bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Utility of Store-and-Forward Pediatric Telecardiology Evaluation in Distinguishing Normal From Pathologic Pediatric Heart Sounds
Authors: Mahnke C. Becket , Mulreany Michael P. , Inafuku Jill , Abbas Mazen , Feingold Brian , Paolillo Joseph A.
Published: July 2008

Because pediatric cardiologists can accurately diagnose innocent murmurs by physical exam alone, the authors developed a system for remote cardiac auscultation. They hypothesized that their system could accurately classify auscultatory findings as normal/innocent or pathologic. Patients undergoing evaluation underwent examination, echocardiography, and heart sound recording. Pediatric cardiologists evaluated the heart sounds and classified the case as either normal/innocent or pathologic. They reviewed103 heart sound data sets; 85% of the cases were accurately classified as either normal/innocent or pathologic, with a sensitivity of 82% and specificity of 86%. However, when accounting for clinical diagnosis, reviewer uncertainty, and ECG abnormalities, the sensitivity and specificity improved to 91% and 88% (accuracy 89%), respectively. Degree of certainty with the telecardiology diagnosis correlated with correct interpretation ( P < .005). Digital heart sound recordings evaluated via telemedicine can distinguish normal/innocent murmurs from pathologic ones. Such a system could improve the use of pediatric cardiology services.
Rural School-Based Telehealth: How to Make It Happen
Authors: Burke Bryan , Bynum Ann , Hall-Barrow Julie , Ott Rachel , Albright Margaret
Published: July 2008

When organizing new health care interventions among a rural population, a careful planning process respecting community-specific considerations should be used. The project objective centered on the successful implementation of a school-based telehealth clinic serving a rural, health-disparate population. Using an American Academy of Pediatrics Community Access to Child Health planning grant, a needs assessment of the Delta community was conducted. In synthesizing the results of this planning project, consensually addressed issues led to establishing a pilot school-based telehealth clinic within the rural county schools. Seven essential steps emerged as a set of guidelines that entities might consider in introducing a telemedicine school-based service in a rural community. The steps included assessing local and regional needs, securing community support and establishing goals, evaluating resources, configuring logistics, training staff, informing parents, and launching the clinic. Proper planning is crucial to the establishment of a rural school-based telehealth clinic.
Sources of Knowledge Transfer Among Primary Care Pediatric Health Care Providers
Authors: Pappano Dante , Conners Gregory , McIntosh Scott , Humiston Sharon , Roma Domenick
Published: July 2008

Objectives The authors sought to understand which informational sources pediatric health care providers perceive as most influential in how they stay current with health care innovations.

Methods Rochester, New York, area pediatric health care providers were surveyed using a self-administered questionnaire. Two items pertained to the health care provider's ability to interpret primary research, and 9 items pertained to the influence and relative importance of various sources of information.

Results A 61% response rate was obtained. Most (83%) respondents felt adequately trained to interpret primary research, fewer (31%) felt they have the time to do so. Almost all respondents (92%) felt that American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidelines were a major influence, and 44% felt that AAP guidelines were the single most influential source of information in how they altered their practice over time.

Conclusions In the setting of time constraints, and the volume and complexity of published therapeutic research, AAP guidelines are playing an increasing role in knowledge transfer.
Surrogate Decision Making for the Previously Capable Minor
Authors: Rogers Charles G. , Duhon Gary
Published: July 2008

An older-adolescent patient becomes incapable of making medical decisions due to the progression of his illness. The medical team members are faced with a conflict between what the law requires and their ethical convictions regarding who should be the surrogate decision maker. A discussion of relevant law and ethical standards is presented as it applies to similar situations.
New Testament Theology Since Bultmann
Authors: Morgan Robert
Published: July 2008

Textbooks bearing the title New Testament Theology (or similar) are a small part of the sub-discipline, but can clarify its problems and summarize conclusions. This article refers to earlier work before considering the textbooks published over the past forty years. It appends a list of commentaries and series which also contain much New Testament Theology and refers to other writings which show something of the character of the discipline.
Women in the Old Testament: Issues of Authority, Power and Justice
Authors: Tucker W. Dennis
Published: July 2008

This article provides an interpretative lens through which the women in the Old Testament might be viewed. Central to this approach is the descriptive task, which in this case suggests that women did occupy places of power within Israelite society. But in addition, such a reading contributes to the prescriptive task, raising the larger questions of justice and equity.
`Scripture its Own Commentator': a History of English Cross-Reference Bibles
Authors: Tomes Roger
Published: July 2008

