bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Isolation distress and maternal comfort responses of two‐week‐old rat pups reared in social isolation
Authors: Hofer Myron A. , Shair Harry N. , Murowchick Elise
Published: January 2005

In 2‐week‐old rats, isolation from social companions in an unfamiliar place elicits ultrasonic vocalization rearing and locomotor behavior. These responses are prevented and close body contact is maintained if littermates or the dam are present. It has generally been believed that such isolation distress and comfort responses develop as a result of prior social experience. We reared pups in isolation from the third postnatal day and found essentially normal responses. A second experiment replicated and extended these results to pups reared in isolation from the day of birth. Isolation‐reared pups did have higher levels of ultrasonic vocalization than their normally reared littermates, lower body weight, and lower post‐test temperatures. We conclude that a lenghthy period of close body contact and frequent social interactions with conspecifics are not necessary for the development of attachment responses in this species.
Effects of undernutrition and handling during suckling on shuttle avoidance and footshock escape behavior and on plasma glucose levels of young rats
Authors: Rocha Joao B. T. , Vendite Deusa
Published: January 2005

The present report examined the effects of undernutrition and handling on shuttle and footshock escape avoidance behavior of female rats. Rats were undernourished by feeding their dams a 7% casein diet from birth until 23 days of life. During this period rats were separated from their dams for 4 to 10 min. On days 23 and 24 after delivery, young rats were subjected to sessions in a two‐way shuttle avoidance task. The results demonstrated that nonstimulated and stimulated undernourished and stimulated well‐nourished rats escape faster than nonstimulated well‐nourished animals from footshock during the first session of shuttle avoidance. Further, undernutrition interacted with early stimulation, disrupting the shuttle avoidance behavior of female rats. These results suggest that both undernutrition and early handling can change the footshock behavior of young rats. Undernourished rats presented lower basal glucose levels than well‐nourished animals, but responded to shuttle avoidance testing in the same way as do normal rats, increasing the glucose levels.
Maternal behavior variations and adaptations, and pup development within litters of various sizes in Wistar rat
Authors: Deviterne Dominique , Desor Didier , Krafft Bertrand
Published: January 2005

Variations of two maternal behavior components (time spent with litter and rapidity of pup retrieving) as well as certain physical and developmental characteristics of pups (weight, relative weight gain, and neuromotor maturation) in rats were simultaneously studied in 29 various‐sized litters in which interindividual variations were not experimentally amplified. Results showed mothers' behavioral adaptations to littes' characteristics (size and weight). Time spent with young was linked to litter size, whereas rapidity of pup retrieving was related to the pups' physical characteristic. Beyond these adaptive variabilities, residual variations subsisted between mothers. These variations were determinant for differences in pup development for only one component: the time that mothers spent with their litters, while pup retrieving component variations did not have any effect.
Inhibition of infant glucocorticoid stress response: Specific role of maternal cues
Authors: Stanton Mark E. , Levine Seymour
Published: January 2005

Previous work from this laboratory has shown that passive contact with ananesthetized lactating dam eliminates the corticosteroid stress response to novelty in 12‐, 16‐, and 20‐day‐old rat pups. In the present study, we further examined some of the sensory and developmental aspects of this phenomenon. In two experiments, we asked whether inhibition of the corticosteroid stress response is related exclusively to contact with a maternal stimulus as opposed to other social stimuli. Experiment I compared the effectiveness of contact with an anesthetized dam vs. an anesthetized adult male rat. At 12 and 16 days of age, contact with an adult male was some what effective in reducing stress responsiveness, whereas at 20 days, contact with an adult male was entirely ineffective. At all ages, contact with an anesthetized dam was an effective inhibitor of the stress response. Experiment II compared the relative effectiveness of contact with an anesthetized dam vs. an anesthetized pup was entirely ineffective in inhibiting the glucocorticoid stress response. In Experiment III, the effect of maternal contact was assessed during a period of development when the biological, and presumably social, significance of the lactating‐dam stimulus is changing. In this study, 20‐, 24‐, and 28‐day‐old rat pups revealed a progressive decrement in the ability of maternal contact to inhibit stress responsiveness. These findings replicate and extend our previous ones by showing that maternal stimuli play a special role in the modulation of pituitary‐adrenal activity during development.
Control of intake by human‐milk‐fed infants: Relationships between feeding size and interval
Authors: Matheny R. J. , Birch L. L. , Picciano M. F.
Published: January 2005

Diurnal feeding behavior of 24 exclusively breast‐fed infants was examined at 2, 4, 6, 8, and 12 weeks to assess whether milk intake at a feeding was related to previous (preprandial) or subsequent (postprandial) intervals between feedings. Amount of human milk consumed per feeding and intervals between feedings were measured over a 72‐hr period. Correlation analyses revealed that volume of milk ingested at a feeding (meal size) was positively related to preprandial interval at all 5 ages (r =0.39–0.47, p < 0.0001). Meal size was likewise related, but not as strongly, to postprandial interval at 4 of the 5 time points examined (r=0.17–0.25, p < 0.01). Results of the correlational analyses revealed clear, consistent preprandial correlations, providing evidence for a reactive type feeding pattern among the solely breast‐fed infants. Postprandial correlations, possibly reflect and anticipatory feeding pattern, were present but remained consistently low over the 3 months examined, providing little evidence of Aa developmental shift. This study provides a preliminary foundation for future fongitudinal studies that address the regulation of food intake among infants.
Proximity measures of social play in the laboratory rat
Authors: Hole Graham
Published: January 2005

Litters of laboratory rats (Rattus norvegicus) were filmed between 21 to 60 days of age, and data on 700 social play bouts obtained. These were analyzed for information on how play bouts ended and on the spatial relationship between the players and their physical environment.

