bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Moving Tales: Narrative Drift in Oral Culture and Scripted Theater
Authors: Griffin Benjamin
Published: February 2007

In folklore and literature, plots and deeds can move around amongst historical protagonists--being attributed to one figure at one time, and to another later on. Beginning with accounts of "Jack Tales" and singing-games transmitted (and transmuted) through oral culture, I then discuss the (literate and oral) text of the slaying of Goliath in Hebrew Scripture. Having discussed the oral-memorial handy-dandy these traditions play with nouns and names, I examine certain aspects of George Peele's play of King Edward I (c. 1593), showing how the text's manifold confusions can be seen as resulting from the interface of the written and the oral. Throughout the essay, there recurs the figure (meaning both "character" and "cipher") of Jack: as a name, as a fortuitous syllable, and as a trickster hero whose ingenuity and uncanny ubiquity finally puncture the explanatory character of the essay itself.
Taking Seinfeld Seriously: Modernism in Popular Culture
Authors: Hurd Robert
Published: February 2007

The strategies employed by the creators of the critically-acclaimed show Seinfeld to reinvent the American television sitcom bear a striking resemblance to those that Gustave Flaubert devised to reinvent the French novel in the mid-nineteenth century, following late French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu's account. Far from being some transnational, transmedial, and transepochal coincidence, the similarity of Flaubert's and Seinfeld's "refusals" of pre-existing and contemporary models of their respective genres points to the universality of the mechanisms by which certain cultural producers effect a "modernist" revolution in disparate popular cultural "fields" in modern capitalist societies. The eruption of modernist transvaluations in mass cultural genres serves not only to legitimate specific cultural producers against others within these genres, but raises these media-bound genres to a more legitimate status within the field of cultural production at large. Modernism is not, then, tied to any specific historical period, national culture, or medium; it is rather a recurrent and repeatable event occurring non-synchronously across diverse national, historical, and media contexts. Such a definition opens up new possibilities in cultural studies for examining the "production" side of popular culture, which traditionally has received less attention than its "consumption" counterpart.
Ibsen and Fatherhood
Authors: Lorentzen Jørgen
Published: February 2007

Fatherhood is a pervasive motif throughout the works of the Norwegian play writer Henrik Ibsen. The article "Ibsen and Fatherhood" is exploring the meaning of fatherhood in Ibsen's works with a special attention to the The Wild Duck. This play present three different forms of fatherhood: the patriarchal father, the fallen father, and the loving, but helpless father. They are significant forms of fatherhood in Ibsen's drama that correspond to actual father roles in Ibsen's time. One key aspect of Ibsen's dramas is the manner in which he weaves together these father roles. He does not separate them as three distinct forms of fatherhood, but instead demonstrates how they are interconnected through relationships, dissolutions and continuity/discontinuity.
Notes Toward a Theory of Nostalgia: Childhood and the Evocation of the Past in Two European "Heritage" Films
Authors: Muller Adam
Published: February 2007

This essay centers on the moral and socio-political dimensions of the European colonial experience as represented in its historical aspect in two so-called "heritage" films, Claire Denis' Chocolat (France, 1988) and Caroline Link's Nowhere in Africa (Germany, 2002). The real weight of this argument, however, falls on the specification of nostalgia, on accounting for its conceptual history and diagnosing its somatic effects in these works and elsewhere in literature, history, philosophy, and film. Contra Emmanuel Kant, Linda Hutcheon, Svetlana Boym, and others, nostalgia is here understood as comprised of a unique combination of utopianism, "temporal ambivalence," and conduciveness to translation. The operation and interaction of these constitutive properties is then explored alongside a nuanced reading of the beliefs, desires, and actions of France and Regina, the two girl protagonists at the narrative and moral-philosophical centers of, respectively, Denis's and Link's films.
Animal, Magnetism, Theatricality in Ibsen's The Wild Duck
Authors: Price Rachel
Published: February 2007

This article contends that it is necessary to go beyond the reductionism of certain investments in Ibsen criticism—either feminism or theater history?to perceive that in The Wild Duck it is through his treatment of the animal that Ibsen is able to address, with elegant economy, both an ethics of alterity and aesthetic concerns with theatricality and mediation. Ibsen achieves this through an exploration of the ways that different forms of mediation?theatrical, technological, intersubjective, and occult—all pivot about the same aesthetic questions that plague discussions of animality. In so doing, The Wild Duck also critiques period notions of "the human."
The Black Arts Movement and the Genealogy of Multimedia
Authors: Punday Daniel
Published: February 2007