The history of English cross-reference Bibles is traced from its beginnings with Tyndale and Coverdale, through successive editions of the King James Bible, to the compilation published with the Revised Version in 1898, on which the recent NRSV cross-reference edition is based. Some independent (and idiosyncratic) compilers are looked at on the way, and some hesitations about the value of cross-references are discussed.
Working Memory Deficits in Children With Specific Learning Disorders
Authors: Schuchardt Kirsten , Maehler Claudia , Hasselhorn Marcus
Published: July 2008

This article examines working memory functioning in children with specific developmental disorders of scholastic skills as defined by ICD-10. Ninety-seven second to fourth graders with a minimum IQ of 80 are compared using a 2 x 2 factorial (dyscalculia vs. no dyscalculia; dyslexia vs. no dyslexia) design. An extensive test battery assesses the three subcomponents of working memory described by Baddeley (1986): phonological loop, visual-spatial sketchpad, and central executive. Children with dyscalculia show deficits in visual-spatial memory; children with dyslexia show deficits in phonological and central executive functioning. When controlling for the influence of the phonological loop on the performance of the central executive, however, the effect is no longer significant. Although children with both reading and arithmetic disorders are consistently outperformed by all other groups, there is no significant interaction between the factors dyscalculia and dyslexia.
Development of Oral Reading Fluency in Children With Speech or Language Impairments
Authors: Puranik Cynthia S. , Petscher Yaacov , Al Otaiba Stephanie , Catts Hugh W. , Lonigan Christopher J.
Published: July 2008

This longitudinal study used piece-wise growth curve analyses to examine growth patterns in oral reading fluency for 1,991 students with speech impairments (SI) or language impairments (LI) from first through third grade. The main finding of this study was that a diagnosis of SI or LI can have a detrimental and persistent effect on early reading skills. Results indicated differences between subgroups in growth trajectories that were evident in first grade. A large proportion of students with SI or LI did not meet grade-level reading fluency benchmarks. Overall students with SI showed better performance than students with LI. Reading fluency performance was negatively related to the persistence of the SI or LI; the lowest performing students were those originally identified with SI or LI whose diagnosis changed to a learning disability. The results underscore the need to identify, monitor, and address reading fluency difficulties early among students with SI or LI.
Effects of Time Management Instruction on Adolescents’ Ability to Self-Manage Time in a Vocational Setting
Authors: DiPipi-Hoy Caroline , Jitendra Asha K. , Kern Lee
Published: July 2008

This study investigated the effectiveness of a time self-management intervention in the work setting of four adolescents with developmental disabilities. A multiple baseline across participants design was used to examine the adolescents’ ability to independently identify time and initiate work-related activities. Intervention was delivered by instructors at each participant’s work site and involved the use of an alarm watch that sounded at specific intervals to prompt students to check the time. Results indicated that all four participants increased their performance in managing time at work from baseline to intervention. Additionally, although there were variations across participants, overall generalization of the time management skill to a novel environment (i.e., a community site) occurred following intervention.
Understanding of Prayer Among African American Children: Preliminary Themes
Authors: Humphrey Natalie , Hughes Honore M. , Holmes Deserie
Published: July 2008

Theoretical accounts of African American culture describe spirituality and religion as significant socializing agents for African American children. Empirical studies suggest that prayer is a vital aspect of religious and spiritual fulfillment for African American families. Studies have also found that religious affiliation and cultural background influence the religious development of children. However, religious practices, such as prayer among African American children, have not been studied empirically. The purpose of this study is to describe how African American children understand prayer within a cultural context. This study also explored emotions that African American children associate with prayer. A convenience sample of 36 African American children aged 8 to 13 years participated in a structured interview. Core ideas among their responses were identified with a consensual qualitative coding method. Results from the current study were used to generate hypotheses regarding understanding of prayer among African American children.
The Influence of Role Status on Risky Sexual Behavior Among African Americans During the Transition to Adulthood
Authors: Kogan Steven M. , Brody Gene H. , Gibbons Frederick X. , Murry Velma McBride , Cutrona Carolyn E. , Simons Ronald L. , Wingood Gina , DiClemente Ralph
Published: July 2008

Little research has examined the links between role status changes during the transition to adulthood and sexual behaviors that place African Americans at risk for sexually transmitted infections. Moreover, the mediating processes that explain these links, or protective factors that may buffer young adults from risky sexual behavior, are unknown. African American young adults who had either completed or dropped out of high school (ages 18 to 21, N = 186) provided information regarding their sexual behavior, role status, substance use, peer affiliations, religiosity, and receipt of protective family processes. Anticipated school attendance, part-time rather than full-time employment, and residence in a dorm or barracks rather than with peers or alone were negatively associated with risk behavior. Parenthood was positively associated with risk behavior; affiliation with peers who encourage risky sex partially accounted for this effect. Substance use fully accounted for the effect of part-time versus full-time employment on sexual risk behavior. Protective family processes and religiosity moderated the association of parenthood with sexual risk behavior. Prospective studies on these processes are warranted.
Review Essay: “Mind of God”—Not
Authors: McShane Clay
Published: July 2008

