bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Profit and Health Care: Trends in Corporatization and Proprietization
Authors: Salmon J. Warren
Published: May 2005

Throughout this century, profit has been an underlying motor force for health sector developments. However, as the concentration and centralization of health care delivery has proceeded in the United States, the pursuit of profit has become central. Even before the Reagan policy redirections raised “marketplace efficiency” as the supreme determinant of how the population's health needs are to be (or actually will not be) met, the rise of the nationwide proprietary hospital conglomerates over the last 15 years signified a new organization form. No longer camouflaged under an out-moded “not-for-profit” designation, the delivery of health care is now officially to be a “business” run for economic gain. Corporatization and proprietization trends have unmasked that profit regulates which people in which social groups get care. This article focuses upon developments leading toward this monopolization within health services delivery. Specific attention is given to historical tendencies that have set the stage for its extension under conditions of a continuing general economic crisis, conservative health policy redirections, and rapid industrialization of the health sector. Scientific and technological advances have reshaped professional roles and relationships, and increased bureaucratization of provider organizations. Coinciding with these are major actions by the corporate class in health policy and planning, and an impending demographic shift where aging population cohorts give rise to expanding “markets” of middle-class patients for proprietary health care firms.
Premenstrual Syndrome and Locus of Control
Authors: O'Boyle Michael , Severino Sally K. , Hurt Stephen W.
Published: May 2005

Seventy-six women completed a three-month prospective evaluation for premenstrual syndrome (PMS). As a part of the evaluation, they completed Rotter's Locus of Control (LOC) form in the follicular phase and premenstrually. It was found that the LOC scores of women meeting criteria for PMS rose significantly (became more “external”) premenstrually, while scores of women without PMS did not show significant change. In addition, the premenstrual LOC scores of women meeting criteria for PMS were significantly higher than were scores of the non-PMS women. The results are consistent with the idea that cycle related changes in self-perception occur in women demonstrating PMS symptomatology.
Tool Kit Entropy and Bipolar Reduction: A Study of Interassemblage Lithic Variability among Paleo-Indian Sites in the Northeastern United States
Authors: Goodyear Albert C.
Published: May 2005

Bipolar flaking as a means of reducing lithic raw material is known to have occurred since the time of the Lower Palaeolithic. As a strategy for working small bits of raw material, it is probable that it has a variety of important selective contexts. Assemblages from northeastern United States Paleo-Indian sites are used to test the hypothesis that bipolar artifacts in these systems represent a method of extending the utility of a transported, highly curated lithic toolkit through recycling. It is shown that what have been called pièces esquillées among these sites are in all probability cores for the derivation of small flakes. This is demonstrated by citing ethnoarcheological and technological data and by a spatial-statistical analysis of the distribution of “pièces esquillées” at the Debert site. The methodological problems related to the accurate functional identification of artifacts are explored and their impacts on archaeological arguments are also discussed. Also discussed are the difficulties in interpreting site activities on the basis of inter site differences in tool frequencies and proportions where assemblages have been affected by lithic recycling. Last, the theoretical significance of recycling through bipolar reduction is outlined as a strategy for solving the raw material and tool replacement problems as conditioned by Paleo-Indian settlement and technological systems.
Adoption of the Bow in Prehistoric North America
Authors: Blitz John H.
Published: May 2005

Current ecological archaeology, as often practiced, is too closed a system. The realization that introduced external factors may play a role in cultural change as potently as localized mechanisms demands increased attention to analytical boundaries and matters of scale. This article questions the utility and effectiveness of localized adaptive explanations for large-scale historical processes and, as an illustration, considers the prehistoric distribution of the bow in North America from a continental perspective. Criteria used to determine the presence of the bow in the archaeological record are briefly reviewed and a north to south chronological distribution for the initial adoption of the bow is presented.
Male Unemployment and Cause-Specific Mortality in Postwar Scotland
Authors: Forbes John F. , McGregor Alan
Published: May 2005

This article reports a time-series analysis of male unemployment and mortality in postwar Scotland. The results provide little evidence to support the hypothesis that unemployment exerts a significant and consistent positive impact on mortality from all causes, lung cancer, ischemic heart disease, and cerebrovascular disease. Although significant positive associations between unemployment and mortality from lung cancer and ischemic heart disease were detected for older males in the short term, the long-term association between unemployment and mortality tends to be negative. Further progress on establishing possible causal relationships between unemployment and health requires both the collaboration of medical and social scientists and a well designed prospective study that avoids many of the problems associated with time-series and cross-sectional analyses.
Eating Disorders in Female Adolescents with Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus
Authors: Rodin Gary M. , Johnson Liane E. , Garfinkel Paul E. , Daneman Denis , Kenshole Anne B.
Published: May 2005