The American Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 70s used experience as a critical term by which to challenge existing paradigms of literary value. This essay examines Amiri Baraka's history of Blues as a model for how the Black Arts Movement also links experience and media. It then applies that model to his poetry, as well as other Black Arts Movement work, including the writing of Gwendolyn Brooks. It concludes that the Black Arts Movement's definition of "multimedia" is not concerned with laying claim to the fullness of experience but instead of guarding against the evacuation of experience by institutional and technical expertise.
What Is Mental About Mental Disorder?
Authors: Brülde Bengt , Radovic Filip
Published: February 2007

The recent discussion of the concept of mental disorder has focused on what makes a mental disorder a disorder. A question that has received less attention is what makes a mental disorder mental rather than somatic. We examine three views on this issue—namely, the internal cause view, the symptom view, and the pluralist view—and assess to what extent these accounts are plausible. In connection with this, three strategies that have been used to pinpoint the mental in psychiatry are identified, namely negative characterizations (the mental as the nonsomatic), exemplification of paradigmatic mental features, and an appeal to intentional content. We also examine different versions of nihilism, the view that the distinction between mental and somatic disorder is ill founded. Finally, it is observed that the discussion of what makes a mental disorder mental has largely been unaffected by conceptions of the mental in the philosophy of mind.
Reasons and Selves: Two Accounts of Responsibility in Theory and Practice
Authors: Cartwright Will
Published: February 2007

This essay seeks to illuminate both the theory and practice of holding people responsible. It investigates two leading accounts of responsibility, examining some of their implications and certain difficulties that they face. It tests the two accounts by applying them to an illustrative example, which demonstrates how the questions that are decisive in judging an agent's responsibility are notably different on the two accounts. Although both views are variously illuminating, they each face difficulties and arguably depend on, or foster, fictions.
Rationalizing Technical Work: Visions and Realities of the "Systematic Drawing Office" in Sweden, 1890-1940
Authors: Berner Boel
Published: February 2007

This article discusses the efforts within the Swedish engineering industry in the early decades of the twentieth century to rationalize the work of producing drawings and designs. The aim was to create a "systematic drawing office," with efficient internal organization and practices, that would play a leading role in guiding production on the shop floor. Modernizing managers and engineers were inspired by US examples; German contacts and collaboration were also important. The article discusses changes in the everyday work practices of designers and draftsmen, with a special focus on their technical and conceptual tools of the trade. It also traces the resistances and contradictions involved when managers tried to systematize the messy practices of drawing office work, both within the drawing office itself and in relation to workers on the shop floor. Thus, it gives a picture of how early twentieth-century visions of industrial modernization were (and were not) translated into everyday realities of the workplace.
The Greenwood Technographies: Life Stories of Technologies
Authors: Cutcliffe Stephen H
Published: February 2007

This piece is an essay review of a fourteen-volume series of "Technolographies," or "Life Stories" of important artifacts. These accessible histories fall into three major categories—communication, transportation, and military technologies. Each study attempts to balance the technical with the societal, but individual volumes vary in their orientation from the internal to the contextual. The series does a nice job in reaching out to its intended educational and general readership audience.
How the World's Most Underdeveloped Nations Get the World's Most Dangerous Weapons
Authors: Forden Geoffrey E
Published: February 2007

There is an increasing feeling that current arms control regimes are somehow failing. If we are to improve these nonproliferation measures, we need to examine how states acquire weapons of mass destruction in today's environment where technological know-how is diffusing around the world. This essay looks for commonalities between how developing states, such as Iraq and Libya, have produced a wide spectrum of WMD and what the most important factors were in either their success or failure. The surprising result is that clandestine networks, made famous by the renegade Pakistani scientist A. Q. Khan, play major roles in the proliferation of biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons, by selling complete production facilities. We also find that a major determinant of success is how much training shop-floor workers receive. Both of these are bad news for nonproliferation regimes in a world where technology and know-how are quickly spreading.
Industrial Chemistry and its Changing Patrons at the University of Liverpool, 1926-1951
Authors: Horrocks Sally M
Published: February 2007

This paper examines how the orientation of British universities to national problems during and immediately after World War II impacted their existing networks of local support. It draws on a range of archival material to examine how state support both reshaped the links between an individual university department and its existing industrial sponsors and destabilized its position within the university. The Department of Industrial Chemistry at the University of Liverpool is the focus of this study, which begins by outlining the department's research program and its relationship to the industrial funding it received. State support for research and its impact on both the nature of research and the links that were subsequently developed with industry are then considered. The conclusion examines how the nationalization of the university undermined the position of industrial chemistry within it and compares these developments with the much more extensively documented case of the United States.
Taylorism Up Close and Personal: Hugh G. Aitken's Taylorism at Watertown Arsenal
Authors: Kanigel Robert
Published: February 2007

