often ineffective as consultants if they are unable to communicate with referring physicians because of inflexibility and are unable to explain the patient's behavior in terms meaningful to the physician. Likewise the referrals are ineffective if the physician calls in the consultant only after all other diagnoses are considered and if emotional illness is presented in a disparaging manner. Because of the patient's unconscious use of somatic defenses and denial of emotional conflict, care must be taken not to reinforce resistances toward a psychosocial approach to his illness.
Major Depression and Quality of Life in Individuals with Multiple Sclerosis
Authors: Li Wang Jian , Reimer Marlene A. , Metz Luanne M. , Patten Scott B.
Published: May 2005

Objective:

To compare the Quality of Life (QOL) of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with and without lifetime major depression.

Method:

Data on 136 MS subjects sampled from the University of Calgary MS Clinic were collected. The WHO's Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) was used to diagnose lifetime major depression. The MSQOL-54 was administered to evaluate QOL of the subjects.

Results:

Thirty one (22.8 percent) of the 136 MS subjects had lifetime major depression, However, only 6 of these had a current episode at the time of data collection. MS patients with lifetime major depression had significantly lower MSQOL-54 scores in the QOL domains of Energy, Mental Health, Cognitive Function, General Quality of Life, Sexual Function, and Role Limitation—Emotional than the MS patients without lifetime major depression.

Conclusions:

Lifetime major depression may have a substantial impact on the QOL of people with MS. Alternatively, MS patients with poor QOL may be at greater risk of major depression.
Agent-Based Learning Environments as a Research Tool for Investigating Teaching and Learning
Authors: Baylor Amy L.
Published: May 2005

By using intelligent agents to simulate instruction, agent-based learning environments can serve as a powerful research tool to investigate teaching and learning. The agent metaphor provides a way to operationalize and simulate the “human” aspect of instruction in a more ecologically valid way than other controlled computer-based methods. Additionally, from an architectural perspective, since agents are independent objects in the learning environment, it allows for more flexibility in research design. In particular, agent-based learning environments with multiple agents, such as MIMIC (Multiple Intelligent Mentors Instructing Collaboratively), allow for investigating the effect of multiple mentors or multiple perspectives on a learning topic. Preliminary results from MIMIC research indicate that multiple agents can serve to effectively operationalize instructional theory. In terms of overall impact, creating agent-based learning environments to investigate instructional issues is at the leading edge of revitalized research integrating artificial intelligence with education, and in exploring new paradigms for researching teaching and learning.
Toward Statistical Literacy: A Paradigm for Technology-Embedded Instructional Reform
Authors: Fischer Marla J.
Published: May 2005

In preparing business majors, schools of business have a special responsibility to ensure that students are equipped with the technological and mathematical skills they will need to compete in the worldwide marketplace. This article describes an innovative instructional paradigm for teaching business statistics. This paradigm harnesses the latest classroom technologies and integrates these technologies with established principles of learning. The paradigm also implements the mathematical and technological recommendations put forward by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Science. Evaluation data from both instructor and student perspectives are reported.
Adulthood Predictors of Health Promoting Behavior in Later Aging
Authors: Holahan Carole K. , Suzuki Rie
Published: May 2005

This study investigated adulthood predictors of health-promoting behavior in later aging. The participants were 162 members of the Terman Study of the Gifted (Terman et al., 1925), who responded in 1999 at an average age of 86 to a mailout questionnaire which included questions concerning their positive health behavior. Adulthood variables were obtained for analysis from the study archives. Cross-sectional analyses showed that health-promoting behavior was related to perceived health and well-being in later aging. In longitudinal analyses, “easygoingness” in adulthood was positively related to positive psychosocial behavior and positive health practices, and neuroticism was negatively related to positive psychosocial behavior in later aging. Perceived health in adulthood was related to positive psychosocial behavior, exercise, physical recreation, and other positive health practices. Education, perceived health in adulthood, recalled importance in adulthood of success in sports before the age of 12, and interest in outdoor sports in early adulthood, as well as current health problems, were related to exercise and physical recreation in later aging. Gender played a moderating role in the prediction of positive psychosocial behavior, with the relationship of self-rated health in adulthood and recalled importance of success in sports before the age of 12 with positive psychosocial behavior being stronger for men than for women.
Health Worker Perceptions of the Integration of Leprosy Control Services at the Primary Health Care Level in Ibadan, Nigeria
Authors: Olaseinde Oluseyi R. , Brieger William R.
Published: May 2005