Recent case reports have suggested an association between anorexia nervosa and/or bulimia with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). Fifty-eight females aged fifteen to twenty-two with IDDM for more than one year were assessed for the presence of eating disorders. Patients were screened for eating and weight pathology using the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI) and Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26). Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbAl) was measured to assess metabolic control. Subjects who scored above the cut-off points associated with eating and weight pathology were interviewed. Clinically significant eating and weight pathology was found in 20.7 percent of the population. Of these subjects, anorexia nervosa was found in 6.9 percent and the syndrome of bulimia, based on DSM-III criteria, was found in 6.9 percent. In patients with bulimia, there was a strong inverse correlation between bulimic symptoms and metabolic control. These findings suggest that anorexia nervosa may be more common in female adolescents with IDDM than in nondiabetic populations and that bulimic symptoms may be a risk factor for poor metabolic control.
Case Analysis: An Instructional Tool
Authors: Clouse R. Wilburn , Garrett Larry N.
Published: May 2005

This article describes the application of Case Analysis to a learner-centered computer-based instructional model. The cases illustrated how this model fosters problem solving, creative and rational thinking, logical analysis, and learner-motivation and self directions. Case analysis is used to apply real life situations to a learning environment that can “hook” the case problem to the knowledge and interest level of the adult learner.
Management of Refusal of Medical Treatment
Authors: McCartney James R.
Published: May 2005

As patients increasingly refuse medical and surgical treatment, the physician's response to this challenge to the healing-helping role is often extremely negative. Even though refusal may be felt by the patient as the only way to regain a measure of autonomy or control, such a response may have more to do with characteristic coping styles or interpersonal battles with the physician, staff, or family than with the treatment itself. Since management hinges on understanding the intrapersonal and interpersonal factors which contribute, it is essential to explore the meaning of the refusal. With reduction of the adversarial stance, the patient frequently regains enough sense of self to engage in a mutually cooperative effort. Even if the refusal stands, with understanding, the physician may be able to accept the patient's choice, and extrusion from the system upon which the patient is still dependent is avoided.
The Retention of Indigenous Students in Higher Education: Historical Issues, Federal Policy, and Indigenous Resilience
Authors: Shield Rosemary White
Published: May 2005

This article focuses on answering two main questions: Why is this phenomenon occurring for Indigenous students in higher education and what are effective solutions for the retention and success of Indigenous students in higher education?
The Aesthetics of Composition: A Study of Mondrian
Authors: McManus I. C. , Cheema B. , Stoker J.
Published: May 2005

Subjects carried out a paired comparison experiment in which they were asked to make a preference judgement between a computer facsimile of an original Mondrian painting, and a modified version of the same picture in which the proportional relations of the compositional lines had been modified by a relatively small amount. Subjects were significantly better than chance expectations in their preference for the original Mondrians, suggesting that these paintings may encapsulate some universal principle of compositional order which can be detected by subjects.
Kallmann's Syndrome and Schizophrenia
Authors: Vagenakis George A. , Hyphantis Thomas N. , Papageorgiou Charalabos , Protonatariou Anthi , Sgourou Argyro , Dimopoulos Panayotis A. , Mavreas Venetsanos , Vagenakis Apostolos G. , Georgopoulos Neoklis A.
Published: May 2005

Objective:

Kallmann's Syndrome is a heritable disorder characterized by the association of hypogonadotropic hypogonadism and anosmia or hyposmia. A common pathogenesis for KS and schizophrenia had been proposed based on shared pathologies of these two disorders, although no such clinical associations have ever been reported.

Method:

We report a 35 year old man with schizophrenia and Kallmann's Syndrome. The patient presented with signs and symptoms of hypogonadism, severe hyposmia and normal endocrine functions of the anterior pituitary. Hyposmia has been attributed to the absence of the olfactory bulbs and tracts and atrophy of the olfactory gyri, but normal olfactory mucosa. The patient presented with paranoid schizophrenia with persecutory delusions, auditory hallucinations, thought disorder, depersonalization, and gradual but marked global deterioration.

