bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
ICT in History Education— Scotland and Europe
Authors: Hillis Peter , Munro Bob
Published: March 2005

Advances in the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in history teaching and an increase in the deployment of ICT for history teaching and learning have been reflected in all European countries, albeit with varying degrees of success. Developments in the university and school sectors are characterized by a growing integration of specific ICT facilities and tools. The growing importance of ICT in history teaching and learning has been fostered by national government investment and a variety of cross-Europe support initiatives; however, research indicates that its potential has yet to be fully realized. Research into the impact of ICT on teaching and learning in Scottish schools shows a similarly patchy picture to that in other European countries; however, the evaluation of a series of CD-ROMs confirms the arguments of history educators that effective history software must problematize the past, so helping pupils develop their research and thinking skills.
History and the Computer in Canadian Institutions
Authors: Corbeil Pierre
Published: March 2005

Canadian universities have embraced the Internet and the web as central tools for management, publicity, and transfer of information. Word processing has become a fully integrated and unobtrusive element of computer technology. Historians and history departments have adopted the Internet and its tools but not necessarily other uses of the computer. Simulations and games are the most notable missing elements. History courses are only marginally present among Internet and distance-education services. Prudence and respect for basic methods are the noteworthy aspects of Canadian historians' use of the computer; although, pioneers are at work both individually and institutionally.
What Should We Do Before Running a Social Simulation?
Authors: Wu Hsu-Chih , Sun Chuen-Tsai
Published: March 2005

Before running a model simulation, it is important to accumulate as much information about the model as possible. Although an analysis of relations among model components is considered a promising means of accomplishing this task, the social simulation literature offers very little guidance in performing such analyses. We use an analytical framework to demonstrate how model analysis can facilitate the simulation process, with the Iterated Prisoner's Dilemma serving as a primary example. Our results show that the analysis was helpful in identifying important strategies and simulation phenomena, thus reducing the amount of work required for the simulation. We suggest that this framework is applicable to other types of two-person matrix games, and that the methods we use are also suitable for other macro-or agent-based simulation models.
A Typology of Real-Time Validations in Web-Based Surveys
Authors: Peytchev Andy , Crawford Scott
Published: March 2005

One area in computer-assisted self-interviewing (CASI) where methodological and empirical research have not caught up with technological advancements is real-time validation of respondent input. Some of the literature on computer-assisted interviewing and postsurvey editing is pertinent yet far insufficient—the largest component that could not be deduced being the respondent interaction. This leads to the employment or avoidance of validations by current practitioners based on untested assumptions. This article presents a model that breaks down the different elements in survey validation by type of computation, implementation, and interaction with the respondent. The purpose is twofold: to describe what possibilities exist in validations for web-based surveys and to present a framework in which systematic research could be conducted to evaluate the impact of validations on survey costs and errors. Relevant findings from prior literature are discussed in this context.
Creating a Worldwide Community Security Structure Using Individually Maintained Home Computers: The e-JIKEI Network Project
Authors: Fujii Yusaku , Yoshiura Noriaki , Ohta Naoya
Published: March 2005

This article describes a project for creating a community security structure spread worldwide that uses individually maintained home computers connected to the Internet. The basic concept of the project is that every individual person watches in and around his or her house using cheap cameras as his or her eyes, personal computer as his or her brain, and Internet as his or her communication means by his or her own expense. The purpose of the project is to re-create, in the present day, a mutual watch system, which widely existed in old Japanese communities, as well as in other countries in the world, but in a much more powerful and flexible form with the aid of the information technology. In the first stage of the project, a preliminary system with the minimum necessary functions for realizing the concept has been developed, which consisted of free software and operation manuals.
American Digital History
Authors: Burton Orville Vernon
Published: March 2005

U.S. History and Computing have had a long history of partnership in teaching and research. There currently is a deep divide among historians on the direction this partnership will take in the future. Will the partnership revolutionize theways in which history is taught and researched or will it simply offer additional tools to improve traditional practices? In either case, future success depends on history scholars taking an active role in the partnership. With active and involved historians, great ideas such as digital libraries and online educational materials can be developed into workable and effective teaching and research tools. However, historians must take the initiative. A pioneering group of historians have laid the groundwork, nowthe profession must embrace thiswork and move forward or it will be done for us by those who are not historians.
Public Subsidies for Higher Education in California: An Exploratory Analysis of Who Pays and Who Benefits
Authors: Heller Donald E.
Published: March 2005