This essay looks at Google's rapidly expanding project to digitize millions of books at a number of major libraries and evaluates this research tool for urban historians.
Puranic Texts from Kashmir
Authors: Sharma Mahesh
Published: July 2008

Focusing on the western Himalayan provinces of Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, this article argues that the Indian hagiographic texts of the Puranas should be understood as a nuanced literature that sought to effect a paradigm shift in liturgy and praxis, fusing polity and religion, largely in contravention to the earlier Vedic–Upanishadic texts and their commentaries, but also building on them. Emphasis on local Sanskrit literature, specifically the Nilamata Purana, which uses popular iconographies of river goddesses, served many centuries ago to reconstruct the geography of the area within the wider context of the subcontinental sacred geography.

Keeping within the Puranic tradition, the article focuses on the rituals and ceremonials associated with rivers, while also charting the process by which regional pilgrim centres were formed on their banks, devising a sacred space parallel to the subcontinental cosmos. This reinforces the logic of the sacred river, the worshipped deity, as a process by which brahmanic dominance was asserted in the peripheral areas of early India, or ideologically and politically contested regions such as Kashmir. In the sacrality of the river Vitasta, Brahmanism as an ideology reasserts itself by restating the tradition in relation to its sacral past, creating a new sacred space and devising a sacred icon to reclaim this particular geography for the devout Brahmanas.
Hungry for Change
Authors: Sridhar Devi
Published: July 2008

The World Bank has become the largest financial contributor to health-related and nutrition projects, committing more than $1 billion annually towards the health, nutrition and population sector. This article examines how the World Bank addressed malnutrition in Tamil Nadu and discusses the consequences of this approach for the Bank's projects and target communities. Using the case study of the Tamil Nadu Integrated Nutrition Project (TINP), it is argued that the World Bank nutrition package, now implemented in several countries, might not be effective in extremely poor and destitute communities because it does not address the underlying social causes of malnutrition. The final section of the article goes ‘inside’ the Bank to examine two institutional drivers that could explain the promotion of the TINP approach to undernutrition.
Demarginalisation and History
Authors: Narayan Badri
Published: July 2008

The article demonstrates how the ongoing demarginalisation of Dalits in India today works on a variety of levels. Through creating new narratives and virtually inventing a new alternative history and language, this movement for demarginalisation uses a particular style of popular and widely circulated booklets, vigorously read and disseminated by the neo-literate Dalit population. The construction of this alternative history through such new texts, seen as an existential necessity for the Dalits, works by weaving together stories found in religious Brahminical popular texts about dissenting lower caste characters, glorified as Dalit heroes who fought against upper caste oppression and injustice. It also includes stories of unsung Dalit freedom fighters, transformed into local myths. Importantly, the language used is different from Standard Hindi, since folk proverbs, idioms and symbols, as well as the grammar and vocabulary of local dialects, are used. The article demonstrates in some detail how these processes of constructing new literature work, and indicates that these new sources may well be laying foundations for the histories of the future of many subaltern communities of South Asia.
Amrikan Shari'a
Authors: Zaman Saminaz
Published: July 2008

This article examines the growth and development of the hybridized practice of Muslim laws in the shadow of the American legal system, a form of unofficial law that may be called amrikan shari'a. Following the immigration trajectory of many American Muslims, transnational information links forged by wide-scale immigration are explored, particularly the innovative use of new online resources available to Muslim immigrants in America and the proliferation of online fiqh discussion groups, which has fostered the very American character of the do-it-yourself mufti. A further section considers several mahr cases that have reached American courtrooms and compares one such case with a similar English case, which was decided rather differently. The article concludes with an assessment of how the Bush government's ‘War on Terror’ and domestic US developments, such as legalizing gay marriage in Massachusetts and the increasing presence of second-generation Muslim Americans, combine to affect the future of amrikan shari'a within a secular legal system.
South Asian Female Migrants’ Work Differentials
Authors: Foroutan Yaghoob
Published: July 2008

This article examines the employment and occupational status of South Asian female migrants in Australia, mostly Indian and Sri Lankan. It highlights their work differentials with both native-born and other female migrants in this multicultural context and confirms that they are a highly selected population who potentially bring considerable economic benefits to the receiving society. The observation that South Asian female migrants in Australia are able to contribute significant human capital in the form of language and education skills, but do so to some extent on their own terms, suggests that more careful attention needs to be paid to selecting migrants from South Asia and facilitating their entry into the labour market.
The Impact of Individualized Evidence-Based Decision Support on Aneurysm Patients' Decision Making, Ideals of Autonomy, and Quality of Life
Authors: Stiggelbout Anne M. , Molewijk Albert C. , Otten Wilma , Van Bockel J. Hajo , Bruijninckx Cornelis M. A. , Van der Salm Ilse , Kievit Job
Published: July 2008