The results suggest that social play in this species (a) does not appear to be a covert means of securing priority of access to resources such as food, females, or territory; and (b) does not appear to represent practice for behaving in the contexts within which “serious” adult aggression occurs (e.g., practicing being “territorial,” etc.).

Players showed a strong preference for playing close to cover and away from exposed areas; if this is also true for wild rats, it would minimize the potential costs of play in terms of increased conspicuity to predators.
Time‐dependent effects of peer separation on lymphocyte proliferation responses in juvenile squirrel monkeys
Authors: Friedman Elliot M. , Coe Christopher L. , Ershler William B.
Published: January 2005

This study evaluated the immunological, hormonal, and behavioral responses of juvenile squirrel monkeys to repeated social separations of varying length. Following a 3‐hr separation, lymphocyte responses to stimulation with the mitogen concanavalin A (Con A) declined significantly, and these alterations were sustained after a 24‐hr separation period. The responses to Con A and to a second mitogen, phytohemagglutinin (PHA), were suppressed after 2 days. At the end of a 7‐day separation period, immune responses were not significantly different from basal values. Plasma cortisol levels were elevated above basal levels in all animals after the 3‐hr, 24‐hr, and 2‐day separations, but were not elevated after the 7‐day separation. While we observed no statistivally significant changes in locomotor activity or calling behavior during any of the separations, the monkeys tended to be most active and to call most immediately following separation. Our findings concur with earlier reports indicating that social strressors can influence lymphocyte proliferation in nonhuman primates and that certain cell types might be differentially sensitive to stress, but also indicate that these influences are transient.
A descriptive analysis of the postnatal development of contact‐righting in rats (Rattus norvegicus)
Authors: Pellis Vivien C. , Pellis Sergio M. , Teitelbaum Philip
Published: January 2005

The development of contact‐righting by rats was studied from birth to weaning. Such righting involved both vestibular and tactile forms, which matured at different rates. At birth, only righting triggered by snout contact with the ground (i.e., trigeminal righting) had the adult form of cephalocaudal axial rotation in which the limbs flex to accommodate placement on the ground while the body is rotated to prone. Vestibularly triggerd righting from the supine position initially only activated head and neck rotation, and failed to recruit the shoulders and pelvis to rotate to prone. In the fully adult form, achieved by about 12 days, vestibularly triggerd righting activated shoulder‐led roration which passively carried the head and neck to prone, and then recruited the pelvis to rotate to prone. Asymmetrical contact of the body surface with the ground triggered both body‐on‐head (forequarter‐led) and body‐on‐body (hindquarter‐led) forms of righting. At birth, both involved limb righting movements (foreleg and hindleg, respectively), without rotation of the axial musculature: For both, the fully mature forms involved axial rotation by the shoulders and pelvis, respectively. In the adult, the body‐on‐body form of righting only occurs when the head is restrained by the experimenter; whereas in the infant it also occurs when the head is unrestrained, and thus simultaneously with those forms of righting which involve the forequarters. The simultaneous occurrence and differential rate of maturation of these forms of righting produce complex, seemingly bizarre, patterns of righting during development, which are unlike those present in adults. This study clearly shows that the postnatal development of contactrighting involves a complex interaction of righting subsystems.
Sex steroids at birth: Genetic and environmental variation and covariation
Authors: Sakai Laura M. , Baker Laura A. , Jacklin Carol Nagy , Shulman Ira
Published: January 2005

Three sex‐steroids (estradiol, progesterone, & testosterone) were assayed from the umbilical cord blood of 58 same‐sex twin pairs in an investigation of the effects of sex, as well as genetic and environmental factors, on neonatal hormone levels. Although significant mean differences were found between boys and girls for both testosterone and progesterone, sex appeared to account for very little of the total variation for any of the hormones. Results showed that genetic influences significantly affected within‐sex variation in both estradiol and progesterone levels, while variations in the intrauterine (shared twin) environment accounted primarily for differences in levels of testosterone. Moderate correlations were also found among the three hormones. Multivariate biometrical analyses revealed these relationships to be explained by an underlying general factor of nonshared environmental influences affecting all three hormones. Genetic factors appeared to be specific to each hormone rather than correlated across hormones. These results suggest not only that genes are operating at this early age, but also that maternal and other prenatal factors (e.g., placental effects, uterine position) have a significant role in variations of sex‐steroids and possibly on later behaviors.
Neonatal 6‐OHDA lesions and rearing in complex environments: Regional effects on adult brain 14C‐2‐deoxyglucose uptake revealed by exposure to novel stimulation
Authors: Nobrega José N. , Saari Matti J. , Armstrong John N. , Reed Trudy
Published: January 2005