Results:

Psychiatric evaluation revealed an entirely different psychopathological and personality profile between the patient and the six other Kallmann patients studied. Cycle sequencing analysis revealed a normal sequence of all 14 exons of the KAL gene. In conclusion, based on the presented case, Kallmann's Syndrome and schizophrenia represent a rare clinical association rather than a syndrome with a common pathogenesis, which if present should be confined to the olfactory dysfunction.
Are Pro-Welfare State and Full-Employment Policies Possible in the Era of Globalization?
Authors: Navarro Vicente
Published: May 2005

There is a widely held belief in U.S. and European economic, political, and academic circles that economic globalization has considerably diminished states' power to follow public policies identified with the social democratic tradition, such as full-employment policies, comprehensive and universal provision of welfare state services, and state regulatory interventions in labor markets and economic policies. And large sectors of the European center-left and left parties believe that European monetary integration made expansionist and full-employment policies practically impossible, except when realized at the European continental level. This article presents empirical information that questions these positions. It documents how specific governments in Europe have been able to carry out such public policies during these years of economic globalization and monetary integration. Some countries (such as Sweden and Finland) that had carried out these policies then later weakened their implementation did so in response to political changes mostly unrelated to globalization of the economy or monetary integration. The article also analyzes and documents how countries that had followed expansionist and full-employment policies have responded to the globalization of financial markets.
Discovering and Teaching Syntactic Structures in Three Technical Disciplines
Authors: Paul Terri , Rosner Mary
Published: May 2005

To determine whether there are different technical styles, syntactic structures at three audience levels in the published writing of three disciplines were analyzed. Our analysis discloses that different disciplines rely primarily on different types of subordinate clauses, sentence openers, and sentence types. It also discloses that paragraph length varies with audience level, as do the number of subject sentence openers and the kinds of verb constructions. Next, we compare our findings with standard textbook treatments of style and advocate a more flexible approach to the teaching of technical style, one that accounts for variations in subject matter and audience.
Clinical Research and the Stages of Dying
Authors: Schulz Richard , Aderman David
Published: May 2005

Kübler-Ross's claim that terminal patients near death pass through five psychological stages in a predictable order is examined and found not to be supported by other investigators. Their data show the process of dying to be less rigid and even stageless. There is some consensus among all researchers that terminal patients are depressed shortly before they die, but there is no consistent evidence that other affect dimensions characterize the dying patient.
Dissociating Vividness and Imageability
Authors: D'Angiulli Amedeo
Published: May 2005

This study was designed to dissociate the effects of vividness from those of imageability (and other imagery-related properties) of nouns. Mental image latencies and vividness ratings were collected for nouns of common objects with known imageability, concreteness and meaningfulness norms [1]. Two subsets of nouns were identified with vividness and, alternatively, imageability approximately constant; then, the effects of all noun-properties were examined using hierarchical multiple regression. Image latency was strongly related to vividness when noun imageability was controlled (Analysis 1). Conversely, latency was strongly related to imageability for nouns eliciting approximately same vividness ratings (Analysis 2). In both analyses, concreteness and meaningfulness were redundant. Imageability and vividness are dissociable and can be used to investigate distinct working memory and neurocognitive components of imagery.
Altered Serotonergic Activity in Women with Dysphoric Premenstrual Syndromes
Authors: Halbreich Uriel , Tworek Henry
Published: May 2005

Objective:

Dysphoric Premenstrual Syndromes (PMS) are quite prevalent and in some women they are severe enough to warrant treatment. Their pathophysiology is still unknown, despite increased interest and research. Here we review the possible role of serotonin in the multidimensional interactive pathophysiology of PMS.

Method:

Over 170 articles are reviewed. An extensive library search has been conducted and articles are included because of their relevance to: 1) the phenomenology of PMS; 2) the putative association of serotonergic (5-HT) activity with syndromes that occur premenstrually; 3) changes in 5-HT activity along the menstrual cycle, especially the late luteal phase; 4) influence of gonadal hormones on serotonergic functions; 5) endocrine strategies for assessment of 5-HT abnormalities; and 6) treatment studies of PMS with serotonergic agonists.

Results and Conclusions:

The data presented here suggest that post-synaptic serotonergic responsivity might be altered during the late-luteal-premenstrual phase of the menstrual cycle. Some serotonergic functions of women with PMS might be altered during the entire cycle and be associated with a vulnerability trait. It is hypothesized that gonadal hormones might cause changes in levels of activity of 5-HT systems as part of a multidimensional interactive system. Strategies to evaluate 5-HT activities in the context of the menstrual cycle are discussed—leading to the conclusion that the most promising approach is active stimulation with specific post-synaptic serotonin agonists. Treatment outcome studies of some imperfect compounds that are currently applied as a symptomatic treatment of PMS support the notion that 5-HT is involved in the pathophysiology of these syndromes.
An “Intelligent” Interface to CBT
Authors: Bryant Robert A.
Published: May 2005

A computer-based training (CBT) prototype for the U.S. Navy has been developed by staff members at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The prototype, written in standard COBOL, includes an “intelligent” interface which is capable of responding to questions or comments (Q/C) entered as free form text. A method of keyword-mapping is used to determine the most appropriate response to a Q/C. The knowledge base is allowed to start small and may be expanded as students and the course administrator interact with the system.
Investigating the Scope of an Advance Organizer for Compiler Concepts
Authors: Levine Lawrence H. , Loerinc Beatrice M.
Published: May 2005