This study examines the racial and ethnic distribution of the costs and benefits of higher education in California. This exploratory work documents the racial and ethnic distribution of these benefits, in the form of enrollments in different sectors and different types of institutions, as well as on the costs, in the form of the share borne by families versus the state. The study builds on the work of Hansen and Weisbrod, who examined the distribution of costs and benefits for higher education in California for students from different income groups. This study utilizes data from a variety of sources, including the California Postsecondary Education Commission, the California Student Aid Commission, EdFund of California, the National Center for Education Statistics, the U.S. Census Bureau, and other agencies and departments in California.
Diminished Access to the Baccalaureate for Low-Income and Minority Students in California: The Impact of Budget and Capacity Constraints on the Transfer Function
Authors: Shulock Nancy , Moore Colleen
Published: March 2005

California’s 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education promised all students a chance to pursue a baccalaureate degree by guaranteeing a place at one of the public 4-year institutions for all students who successfully fulfill a minimum set of requirements at a community college. However, capacity constraints in the state’s public colleges and universities are calling into question this promise of access to the baccalaureate. Dramatic cuts to higher education budgets combined with significant enrollment pressures and fee increases are reducing access for students who are lower income and underrepresented minority whose primary gate to the baccalaureate is through the community college transfer process. This article draws on data analysis and interviews with system and campus administrators to document the mechanisms by which access for these students is being restricted. The article discusses policy implications for California, and outlines lessons for other states experiencing similar social, demographic, and fiscal trends.
Inequitable Opportunities: How Current Education Systems and Policies Undermine the Chances for Student Persistence and Success in College
Authors: Venezia Andrea , Kirst Michael W.
Published: March 2005

America’s high school students have higher educational aspirations than ever before, yet these aspirations are being undermined by disconnected educational systems and other barriers. These educational aspirations cut across racial and ethnic lines with scant differences. As this study demonstrates, access to college-preparation-related policy information, however, follows racial, ethnic, income, and curricular tracking lines. This article presents findings from Stanford University’s Bridge Project—a national study that examined (a) K-16 policies and practices and (b) student, parent, teacher, counselor, and administrator understandings of those policies and practices in regions in California, Illinois, Georgia, Maryland, Oregon, and Texas. In addition, it proposes recommendations for K-12 schools, postsecondary institutions, state agencies, and the federal government.
The Reconstruction of Merit Post-Proposition 209
Authors: Contreras Frances E.
Published: March 2005

This research addresses how Proposition 209 has altered access to University of California (UC), as represented by the changing profiles of admitted undergraduate students at three UC campuses. This research provides an analysis of changes that have occurred in undergraduate applicant and admit characteristics based on individual data from UC Los Angeles, UC Davis, and UC Riverside postaffirmative action. This study utilizes logistic regression to assess the likelihood of admission and employs temporal interactions across a consistent set of academic achievement and socioeconomic predictors. The quantitative findings illustrate admission based almost entirely on academic index, despite nominal changes and expansion of admissions criteria. Although the concepts of merit and equity remain loosely defined in public policy arenas, this research further examines the key admission factors that constitute merit in a post-209 environment and the implications of these altered standards for contributing to the social reconstruction of the concepts of equity and access.
Grouping Within Algebra I: A Structural Sieve With Powerful Effects for Low-Income, Minority, and Immigrant Students
Authors: Paul Faith G.
Published: March 2005

A key element in educational reform has been to increase mathematical proficiency. We look at how five urban high schools with virtually all low-income, minority, and immigrant students have arranged for students to take algebra I, and we examine the course enrollments and grades of these student in the core college prep courses. Both preparation and these arrangements matter. We raise three questions: First, can algebra group be considered a key variable? Second, is it associated with a chain of events that are interrelated in shaping educational outcomes? Third, was value added through grouping options within algebra I? Our findings suggest that algebra group is a key variable and that options offered within algebra I were not associated with value added. The policy implications may be that for all practical purposes, resources and responsibility for preparing students for algebra should be directed primarily to the K-8 schools.
Standardized Assessments and the Flow of Students Into the College Admission Pool
Authors: Horn Catherine
Published: March 2005

For many, merit, defined by test scores, is a readily accessible representation of academic ability, and both the K-12 and postsecondary systems have used such scores as a guide at multiple levels of decision making and accountability. In assessing the strengths and limitations of increasingly test-defined efforts to improve K-12 education and, ultimately, to expand diversity on college campuses through such a purely merit-based system, this article seeks to lay out key considerations that ought to be examined. Acknowledging that many confounding influences, including housing and school segregation, resource inequities, support services, and social factors outside the walls of the school impact those who ultimately flow through the pipeline to the college admission process, this article also focuses on how testing influences that pipeline.
High School Segregation and Access to the University of California
Authors: Martin Isaac , Karabel Jerome , Jaquez Sean W.
Published: March 2005