Behavioral and neuromorphological data have suggested at least a partial interaction between the effects of norepinephrine‐depleting neonatal 6‐OHDA lesions and the effects of rearing in enriched environments. The present study examined the impact of both of these early manipulations upon regional brain uptake of 14C‐2‐deoxyglucose (14C‐2DG) in adulthood. Newborn rats received 6‐OHDA (50 mg/kg s.c.) or vehicle and, after weaning at 25 days, were reared in isolated versus enriched conditions. Regional brain 14C‐2DG uptake was then examined at 70–80 days of age—either in the home cage or while animals were being exposed to novel, presumably arousing, stimulation. Ninety‐seven brain regions were examined in eight separate groups. Results indicated that (1) Under baseline conditions, neither neonatal 6‐OHDA nor differential rearing conditions produced widespread alterations in regional brain 14C‐2DG uptake profiles. An overall enrichment effect was on only five brain areas, with rats reared in enriched environments showing lower levels of 14C‐2DG uptake (−20% to −30%) than isolated rats. Neonatai 6‐OHDA produced no main effect on 14C‐2DG uptake in any brain region. (2) In contrast, when 14C‐2DG uptake was assessed during exposure to a novel environment, five brain areas showed differential 14C‐2DG uptake in 6‐OHDA‐treated rats, and 20 brain areas showed differential uptake in rats reared in enriched conditions. (3) No significant interaction effect on brain regional 14C‐2DG uptake was observed between neonatal 6‐OHDA and environmental complexity factors. These results are consistent with the notion that enduring effects of rearing and early 6‐OHDA treatment may, independently, relate to a general reactivity factor. They also indicate that some effects of early neurochemical injury and subsequent experiential factors may not be apparent under normal resting conditions, but only become evident in the presence of appropriate “activating” stimulation. © 1992 Wiley & sons. Inc.
Mobile surrogate mothers and the development of exploratory behavior and radius of action in infant long‐tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis)
Authors: Duijghuisen John A. H. , Timmermans Paul J. A. , Vochteloo Johan D. , Vossen Jo M. H.
Published: January 2005

One of the effects of rearing young monkeys on surrogate mothers is a delay in the development of exploratory behavior. An important question is which difference between mother and surrogate mother caused this delay. We hypothesized that the mothers' carrying the infant through the environment promotes the development of exploratory behavior and the radius of action of infant macaques. Using surrogate mothers, we reared 9 infants in a peer group with immobile surrogates and 10 infants in another peer group with mobile surrogates.

During the 3rd to the 6th month, we observed each infant for 30 min weekly, collecting observational data on several behavioral parameters and on time spent in several areas in the cage. Results showed that exploratory behavior and an increase in radius of action developed more rapidly in the mobile‐reared infants. © 1992 Wiley & sons. Inc.
Oral capture and grasping of an artificial nipple by rat fetuses
Authors: Robinson Scott R. , Hoeltzel Thomas C. M. , Cooke Kristin M. , Umphress Sarah M. , Smotherman William P. , Murrish David E.
Published: January 2005

Although born blind and deaf, newborn rats exhibit a remarkable capacity to recognize and gain access to the nipples of the lactating mother. However, it is well‐known that full‐term rat neonates will not attach to an artificial nipple. In the present study, an artificial nipple fashioned from soft vinyl was presented to rat fetuses from E17‐E21 of gestation. Fetuses showed side‐to‐side head movements that resulted in oral capture of the nipple on E18 and exhibited a direct nipple‐grasping response from E19 through term. Frame‐by‐frame analysis of videotape records of E21 rat fetuses revealed that tactile contact with the artificial nipple elicited mouthing, licking directed at the nipple, forelimb treadling, and grasping of the nipple. Fetuses also exhibited components of aversive behavior, including facial wiping and head turning, that appeared to terninate oral contact with the nipple. Morphine pretreatment reduced the expression of aversive responses and promoted licking and grasping of the artificial nipple. In addition to documenting the prenatal ontogeny of this important neonatal behavior, these findings imply a role for endogenous opioids in the newborn rat's first suckling episode. © 1992 Wiley & sons. Inc.
Reactivation of nonassociative memory
Authors: Richardson Rick , Wang Peiyin , Campbell Byron A.
Published: January 2005