A goal of both the World Health Organization and the Nigerian National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control (TBL) Program is to integrate leprosy control services into the front line primary health care service system. Traditionally, leprosy services had been handled by one local government officer with little involvement of other health staff, and this limited access and timeliness of services for leprosy patients. Even after the national TBL program was implemented, integration has not been achieved, and this study of 203 front line health workers in the five local government areas that comprise the Ibadan metropolitan area of Oyo State, Nigeria sought to determine the role of health worker knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy in fostering or inhibiting leprosy service integration. Leprosy knowledge scores were positively associated with years in service, having lectures on leprosy during basic training, and having attended in-service training (IST) on leprosy. Among the cadres interviewed, Environmental Health Officers (EHOs), who had traditionally managed leprosy services prior to the move for integrated services, had the highest scores. EHOs and those who had leprosy lectures during basic training also had better attitudes toward leprosy than their counterparts. Male health staff and those who had leprosy lectures during basic training also had higher attitude scores concerning integrating leprosy control services with primary care. Finally, the only factor associated with perceived self-efficacy to perform leprosy control services was cadre. Ironically, Community Health Extension workers, who have had little in the way of experience with and training in leprosy control, believed they could handle these responsibilities better than other cadres. The influence of basic and in-service training on enhancing leprosy control knowledge and attitudes is recognized and enhancement of curricula for all cadres on leprosy issues is recommended.
The Surface Features of Four Microcomputer Reading Programs
Authors: Bradley Virginia N.
Published: May 2005

The surface features of four commercial microcomputer reading programs-those produced by Scott Foresman, Random House, Control Data Corporation, and Basic Learning Systems-were examined in this study using the Bradley Inventory of Reading Comprehension Software (BIRCS). All of the programs scored high in terms of their surface features with the Scott Foresman program receiving a significantly higher score than the other three programs.
A Syntactic Approach to Readability
Authors: Giles Timothy D. , Still Brian
Published: May 2005

Focusing on the issue of readability, this article examines problems that readability formulas present to the technical communicator, especially in terms of interaction with government agencies, and focuses on readability formula requirements mandated by The Office of Health and Industry programs [OHIP] for medical technology product support literature. Because the Flesch Reading Ease and the Flesch-Kincaid formulas are widely available, they are probably the ones most frequently used. Contemporary readability scholars have overlooked the Golub Syntactic Density Formula, which evaluates prose according to a sentence's syntax at a deeper level than the number of words per sentence and the number of syllables per word. The authors recommend it as a tool for evaluating readability. How it might be applied with current computer applications is discussed.
Ethics and the Computer: Children's Development of Moral Reasoning about Computer and Internet Use
Authors: Burnam Bruce , Kafai Yasmin B.
Published: May 2005

With increasing computer use in classrooms, there has been a growing concern of the resulting moral dilemmas that may emanate from their use. Though theorists have conducted extensive research on children's moral development, there has been little attempt to situate this within the digital domain. It is the purpose of this article to examine children's moral reasoning in relation to their use of computers and the Internet. This study reports on interviews conducted with 48 third-grade and fifth-grade students about moral dilemmas involving computer and Internet use. Scenarios involving computer use were developed and compared to Damon's dilemmas which involved moral reasoning about everyday situations. The results indicated that children's moral understandings fell into the expected developmental levels. Significant differences were found between children's moral reasoning in everyday situations compared to those involving computer and Internet use. However, gender differences were not consistently detected for all computer and Internet scenarios. These findings are discussed in light of Turiel's (1983) postulated domain dependence of moral reasoning and the gender differences found so prevalent in children's computer use. We conclude with considerations for school's policies regulating Internet use and potential training programs.
Mortality from Suicide and Homicide for African Americans in the USA: A Regional Analysis
Authors: Lester David
Published: May 2005