Using institutional data on fall 1999 freshman admissions, we document the existence and magnitude of inequalities among California high schools in the access they provide to the University of California (UC). Because high schools are segregated by socioeconomic status and race, we examine how schools that differ on these dimensions also differ in their rates of admission to UC. We find that UC admission rates are grossly unequal between the public and private sectors and within each sector. Different groups, however, face different barriers. Schools where the student body is heavily Latino tend to have low per capita admissions because fewer students apply; schools where the student body is heavily African American tend to have low per capita admissions because fewer applicants are admitted. Our research suggests the need for both high school outreach to increase applications and contextual review of applications to reduce inequalities in the admission of applicants.
“No Show” Study: College Destinations of University of California Applicants and Admits Who Did Not Enroll, 1997-2002
Authors: Geiser Saul , Caspary Kyra
Published: March 2005

This study examines trends in University of California (UC) “no shows”—students who applied and were admitted to UC but enrolled elsewhere—before and after the elimination of affirmative action at UC in 1998. Two main findings emerge from the data. Overall, UC continues to be successful in attracting and enrolling a majority of high-achieving students from California high schools. However, overall enrollment patterns mask substantial variations across different racial and ethnic groups. Top underrepresented minority applicants enroll at UC at considerably lower rates than other students, and the gap has widened noticeably in the 5 years since the elimination of affirmative action in UC admissions, as many of these students are now choosing to attend selective private colleges and universities. The policy implications of these trends are considered.
Studying Youth Gangs
Authors: Hughes Lorine A.
Published: March 2005

This article reviews the major methods that have been used to study youth gangs and discusses the consequences of their use for what is known about the topic. Despite the development of a substantial scholarly literature, understanding of gang phenomena is limited by critical disconnects between quantitative and qualitative research traditions. It is argued that integration of these traditions will result in a more comprehensive accounting of the causes and consequences of gangs, gang membership, and gang behavior.
The Value of Comparisons in Street Gang Research
Authors: Klein Malcolm W.
Published: March 2005

This article calls for greater attention to the use of comparative studies in street gang research. Five examples of good but noncomparative studies are reviewed to make the case. Then, a number of opportunities for comparative research are reviewed: gang member comparisons, gang members versus non-gang youth, cross-gang comparisons, comparisons across locations, historical comparisons, and methodological comparisons. For each type, selected studies are cited to illustrate the advantages of planned comparisons. The article concludes with some caveats about the difficulties associated with comparative research.
Maybe We Shouldn’t Study “Gangs”
Authors: Sullivan Mercer L.
Published: March 2005

The extensive study of youth gangs over the years has tended to become a field of studies unto itself. Yet, scholars have failed to arrive at a commonly accepted definition of what youth gangs are. Further, collective illegal behavior by youths is not always identified with gangs. One result of this definitional ambiguity is the discrepancy between the reported proliferation of youth gangs in the 1990s and the sharp decline in reported youth violence during the latter part of the same decade. This article proposes a heuristic typology of forms of association and applies that typology to comparative ethnographic data from different areas of New York City. The results suggest that ongoing patterns of collective violent behavior rooted in local social ecology can be relabeled as gang behavior under certain conditions of youth culture and popular moral panic. A broader focus on youth violence and youthful collective behavior is urged.
The Global Impact of Gangs
Authors: Hagedorn John M.
Published: March 2005

The American study of gangs can no longer start and stop with local conditions but today must also be rooted in a global context. Studying gangs is important because of unprecedented world urbanization, the retreat of the state under the pressure of neoliberal policies, the strengthening of cultural resistance identities, including fundamentalist religion, nationalism, and hip-hop culture, the valorization of some urban spaces and marginalization of others, and the institutionalization of gangs in some cities across the world.
Fieldwork Research and Social Network Analysis
Authors: Fleisher Mark S.
Published: March 2005

This article suggests that participant observation and social network analysis are able to yield complementary perspectives on youth gangs. Participant observation over a long period yields systematically gathered observations and interview narratives. Such data may provide a close-up look at youth gangs at street level; however, participant observation has limitations that constrain its applicability in multisite research. Social network methods added to field research protocols can provide a behavioral and social structural vision of youth gangs. An analysis of egocentric social network data collected in a gang neighborhood casts doubton conventional conceptualizations of gangs as groups and gang boundaries. Compositional analyses of personal (egocentric) social networks of same-gang youth provide measures of peer influence processes beyond participant observation. Comparative analyses of opposite-gang adolescents’ egocentric networks show a wide overlap among intergang friends. The article links such findings to personal shifts in life course and adaptations to chronic poverty.
The Three Most Common Errors in Family Nursing: How to Avoid or Sidestep
Authors: Wright Lorraine M. , Leahey Maureen
Published: April 2005