The orienting response to an auditory stimulus, as measured by a decrease in heart rate, habituates rapidly, and at the same rate in preweanling and adult rats. Although adult rats retain this nonassociative memory for at least 7 days, prewealing rats show extremely rapid forgetting. In the preweanling, forgetting of this nonassociative memory appears to be complete after just 24 hr (Richardson & Campbell, 1991b). The results of several experiments in the present study with preweanling rats demonstrated that this type of nonassociative memory could be reactivated by presenting a fractional component of the original eliciting stimulus just prior to testing. The effectiveness of the reactivation treatment was critically dependent upon both the number of reactivating stimuli presented and the duration of those stimuli. Reactivation was also found to be stimulus‐specific in that presentation of an auditory stimulus qualitatively different from that used in training (white noise instead of a pure tone) did not reactivate the memory. Control groups in each experiment demonstrated that the reactivation treatment facilitated retrieval of the prior nonassociative memory and did not produce new learning. A possible process through which nonassociative memories can be reactivated is discussed. © 1993 Johan Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Salt appetite consequent on sodium depletion in the suckling rat pup
Authors: Leshem Micah , Langberg Joely , Epstein Alan N.
Published: January 2005

The ontogeny of the behavioral ability to compensate for sodium deficit was studied in the rat. The experiments showed that: (1) Before weaning age, sodium‐depleted pups will increase their avidity for 3% NaCl solution; (2) the ability to select and drink a salt solution in response to a sodium deficit continues to evolve between 17–24 days of age, and that pups at these ages will modify their intake of salt and water as do adult rats when rectifiying plasma osmolality; (3) The increased appetite for sodium is evident even when depleted preweanlings are dehydrated and provided with solid NaCl tablets to lick, showing that sodium appetite and hydrational status are already dissociated at this age; and finally, (4) sodium depletion first induces an increase in intake of orally infused 3% NaCl solution in 12‐day‐old pups. The picture of the development of salt appetite in the suckling rat that these findings present is of a precocious competence to meet a challenge to sodium homeostasis. In this respect salt appetite emerges in parallel to the other ingestive behaviors © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Hemispheric specialization in infant chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): Evidence for a relation with gender and arousal
Authors: Hopkins William D. , Bard Kim A.
Published: January 2005

The current study extends previous documentation of behavioral asymmetries in hand‐to‐mouth, self‐consoling behaviors of infant chimpanzees. The underlying source of lateralized hand‐to‐mouth, self‐calming behavior was investigated by comparing individual differences in neonatal arousal levels, regulatory ability, and motor performance with individual differences in the degree of laterality at 3 months. Asymmetrical hand‐to‐mouth, self‐calming behaviors at 3 months of age were significantly related to general arousal at 2 days of age (i.e., the Range of State cluster scores measured by the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale). Simply stated, chimpanzees with a right‐hand bias in hand‐to‐mouth behavior exhibited lower arousal at 2 days of age compared with nonright‐handed individuals. The only item of the Range of State cluster to distinguish subjects was irritability: Right‐handed subjects were less irritable. Previously, a trend was reported with respect to sex differences in the laterality of hand‐to‐mouth behavior. With the greater number of subjects in the present study, we found that females exhibited a significantly greater right‐hand bias for hand‐to‐mouth behaviors (12 of 13) than did males (9 of 15). We conclude that neonatal arousability, and not regulatory capacity or motor performance, predicts the degree of laterality found in hand‐to‐mouth, self‐calming behaviors in 3‐month‐old chimpanzees. These data are discussed from the standpoint of early pari‐parturitional or intrauterine factors affecting lateralized development. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Experience with milk and an artificial nipple promotes conditioned opioid activity in the rat fetus
Authors: Robinson Scott R. , Arnold H. Moore , Spear Norman E. , Smotherman William P.
Published: January 2005

Milk promotes activity in the kappa opioid system of the rat fetus and reduced responsiveness in a behavioral bioassay of cutaneous sensitivity. In the study, E20 rat fetuses were presented with an artificial nipple (CS) and intraoral infusions of milk (US) to condition opioid activity. Paired presentations of the CS and US resulted in conditioned changes in perioral cutaneous sensitivity, which was not evident in groups exposed to the CS alone, US alone, or explicitly unpaired presentations of US and CS. Selective opioid antagonists administered between conditioning and testing revealed that reexposure to the nipple resulted in activation of the endogenous opiod system. The nipple promoted activity at mu, not kappa, opioid receptos. Conditioned opioid activity to an artificial nipple in the fetus, which lacks experience with milk or other suckling stimuli, implies that conditioned changes in the endogeneous opioid system of the newborn rat may develop quickly during the first suckling episodes. © John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Vocalizations of rhesus (Macaca mulatta) and Japanese (M. Fuscata) macaques cross‐fostered between species show evidence of only limited modification
Authors: Owren Michael J. , Dieter Jacquelyn A. , Seyfarth Robert M. , Cheney Dorothy L.
Published: January 2005