In this article, the use of an advance organizer as a tool for teaching the functioning and use of a compiler is described. The concrete organizer chosen was used in a controlled experiment. Because previous research brought forth conflicting evidence on the effectiveness of advance organizers, the research reported here concentrated on segregation of concepts. The findings indicate that an explicitly concept-directed organizer is effective in providing a framework for incorporating new information.
The Contribution of Information Technology to Improving Clinicians' Access to High Quality Evidence
Authors: Geddes John R.
Published: May 2005

Objective:

Rapid access to the results of high quality research studies for real time use during clinical care is the aim of evidence-based medicine.

Methods:

The current volume and methods of disseminating research findings are barriers to this goal. Electronic publishing, CD-ROMs for personal computers, and Internet-based databases and searching are tools helping to overcome these barriers.

Results:

Several examples in the United Kingdom and United States employing these tools are described.

Conclusions:

Technology is making traditional narrative reviews such as printed textbooks obsolete for the practice of evidence-based medicine.
The Therapeutic Bookshelf
Authors: Doka Kenneth J.
Published: May 2005

This article reminds readers that grief books intended for non-professional audiences may be an important theoretical tool in helping bereaved resolve grief. Briefly reviewing some base self-help literature, the author notes the strengths and limitations of the varied genre of self-help literature.
Distance Mentoring
Authors: Stephenson Stanley D.
Published: May 2005

To reduce attrition in an entry-level programming class, students who performed poorly on the first exam were matched with interested alumni. All alumni were located in cities other than the university and could only communicate with their mentorees by e-mail, mail, phone, or some other means. In general, no guidance was given to the mentors, but they were told that they could give any advice on programs or course material. The program produced a significant reduction in both overall course attrition and also for the at-risk students. Such results can have a positive impact on both students and an academic program.
Sexual Fantasy and Attitudes as Functions of Sex of Subject and Content of Erotica
Authors: Kelley Kathryn
Published: May 2005

The effects of erotic content and subject sex on sexual fantasy were mediated by general sexual attitudes. When erotic content consisted of mild erotica showing males rather than females, male subjects ( N=123) expressed significantly more negative themes in briefer fantasy productions than females ( N=123). Analyses of affective and arousal responses to single-sex and heterosexual erotica indicated patterns generally consistent with the fantasy outcomes. Negative sexual attitudes were associated with negatively-toned fantasies, more negative affect, and less sexual arousal. Variations in affective and arousal responses to erotic stimuli, as discussed by the theory of the Sexual Behavior Sequence, were demonstrated to extend to the production of sexual fantasy.
Cognitive Style Predictors of Affect Change in Older Adults
Authors: Isaacowitz Derek M. , Seligman Martin E. P.
Published: May 2005

Cognitive styles are the lenses through which individuals habitually process information from their environment. In this study, we evaluated whether different cognitive style individual difference variables, such as explanatory style and dispositional optimism, could predict changes in affective state over time in community-dwelling older adults. Based on previous research, we hypothesized that an optimistic explanatory style would be adaptive except when combined with life stressors, but that dispositional optimism would predict positive affective states regardless of life events. We found that older adults with a more optimistic explanatory style for health/cognitive events actually appeared to develop more depressive symptoms over six months of follow-up. However, dispositional optimism and orientation toward the future predicted a better affective profile over time.
Characteristics and Treatment of Women with Antenatal and Postpartum Depression
Authors: Steinberg Susanne I. , Bellavance François
Published: May 2005

Objective:

Investigations of the efficacy of treatment for non-psychotic pregnancy-related mood disorders are scarce. Thus, a prospective, longitudinal study of six months duration, involving ninety-six index cases and forty-five healthy women as a reference group, was implemented to determine the response of mood, parenting stress and dyadic adjustment to an eclectic management.

Method:

In this naturalistic study, the index cases were offered treatment consistent with their symptoms, context, and level of compliance. All women received individual psychotherapy combining strategies from Interpersonal and Cognitive Behavioral Psychotherapy and/or Marital Interventions and Pharmacology. Rating scales (Dyadic Adjustment Scale, Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, Child Stress Inventory) scored monthly, were used to measure the response to treatment over time.

Results:

Depressive symptoms are generally alleviated by the second to third month of treatment. Dyadic discord accentuated by traditional sex role expectations and child care stress exacerbated by low self-esteem persisted throughout the trial at levels significantly different from the untreated reference group.