In this article, the authors offer what they believe to be the three most common errors or mistakes in relational family nursing practice. Each error is described, followed by practical suggestions on how the mistake or error can be avoided. A clinical case vignette for each error is also given, with useful ideas of how the mistakes could have been avoided or sidestepped. By sidestepping and avoiding the most prevalent mistakes, nurses can not only sustain but also improve their nursing care of families and thus prevent unnecessary anguish and suffering of family members and possible shame, guilt, or embarrassment on the part of the nurse.
Some Experiential Lessons in Supporting and Evaluating Community-Based Initiatives for Preventing Adolescent Pregnancy
Authors: Paine-Andrews Adrienne , Fisher Jacqueline L. , Harris Kari Jo , Lewis Rhonda K. , Williams Ella L. , Vincent Murray L. , Fawcett Stephen B. , Campuzano Mary K.
Published: April 2005

This article describes some experiential lessons and recommendations regarding supporting and evaluating comprehensive, multicomponent school and community-based initiatives for prevention of adolescent pregnancy. The lessons and associated recommendations were generated during small group retreats and individual meetings among initiative, university, and foundation staff, and during semistructured interviews with community-based staff and volunteers. This article outlines 15 recommendations associated with implementing, supporting, evaluating, and sustaining multicomponent school and community-based initiatives for prevention of adolescent pregnancy. These recommendations, if modified to fit community contexts, could help strengthen community efforts to prevent adolescent pregnancy. Given the controversial nature of teen pregnancy prevention programs, it is important to have insight, draw on the experiences of others, and avoid pitfalls associated with this work.
Commentary on the Editor’s Introductory Observations
Authors: Mamary Edward
Published: April 2005

In its premier issue, Health Promotion Practice featured a thoughtful compendium by R. Brick Lancaster and Kathleen Roe of the progress toward more effective collaboration between health education practitioners and researchers during the 1990s. It is gratifying to see how much has been done toward addressing Lancaster’s insightful 1992 recommendations, and it makes the inauguration of this new journal particularly welcomed as a continuation of that progress.
Professional Development of Health Educators through a Community Diagnosis Training Experience: Observations and Perspectives
Authors: Quinn Sandra Crouse
Published: April 2005

Teaching health educators to work effectively with communities is a critical task today. This article will describe how a community diagnosis course, an intensive field experience through which graduate students in health behavior and health education conduct a community assessment, helps students in their development as community health educators. Existing literature on the professional preparation of health educators and the writings of students who have completed the course demonstrate the professional skills that students gain through the experience. Students develop cultural competence, come to a more sophisticated understanding of their relationship to communities and their professional role as health educators, gain experience working effectively as part of a team, and learn specific skills in conducting needs assessments, gathering and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data, and building collaborative efforts.
Unifying Research and Practice in Health Education: Analysis and Comparison of Two Consensus Conferences
Authors: Neiger Brad L. , Barnes Michael D. , Lindsay Gordon B. , Schwartz Randy H. , Lancaster R. Brick , Chalkley Christine M.
Published: April 2005

A gap exists in professional priorities between research and practice in health education. The focal point of previous publications on this reported gap centers on varying interpretations of and experience with applied research or with practice-based research. Concurrently, many professional organizations and private foundations are calling for increased collaboration between researchers and practitioners to more clearly establish research agendas related to the work of health education, more effectively carry out this work, and disseminate findings. This article compares results of two consensus conferences that were designed to establish a common research agenda and create appropriate opportunities to link research and practice. General recommendations are made to effectively bridge the gap between research and practice.
A Primer on Tobacco Production: Implications for Health Promotion Practice
Authors: McBride Jeffrey S. , Altman David G.
Published: April 2005

In the late 1990s, there has been unprecedented attention to issues that affect tobacco farmers and tobacco-dependent communities. During this time, relationships between public health professionals and organizations and tobacco producers have been established. At the same time, some growers have questioned tobacco company loyalty to the American tobacco farmer. Despite these burgeoning relationships, most public health professionals know little about tobacco production and the host of factors that play a role in shaping the tobacco culture. This overview article attempts to fill this gap in knowledge so that health professionals are in an informed position when they speak about intersections between public health and tobacco farming. An increased understanding of these background issues will enable the public health community to achieve the dual goals of reducing disease caused by tobacco products and ensuring the prosperity of rural farming communities historically dependent upon tobacco.
Key Issues in Evaluation: Quantitative and Qualitative Methods and Research Design
Authors: Francisco Vincent T. , Butterfoss Frances D. , Capwell Ellen M.
Published: April 2005

A number of key issues frequently emerge in the practice of evaluation. One needs to be familiar with these issues to most effectively engage evaluation professionals in one’s program and to make appropriate inferences or interpretations from evaluation data. In this article, three of those background issues are discussed: qualitative research, quantitative research, and experimental design. Although not intended to be a comprehensive treatise on the subject, this article will cover the strengths and limitations of methodologies, what questions are possible to answer within these methodologies, and the influence of research designs on the inferences that can be drawn from data.
The Efficacy of a Retreat for Low-Income Women with Breast Cancer
Authors: Levine Ellen G. , Levenberg Shoshana , Wardlaw Linda , Moyer Anne
Published: April 2005