Background . A major challenge in surgery is the integration of evidence-based medicine and patient autonomy. The authors present a randomized trial studying the effect of an individualized evidence-based brochure (IB) on patients' autonomous behavior, patients' ideals of autonomy, and quality of life. Method . Patients with an asymptomatic abdominal aneurysm and their surgeon were randomized to receive a general brochure (GB) or an IB presenting survival information and a ranking of the treatment strategies. Before and after receiving the brochure, patients filled out questionnaires on their behavior during the consultation, ideals of patient autonomy, and quality of life. Surgeons answered a short checklist evaluating the consultation. Results . One hundred patients participated, 49 in the intervention, 51 in the control group. The IB group had a better understanding of important issues in the treatment decision, had prepared more questions, and was less satisfied with the duration of the consultation. Their impression that the surgeon perceived them more as a medical problem than a patient with a problem increased. They agreed less with the surgeon's advice and lost some of their belief in ``the doctor knows best.'' Beforehand, the IB group had a stronger preference for patient-based decisions, but afterward they displayed more surgeon-based decisions. No effects were seen on patients' quality of life. Conclusions . Individualized evidence-based information stimulated patients' active involvement but in the context of our study led to less patient-based decisions. Patient-made decisions and patient autonomy should, however, not be equated.
The Contralateral Knee Joint in Cruciate Ligament Deficiency
Authors: Kozanek Michal , Van de Velde Samuel K. , Gill Thomas J. , Li Guoan
Published: July 2008

Background

Patients with unilateral ligament deficiency are believed to have altered kinematics of the contralateral knee, increasing the risk of contralateral joint injury. Therefore, the contralateral knees might not be a reliable normal kinematic control.

Purpose

To compare the in vivo kinematics of the uninjured contralateral knees of patients with anterior or posterior cruciate ligament deficiency with knee kinematics of age-matched patients without joint injury.

Study Design

Controlled laboratory study.

Methods

Ten subjects with bilateral healthy knees, 10 patients with acute unilateral anterior cruciate ligament injury, and 10 with acute unilateral posterior cruciate ligament injury participated in this study. Kinematics were measured from 0° to 90° of flexion using imaging and 3-dimensional modeling.

Results

No significant differences were found across the groups in all rotations and translations during weightbearing flexion (P > .9).

Conclusion

Patients with unilateral cruciate ligament deficiency did not alter kinematics of the contralateral uninjured knee during weightbearing flexion. In addition, these findings suggest that the included patients with anterior cruciate ligament or posterior cruciate ligament deficiency did not have preexisting abnormal kinematics of the knee.

Clinical Relevance

As the contralateral joint kinematics of the injured patients were not affected by the ipsilateral ligament injury in the short term, physicians and researchers might use the contralateral knee as a reliable normal kinematic control.
Using Basic Reading Skills Instruction and Formative Assessments to Teach an Adult With Traumatic Brain Injury to Read
Authors: Goddard Yvonne , Rinderknecht Laura
Published: July 2008

Literacy expectations for persons with cognitive impairments, including impairments caused by traumatic brain injury (TBI), have remained quite low. Some researchers have suggested that educators move from a focus on teaching functional skills to teaching basic reading skills in a manner similar to instruction for nondisabled learners. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of basic reading strategies on reading skills for an adult with cognitive impairments caused by TBI while using formative assessment to inform instructional decision making. The findings suggest that persons with traumatic brain injury resulting in cognitive and memory impairments may have the potential to learn basic reading skills, even years after a TBI has occurred.
You Just Feed Them With a Long-Handled Spoon
Authors: Graue M. Elizabeth , Oen Denise
Published: July 2008

Emerging from an evaluation of Wisconsin’s Student Achievement Guarantee in Education program (SAGE), a multidimensional program popularly known for its class size reduction component, this article examines SAGE’s lighted schoolhouse initiative aimed to strengthen links between home and school. Drawing on family focus groups held at nine SAGE schools, we use Bakhtin’s tools of addressivity and answerability to explore how families constructed locally specific identities within particular community contexts. Family discussions focused on responding to needs: family social needs, the need for social connection, and perceived answerability felt by families for their community. We suggest that schools would be more successful in building relationships if they used the potential power promised in class size reduction programs and developed programming focused on the needs and resources of families in particular communities rather than imagining a generic, one-size-fits-all model of parents.
Assessing Multiple Medication Use With Probabilities of Benefits and Harms
Authors: Murphy Terrence E. , Agostini Joseph V. , Van Ness Peter H. , Peduzzi Peter , Tinetti Mary E. , Allore Heather G.
Published: July 2008