Two rhesus and two Japanese macaque infants were cross‐fostered between species in order to study the effects of auditory experience on vocal development. Both the cross‐fostered and normally raised control subjects were observed over the first 2 years of life and their vocalizations were tape‐recorded. We classified 8053 calls by ear, placed each call in one of six acoustic categories, and calculated the rates at which different call‐types were used in different social contexts. Species differences were found in the use of “coo” and “gruff” vocalizations among control subjects. Japanese macaques invariably produced coos almost exclusively. In contrast, rhesus macaques produced a mixture of coos and gruffs and showed considerable interindividual variation in the relative use of one call type or the other. Cross‐fostered Japanese macaques adhered to their species‐typical behavior, rarely using gruffs. Cross‐fostered rhesus subjects also exhibited species‐typical behavior in many contexts, but in some situations produced coos and gruffs at rates that were intermediate between those shown by normally raised animals of the two species. This outcome suggests that environmentally mediated modification of vocal behavior may have occured, but that the resulting changes were quite limited. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Susceptibility of artificially reared rat pups to social influences on food choice
Authors: Galef Bennett G. , Smith Michael A.
Published: January 2005

Using techniques developed by Hall (1975) and modified by Diaz (1991), we maintained rat pups in total social isolation from the time they were 2 or 3 days of age until they were 42 days old. We found that rat pups reared in social isolation exhibited susceptibility to social enhancement of food preference indistinguishable from that exhibited by normally reared rat pups. These data suggest that development of a tendency to use conspecifics as sources of information about what foods to eat does not depend upon previous experience either of interaction with conspecifics or of feeding in social situations.© 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
The development of head position preference in preterm infants beyond term age
Authors: Geerdink Julia J. , Hopkins Brian , Hoeksma Jan B.
Published: January 2005

Healthy full‐term infants show a developmental trend in head position from an initial right‐sided preference to one with the head in midline around the age of 12 weeks. We studied the effects of intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) and the degree of prematurity on both aspects of development from 35 weeks postmenstrual age to 18 weeks corrected age in 35 preterm infants without overt neurological abnormalities and whose gestational ages ranged from 27 to 34 weeks. Our data reveal that, during the preterm period, infants born after pregnancies of 32 weeks or less showed a lack of right‐sided preferences for head turning after release from midline but not for the subsequent maintenance of a position. IUGR did not seem to affect either preference. After term age a right‐sided preference diminished while a head midline position increased. The latter was not significantly delayed in relation to birth before 32 weeks gestation or IUGR. However, when infants were classified on the basis of neurological differences as reflected in a (mildly) abnormal movement quality, a delay in the attainment of a midline posture was observed, which suggests it is related to a suboptimal neurological condition. This delay, however, was also accounted for by the side‐to‐side flattening of the skull.© 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Prenatal exposure to cocaine: Effects on aggression in sprague‐dawley rats
Authors: Johns Josephine M. , Means Michael J. , Woodley Bass E. , Means Larry W. , Zimmerman Laura I. , McMillen Brian A.
Published: January 2005

Social/aggressive behavior in adult rat offspring (beginning at postnatal Day 180) prenatally exposed to saline, cocaine, or amfonelic acid (AFA) was examined. Pregnant rats received injections of 15 mg/kg of cocaine, or 0.9% saline twice daily, s.c., or on 2 consecutive days at 4‐day intervals, or 1.5 mg/kg amfonelic acid daily throughout gestational Days 1–20. Frequency, duration, and latency of 11 social/aggressive behaviors were recorded for two 15‐min sessions during which a smaller male intruder replaced an ovariectomized© 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Diabetes per se and metabolic state influence gene expression in tissue‐dependent manner of BB/OK rats
Authors: Klöting Nora , Follak Niels , Klöting Ingrid
Published: January 2005

Background

Several epidemiologic studies have clearly established that long‐term near normoglycaemia strongly protects against onset and progression of late complication of diabetes. Therefore, insulin treatment plays a crucial role in determining the quality of life of affected individuals. Here we studied the effects of exogenous insulin on gene expression levels in well‐ and poorly compensated diabetic subjects in comparison to non‐diabetic BB/OK rats to find out whether diabetes per se and the quality of insulin treatment have an effect on gene expression and whether it is tissue specific.

Methods

Six non‐diabetic and 12 diabetic BB/OK rats were studied. Diabetic subjects were either treated with insulin implants (well compensated) or treated with 1U insulin daily (poorly compensated) to guarantee survival. Four weeks after onset of diabetes, the animals were killed and expression of Yy1, Pparγ, Nfκb, Pref‐1, Tgfb1, Il‐10, and Lepr was measured in thymus, spleen, liver, heart, and bone.

Results

In general, between diabetic and non‐diabetic subjects, significant expression changes were detected in spleen for Il‐10, in heart for Il‐10 and Pparγ, in liver for Yy1, Nfκb, and Lepr, as well as in bone for all genes studied except Tgfb1. Except Lepr, no expression changes were observed in thymus. Between well‐ and poorly compensated rats, significant differences on expression level were found for Yy1 (liver), Pparγ (heart), Nfκb (bone), Pref‐1 (spleen), and Lepr (thymus, liver, heart).