In "Taylorism Up Close and Personal," Robert Kanigel contributes to Technology and Culture's ongoing series of reviews of classics of the history of technology literature. In it he reconsiders Hugh G. Aitken's Taylorism at Watertown Arsenal, originally published in 1960 and reissued in 1985 under the title Scientific Management in Action. Aitken's book explored a 1911 strike at Watertown Arsenal outside Boston that represented a protest against time-study techniques used by Frederick Winslow Taylor and his supporters and that were a central feature of his system of "scientific management." Kanigel offers a brief overview of Aitken's book, which he sees as offering a needed corrective to the rhetorical posturing that often surrounds Taylorism. He suggests that Aitken's success issued from the expert way in which he framed his account, to his diligence in working through the extensive source materials left over from the Watertown strike, and to Aitken's "openness to every sort of person, every habit of mind." In Aitken's ability to craft an account accessible to readers outside his own discipline, Kanigel sees high-order "popularization" at work.
George Eastman's Modern Stone-Age Family: Snapshot Photography and the Brownie
Authors: Olivier M. (Marc)
Published: February 2007

In 1900, George Eastman brought snapshot photography to the masses with the introduction of the $1 Brownie camera. Borrowing the name and likeness of the folkloric creatures popularized (or instrumentalized) by Palmer Cox, Eastman conflates folklore and technology. He allies his product with an enchanted world, and creates a magical tale of origins for the little box camera. This essay analyzes the advertising campaign that first mass-marketed modern snapshot photographing as a form of folk narrative.
Opening the Big Box
Authors: Williams Rosalind H
Published: February 2007

Recent cultural evidence from a popular film (Matrix Reloaded) and the contemporary "shock city" of Las Vegas discloses that our "technological age" is going beyond the control of nature to its replacement, and that it involves subconscious drives as well as conscious utilitarian ones. Such evidence suggests that history may operate differently at a time of the unprecedented dominance of human-built devices, systems, and related activities. Confronting this possibility requires a willingness to explore seriously the possibility of technological determinism, as well as that of technological indeterminism. The work of Hannah Arendt in The Human Condition suggests ways in which technological changes may be altering the historical conditions of labor, work, and action. Consequently, the Society for the History of Technology is not just adding another subfield to historical studies, but is making the stronger claim that it is redefining historical studies because the way history works is changing.
Disability Management: Key Concepts and Techniques for an Aging Workforce
Authors: Bruyère Susanne M.
Published: February 2007

The aging workforce is likely to result in increasing numbers of workers with disabilities. The US Census Bureau projects that the 45- to 54- and 55- to 64-year-old population in the United States will grow by nearly 44.2 million (17%) and 35 million (39%) in the next 10 years (US Census Bureau, 2004). By the year 2010, this group will account for nearly half (44%) of the working age population (20–64), and the number of people with disabilities between the ages of 50 and 65 will almost double (Weathers, 2006). Disability management and accommodation policies and practices readily lend themselves to addressing the challenges employers will face with an aging workforce, and the increasing prevalence of disability that these demographics bring. Proactive education about ways to maximise the productivity of an aging workforce, effective case management, and workplace accommodation can significantly contribute to maximising aging worker retention.
Market Consequences of Earnings Management in Response to Security Regulations in China*
Authors: HAW IN‐MU , QI DAQING , WU DONGHUI , WU WOODY
Published: February 2007

Under the 1996‐98 security regulations in China, the accounting rate of return on equity (ROE) has to be greater than 10 percent for three "consecutive" years for a firm to qualify for stock rights offers. Despite declining economic conditions during this period, the percentage of firms reporting ROE between 10 and 11 percent is about "three" times that for 1994‐95. This unique regulatory environment provides a natural experimental setting for the empirical assessment of earnings‐management behavior and its consequences. This study examines whether listed Chinese firms manage earnings to meet regulatory benchmarks and whether regulators and investors consider the quality of earnings in their respective regulatory and investment decisions.

On the basis of a sample of listed Chinese firms from 1996 to 1998, we observe that managers execute transactions involving below‐the‐line items and use income‐increasing accounting accruals to meet regulatory ROE targets for stock rights offerings. The firms that apply for, but fail to receive, regulatory approval manage earnings more significantly than do firms that receive approval and pair‐matched control firms. Our market study also suggests that investors differentiate the quality of earnings and put less value on earnings suspected of a greater degree of management. Overall, our results imply that the regulatory bodies and investors to some extent make rational adjustments for the quality of earnings.
Neurodevelopmental Functioning in HIV-Infected Infants and Young Children Before and After the Introduction of Protease Inhibitor–Based Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy
Authors: Lindsey Jane C. , Malee Kathleen M. , Brouwers Pim , Hughes Michael D. ,   for the PACTG 219C Study Team
Published: February 2007

OBJECTIVES. The purpose of this work was to examine the effects of HIV infection and the impact of highly active antiretroviral treatment with protease inhibitors on neurodevelopmental functioning during the first 3 years of life.