Objective: A quantitative framework to assess harms and benefits of candidate medications in the context of drugs that a patient is already taking is proposed. Method: Probabilities of harms and benefits of a given medication are averaged to yield a utility value. The utility values of all medications under consideration are combined as a geometric mean to yield an overall measure of favorability. The grouping of medications yielding the highest favorability value is chosen. Results: Five examples of choosing between widely used candidate medications demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed framework. Discussion: The framework proposed provides a simple method for considering the trade-offs involved in prescribing multiple medications. It can be adapted to include additional parameters representing severity of condition, prioritization of outcomes, patient preferences, dosages, and medication interactions. Inconsistent reporting in the medical literature of data about benefits and harms of medications, dosages, and interactions constitutes its primary limitation.
Determinants of Self-Rated Health Items With Different Points of Reference
Authors: Sargent-Cox Kerry A. , Anstey Kaarin J. , Luszcz Mary A.
Published: July 2008

Objective: This study assessed whether three commonly used self-rated health (SRH) items (global, age-comparative, and self-comparative) are equivalent measures of health perception for older adults. Method: Regression analyses were used to simultaneously contrast the associations between physical, psychological, and social factors relating to health for three SRH items, in a large ( N = 2,034) population-based sample of older adults (65 years and older) from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Aging. Results: Health perceptions were more positive for the age-comparative SRH measure, compared to the pessimistic ratings of the self-comparative measure, particularly for the oldest-old adults. Different patterns of associations between the health factors and SRH measures were found. Discussion: These results show the three SRH items are not equivalent measures of health and cannot be used interchangeably. The reference point of the SRH item has a considerable influence on health perceptions of older adults as it encapsulates unique health information.
Integrating an educational 3D game in Moodle
Authors: González Carina S. , Blanco Francisco
Published: July 2008

Different approaches have demonstrated that learning improves when implemented in a constructivist and social way. In addition, electronic games and simulations are perceived to have high educational value because of their motivational and emotional factors. This potential value can be developed by defining appropriate scenarios in which players are presented learning objectives with playable goals using different strategies. The authors introduce a prototype intended to include such scenarios in learning flows, partially integrating the learning management system Moodle and BioWare's game Neverwinter Nights. First, the authors analyze the reasons and background that support their proposal. They then provide a description of the motivational and cognitive factors that influence human interaction with video games (especially 3D games) and learning. The implemented prototype is then introduced, taking into account scenarios, roles, environments, and how collaboration is implemented. Finally, the authors present their conclusions.
One for All and All for One: Using Multiple Identification Theory Simulations to Build Cooperative Attitudes and Behaviors in a Middle Eastern Conflict Scenario
Authors: Williams Robert Howard , Williams Alexander Jonathan
Published: July 2008

The authors previously developed multiple identification theory (MIT) as a system of simulation game design intended to promote attitude change. The present study further tests MIT’s effectiveness. The authors created a game (CULTURE & CREED) via MIT as a complex simulation of Middle Eastern conflict resolution, designed to change attitudes and behaviors from competition to cooperation. Participants completed pretest questionnaires measuring “cooperation versus competition,” “truthfulness versus deception,” and “viewing a situation from a social versus an individual perspective.” Participants played the simulation twice and then completed posttest questionnaires. The authors recorded behavioral measures of players’ cooperative or aggressive actions during the simulation. Statistical analysis found significant change in a cooperative direction for both attitudinal and behavioral measures. Robust effect sizes were observed. More than 60% of participants reported transferring the cooperative attitudes they learned in the game to life situations. Simulations designed with MIT could be applied to other conflict scenarios and used to modify attitudes.
Rational—Emotive Therapy to Help Teachers Control Their Emotions and Behavior When Dealing With Disagreeable Students
Authors: Maag John W.
Published: July 2008

Students with challenging behaviors are very deft at engaging teachers in power struggles as a way to either feel empowered, obtain attention, or escape an unpleasant task. The more frustrated that teachers permit themselves to get, the less capable they are of responding in a therapeutic, productive fashion to students'challenging behaviors. The purpose of this article is to describe a system, based on principles of rational—emotive therapy, to help teachers stay composed when dealing with disagreeable students. Emotionally controlled teachers have greater access to behaviors in their repertoire for responding effectively to students' challenging behaviors.
The Antianginal Agent, Ranolazine, Reduces Myocardial Infarct Size but Does Not Alter Anatomic No-Reflow or Regional Myocardial Blood Flow in Ischemia/Reperfusion in the Rabbit
Authors: Hale Sharon L. , Kloner Robert A.
Published: July 2008