This investigation explored the benefits of a retreat for low-income women with breast cancer. Forty-six women participated in a 3-day retreat that included workshops and alternative therapies. At the end of the retreat, women felt that they were more able to cope with problems related to their cancer care. The benefits of the retreat also included decreased negative moods such as depression and anxiety. Two months after the retreat, the women felt that their problems were less troublesome than before the retreat, and the increases in positive mood continued. We hope that this project will be the first in a continuing effort to elucidate the special needs of low-income women with breast cancer and to develop effective interventions with this population.
Using Community-Based Participatory Processes to Bring Health Education Technology to Communities
Authors: Baker Elizabeth A. , Kreuter Matthew , Homan Sharon M. , Starkloff-Morgan Stephanie , Schonhoff Rita , Francioni Anne
Published: April 2005

The purpose of this paper is to describe a community-based participatory process of developing computer tailored messages (a form of technologically advanced health education materials) within a community-based lay health adviser program. This process included: 1) identifying the desired characteristics of the health education materials, 2) prioritizing the content and format of the health education materials, and 3) developing methods for distributing these materials. An overview of the lay health adviser program is presented, followed by a description of how each step was taken, a review of the health education method chosen (computer-tailored messages), and a discussion of the challenges and benefits of using community-based participatory processes to bring appropriate technology to communities.
Collaborative Research as an Essential Component for Addressing Cancer Disparities among Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander Women
Authors: Tanjasiri Sora Park , Kagawa-Singer Marjorie , Nguyen Tu-Uyen , Foo Mary Anne
Published: April 2005

A fundamental component of community-based health promotion efforts to eliminate disparities is the mobilization of community involvement to address not only individual but also systemic and political causes of inequalities in health. The participatory action research (PAR) paradigm is well suited to address these multilevel inequalities in research and evaluation experienced by many ethnic and racial communities. In this article, a case study of a project to reduce health disparities in breast and cervical cancer among seven Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander communities in Southern California is presented. The authors applied a PAR framework to the process of needs assessment and program planning to understand and address the complex and multilevel factors that contribute to the problem of disparate breast and cervical cancer screening rates in these communities. Finally, the authors describe the lessons that were learned about how to promote collaborative research as an essential element in the design of projects and studies to address ethnic disparities in health outcomes for breast and cervical cancer.
Teaching Advocacy to Public Health Students: The New Jersey Experience
Authors: Goodhart Fern Walter
Published: April 2005

Increasingly, the profession of health education expects its practitioners to effectively advocate for both health education and the promotion of healthy practices, programs, and policies. This raises the question, “Are we preparing health educators for this responsibility?” This article briefly looks at the role of advocacy in health education practice; summarizes an assessment of how, if at all, health programs in New Jersey are teaching advocacy skills to their students; and reviews two public health advocacy courses as examples of how advocacy is taught in practice.
Voters in Context
Authors: Gainsborough Juliet F.
Published: March 2005

Recent analysis of presidential politics has suggested that the attention to the rise of the suburban voter during the elections of the 1990s may have been misplaced. Researchers have argued that discussion of “soccer moms” misses the degree to which women differ in ways that have little to do with place, and that attention paid to suburbanites by Democrats misses the electoral importance of White, non-university-educated voters. This article argues that although these characteristics of voters are important for understanding their support for particular presidential candidates, so is their location. Holding individual characteristics constant, voters living in cities are more likely to support Democrats than their suburban counterparts. In addition, the relationship between policy preferences, party identification, and vote choice varies across cities and suburbs. City and suburban residents have different views on some issues and weight these views differently when deciding how to vote and which party to support.
Legislative Agendas and Interest Advocacy
Authors: Gray Virginia , Lowery David , Fellowes Matthew , Anderson Jennifer L.
Published: March 2005

Efforts to understand the mobilization of organized interests have turned away from focusing on their internal traits to assessing the environmental forces that influence the supply of lobbying organizations and the demand for their services. Unfortunately, empirical analysis has provided far more support for the supply hypothesis than for expectations about the role of policy energy or demand. This has largely been a function of the lack of appropriate measures at either the state or federal level and/or potential problems of research design. We address these problems by testing the energy-stability-area model of interest system density using a new measure of policy energy or demand in cross-state, cross–interest guild, and pooled specifications. We find strong support for the hypothesis that the demand for lobbying—as measured by the size of legislative agendas of concern to different types of organized interests—has a profound effect on the size of lobbying communities.
Partisan Strategy and Support in State Legislative Elections
Authors: Wiseman Alan E.
Published: March 2005