PATIENTS AND METHODS. Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Group 219/219C is a longitudinal cohort study that has enrolled HIV-infected (HIV+) and HIV-exposed but uninfected (HIV−) infants and children since 1993. Longitudinal profiles of neurodevelopmental functioning as measured by the Bayley Scales of Infant Development were compared by HIV-infection status before and after the availability of highly active antiretroviral therapy with a protease inhibitor and within infants with Bayley tests available before and after initiating protease inhibitor therapy.

RESULTS. In the pre–protease inhibitor era, mean mental and motor scores in HIV+ (n = 54) infants <1 year of age were significantly lower than those among HIV− infants (n = 221) and remained lower up to 2 years of age. After protease inhibitors became available, mean mental and motor functioning of HIV+ infants (n = 91) <1 year of age were still significantly lower than those of HIV− infants (n = 838). However, against a background of declining scores among the HIV− infants, there was evidence of limited improvement in the HIV+ infants relative to their uninfected peers. Among infants who had Bayley II evaluations before and after starting a protease inhibitor, there was a trend to improved mental and motor scores after initiation of protease inhibitor therapy.

CONCLUSIONS. The suppression of systemic viral replication and subsequent substantial improvements in survival and immunologic status brought about by highly active antiretroviral therapy have been followed by limited improvements in neurodevelopmental functioning in young children. Additional longitudinal research is needed to better understand the role of antiretroviral therapy as well as the impact of genetic and environmental factors on neurodevelopmental functioning in children affected by HIV.
Liver receptor homologue-1 regulates gonadotrope function
Authors: Zheng Weiming , Yang Jingying , Jiang Qiaorong , He Zhibin , Halvorson Lisa M
Published: February 2007

Over the past decade, substantial advances have been made in our understanding of the transcription factors which regulate gene expression in gonadotropes. One of the most important of these factors, steroidogenic factor-1 (SF-1; NR5A1) is critical for gonadotropin and GnRH-receptor expression. Interestingly, a closely related nuclear hormone receptor, liver receptor homologue-1 (LRH-1; NR5A2) has recently been detected in the anterior pituitary gland; however, its functional significance in this tissue has not been investigated. For the experiments reported here, we hypothesized that LRH-1 plays a previously unrecognized role in gonadotrope physiology. Towards this end, we first demonstrate LRH-1 mRNA and protein expression in both primary pituitary cells and gonadotrope-derived cell lines. We next show that LRH-1 stimulates promoter activity of the GnRH-receptor and gonadotropin subunit genes. Within the LHβ gene, this response appears to be mediated by DNA-binding and transactivation through previously characterized SF-1 cis-elements. To our knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating a functional role for LRH-1 in the gonadotrope population of the anterior pituitary gland.
The Influence of Words as Determinants of U.S. International and Domestic Health Policy—Part II
Authors: Elwood Thomas W.
Published: February 2007

The power of words to affect international and domestic health policy, both proposal and implementation, is analyzed. The complexity of the implication for social programs related to “allied health,” “social security,” “pandemics,” “induced abortion,” and numerous others is illustrated with colorful linguistic references. The present use of emotionally charged themes to categorize and polarize issues receives special attention in this second of a two-part series of articles.
The Creation of Virtual and Face-to-Face Learning Communities: An International Collaboration Experience
Authors: Lajoie Susanne P. , Garcia Benilde , Berdugo Gloria , MÁrquez Luis , EspÍndola Susana , Nakamura Carlos
Published: February 2007

This article examines the use of technology in higher education to support an international collaboration between 2 graduate seminars in cognition and instruction, one in Mexico and another in Canada. The culture of both seminars is described in the context of using computer mediated collaboration systems. The online collaboration between and within the 2 groups happened through the use of the communications tools available in WebCT, a Web-based course management system. The analyses reveal the discursive patterns between instructors and students in both settings, with an examination of teacher presence as it pertains to a cognitive apprenticeship perspective, with particular attention to teacher's modeling and scaffolding. We also present the nature of the student interactions in terms of the cognitive elements present in the discourse and the types of social interactions that support the community of inquiry model. Students in both seminars revealed high levels of critical thinking in the types of discussions they engaged in and the types of questions they posed to others. Differences were noted in the types of teacher modeling in the 2 seminars. These differences are explored and future directions are stated for promoting international collaborations in higher education.
Making mLEarning Work: Utilizing Mobile Technology for Active Exploration, Collaboration, Assessment, and Reflection in Higher Education
Authors: Fisher Mercedes , Baird Derek E.
Published: February 2007