It has been suggested that ranolazine protects the ischemic/reperfused heart by reducing diastolic wall pressure during ischemia. However, there is limited information regarding the effect of ranolazine on the anatomic zone of no-flow in a model of acute myocardial occlusion/reperfusion. Before coronary artery occlusion (CAO), open-chest anesthetized rabbits were assigned to vehicle or ranolazine. Hearts received 60 minutes of CAO and 3 hours reperfusion. Ischemic risk zone was comparable in the 2 groups. Ranolazine significantly reduced infarct size. There was a non-significant trend for the no-reflow defect to be smaller in the ranolazine group. Regional myocardial blood flow was similar in both groups in the risk zone during ischemia and at 3 hours reperfusion. Heart rates were similar in both groups, whereas mean arterial pressure was reduced in the ranolazine group. While ranolazine was effective in reducing myocardial infarct size, the mechanism by which it did this was independent of improving perfusion during either ischemia or reperfusion, suggesting that ranolazine's effect of reducing infarct size involves alternative mechanisms.
A Key to Success in Home Health Care!
Authors: McIntyre Elizabeth
Published: July 2008

This article presents five specific components of the certified nursing assistant's (CNA's) role in the clinical setting that are essential to patient care quality. These are hands-on skill level, communication, reliability and integrity, documentation and technology, and clinical knowledge base. The importance of education and communication by the caregiver staff for patients within long-term- and home-care settings is discussed relative to how these elements affect care and service delivery. Central to this ongoing observation and reporting is the role of the CNA within the long-term-care setting or the home health aide within the home care setting. By taking preventive actions and working as a team in the provision of patient care to individuals at risk for dehydration and renal failure, improved patient outcomes can be achieved. An education tool is also provided as a resource to direct caregivers in long-term- and home-care settings.
Impact of Nursing Case Management on an Underserved Population
Authors: Wideman Marilyn , Pizzello Lenora , Lemke Sally
Published: July 2008

Underserved populations face many barriers to health care that include lack of personal resources such as limited income, lack of or inadequate health care insurance, and limited community health care recourses. Nursing case management is an outcome-oriented model and is well suited to address these obstacles to care with interventions of resource identification, coordination of care, and promotion of self-sufficiency. This article will outline health care barriers for residents of a Housing First program, describe the implementation of a nursing case management model for these residents, discuss barrier reduction interventions, and present the related outcomes on acute care and preventative health care services. Implications of the model and outcomes are discussed.
Reducing Hospitalizations Through the Implementation of a Telehealth Program
Authors: Peters Donna
Published: July 2008

Telehealth in home care has proven to decrease rehospitalization rates across the country. This article describes one home care agency's journey and strategies that have reduced the rehospitalization rate of patients with heart failure. Early identification of high-risk patients, implementation of a dedicated staff person to facilitate referrals and monitor the program, intensive staff education, and clinical collaboration has resulted in measurable outcomes. This northeastern U.S. home care provider, that is, the Rockingham Visiting Nurse and Hospice Association, has demonstrated reduced hospitalizations for heart failure patients by 17%.
Social Support Moderates the Relationship Between Gay Community Integration and Sexual Risk Behavior Among Gay Male Couples
Authors: Fergus Stevenson , Lewis Megan A. , Darbes Lynae A. , Kral Alex H.
Published: July 2008

Few studies of partnered gay men consider the social context within which sexual behaviors occur or investigate positive aspects of the social environment that may offset factors that are related to risky sexual behaviors. Fewer still include assessment of both individuals making up couples. Using an ecological framework and an actor-partner multilevel analysis approach, the authors investigate how three dimensions of gay community integration are related to individual sexual risk behavior among 108 individuals in 54 couples. They then investigate how general social support and partner-provided, HIV-specific social support moderate these relationships. An individual’s gay community social engagement and general social support interact to predict sexual risk behavior, such that the apparent protective effect of social support is more pronounced among those with less social engagement. The association between partner-reported general social support and safer sexual behaviors is more pronounced among those whose partners disclose their gay identity to more people.
Linking Perceptual and Behavioral Customer Metrics to Multiperiod Customer Profitability
Authors: Larivière Bart
Published: July 2008