Conclusions:

Short-term interventions are cost-effective for the relief of mood disorders. However, creative solutions, during an era of economic restraints, are required to extend treatment sufficiently to address couple conflicts and facilitate the transition to parenthood for index cases.
Fearing Death and Caring for the Dying
Authors: Momeyer Richard W.
Published: May 2005

It is frequently alleged that health care workers with higher than statistically normal fear of death are, in virtue of that characteristic, ill equipped to render optimal care to the terminally ill. The plausibility of this claim rests on anumber of highly dubious claims about the nature and status of death anxiety and its relation to the phenomenon of death denial. I argue that the fear of death is not nearly so undesirable as supposed, that it may well be psychologically unavoidable, grounded in the human condition, and by and large altogether reasonable. Moreover, it is seriously confusing to equate the fear of death with the denial of death. Once we are clear about these matters, it can be seen that not merely is the fear of death compatible with the capacity to render quality care to the dying, but such care is unlikely to be given by those who do not candidly and honestly acknowledge the reality of their own fear and struggle to avoid denial.
An Attempt to Design Synchronous Collaborative Learning Environments for Peer Dyads on the World Wide Web
Authors: Lee Fong-Lok , Liang Steven , Chan Tak-Wai
Published: May 2005

This article describes the design, implementation, and preliminary evaluation of three synchronous distributed learning prototype systems. Each of these systems supports a particular style of interaction, referred to as a socio- activity learning model, between members of student dyads (pairs). The first two systems, Co-Working System and Working Along System, are realizations of two basic models of collaborative, one-on-one, synchronous, and networked learning, while the third one, the Hybrid System, is a combined model of the two. This work intends to identify a set of domain independent tools necessary for these models and collect information for future development through some preliminary evaluation of some experimental trials of these systems. All these systems were implemented on WWW using the computer language Java.
Ridge-Top Storage and Defensive Sites: New Evidence of Conflict in Northern British Columbia
Authors: Prince Paul
Published: May 2005

Regional settlement survey at Kitwancool Lake in northern British Columbia has indicated that food storage features (cache pits) tend to be situated in steep ridge-top locations, as are a lookout site and small pithouse settlement. The positioning of these sites provides evidence of perceived threats and fits a pattern of regional conflict emerging from other ethnohistoric and archaeological data. The motives for conflict are briefly considered in terms of the lake's rich salmon resources and its position near the interior frontier of the Northwest Coast culture area, but the main focus is upon contextualizing a ubiquitous but under-emphasized site type—cache pits.
Professional Development and other Factors That Contribute to the Ability to Integrate Technology into Curriculum
Authors: Reiser Linda J.
Published: May 2005

Many teachers currently use technology in their classrooms as a result of inservice or post-graduate education, particularly those who have applied for and received mini-grants. Twenty-eight teacher respondents from Long Island, New York, completed sixteen multiple-choice and open-ended questions regarding the use of technology, particularly computers within their curriculum. Teachers receiving mini-grants incorporated more complex technology into their lessons. Further, the issues of personal and administrative commitment, time for taking classes and practicing new skills, as well as classroom computer access do make a difference in a teacher's ability to integrate technology into every day classroom lessons.
Effects of Interactive Computing Experiences on Preservice Teachers' Assessment Practices of Pupil Achievement
Authors: Powell Jack V. , Lee Seungyoun
Published: May 2005

This article investigated how a component of a computerized simulation (Criteria and issues related to pupil assessment) could influence the evaluative practices of early childhood preservice teachers before they encountered field experience for four weeks, and the resulting impressions of assessment subsequent to the four weeks. Chi-square, Somers' d, Gamma, Correlation, and Regression were employed with “after field experience” as the dependent variable. Statistically significant differences were revealed: Somers' d ( d = .481, p < .002); Gamma (.654, p < .002); Pearson's R (.607, p < .003); Spearman (.559, p < .007); and regression analysis (b = .520, p < .003). Also, the regression model explains 36.9% of overall variation in the dependent variable ( R2= .369). This study illustrates that interactive contact with a pupil assessment component of a computerized simulation can improve preservice teacher's perceptions and choice of pupil assessments during four weeks of field experience. Qualitative analysis also revealed emergent themes related to subjects' response and extended narratives for each theme.
Toward Developing Questionnaire Items to Measure Effectiveness of Computers in Teaching
Authors: Mitra Ananda
Published: May 2005

This article reports on a longitudinal study of the effectiveness of computerizing a liberal arts university in the United States. The article uses data from the study to develop a reliable scale to measure attitudes related to four parameters of the learning process. Specifically, the scale reported here can be used to measure the climate of interaction developed by computerization, the specific communication patterns offered by computer mediated communication and the different perceived expectations about the promise of technology provided by the computerization process. It is expected that the statistically reliable scale can be used for measurements across different institutions.
A Preliminary Assessment of Behavioral Problems in Children with Mastocytosis
Authors: McFarlin K. E. , Kruesi M. J. P. , Metcalfe D. D.
Published: May 2005

Objective:

The objectives of this study were to 1) review mastocytosis in terms of the behavioral pathology in adults, and 2) to assess a group of pediatric patients with mastocytosis to determine if similar behavioral pathology is evident.