The convergence of mobile technologies into student-centered learning environments requires academic institutions to design new and more effective learning, teaching, and user experience strategies. In this article we share results from an mLearning design experiment and analysis from a student survey conducted at the National College of Ireland. Quantitative data support our hypothesis that mLearning technologies can provide a platform for active learning, collaboration, and innovation in higher education. In addition, we review mobile interface and user-experience design considerations, and mLearning theory. Finally, we provide an overview of mLearning applications being developed in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Ireland including, Virtual Graffiti, BuddyBuzz, Flickr, and RAMBLE.
Death Preparation and Anxiety: A Survey in Hong Kong
Authors: Chan Timothy H. Y. , Chan Faye M. Y. , Tin Agnes F. , Chow Amy Y. M. , Chan Cecilia L. W.
Published: February 2007

This study reports the results of a survey on death preparation, death-related beliefs, and death anxiety in a Hong Kong sample. Respondents ( N = 285) recruited from the community were asked if they have prepared for them-selves a life insurance, a will, and a resting place (e.g. burial site, columbarium, etc.). Questions about their death-related cultural beliefs and anxiety were also asked. Results indicated that respondents who have thought of preparing for their own deaths but not yet acted out ( contemplators) held stronger traditional cultural beliefs about death than respondents who have either done the preparations ( planners) or never thought of the idea ( non-contemplators). Contemplators also reported higher death anxiety.

Despite limitations of the study's design, the current results suggest the beliefs in cultural taboo may play a role in the preparation for one's death.
A Randomized Trial of Motivational Interviewing and Feedback with Heavy Drinking College Students
Authors: Juarez Patricia , Walters Scott T. , Daugherty Mikyta , Radi Christopher
Published: February 2007

Motivational interviewing (MI) is a brief intervention that has been shown to reduce heavy drinking among college students. Because all college studies of MI to date have included a personalized feedback report, it remains unclear which of the components is necessary to produce behavior change. This study evaluated the separate and collective effects of MI and feedback among 122 “binge” drinking college students. Participants were randomized to: 1) MI with feedback, 2) MI without feedback, 3) Mailed feedback only, 4) MI with mailed feedback, or 5) Assessment only control. At an eight-week follow-up, all groups reduced their consumption, peak BAC, consequences, and dependence symptoms. For females, there were reductions in consequences and dependence symptoms in groups that received feedback, as compared to groups that did not receive feedback. For females, there was an effect of the feedback on consequences and dependence symptoms, but was no overall effect of MI on any outcome measure.
Do You Have the Time? Investigating Online Classroom Workload
Authors: Amiel Tel , Orey Michael
Published: February 2007

The time it takes to teach and take classes has been the subject of much speculation, but no accurate standard exists to measure the amount of time instructors and students dedicate to courses. The most common measure of workload has been the credit system. As administrators push faculty toward teaching online or adding online components to their existing classes, time commitment remains one of the strongest objections to teaching online. Characteristics of online environments (such as added flexibility) appeal to a growing number of students, elevating time management to an even more critical level. This study discusses a Web-based time log system used to measure during-course workload. The system was used in five masters-level classes over a 2-year period. It is contended that by using systems such as the one outlined herein, administrators, faculty, and students can better examine and determine the important but often neglected factor of workload.
Looming Threats to the Intimate Bond in Hospice Care? Economic and Organizational Pressures in the Case Study of a Hospice
Authors: Ward Elijah G. , Gordon Audrey K.
Published: February 2007

Hospice organizations are assailed by stiff competition, ever-rising costs, limited funding, and policy changes. Do such pressures stifle the high quality of care these organizations strive to provide? As a case-in-point, we draw from the mid-1990s accounts of caregivers at a nonprofit hospice in a Midwestern city in the United States. We maintain that economic pressures drive organizational restructuring, which then weakens working conditions and, thereby, weakens the staff-client relationship. We discuss effects upon worker behaviors, the worker-client relationship, and client care. This ethnographic case study signals the need to closely examine the threats that current economic and organizational pressures in the United States may pose to the quality of hospice care.
The Reader at Work: The Role of the Text and Text-Receiver in the Construction of the Protagonist of a Novel
Authors: Nencini Alessio
Published: February 2007