This study proposes and empirically tests a comprehensive service-profit chain (SPC) framework that links survey-based customer satisfaction (CS), service quality (SQ), and share-of-wallet (SOW) measures to longitudinal data on two outcome variables—customer retention and customer profitability—gathered from a financial services company's internal records. The framework also incorporates other potential determinants of customers' actual behavior and offers several important insights. First, it demonstrates that an “interactive customer segment” (replacing current offerings with newer ones) is more profitable than are other segments. Second, it augments current knowledge about the SOW-profitability link by revealing that (a) different levels of SOW generate different levels of customer profitability (cross-sectional effect) and different profitability trajectories through time (longitudinal effect), with the high-SOW segment outperforming full- and low-SOW segments, and (b) the longitudinal relationship between SOW and profitability is nonlinear, with heterogeneity in profitability across customers significantly higher than the variability of the observed profitability values over time.
Bloody slaughter: Ritual decapitation and display at the Viking settlement of Hofstaðir, Iceland
Authors: Lucas Gavin , McGovern Thomas
Published: July 2008

This article attempts an interpretation of an unusual assemblage of cattle skulls recovered from recent excavations at the Viking Age monumental hall of Hofstaðir in Iceland. Osteological analysis of the skulls indicates ritual decapitation and display of cattle heads, and this article seeks to explore the meanings of this practice in relation to the context of the site and the wider historical and ethnographic literature. It is argued that the beheading of cattle and display of their heads was a part of sacrificial acts conducted on a seasonal basis at the site, and primarily in the context of feasting and socio-political gatherings. The gatherings acted simultaneously as a means of both dissipating social tension and enhancing political status.
Ambivalent ambassadors and realistic reporters
Authors: Heikkilä Heikki , Kunelius Risto
Published: July 2008

The European Union represents an emerging transnational political system for mainstream professional journalism. As a developing and enlarging system of power, expertise and a field of negotiation for compromises it provides a new horizon for journalism and journalists who have been strongly shaped by national discourses about politics, democracy and the public sphere. This article tackles this broad challenge in three steps. First, a synthetic analysis based on interviews with European journalists from 11 countries describes the dominant professional horizons of professional identities and relates them to EU news. Second, an interpretation of the generic forms of journalistic storytelling is suggested by linking the professional identities and trends into an idea about the dynamics of chronotropes of EU-journalism. Finally, a third layer of the discussion is provided by connecting the potentials and pitfalls of professional journalism to theorizations about transnational democracies and public spheres.
Making Europe news
Authors: Statham Paul
Published: July 2008

This article addresses `media performance' and European governance. It examines how newspaper journalists view different aspects of their practices and roles in this process. First, the study provides a general picture of how journalism has responded to the transformation of politics resulting from advancing European integration. Second, it examines whether, based on journalists' assessments, this has involved a transformation of the practices and norms of journalism. The sample consists of 110 interviews with journalists from newspapers in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland, plus four transnationals. We find a limited but emergent `Europeanization' of journalism, carried by transnational newspapers serving specialist audiences and to a limited extent by European correspondents on the national press. Regarding `performance', we consider that journalists would be able to adapt and `Europeanize' to a greater extent if politicians improved their own communication efforts and made European governance more relevant to citizens.
Approaches of the transnational press to reporting Europe
Authors: Firmstone Julie
Published: July 2008

The concept of a European public sphere, and the emergence of a transnational media within this space, has been the subject of debate in recent years, yet little attention has been given to investigating the functioning of the media that currently occupy this space. This article provides an empirically based insight into the organizational context within which transnational newspapers produce coverage of the European Union (EU). Material collected in interviews with journalists from four transnational newspapers ( Wall Street Journal Europe, International Herald Tribune, Financial Times Europe and European Voice) is presented, and the way in which a range of internal and external factors shape transnational coverage of the EU is discussed. The findings suggest that as a consequence of the diverse range of approaches adopted by transnational newspapers, the EU remains unreported as a polity in its own right, and is predominantly covered from an external point of view.
EU membership and the press
Authors: Lecheler Sophie
Published: July 2008

In light of the 2004 and 2007 enlargement of the European Union with 12 new member states we need to reconsider what we know about the Brussels press corps. Brussels journalists play a pivotal role in the European integration process. They act as agents of Europeanization, wedged between complex European issues and national public spheres, privileged in terms of information supply, geographical proximity and social networking. This study is one of the first to examine correspondents from new member states vis-a-vis the rest of the Brussels press corps, EU institutions, home offices and audiences. In-depth, semi-structured interviews with 14 journalists from different new member states show that the current work situation of the new member states' correspondents in Brussels could impede the emergence of a Europe-wide public discourse. The growing heterogeneity of the Brussels press corps reduces the relative importance of journalists from smaller member states and leaves them at a disadvantage in the news-gathering process. Moreover, volatile and also tense media markets in the new member states, paired with little interest for EU affairs in these countries, constrain the journalists' news performance, leading them to stress national angles over European ones.
The contribution of the press to Europeanization of public debates
Authors: Pfetsch Barbara , Adam Silke , Eschner Barbara
Published: July 2008