Conclusion

The insulin treatment compensates not only metabolic disturbances but also changes gene expression profile in BB/OK rats in a tissue‐dependent manner. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Evaluation: Strategies for generating knowledge
Authors: Hodges Walter L. , Sheehan Robert
Published: January 2005

Although evaluation is not usually considered an efficient generator of knowledge, a review of two intervention programs for young children illustrates that with advanced planning and methodological adequacy, federal evaluations can be effective strategies for generating knowledge.
Program monitoring in higher education
Authors: Fincher Cameron
Published: January 2005

Despite consensus that higher‐education programs should be evaluated, assessed, or monitored closely, the many, inherent problems and issues are intensified by the difficulties of specifying precisely what is to be monitored.
The National Archives and secondary analysis
Authors: Dollar Charles M. , Ambacher Bruce I.
Published: January 2005

The National Archives and Records Service and especially the Machine Readable Archives Division provide excellent resources for secondary analysis and are prepared to facilitate the process within appropriate guidelines for protection of privacy and confidentiality.
Policy evaluation and the work of legislatures
Authors: Brandl John E.
Published: January 2005

Often the subtleties of policy making elude evaluators, who misperceive what legislators do.
The utilization of evaluation research in litigation
Authors: Saks Michael J.
Published: January 2005

The courts, as compared to other branches of government, have made unique use of information. Given this perspective, a number of prospects for and barriers to increased utilization of applied social research in the courts are presented.
Social structure of third‐party evaluations
Authors: Stalford Charles
Published: January 2005

In one federally funded program, the third‐party evaluator was under contract with the program evaluated and not the federal agency. The social structure of this arrangement has implications for utilization of information.
Evaluating the effectiveness of teaching
Authors: Mathis B. Claude
Published: January 2005

Sound theory and methodology and recognition of the many processes that relate teaching to learning must guide efforts to measure teaching effectiveness.
Effective training of program evaluators: A mixture of art and science
Authors: Brown Elizabeth D.
Published: January 2005

A recent graduate of an evaluation research training program illuminates the shortcomings of such programs.
The role of outcomes in cost‐benefit evaluation
Authors: Levine Victor
Published: January 2005

A program can be evaluated, and a cost‐benefit ratio can be calculated to five decimal places, without ever directly examining outcomes.
Assessing the effectiveness of social programs: Methodological and conceptual issues
Authors: Sechrest Lee , Yeaton William E.
Published: January 2005

The assessment of the outcomes of social programs should always include estimates of the size of the effects produced. Various approaches to this problem are discussed.
Outcomes, the size of the impacts, and program evaluation
Authors: Ball Samuel
Published: January 2005

The variety of contexts, the politics of each situation, and the availability of resources all dictate variations in assessing outcomes. Seven major principles of program evaluation are considered, along with a cautionary note to the ambitious who expect large program effects.
Decision‐oriented approaches to program evaluation
Authors: Larson Richard C. , Kaplan Edward H.
Published: January 2005

Evaluation is an information‐gathering process, and it can unravel in much the same way as a detective story. Just as Sherlock Holmes redirects his crime‐solving activities as new clues arise, evaluators should be committed to adapting their evaluation activities as new information is obtained.
Evaluating and improving remedial training programs
Authors: Baugher Dan
Published: January 2005

There is room for improvement in remedial training programs. Sound assessment holds out a hope for more evident success.
Summary: Developing a successful measurement program
Authors: Baugher Dan
Published: January 2005

The editor finds consensus on ten points among the authors of this book. The ten points form the basis of some recommendations for those conducting studies that measure effectiveness.
Assessing innovative methods
Authors: Smith Nick L.
Published: January 2005

Many ways of assessing evaluation methods are possible; several of them are represented in this sourcebook.
Investigative journalism methods in educational evaluation
Authors: Nelson David E.
Published: January 2005

Investigative journalism strategies can add a significant qualitative dimension to a variety of evaluation efforts.
A next step: Discussion to consider unifying the ERS and Joint Committee standards
Authors: Stufflebeam Daniel L.
Published: January 2005

The advice offered by the ERS Standards is highly consistent with that offered by the Joint Committee Standards; however, the author calls into question the need for independent standard‐setting efforts and proposes that the ERS and the Joint Committee consider merging their standard‐setting programs.
Visual and statistical analysis of clinical time series data
Authors: Marsh Jeanne C. , Shibano Matsujiro
Published: January 2005

A procedure combining visual analysis and ordinary least squares regression provides a straightforward approach for evaluating clinical interventions using time series data.
Stakeholder and program evaluation: Characterizations and reflections
Authors: Gold Norman
Published: January 2005

Modifying the role relationship between evaluator and user produces conflict that can cause evaluators to regress to familiar, traditional patterns that leave interactive evaluation strategies only partially implemented.
Management of the evaluation function within the federal government
Authors: Wargo Michael J.
Published: January 2005

Barriers to efficient and effective management of federal program evaluation are described, and strategies for overcoming them are detailed.
Using mailed questionnaires in negotiation consultation
Authors: Russo J. Robert
Published: January 2005

This chapter presents two cases in which the mailed questionnaire methodology was used in an applied setting.
Considerations and methodology for the preparation of data files
Authors: Fortune Jim C. , McBee Janice K.
Published: January 2005

After a data base has been located and tapes obtained, the necessary files must be set up to analyze the data. The newcomer to secondary analysis is led carefully through the technical requirements of file preparation, from data verification to variable definition.
Methodological issues in the meta‐analysis of quasi‐experiments
Authors: Bryant Fred B. , Wortman Paul M.
Published: January 2005