Method:

Twelve children ages two to eleven referred to the NIH, a tertiary referral center for mastocytosis, were studied. Questionnaires were mailed for assessment of the child's behavior: parents completed the Childhood Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and children four years of age or more were evaluated by their teachers via the Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report form. Scores were compared to published normative data and to published data from other medically ill pediatric groups. Pathology was defined as present if the child scored greater than two standard deviations above published age and sex-matched norms.

Results:

Mean factor scores on the CBCL for children with mastocytosis did not differ significantly from published norms, but individual ratings by parents were significantly elevated in four of ten subjects. Moreover, CBCL ratings by parents were similar to those seen in other medically ill pediatric groups. None of the teacher ratings were in the pathological range.

Conclusions:

The results of this study indicate that no clear excess of pathology exists in children with mastocytosis. Individual children treated with antihistamines for mastocytosis seem to have a nonspecific increase in behavioral difficulties at rates similar to other medically ill groups. No unique behavioral pattern implicating histamine overproduction was identified.
Rumination and Adaptation following Stressful Life Events
Authors: Sedney Mary Anne
Published: May 2005

In order to compare the efficacy of extensive cognitive attention (rumination) and avoidance after stressful events, forty middle-aged women were asked to describe their responses to specific stressful life events for the periods one week, three months, and six months post-stress. Rumination decreased in the time periods surveyed, but at different rates according to degree of stress. The long-term efficacy of post-stress rumination, measured by current level of distress-related symptoms, varied as a function of degree of stress and amount of time elapsed since the stress. Although initial high rumination after a highly stressful event was not shown to be necessary for adjustment in the long-run, it did not appear to interfere with such adjustment. A low degree of rumination seemed to be most efficacious, at one week after a low stress experience, and both three and six months after a high stress experience. Discussion of the role of perceived control in facilitating and inhibiting coping is also included.
Defense Mechanisms in a Community-Based Sample of Female Adolescents with Partial Eating Disorders
Authors: Stein Daniel , Bronstein Yifat , Weizman Abraham
Published: May 2005

Objectives:

The purpose of this study is to assess whether female adolescents diagnosed with partial eating disorders (EDs) will show less adaptive defense mechanisms compared to female controls with no-ED.

Methods:

The following questionnaires were administered to 423 female high-school students: The Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26), the Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ), and Life Style Index (LSI) (both tapping defense mechanisms), and a structured questionnaire assessing eating-related issues. Weight and height were also recorded. Partial anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) were defined with the combination of a maladaptive EAT score and fulfillment of adapted DSM-IV criteria.

Results:

Compared to non-ED controls, participants with partial AN and partial BN used more immature defenses, including the DSQ-immature defense style (only those with partial BN) and LSI-regression, as well as more neurotic defenses, namely the DSQ-neurotic defense style, and LSI-compensation and displacement.

Conclusions:

The combined use of immature and neurotic defenses may be associated with a greater risk to develop a partial ED in adolescent females.
Mental Health Training of Primary Care Physicians: An Outcome Study
Authors: Jones L. Ralph , Badger Lee W. , Ficken Roland P. , Leeper James D. , Anderson Russell L.
Published: May 2005

It is well documented that primary care physicians encounter many patients in then-practices who suffer psychiatric morbidity, especially affective, anxiety and substance abuse disorders. These physicians have been unable to effectively address the needs of these patients, over half of whom receive care exclusively in the primary care sector. Five years after implementing a curriculum to train family practice physicians to assume a comprehensive psychiatric role with patients in their practices, the authors undertook an outcome evaluation. The focus was on psychiatric disorder recognition, diagnosis, documentation, and management, including referral. It was hoped that biopsychosocial and community mental health orientations emphasized during training would be incorporated into the subsequent primary care practices of physicians in the study. In the research design, physician-generated diagnoses were compared with DIS/DSM-III diagnoses; physician interviews and chart audits enabled processes of care delivery to be evaluated. Unexpectedly, physicians were not found to assume an appropriately active or comprehensive mental health role in their practices following the training intervention. Of ninety-four DIS-generated diagnoses in the study population of fifty-one patients, 79 percent were unrecognized. Patients were assumed to function well emotionally, and psychiatric dimensions of patient complaints were not examined in the majority of cases. The physicians did diagnose and treat a number of patients with mental symptoms who were not identified by the DIS. These patients had high, but sub-diagnostic, DIS symptom counts. Most received a diagnosis of adjustment disorder in response to medical illness. Though this finding underscores shortcomings of present psychiatric nosology when applied in the general medical setting, the foremost consideration was the large number of DIS-identified patients with serious psychopathology, needing active assessment and intervention, who were unrecognized, undiagnosed or untreated. Implications of these findings for the psychiatric training of primary care physicians are examined.
An Investigation of Work and Unemployment among Psychiatric Clients
Authors: Scheid Teresa Linnea
Published: May 2005