Using state-level data from Illinois General Assembly elections, I test the implications of a formal model of electoral competition where political parties present voters with platforms of ideological locations and levels of partisan support for their candidates. Consistent with the model, I find that candidate policy positions and parties’ campaign contributions are responsive to district partisan predisposition, even when controlling for the policy preferences of the district’s median voter and other conventional determinants of candidate ideology and funding. Also consistent with the theory, uncontested elections occur more often in politically lopsided districts than in districts where there are more even levels of partisan competition, and there is an inverse relationship between candidate policy extremity and campaign contributions. These results support a theory of activist programmatic parties in the electoral arena and highlight the need for further scholarship on the role of parties in the electorate and their connections with parties in the legislature.
Women for Women?
Authors: Brians Craig Leonard
Published: March 2005

In recent years, popular commentators have suggested that the Republican party could narrow the gender gap by nominating women candidates. This proposition assumes that (at least some) women voters’ partisan identification may be trumped by an affinity with their gender. I evaluate the claim that women voters are often induced to cross party lines on election day to support a woman candidate. Analyzing more than a decade of men’s and women’s voting behavior when male and female candidates face one another, I offer evidence that female candidates gain marginally greater support from their own gender. In a relationship not present with other male or female candidates, Democratic women candidates who face GOP men strongly benefit from Republican women voters’ crossover support.
Does the Candidate Really Matter?
Authors: Kilburn H. Whitt
Published: March 2005

Differences between the character traits of candidates are thought to critically influence presidential elections. Yet most research assessing the impact of candidate traits relies on citizen perceptions, which may be biased by a citizen’s prior dispositions toward candidates. In this article, the author addresses two questions that together have not been directly addressed in previous studies of candidate effects in presidential elections: First, how do candidates influence citizen perceptions of candidate traits? Second, to what extent are perceptions a cause and consequence of an overall candidate evaluation? With data from National Election Studies (NES) surveys, this article models the traits and perceptions of Democratic and Republican presidential candidates from 1980 to 2000. The author finds that despite the tendency of citizens to perceive more favorable traits in candidates they like, the candidates’own traits do condition citizen perceptions, yet this effect varies across traits and is surprisingly modest. The implications of these results for understanding the role of candidates in U.S. presidential elections are discussed.
Prenatal Detection of Congenital Mesoblastic Nephroma and Its Differentiation From Wilms Tumor: A Literature Review
Authors: Kurata Marika , Read Terry
Published: March 2005

Congenital mesoblastic nephroma (CMN) is the most common type of renal tumor in children younger than one year old. Prenatal diagnosis of this benign neoplasm can be achieved using sonography. New developments in sonographic technology, including color and power Doppler, and three-dimensional sonography have improved the detection and diagnosis of CMN in utero. Antenatal diagnosis will allow for optimal postpartum care of the baby. Furthermore, with experience, physicians and sonographers will be able to create a set of guidelines used to discriminate renal masses in utero. This report discusses several useful clinical tools when considering the prenatal diagnosis of congenital mesoblastic nephroma.
The Role of Intraoperative Sonography in Neurosurgery
Authors: Janson Marie , Michael Kim , Berg Jody , Anderson Joseph C.
Published: March 2005

Intraoperative sonography is becoming a well-recognized addition in neurosurgery. Intraoperative sonography can be used for assistance in tumor resection, evaluation of vessels with color flow Doppler, reduction in surgery time, decreased cost, and real-time scanning without radiation administered to the patient. With technological advances occurring constantly, sonography as well as neurosurgery will continually improve. Neurosurgery is one of the most sensitive and delicate surgeries performed. Intraoperative sonography in neurosurgery can assist in tumor localization, vascular malformation detection, and anatomical evaluation of relationships between a tumor and normal brain tissue. In light of the technological advances as well as lower cost, intraoperative sonography is becoming more common in neurosurgery.
Branchial Cleft Cysts and Other Related Anomalies
Authors: Walton Anne , Michael Kim
Published: March 2005

Anomalies of the branchial cleft form during early embryonic head and neck development. Many of these anomalies are asymptomatic, but when symptoms occur, the only definitive method of treatment is surgical excision. Sonography is a useful imaging modality for assessment of neck masses. A case of branchial cleft cyst evaluated by sonography is presented, and differential diagnoses are discussed.
Adult Echocardiography and Doppler
Authors: Strub Karen L.
Published: March 2005