In our study we seek to understand how national political contexts and different media formats constrain the role of the press in contributing to a Europeanization of national public spheres. To single out the explicit role of different newspapers in seven Western European countries we systematically compare their commentating about European integration. The role of the press is analyzed with respect to the visibility of European issues and actors and to the synchronization of conflict lines across Europe. The results show that the further a country is integrated into the European Union, the less parochial is its press and the stronger it takes part in a common European debate. Compared to these political settings the influence of specific press formats seems to play a secondary role.
European Councils as first encounters of trans-European media communication?
Authors: Cornia Alessio , Lönnendonker Julia , Nitz Pia
Published: July 2008

This case study, based on a multi-method research design, analyses the work routines of European journalists onsite during the European Spring Council 2006 and the coverage of the event in newspapers in Germany and Italy. The analysis finds some initial positive signs indicating a growth of trans-European (media) communication, which might eventually increase the amount of trans-European issues in public discourse. The results also suggest that similar work routines and close cooperation between journalists from different EU member states can be considered first indicators of a developing European journalism culture. Nevertheless, this does not directly translate into similar journalistic products. When it comes to selecting and presenting the news, journalists are still geared to national frames and schemes. National relevance is still the core criterion for news selection.
Globalization and the Housing Asset Rich
Authors: Forrest Ray
Published: July 2008

This article explores the importance of housing assets in shaping the global landscape of opportunity and disadvantage. In doing so, it is concerned with four key issues. First, it seeks to highlight the increasing significance of housing related wealth at a global scale. Second, it is concerned with the uneven and potentially divisive impact of housing asset accumulation, within and between societies. Third, it seeks to show how economic, geo-demographic and policy contexts combine to produce different outcomes for different population cohorts. Fourth, it discusses the way in which more market driven housing systems and housing wealth accumulation are changing the social policy environment. The underlying argument of the article is that the dynamics of housing markets and housing assets are of growing significance in relation to contemporary patterns of risk, opportunity, vulnerability and privilege and need to be embraced more thoroughly in social policy debate.
From Structural Adjustment to Social Adjustment
Authors: Bradshaw Sarah
Published: July 2008

The article explores the implications for gender roles and relations in Nicaragua of implementing a Conditional Cash Transfer programme aimed at improving the situation of the extreme poor. Nicaragua's programme, the Social Protection Network/Red de Protección Social (RPS), is modelled on the Progresa/Oportunidades programme of Mexico and shares many features in common. Evaluations of Progresa have suggested positive outcomes for women. However, examination of the findings highlight some cause for concern particularly around what inclusion on the programme means for the women involved. The article explores the consequences of translating this programme aimed at addressing the structural causes of poverty into a more overtly neoliberal and neo-conservative policy context such as that in Nicaragua. It highlights how a key feature of the RPS is the `social adjustment' of women's behaviour for economic growth gains and discusses the possible consequences for the women included and excluded from the programme.
Old Age Pensions, Poverty and Dignity
Authors: Kildal Nanna , Kuhnle Stein
Published: July 2008

AB STRACT The article refers to studies indicating that universal old age pension programmes alone or in combination with earnings-related schemes are conducive to poverty alleviation and less income inequality. Universalism matters, but few countries in the world have introduced universal old age pension programmes. The article does not research this apparent paradox, but asks the empirical question of whether poverty was a prime concern and reflected in arguments used in favour of universal old age pension when such programmes were introduced historically. What were the pro-arguments? The article looks at the arguments for establishing universal old age pension in three selected countries, all belonging to the group of pioneer countries in this respect: Canada, Mauritius and Norway, which all introduced universal pensions in the 1950s. Historical arguments for universal pension systems in these countries are presented and compared. The ambition to reduce poverty was an important motivation in two of the countries, but the main consideration cutting across all three countries was the moral aversion to means-testing and the desire to achieve fairness and respect to human dignity. Another argument found in all three countries was the pragmatic one that a universal scheme would lead to a reduction of the administrative cost of old age provision compared with a system based on means testing.
Pension Reform in Nigeria
Authors: Casey Bernard H. , Dostal Jörg Michael
Published: July 2008

While the Chilean pension reform has received considerable attention, its emulation in Nigeria has not. This article is the first in-depth analysis of the Nigerian reform. It suggests that the Nigerian authorities failed to learn the lessons of Chile. They transposed a system that both failed to serve the country from which it was copied and that is inappropriate to the country to which it was copied. For countries such as Nigeria, alternative forms of provision for old age are needed. A social pension might be considered.