Special problems arise when meta‐analysis is applied to quasi‐experiments. Careful consideration of threats to each study's validity may help the meta‐analyst to avoid these pitfalls.
Evaluation issues in medical research synthesis
Authors: Yeaton William H. , Wortman Paul M.
Published: January 2005

The problems confronted in the synthesis of medical research are relevant to systematic reviews in other substantive areas. This chapter shows how some of these methodological problems can be solved.
The challenge of cross‐cultural evaluation: Some views from the field
Authors: Merryfield Merry M.
Published: January 2005

Do cultural differences affect evaluation in significant ways? Persons experienced in evaluating development programs identify problems and possible solutions in cross‐cultural evaluations.
Institutionalization of program evaluation in Canada: The federal level
Authors: Rutman Len , Mayne John
Published: January 2005

Program evaluation has developed in Canada to address the concerns of accountability for management of public funds in a context of economic restraint.
Evaluation: The state of the art and the sorry state of the science
Authors: Lipsey Mark W. , Crosse Scott , Dunkle Jan , Pollard John , Stobart Gordon
Published: January 2005

A representative sample of studies drawn from the published program evaluation literature is systematically examined. Weak designs, low statistical power, ad hoc measurement, and neglect of treatment implementation and program theory characterize the state of the art in program evaluation. Program evaluation research under the experimental paradigm requires better planning and execution.
Quantitative synthesis: An actuarial base for planning impact evaluations
Authors: Cordray David S. , Sonnefeld L. Joseph
Published: January 2005

There are numerous micro‐level methods decisions associated with planning an impact evaluation. Quantitative synthesis methods can be used to construct an actuarial data base for establishing the likelihood of achieving desired sample sizes, statistical power, and measurement characteristics. Improvements in both primary and meta‐analysis studies will be necessary, however, to realize the full potential of this approach.
Quality control in evaluation
Authors: Trochim William M. K. , Visco Ronald J.
Published: January 2005

Quality control in the auditing profession has developed useful practices that are applicable to the research and evaluation process. By identifying and controlling sources of bias and noise in our system of inquiry, the quality of evaluative evidence can be enhanced for both present and future use.
The demonstration of state work/welfare initiatives
Authors: Gueron Judith M.
Published: January 2005

A series of social experiments testing welfare reform options suggests ways to conduct research in a new policy environment.
The randomization of arrest
Authors: Sherman Lawrence W. , Berk Richard A.
Published: January 2005

The evidence of arbitrary and capricious exercise of discretion in arrests can persuade police that a randomized experiment is ethical and useful.
Seven kinds of randomization plans for designing field experiments
Authors: Boruch Robert F. , Wothke Werner
Published: January 2005

Plans for introducing, implementing, and gaining acceptance for randomization, based on experience over the past ten years, are discussed in the context of experiments in law, education, welfare, health services, police, and other areas.
Directory of evaluation training programs
Authors: May Ralph M. , Fleischer Mitchell , Scheirer C. James , Cox Gary B.
Published: January 2005

This training directory can guide prospective students as well as provide insights into the current state of evaluation training.
Program theory and implementation theory: Implications for evaluators
Authors: Scheirer Mary Ann
Published: January 2005

Program theory and implementation process theory contribute, respectively, to specifying the what and the why of program delivery. This chapter suggests ways in which evaluators should incorporate both into their data collection designs.
Alternative models for the use of multiple methods
Authors: Mark Melvin M. , Shotland R. Lance
Published: January 2005

Different models can be followed in using multiple methods, and researchers need to be aware of the benefits associated with different approaches.
Working both sides of the street
Authors: Alkin Marvin C. , Patton Michael Quinn
Published: January 2005

A knowledgeable and experienced evaluator becomes the principal user of a design to make program evaluation and administration mutually reinforcing.
Lessons about clients' expectations
Authors: Braskamp Larry A. , Brandenburg Dale C. , Ory John C.
Published: January 2005

Taking clients' expectations into account enhances the potential utility of the evaluator's efforts.
Shared understanding of organizational culture
Authors: Faase Thomas P. , Pujdak Steve
Published: January 2005

A collaboration based on shared understanding characterizes the client‐evaluator relationship in this evaluation of a Roman Catholic religious congregation.
Evaluation research in state‐level decision making
Authors: Pancrazio Sally B. , First Patricia F.
Published: January 2005

The Illinois State director of research and evaluation discusses issues related to commissioning and using evaluation.
Work‐welfare programs
Authors: Gueron Judith M.
Published: January 2005

A variety of work‐welfare program arrangements yield effective treatments. Although their effects are small, they usually are large enough to justify program costs. Nevertheless, program effects vary considerably by type of program, by state, and by target group. To learn more about the nature and sources of these variations is perhaps the next great challenge in the development and testing of work‐welfare programs.
Randomized experiments in criminal sanctions
Authors: Sherman Lawrence W.
Published: January 2005