The social correlates of the African American statewide suicide rates were found to be different from the correlates of Caucasian suicide rates. Caucasian suicide rates were higher in the south and west; African American suicide rates were higher in the north. Caucasian suicide rates were associated with indices of social disintegration, while African American suicide rates were not. The homicide rates of Caucasians and African Americans, in contrast, showed similar patterns of associations with social variables, particularly those related to southernness.
Detecting the Differences in Jazz: A Comparison of Methods for Assessing Perceptual Veridicality in Applied Aesthetics
Authors: Holbrook Morris B. , Huber Joel
Published: May 2005

Applied aesthetics raises questions concerning the relationship of aesthetic appreciation to the underlying artistic features that can be manipulated in creating works of art. To the extent that subjective aesthetic judgments and objective artistic characteristics correspond, the process of communication is characterized by “perceptual veridicality.” This degree of correspondence should be studied using real as opposed to artificially-constructed artworks and may be measured by either compositional or decompositional methods. By hypothesis, compositional approaches indicate the extent to which subjects can detect objective stimulus characteristics while decompositional techniques show the degree to which they do make such accurate distinctions. This hypothesis is tested on a set of real jazz recordings, with perceptual veridicality measured by mean squared canonical correlations between objective stimulus characteristics and perceptual maps derived by both compositional and decompositional methods. As expected, the compositional approach provides the better statistical fit. This result suggests that, as an assessment of veridicality, the compositional technique should be regarded as a measurement of cognitive capability rather than as an index of normal perceptual performance in aesthetic appreciation.
The Number of Americans without Health Insurance Rose in 2001 and Continued to Rise in 2002
Authors: Ku Leighton
Published: May 2005

Data from the Census Bureau and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that the number of uninsured Americans rose in 2001 and in the first quarter of 2002. The main reason insurance coverage fell was a drop-off in employer-sponsored insurance for workers and their dependents. This reduction was triggered by rising unemployment levels and rising health insurance premiums, which made it more difficult for employers to offer insurance or for workers to afford it. The downturn in private coverage was partially offset by increased enrollment in Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). About two million more children and one million more adults would have been uninsured had it not been for the growth in these programs. Funding for the public programs is, however, threatened by budget shortfalls affecting most states, which administer these programs. Many states have cut their Medicaid programs and are planning further cutbacks. Increasing federal assistance to states and their Medicaid programs could help protect insurance coverage for low-income people during the current economic slowdown. Future SCHIP enrollment could drop sharply because of a shortage of federal funds, and Congress could take steps to bolster SCHIP funding.
A Democratic Strategy for Organizational Change
Authors: Svensson Lennart
Published: May 2005

This article presents a model of democratic work organization based on concrete examples from Sweden. It focuses on how democratic work organizations can come about; how they can be introduced, developed, and protected; and, in general, how their growth can be encouraged. In the final section the perspective is broadened. The possibilities of creating an industrial democracy are discussed from a societal perspective. Women in the public sector are seen as a possible “avant-garde” in a union-based struggle for the democratic organization of work.
Survey on Faculty Use of Interactive Videodisc Technology in Teacher Education
Authors: Hannah C. Lynne , Abate Ronald J.
Published: May 2005

A videodisc and related technology research project was set up at an urban university to improve the delivery of information by professors, and the understanding of important concepts by education students. An exploratory study was conducted to investigate factors that influence the use of technology by faculty who teach the core curricula in the under/postgraduate education program. Through the use of questionnaires and direct interviews, the factors that influenced the decisions to use or not to use the available videodisc technology were isolated. Principal among these were: time, student and faculty knowledge of technology, conceptions about the technology and its potential, faculty incentives to become involved, and administrative support.
Losing An Aged Relative: Perceptual Differences between Spouses and Adult Children
Authors: Bass David M. , Noelker Linda S. , Townsend Aloen L. , Deimling Gary T.
Published: May 2005