The study investigates the influence of self-concepts on the interpretation of literary texts. Following the reader's response approach (László, 1999), the fruition of a narrative can be described as a process in which the reader re-constructs the “reality” represented by the author through his/her self schemas. An Italian novel, “Sostiene Pereira” by Antonio Tabucchi, was chosen to explore the potentiality of this perspective. This novel is a short tale completely centred on the vicissitudes of the main character. First a text analysis was conducted to explore the structure of Pereira's self, revealing ten dimensions. Based on these categories, a questionnaire was constructed and administered to participants to assess their self-concepts. After reading the whole book the participants evaluated the protagonist's self on the same dimensions. Results support the expectations that Pereira's self profile nearly overlaps that of each reader, showing a shared representation of the character colored by slight individual differences.
Achieving the Cairo Conference (Icpd) Goal for Youth in Bangladesh
Authors: Rahman Laila , Rob Ubaidur , Bhuiya Ismat , Khan M. E. , Islam Md. Rafiqul
Published: February 2007

Sexual and reproductive health education is not yet formally introduced in Bangladesh without which the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo's goal to ensure young people's right to access to such information and services will remain unfulfilled. The Population Council provided technical assistance to a governmental department to pilot youth reproductive health education. Study findings from the pre- and posttests of 379 matched respondents revealed significant changes in knowledge, attitudes, and life-skills. Knowledge about long-term contraceptives and skills on negotiating safe sex improved significantly by 63% and 26%, respectively. Youths who do not consider menstruation as a disease nearly doubled, and misunderstandings about the mother's role in sex determination of a child were significantly dispelled. Decisions not to accompany friends in visiting sex workers and to use condoms, ignoring friends' disapproval, were increased over 18%. Over 98% of students reported that teachers discussed condoms, while only 12% alleged unfriendly behavior. Findings motivated the department to scale up the reproductive health curriculum.
Reminiscence and Vivid Personal Memories across Adulthood
Authors: Webster Jeffrey Dean , Gould Odette
Published: February 2007

This study examined reminiscence functions and vivid (i.e., landmark) personal memories in nine samples ranging from the teens to the nineties. Participants ( n = 198) ranging in age from 18–95 years completed the Reminiscence Functions Scale (Webster, 1997) and described a vivid personal memory which was subsequently rated for frequency of recall, emotional valence, time of occurrence, impact, and thematic content. Reminiscence results showed that older adults tend to reminiscence more for social functions while younger adults tend to reminisce more for self functions. Older adults reported vivid memories that were less intimate and less negative although adults of all ages showed the “reminiscence bump.” Significant relationships were also obtained between the content of vivid memories described and the patterns of general reminiscence behaviors.
Cognitive Tools and Mindtools for Collaborative Learning
Authors: Kirschner Paul A. , Erkens Gijsbert
Published: February 2007

When a computer-based tool or application is used to carry out a specific task in a learning situation—that is, it is used for learning—more effectively or efficiently one speaks of learning with the tool or application. When, possibly, that same tool or application is used to enhance the way a learner works and thinks, and as such has effects that reach further than the learning situation in which it is used, then one speaks of learning from the tool or application. This article concentrates on the latter. It zooms in on the use of mindtools in education—computer programs and applications that facilitate meaningful professional thinking and working—because this is the epitome of learning from ICT. Mindtools and cognitive tools help users represent what they know as they transform information into knowledge and are used to engage in, and facilitate, critical thinking and higher order learning. These tools can be as simple as email and or discussion lists and as complicated as argument mapping and visualization systems. Even more specifically, it deals with one category of such tools, namely conversation tools; tools used to create and facilitate the establishment of technology-supported discourse communities—communities of practice—where collaboration can flourish.
Heaping in Anniversary Reaction Studies: A Cautionary Note
Authors: Abel Ernest L. , Kruger Michael L.
Published: February 2007

Several studies have reported evidence that death is often associated with significant ceremonial events like holidays and birthdays, a phenomenon variously called the “anniversary reaction,” “holiday effect,” “birthday blues,” etc. This article, using data from the social security death index (SSDI), shows how evidence for this phenomenon can arise from an artifact in death records called “death heaping” in which certain dates, usually the 1st or the 15th, are systematically entered for missing data. In this study, each calendar birthday for the year 2003 in the SSDI was paired with either the 14th or 15th calendar day of death. For each pairing, there were more deaths for the 15th than the 14th. A second analysis compared the correspondence between dying on the same day of the month as one's birthday for the first 28 days of the month. A significantly greater number of birth-death combinations occurred for the 1st and 15th day of the month. These results suggest that studies of “anniversary reactions” should conduct preliminary evaluations to consider the possibility that statistically significant relationships do not arise from “death heaping.”
Successive Contrast Effects for Judgments of Abstraction in Artwork following Minimal Pre-Exposure
Authors: Specht Steven M.
Published: February 2007