Randomized experiments that examine the effectiveness of criminal sanctions suggest that they may increase crime, decrease crime, or have no effect. To better understand these disparate findings, we need to more carefully examine the types of sanctions being tested, in terms of their severity, certainty, and celerity (speed), and the types of offenses and offenders involved.
Local government evaluation in an executive environment
Authors: Elliott Nancy C. , Syfert Pamela A.
Published: January 2005

The Budget and Evaluation Department in Charlotte, North Carolina, has provided evaluation efforts since the early 1970s. The techniques and case studies described in this chapter include a management‐by‐objectives program, contract evaluations, citizen surveys, and performance auditing using formal industrial engineering practices.
Developing an agenda that works: The right choice at the right time
Authors: Muscatello Daniel B.
Published: January 2005

In complex organizations there often are a number of programs that could benefit from evaluation. But which should be selected for study when evaluation resources are limited? This chapter presents one framework that could be utilized to identify programs with the highest potential for payoff to management resulting from evaluation. Criteria for assessing evaluation need are presented as well as standards for prioritizing programs to be evaluated.
The impact of major consumer groups on health care evaluation
Authors: Knott Tara D.
Published: January 2005

This chapter addresses the problems that physicians, hospital administrators, and patients have in understanding and supporting the use of evaluation in the delivery of health care services. Strategies designed to gain greater acceptance of evaluation from these client groups are presented.
Increasing evaluation use: Some observations based on the results at the U.S. GAO
Authors: Johnston, Jr. William P.
Published: January 2005

In fiscal year 1983 the General Accounting Office made 1,134 recommendations to executive branch agencies as the result of its management performance evaluations. An analysis of 176 randomly selected recommendations showed an acceptance rate of between 51 and 77 percent by the target agencies—a rate far higher than evaluation literature indicates evaluators generally experience.
Assessing the program environment: Implications for program evaluation and design
Authors: Moos Rudolf H.
Published: January 2005

Information about program environments can help to measure program quality, monitor program implementation, and identify connections between program processes and client outcomes.
Program personnel: The missing ingredient in describing the program environment
Authors: Peterson Keith A. , Bickman Leonard
Published: January 2005

Personnel variables can be very important in accounting for program outcomes.
Evaluation and congress
Authors: Fishman Michael E.
Published: January 2005

Despite constraints and obstacles, evaluators have opportunities and ways to increase the use of evaluation findings in legislative decisions.
Participatory evaluation: A tool to assess projects and empower people
Authors: Brunner Ilse , Guzman Alba
Published: January 2005

Participatory evaluation has been developed collectively in popular education as a tool to empower people. It allows them to assess educational development projects from their own perspective in order to improve them.
Commentary
Authors: Mason John P.
Published: January 2005

John P. Mason comments on Randal Joy Thompson's chapter, “Evaluator as Power Broker: Issues in the Maghreb.”
Conducting village/community interviews
Authors: Kumar Krishna
Published: January 2005

Village/community interviews constitute a rapid, low‐cost method for gathering information, ideas, explanations, and recommendations from target populations in developing countries.
The relationship of treatment integrity and intensity to outcome criteria
Authors: Lösel Friedrich , Wittmann Werner W.
Published: January 2005

Applying principles of symmetry can improve the state of the art and science of program evaluation. This approach transforms “no difference” research into small but beautiful effects.
Using evaluation to transform training
Authors: Brinkerhoff Robert O.
Published: January 2005

Some important new directions for evaluation are presented that can help the training function add greater value and enhance organizational effectiveness.
Strategy for internal evaluators
Authors: Nowakowski Alan C.
Published: January 2005

Analyzing evaluation services in a business training environment serves as a vehicle for deriving internal evaluation strategy.
Administrators as applied theorists
Authors: McClintock Charles
Published: January 2005

Effective administrators function as applied theorists by developing and using generalizable knowledge about programs related to their responsibilities as managers and leaders in organizational settings.
Evaluation within the federal Offices of Inspectors General
Authors: Moran William C.
Published: January 2005

A new form of program evaluation, called inspections, is changing the evaluation landscape in a number of federal agencies.
The inspections program within the U.S. Department of Commerce
Authors: Hall Charlie , Frazier Johnnie
Published: January 2005

Quick, unannounced management evaluations by the U.S. Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General are helping that department improve its efficiency and effectiveness.
Focus‐group interviewing: New strategies for business and industry
Authors: Krueger Richard A.
Published: January 2005

Academic efforts in evaluation and research have contributed to focus‐group methodology, thereby helping business and industry to use focus groups for more than marketing research.
Sociotechnical theory: An alternative framework for evaluation
Authors: Farley Joanne
Published: January 2005

The sociotechnical framework of organizational activity and relations should be explored as a preferable alternative to the rational framework as a context from which to design and conduct evaluations in business and industry.
Evaluation as moral critique
Authors: Schwandt Thomas A.
Published: January 2005

Moral inquiry cannot become a practical force in either evaluation or business unless we rethink our current notion of evaluation as scientifically conceived social inquiry and our idea that business is an instrumentality.