Research on bereavement primarily focuses on conjugal loss; few studies examine differences between losing a spouse and losing an aged parent. The present investigation compares perceptions of nineteen bereaved spouses with forty-seven bereaved adult children in order to specify differences between conjugal and parental loss. Data from two larger surveys of family caregivers show spouses feel their physical and emotional health has been more negatively affected by the death, yet report increased participation in social activities. Adult children are more likely to discuss dying with an ill parent, although little difference occurs in other preparations. Differences between spouses and children also are found in the appraised difficulty of the death and in the number of peripheral sources of support, and in the likelihood of receiving assistance from friends and neighbors.
Using Multimedia in the Multicultural Classroom
Authors: Fabris Marta E.
Published: May 2005

A salient characteristic of American society is diversity. Educators who recognize the rapidly evolving nature of the society at large and our classrooms in particular, will agree with the idea that there is an urgent need for new kinds of instructional environments which are consistent with today's diverse society. Recent demographic changes in the school population demand some changes in educational theory, curriculum, and teaching strategies. Multimedia technology has the potential to impact and enhance the multicultural classroom experience. Multimedia in the hands of a resourceful teacher can help create situations that stimulate interest, generate questions, find problems, or motivate investigations. It can also foster freer communication between students of diverse background. Today's educational market is flooded with many excellent videodiscs, CD-ROMs, and many more low price devices from which to select. A rich multimedia environment can change the way teachers teach and students learn. In conclusion, multiple electronic media or multimedia has a great potential for the multicultural classroom.
Hype in Health Reporting: “Checkbook Science” Buys Distortion of Medical News
Authors: Zuckerman Diana
Published: May 2005

The greatest danger to public health might be “checkbook science”: research intended not to expand knowledge or to benefit humanity but to sell products. Much of the media coverage of health news stories is based on public relations efforts on behalf of the companies that sell the products, including pharmaceutical companies, diet clinics, or doctors selling new techniques. The author presents three case studies of how companies selling medical products effectively but invisibly shaped recent news coverage of medical products: fen-phen diet pills, breast implants, and hormone replacement therapy. All involve subtle strategies whereby physicians and other experts paid by corporate interests are influential because they are perceived to be objective medical experts. Articles in prestigious medical journals are sometimes ghostwritten by individuals paid by companies or are based on biased analyses or interpretations shaped by corporate interests. Nonprofit organizations that tout the benefits of specific medical products also may be part of the public relations efforts of the companies making the product. Meanwhile, important newsworthy studies are ignored by the mass media when corporate interests do not publicize or pitch the results to influential reporters and producers.
Editorial Misconduct in Science
Authors: Epstein Samuel S.
Published: May 2005

Evidence is presented on editorial misconduct in Science, with particular reference to prejudice and bias against environmental, consumer, and occupational concerns.
Sexual Practices That May Favor the Transmission of HIV in a Rural Community in Nigeria
Authors: Ajuwon Ademola J. , Oladepo Oladimeji , Adeniyi Joshua D. , Brieger William R.
Published: May 2005

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) have been documented as a primarily urban phenomenon in Nigeria. The risk of spread to rural communities, where the largest portion of the population still lives, exists. This article presents a qualitative research study that was designed to explore sexual practices in a rural Nigerian community that held potential risk for introducing HIV into the community and for enabling HIV transmission should an infected person enters local sexual networks, in the small town of Ago-Are, Oyo State. Seven key informant interviews, in-depth interviews and observations with five commercial sex workers (CSWs), and focus group discussions (FGD) with married and single male and female residents were held. CSWs were found to be the most likely route whereby HIV could enter the community, both because of their own mobility, being resident in the community on average only nine months, and because of the mobility of their main clients, migrant farm laborers and commercial drivers. This did not preclude local patronage, which was more discrete. Another possible point of entry for HIV was through casual sexual relations during ceremonies, holidays and festivals, when towns' people working in the large urban centers came home. Within the community, extramarital sexual relations were posited as a likely route for spread within the community. The continued existence of a taboo against sexual intercourse while a mother is breastfeeding, frequent informal divorces and a tendency toward polygamy were identified by FGD members as factors that encourage extra-marital sex. The strong role that social and religious associations play in the community was identified as an ideal mechanism for health education to prevent HIV/AIDS.
Son Preference, Sex Selection, and the “New” New Reproductive Technologies
Authors: van Balen Frank , Inhorn Marcia C.
Published: May 2005