A total of 69 male and female college students were recruited to participate in this study to investigate successive contrast effects in perception of “abstraction” in artwork. Artworks rated as “high,” “medium,” and “low” in abstraction were established based upon results of a pilot study. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three contrast groups (i.e., “high-medium,” “medium-medium,” and “low-medium”) and subsequently rated the same target artwork as being less “abstract” and less “complex” when it was preceded by a single “high” abstract painting than when it was preceded by a single “low” abstract painting. The target artwork was also rated as more “passive” when it was preceded by the “high” abstract painting than when it was preceded by the “medium” abstract painting. These findings are consistent with and extend previous research that has examined contrast effects in aesthetic judgments of artwork.
An Integrated Framework for Decision Making in Neurologic Physical Therapist Practice
Authors: Schenkman Margaret , Deutsch Judith E , Gill-Body Kathleen M
Published: February 2007

Decision-making frameworks are used by clinicians to guide patient management, communicate with other health care providers, and educate patients and their families. A number of frameworks have been applied to guide clinical practice, but none are comprehensive in terms of patient management. This article proposes a unifying framework for application to decision making in the management of individuals who have neurologic dysfunction. The framework integrates both enablement and disablement perspectives. The framework has the following attributes: (1) it is patient-centered, (2) it is anchored by the patient/client management model from the Guide for Physical Therapist Practice, (3) it incorporates the Hypothesis-Oriented Algorithm for Clinicians (HOAC) at every step, and (4) it proposes a systematic approach to task analysis for interpretation of movement dysfunction. This framework provides a mechanism for making clinical decisions, developing clinical hypotheses, and formulating a plan of care. Application of the framework is illustrated with a case example of an individual with neurologic dysfunction.
Locomotor Training in People With Parkinson Disease
Authors: Morris Meg E
Published: February 2007

The purpose of this article is to consider the role of the physical therapist in locomotor training for people with Parkinson disease. The ways in which disease progression, medication status, environmental conditions, individual factors, and the goals of locomotor tasks contribute to clinical decision making are explored. Using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, gait training will be considered in relation to impairments of body structure and function, activity limitations, and participation restrictions in people who are newly diagnosed through to those with end-stage disease. Based on the principles of neural adaptation and clinical research findings, practical suggestions are made on how to provide the most efficient and effective physical therapy services at different stages of Parkinson disease.
Managing a Patient's Constipation With Physical Therapy
Authors: Harrington Kendra L , Haskvitz Esther M
Published: February 2007

Background and Purpose. Constipation is a prevalent condition in the United States, with typical treatment consisting of diet modification, stool softeners, and laxatives. These interventions, however, are not always effective. The purpose of this case report is to describe the use of abdominal massage in physical therapist management for a patient with constipation. Case Description. An 85-year-old woman with constipation was referred for physical therapy following unsuccessful treatment with stool softeners. The patient was instructed in bowel management as well as a daily, 10-minute home abdominal massage program. Outcomes. Upon re-examination, the patient reported a return of normal bowel frequency and function without the need to strain or use digital evacuation. Discussion. Physical therapy incorporating abdominal massage appeared to be helpful in resolving this patient's constipation. Unlike medical management of constipation, no known side effects have been identified with abdominal massage. [Harrington KL, Haskvitz EM. Managing a patient's constipation with physical therapy. Phys Ther. 2006;86:1511–1519.]
Performance Measures Provide Assessments of Pain and Function in People With Advanced Osteoarthritis of the Hip or Knee
Authors: Stratford Paul W , Kennedy Deborah M , Woodhouse Linda J
Published: February 2007

Background and Purpose. Pain and physical function are core outcome measures for people with osteoarthritis, and self-report questionnaires have been the preferred assessment method. There is evidence suggestingthat self-reports of physical function represent what people experience when performing activities rather than their ability to perform activities. The purpose of this study was to examine the factorial validity of performance-specific assessments of pain and function. Subjects. The sample consisted of 177 participants who had osteoarthritis of the hip (n=81) or knee(n=96) and who were awaiting total joint arthroplasty. Methods. Through a cross-sectional design, participants performed 4 performance activities (self-paced walk test, stair test, Timed “Up & Go” Test, and Six-Minute Walk Test). Outcomes were time or distance (function) and pain ratings obtained immediately after each activity. The authors conceptualized 2 correlated factors, with pain items loading uniquely on 1 factor and functional items loading on the second factor, and uncorrelated error terms. Confirmatory factor analysis was applied. Results. Initial analysis yielded results consistent with the conceptualized model in this study with the exception of a nonzero correlation between the stair pain and function error terms. Dropping the stair test provided results consistent with the conceptualized model. Discussion and Conclusion. Given the limitations of self-report alone as a method of obtaining reasonably distinct assessments of pain and function, the extent to which performance-specific assessments could accomplish this goal was examined in this study. It was found that collectively the walk test, Timed “Up & Go” Test, and Six-Minute Walk Test yielded 2 factors consistent with the health concepts of pain and function. The authors believe that the application of these tests may provide clinicians and clinical researchers with more distinct impressions of pain and function that complement information from self-report measures.
The Influence of Otolith Dysfunction on the Clinical Presentation of People With a Peripheral Vestibular Disorder
Authors: Murray Kate J , Hill Keith D , Phillips Bev , Waterston John
Published: February 2007

Background and Purpose

Traditional vestibular function testing has measured horizontal semicircular canal function only. Otolith function tests have recently been developed, but their clinical significance has not been determined. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of otolith dysfunction on the clinical presentation of individuals with a peripheral vestibular disorder.