Employment and work can have a positive effect on mental health by providing opportunities for skill development, social contact, self-esteem, and income. Unemployment is a source of anxiety, stress, and depression. At the same time work can be a major source of stress by decreasing opportunities for control and autonomy. This article examines the role of work and unemployment and the relationship of work status to other indicators of community adjustment among a sample of 68 psychiatric clients in outpatient treatment. Comparisons are made between clients who are not working or seeking work, those who are unemployed and seeking work, and those who are currently working. Regression analysis is then used to examine the effect of work status on other indicators of community adjustment: psychiatric symptoms, functioning, social integration, stress, and mental hospitalizations. Working clients are more likely to be male and younger and to have had previous work experience. Working is related to higher levels of functioning in the community, while unemployment is positively related to stress. Work status was not related to social integration, indicating that work may be an alternative source of social support and should receive separate attention in assessments of community adjustment and integration.
Risperidone in the Treatment of Delusions of Infestation
Authors: De Leóan Ovidio A. , Furmaga Kevin M. , Canterbury Andrea L. , Bailey La Genia
Published: May 2005

Objective:

The aim of this study is to describe the efficacy and safety of risperidone, in the treatment of delusions of infestation.

Method:

The authors present a three-case series in which risperidone was used to treat delusions of infestation.

Results:

All three patients responded to risperidone and experienced no extrapyramidal side effects. Two of our patients had failed treatment with haloperidol and another had failed treatment with pimozide.

Conclusions:

Risperidone was an effective and safe treatment in three cases of delusions of infestation. It is possible that 5-HT2 antagonism is essential for therapeutic benefit in this condition.
The Computer Chronicles Newswire: A Functional Learning Environment for Acquiring Literacy Skills
Authors: Riel Margaret
Published: May 2005

The educational uses of microcomputers are discussed in light of theories of development and models of education. Learning is described as a social constructive process. Microcomputers are used to offer a new constructive form of interaction among learners. The development of a children's newswire service and its influence on the development of low-achieving students' reading and writing skills is described. This computer-supported system provided students a goal for reading and writing: to share their ideas and concerns with other students with whom they cannot interact with directly. This functional learning environment resulted in gains in students' reporting, writing and editing skills. The most striking change was in the students attitudes toward writing both on and off the computer. Students wrote more easily, and with more confidence when they gained a sense of control over the computer and a purpose for writing.
Factors Influencing the Type of Health Problems Presented by Women in General Practice: Differences between Women's Health Care and Regular Health Care
Authors: Van Den Brink-Muinen Atie , Bensing Jozien M.
Published: May 2005

Objective:

Differences between health problems presented by women (aged 20–45) to female “women's health care” doctors and both female and male regular health care doctors were investigated. This article explores the relationship of patients' roles (worker, partner, or parent) and the type of health care, controlling for education, to the presentation of psychological, social, and purely somatic problems in general practice.

Method:

Data was derived from a “women's health care” practice and twenty-one group practices providing regular care. The doctors registered detailed information about all patient contacts during a three-month period. Logistic regression analysis was used in order to calculate the likelihood of women attending their doctor to present with psychological, social, or somatic health problems.

Results:

We found that the effect of education was much stronger than the effect of roles. Women attending women's health care presented more psychological and social problems and less somatic problems than women visiting regular health care doctors. Patients of female and male doctors providing regular care did not differ in this respect between each other.

Conclusions:

This study showed that patient characteristics, like roles and education, are related to the type of health problems presented to general practitioners. The type of health care was also important in explaining differences in the problems presented to them. Future research in primary care should include doctor characteristics to better understand how these characteristics might relate to patient outcomes.
Science or Ideology? A Response to Murray and Frenk
Authors: Navarro Vicente
Published: May 2005

The WHO's World Health Report 2000, entitled Health Systems: Improving Performance, and Christopher Murray and Julio Frenk's replies to Vicente Navarro's critique of that report, reproduce an unawareness of the errors inherent in using a synthetic indicator such as overall health systems performance: the complexity and difficulty in selecting and weighting the many individual indicators that are to be included in the final, overall indicator. Decisions about how to weight the importance of the various components of the overall indicator and the sources used to select information on those components reproduce a set of highly questionable assumptions and heavily loaded ideological choices that weaken the scientific credibility of the overall indicator and of the WHO report itself. This transforms the report into a political ideological document that simply conveys and perpetuates the current conventional wisdom in health policy.
Computer-Aided Negotiation for Classroom Instruction
Authors: Jones Beth H. , Hill Timothy R.
Published: May 2005