One of the first reports of cardiac ultrasound imaging occurred in 1954 by Elder and Hertz. They described the use of ultrasound imaging for displaying continuous recording of movement of heart walls. This was displayed by the use of A-mode and B-mode methods. In the late 1950s, continuous-wave Doppler was used in cardiac imaging. By the late 1960s, two-dimensional real-time B-mode imaging was performed using mechanical head transducers. In the mid-1970s, phased array transducers were being utilized. Also in the late 1970s, transesophageal echo was being tested. The 1980s have seen advances in computer technology that have made color flow Doppler imaging possible, along with better image quality through scan conversion and image processing. In the 1990s developing techniques included stress echocardiography, intravascular ultrasound, contrast echocardiography, digital acquisition, second harmonic imaging, ultrasonic tissue characterization, and three-dimensional echocardiography. More recently, echocardiography has seen advances in real-time 3D imaging, handheld echocardiography, and myocardial perfusion. Advances in technology, along with improved understanding of the equipment, have made the availability and demand of echocardiography invaluable.
Sonographic Evaluation of Arteritis
Authors: Rogers Sarah
Published: March 2005

Arteritis is an inflammation of the arterial wall that can lead to stenosis or occlusion of the affected vessels. Symptoms vary and depend on the arteries involved. Diagnosis is based on multiple factors consisting of the size of the arteries involved, patient age, clinical symptoms and history, laboratory results (blood and/or biopsy), and diagnostic examination analysis. Sonography is a valuable diagnostic tool, especially in large artery involvement.
Anomalous Left Coronary Artery From the Pulmonary Artery (ALCAPA)
Authors: Hallmark Kristen
Published: March 2005

Anomalous left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery, or ALCAPA, is a rare, congenital cardiac anomaly. The condition causes ischemia and, if left untreated, can lead to death. It is important for cardiac sonographers to recognize the signs, symptoms, and sonographic characteristics of ALCAPA. A case of ALCAPA diagnosed by echocardiography is presented.
Evaluation of Hemivertebrae and Fetal Ribs Using 3D Sonography
Authors: Moser Jayne C.
Published: March 2005

Hemivertebrae is the failure of an ossification center to develop, resulting in an abnormal curvature of the spine. It is the primary cause of scoliosis and kyphosis. Hemivertebrae may be isolated or associated with multiple anomalies, the most common being neural tube defects. It is also strongly associated with upper extremity and rib abnormalities. Other associated abnormalities include cardiac, genitourinary, and gastrointestinal abnormalities as well as a variety of syndromes. The prognosis is directly related to the associated findings. Three-dimensional sonography provides a significant increase in the diagnostic recognition of rib and scapula abnormalities associated with hemivertebrae. This allows for a more accurate prenatal diagnosis and predicted prognosis.
Disparate lymphoid chemokine expression in mice and men: no evidence of CCL21 synthesis by human high endothelial venules
Authors: Carlsen Hege S. , Haraldsen Guttorm , Brandtzaeg Per , Baekkevold Espen S.
Published: April 2005

T-cell homing to secondary lymphoid tissues generally depends on chemokine-induced firm adhesion in high endothelial venules (HEVs) and is primarily mediated through the CC chemokine receptor 7 (CCR7) on lymphocytes. The CCR7 ligand designated CCL21 is considered the most important trigger because it appears constitutively expressed by murine HEVs. Surprisingly, when we analyzed human tissues, no CCL21 mRNA could be detected in HEVs. In fact, CCL21 mRNA was only expressed in extravascular T-zone cells and lymphatics, whereas immunostaining revealed CCL21 protein within HEVs. This suggests that T-cell recruitment to human lymphoid tissues depends on the transcytosis of lymphoid chemokines through HEV cells because there is at present no evidence of alternative chemokine production in these cells that could explain the attraction of naive T lymphocytes.
Prevalence of Traumatic Hip and Pelvic Fractures in Patients with Suspected Hip Fracture and Negative Initial Standard Radiographs—A Study of Emergency Department Patients
Authors: Dominguez Shari , Liu Patrick , Roberts Catherine , Mandell Mark , Richman Peter B.
Published: April 2005