Subjects and Methods

Twenty-one subjects with loss of horizontal semicircular canal function only and 37 subjects with combined loss of horizontal semicircular canal and otolith organ function were recruited. All subjects received a comprehensive clinical assessment, including self-report questionnaires and measures of balance performance.

Results

No significant differences were identified between subjects with or without otolith dysfunction with respect to symptom severity, self-perceived handicap, functional limitations, or balance performance.

Discussion and Conclusion

Otolith dysfunction does not significantly influence the clinical presentation of individuals with a peripheral vestibular disorder. Other factors, including symptom severity, may be more influential.
Aquatic Physical Therapy for Hip and Knee Osteoarthritis: Results of a Single-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Hinman Rana S , Heywood Sophie E , Day Anthony R
Published: February 2007

Background and Purpose

Aquatic physical therapy is frequently used in the management of patients with hip and knee osteoarthritis (OA), yet there is little research establishing its efficacy for this population. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of aquatic physical therapy on hip or knee OA.

Subjects

A total of 71 volunteers with symptomatic hip OA or knee OA participated in this study.

Methods

The study was designed as a randomized controlled trial in which participants randomly received 6 weeks of aquatic physical therapy or no aquatic physical therapy. Outcome measures included pain, physical function, physical activity levels, quality of life, and muscle strength.

Results

The intervention resulted in less pain and joint stiffness and greater physical function, quality of life, and hip muscle strength. Totals of 72% and 75% of participants reported improvements in pain and function, respectively, compared with only 17% (each) of control participants. Benefits were maintained 6 weeks after the completion of physical therapy, with 84% of participants continuing independently.

Discussion and Conclusion

Compared with no intervention, a 6-week program of aquatic physical therapy resulted in significantly less pain and improved physical function, strength, and quality of life. It is unclear whether the benefits were attributable to intervention effects or a placebo response.
Performance of Physical Activities by Adolescents With Cerebral Palsy
Authors: Palisano Robert J , Copeland Wendy P , Galuppi Barbara E
Published: February 2007

Background and Purpose

Mobility and self-care are important considerations for successful transition of adolescents with cerebral palsy to adulthood. The purpose of this study was to characterize performance of physical activities from the perspective of adolescents themselves.

Subjects

The subjects were 156 adolescents with cerebral palsy, 11.6 to 17.7 years of age.

Methods

A therapist completed the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS). Adolescents completed the Activities Scale for Kids–Performance Version (ASKp) twice over a 1-year period.

Results

A repeated-measures analysis of variance indicated a main effect for GMFCS level. The main effect for time and the GMFCS level × time interaction were not significant. Post hoc comparisons indicated that ASKp scores differed among all GMFCS levels.

Discussion and Conclusion

Performance of physical activities by adolescents with cerebral palsy differed based on GMFCS level and did not change over 1 year. The ASKp scores of adolescents in levels II through V suggest the need for physical assistance at times throughout the day. The results have implications for the role of the physical therapist in transition planning.
Prospective Gait Analysis in Patients with First Metatarsophalangeal Joint Arthrodesis for Hallux Rigidus
Authors: Brodsky James W. , Baum Brian S. , Pollo Fabian E. , Mehta Hemant
Published: February 2007

Background: Arthrodesis of the first metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint is a common procedure with a proven long-term success rate. However, there is limited scientific information on its functional results. There is little data in the literature about changes in gait parameters after first MTP joint arthrodesis. The purpose of this study was to objectively evaluate the effects of first MTP joint arthrodesis on gait. Methods: Twenty-three patients with symptomatic hallux rigidus refractory to nonoperative treatment were treated with first MTP joint arthrodesis. A prospective gait analysis study was performed on all patients at an average of 8.6 days before surgery and then again at least 1 year postoperatively. Preoperative and postoperative data from the patients were compared to determine differences in clinically relevant temporal-spatial, kinematic, and kinetic parameters of gait. Results: There were three statistically significant changes in gait: increases in maximal ankle push-off power and single-limb support time on the involved extremity, and a decrease in step width. Conclusions: First MTP joint arthrodesis produces objective improvement in propulsive power, weightbearing function of the foot, and stability during gait.