This article describes a computer system being developed to support two-party negotiation. It is currently used for classroom instruction; eventually it could be used by one and/or both parties in real-world negotiation situations. In using the software, the negotiator enters his/her weights for each issue, function forms, and estimates of the partner's importance weightings. The system will then generate a graph depicting the utility for each side of all possible negotiation agreements. A click on the mouse allows users to see what contract(s) each dot in the graph represents, or where a specific contract would appear on the graph. At any time weights or estimates can be easily manipulated. The system helps teach the decision-analytic approach to negotiation and demonstrates how changes in preferences on the issues being negotiated affect the possible outcomes.
The Structure of Paranormal Belief: A Factor-Analytic Investigation
Authors: Johnston Joseph C. , De Groot Hans P. , Spanos Nicholas P.
Published: May 2005

We factor analyzed the responses of 784 subjects to a seventy-five-item paranormal belief questionnaire. Principle components analysis extracted four components which were subjected to alpha factoring with oblique and orthogonal rotations. An oblique solution was judged as most appropriate based on the factor correlation matrix. A higher order factor analysis yielded one common underlying factor. The results are discussed with respect to previous factor analyses of paranormal belief questionnaires by Jones, Russell, and Nickel [1], and Tobacyk and Milford [2].
Creating Microworlds for Exploring Mathematical Understandings in the Early Years of School
Authors: Yelland Nicola
Published: May 2005

This article will describe the strategies and interactions of pairs of Year 2 children (average age 7 years 4 months) while they worked on novel tasks in a computer microworld embedded in a mathematics curriculum. The curriculum encouraged the active exploration of ideas in both on and off computer tasks, which complemented each other. Observations of the children supported the notion that the active construction of knowledge in a computer supported collaborative learning context, enabled the children to engage with powerful ideas and use metastrategic strategies. Further their spontaneous comments and persistence with tasks indicated a high level of interest and enthusiasm for these tasks in preference to those that traditionally characterize mathematical activity.
Digital Simulation in Education
Authors: Braun Ludwig
Published: May 2005

A set of circumstances is described in which direct experimental experience is not available to the student, and in which simulation by digital computer is proposed as an alternative. Sample runs of three simulation programs are presented. The documentation and evaluation efforts of the Huntington Two Project are described and the costs of providing computer capability are presented.
Psychosocial Adjustment of Familial Polyposis Patients and Participation in a Chemoprevention Trial
Authors: Miller Helen H. , Bauman Laurie J. , Friedman Dana R. , DeCosse Jerome J.
Published: May 2005

Psychological and social adjustment was assessed in eighty-nine individuals with familial polyposis, a genetically transmitted disease placing one at high risk for colon cancer. Three illness-related concerns were identified: 1) fear about future health due to the high risk for cancer; 2) guilt about transmitting a genetic disease to one's children; and 3) concern about physical disfigurement resulting from surgery. Well-being scores were generally positive, although somewhat lower than those reported in a community sample. Two factors in particular influenced well-being scores;: those with higher levels of concern about disfigurement reported lower well-being, and those with accurate information about the disease reported higher well-being. Of the eighty-nine individuals included in this study, sixty-one were participating in a clinical trial and twenty-eight had been invited but declined entry. Demographic and psychosocial factors were examined for their relationship to participation. Only three of these variables, length of time since diagnosis, religious affiliation, and geographic location distinguished participants from nonparticipants.
Children's Mental Models of Recursive Logo Programs
Authors: Kurland D. Midian , Pea Roy D.
Published: May 2005

Children who had a year of Logo programming experience were asked to think-aloud about what brief Logo recursive programs will do, and then to predict with a hand-simulation of the programs what the Logo graphics turtle will draw when the program is executed. If discrepancies arose in this last phase, children were asked to explain them. A prevalent but misguided “looping” interpretation of Logo recursion was identified, and this robust mental model persisted even in the face of contradiction between what the program did when executed and the child's predictions for what it would do.
Videotape in the Training of Medical Students in Psychiatric Aspects of Family Medicine
Authors: Messner Edward , Schmidt David D.
Published: May 2005

The paper describes a course in family medicine employing the preceptorship method and including patient-centered psychiatric conferences recorded on videotape. Considerations of confidentiality and informed consent are emphasized. A list of equipment and a rough cost estimate are presented. The usefulness of the videotape procedure and the possible applications of a tape library for continuing medical education program are discussed.