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of hip and pelvic fractures in emergency department (ED) patients with hip pain and negative standard initial radiographs. Methods: This was a retrospective, cohort study at an academic, community‐based ED. ED patients presenting during a one‐year period with hip pain for whom a plain‐film radiograph was obtained were included. Eligible patients were identified by query of electronic records. Plain radiographs and magnetic resonance images (MRIs) were ordered at the discretion of the treating physician. Initial plain radiographs were read at the point of care by board‐certified radiologists. MRI images were reviewed by radiologists with fellowship training in musculoskeletal imaging. Structured follow‐up at more than one month postvisit was conducted to rule out a subsequent diagnosis of hip fracture. Ninety‐five‐percent confidence intervals (95% CIs) and kappa (κ) were calculated as appropriate. Results: Seven hundred sixty‐four of 895 patients (85.3%) had follow‐up completed (study group). Within the study group, 219 patients (29%) had evidence of fracture on initial radiographs. Of the 545 patients with negative initial radiographs, 62 patients (11.4%) underwent hip MRI during the ED visit. MRI identified 24 additional patients with hip fractures. Interobserver agreement for the presence of fracture on MRI was very good (κ= 0.847). For patients with negative initial plain radiographs who did not have a hip MRI, follow‐up did not identify any of these patients as having a subsequent diagnosis of fracture. Thus, 24 of 545 (4.4%; 95% CI = 3.0% to 6.5%) patients with negative initial plain radiographs had a hip fracture. Conclusions: In this cohort of ED patients with symptoms suspicious for hip fracture who had negative standard radiographs, the authors found that 4.4% were subsequently diagnosed as having fracture. Further studies are warranted to identify characteristics of patients requiring advanced hip imaging studies.
Protein Breakdown in Muscle from Burned Rats Is Blocked by Insulin-Like Growth Factor I and Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3β Inhibitors
Authors: Fang Cheng-Hui , Li Bing-Guo , James J. Howard , King Jy-Kung , Evenson Amy R. , Warden Glenn D. , Hasselgren Per-Olof
Published: April 2005

We reported previously that IGF-I inhibits burn-induced muscle proteolysis. Recent studies suggest that activation of the phosphotidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt signaling pathway with downstream phosphorylation of Forkhead box O transcription factors is an important mechanism of IGF-I-induced anabolic effects in skeletal muscle. The potential roles of other mechanisms in the anabolic effects of IGF-I are less well understood. In this study we tested the roles of mammalian target of rapamycin and glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) phosphorylation as well as MAPK- and calcineurin-dependent signaling pathways in the anticatabolic effects of IGF-I by incubating extensor digitorum longus muscles from burned rats in the presence of IGF-I and specific signaling pathway inhibitors. Surprisingly, the PI3K inhibitors LY294002 and wortmannin reduced basal protein breakdown. No additional inhibition by IGF-I was noticed in the presence of LY294002 or wortmannin. Inhibition of proteolysis by IGF-I was associated with phosphorylation (inactivation) of GSK-3β. In addition, the GSK-3β inhibitors, lithium chloride and thiadiazolidinone-8, reduced protein breakdown in a similar fashion as IGF-I. Lithium chloride, but not thiadiazolidinone-8, increased the levels of phosphorylated Foxo 1 in incubated muscles from burned rats. Inhibitors of mammalian target of rapamycin, MAPK, and calcineurin did not prevent the IGF-I-induced inhibition of muscle proteolysis. Our results suggest that IGF-I inhibits protein breakdown at least in part through a PI3K/Akt/GSK3β-dependent mechanism. Additional experiments showed that similar mechanisms were responsible for the effect of IGF-I in muscle from nonburned rats. Taken together with recent reports in the literature, the present results suggest that IGF-I inhibits protein breakdown in skeletal muscle by multiple mechanisms, including PI3K/Akt-mediated inactivation of GSK-3β and Foxo transcription factors.
Athyroid Pax8−/− Mice Cannot Be Rescued by the Inactivation of Thyroid Hormone Receptor α1
Authors: Mittag Jens , Friedrichsen Sönke , Heuer Heike , Polsfuss Silke , Visser Theo J. , Bauer Karl
Published: April 2005

The Pax8−/− mouse provides an ideal animal model to study the consequences of congenital hypothyroidism, because its only known defect is the absence of thyroid follicular cells. Pax8−/− mice are, therefore, completely athyroid in postnatal life and die around weaning unless they are substituted with thyroid hormones. As reported recently, Pax8−/− mice can also be rescued and survive to adulthood by the additional elimination of the entire thyroid hormone receptor α (TRα) gene, yielding Pax8−/−TRαo/o double-knockout animals. This observation has led to the hypothesis that unliganded TRα1 might be responsible for the lethal phenotype observed in Pax8−/− animals. In this study we report the generation of Pax8−/−TRα1−/− double-knockout mice that still express the non-T3-binding TR isoforms α2 and Δα2. These animals closely resemble the phenotype of Pax8−/− mice, including growth retardation and a completely distorted appearance of the pituitary with thyrotroph hyperplasia and hypertrophy, extremely high TSH mRNA levels, reduced GH mRNA expression, and the almost complete absence of lactotrophs. Like Pax8−/− mice, Pax8−/−TRα1−/− compound mutants die around weaning unless they are substituted with thyroid hormones. These findings do not support the previous interpretation that the short life span of Pax8−/− mice is due to the negative effects of the TRα1 aporeceptor, but, rather, suggest a more complex mechanism involving TRα2 and an unliganded TR isoform.