Throughout recorded history, humans have tried to influence the sex of their offspring, through pregnancy injunctions, infanticide, and infant/child neglect. Reproductive technologies developed in the late 20th century allow determination of the sex of the offspring during pregnancy, making “sex selection” through abortion possible. Especially in parts of East and South Asia, sex selection against female fetuses has had dramatic consequences for male/female sex ratios. However, “newer” new reproductive technologies, such as prenatal genetic diagnosis and DNA-weighted semen selection, can now be applied for sex selection; eventually, the latter technology may become easily accessible as a noninvasive method. The prospects of these new technologies for sex selection must be considered in the light of cultural values surrounding son preference / daughter discrimination in many parts of the world, most notably Asia, as well as preferences for a “gender-balanced” family in much of the West. The ethical issues surrounding these technologies, such as the right to life and the equal treatment of female children, are potentially profound, but legislating the appropriate use of these “newest” new reproductive technologies will be difficult.
Neuropsychiatric Manifestations of Obstructive Sleep APNEA: A Review
Authors: Hudgel David W.
Published: May 2005

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may result in neuropsychiatric complications. Psychiatrists need to be alert to the possibility that patients who present to them with cognitive and/or affective disorders, who also have sleep related complaints such as snoring and significant daytime hypersomnolence, may have OSA. Clinical suspicion needs to be reinforced by obtaining a history from the bed partner. A polysomnogram will establish the diagnosis. Once the diagnosis is made, several treatment options are available. Treatment of sleep apnea usually leads to a resolution, or at least improved control, of the complicating neuropsychiatric disorder. Physicians must be aware that sedating neuroleptic or antipsychotic agents may worsen sleep apnea and, thereby, aggravate the neuropsychiatric disturbance.
Upper Respiratory Tract Infections Increase Self-Rated Hostility and Distress
Authors: Hashimoto Fred , Kellner Robert , Kapsner Curtis O.
Published: May 2005

The authors administered a personality inventory, the Eysenck Personality Inventory and a distress scale, the Symptom Questionnaire, to all patients in a walk-in clinic of a general hospital during an influenza epidemic. Hostility, depression, anxiety and somatic symptoms were significantly higher in patients with upper respiratory tract infections ( p < .005); the majority scored in the range of psychiatric patients, regardless of whether patients had clinically classical influenza or merely symptoms and signs of another respiratory tract infection. There were no differences in the personality traits of extraversion or neuroticism between any of the groups, suggesting that hostility and distress were consequences of the viral infections and were largely unaffected by preexisting personality traits.
Efficacy of Imagery and Meditation Techniques in Treating Psoriasis
Authors: Gaston Louise , Crombez Jean-Charles , Joly Jacques , Hodgins Sheilagh , Dumont Marc
Published: May 2005

Using a dismantled time-series design, eighteen subjects were randomly assigned to three groups: meditation ( N = 5); meditation and imagery ( N = 4); waiting list ( N = 5). Treatment lasted twelve weeks, while pre- and post-baseline periods were of four weeks. An assessment control group control was also used during baseline periods ( N = 4). The severity of psoriasis symptoms was reliably rated by dermatologists. While controlling for extraneous factors influencing psoriasis symptoms, a time-series multivariate regression analysis revealed a significant difference between the mean psoriasis ratings of treatment and control groups after treatment (partial r = .30, p < .01). No additional impact was associated with the use of the imagery technique (partial r = − .06, p > .05). Four subjects in the treatment groups, two in each condition, succeeded in clinically improving their psoriasis symptoms, and none deteriorated. The practice of mediation may be clinically effective for some patients in reducing their psoriasis symptoms.