bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Aftermath of Suicide: A Review of Empirical Evidence
Authors: van der Wal Jan
Published: May 2005

The empirical studies on mourning after suicide were evaluated systematically with the aid of a descriptive model of grief. The starting point in the formulation of this model is the assumption that the bereaved are active in their processing of the loss. The current stages and component theories are rejected on the grounds of empirical contra-evidence and theoretical considerations. Instead, a framework of tasks of bereavement is presented in which the essential tasks confronting survivors in their adaption to the loss are formulated: detachment of the deceased, preserving a satisfactory self-image, and keeping in contact with people who can be of support during the grief process. An examination is made of what is known about the situation of survivors of suicide in this respect. Grief after suicide appears to differ on a number of qualitative aspects from grief after other causes of death. These differences probably do not, however, lead to an atypical mourning process. Generally speaking, the grief process seems to show the same course and main features as those occurring after other types of death, especially after sudden unnatural death. It can be concluded from the literature reviewed that there is no empirical evidence to support the popular notion that survivors of suicide show more pathological reactions, a more complicated and prolonged grief process, than other survivor groups.
The Use of Carbamazepine for the Treatment of Paraphilias in a Brain Damaged Patient
Authors: Goldberg Richard L. , Buongiorno Paul A.
Published: May 2005

The authors evaluated a thirty-four year-old man who had an organic personality disorder, partial complex seizure disorder, and several paraphilias. After unsuccessful treatment with dilantin and phenobarbital, therapy with carbamazepine ameliorated the patient's psychosexual disorder.
Neuropsychiatric Characteristics Associated with Primary Biliary Cirrhosis
Authors: Hegedus Andrea M. , Tarter Ralph E. , Van Thiel David H. , Schade Robert R. , Gavaler Judith S. , Starzl Thomas E.
Published: May 2005

Patients suffering from primary biliary cirrhosis and a control group of patients with Crohn's disease were compared with respect to neuropsychological, psychiatric and psychosocial functioning. While the two groups did not differ on tests of intelligence, the primary biliary cirrhosis patients evidenced significant deficits on certain measures of functional neuropsychological capacity, including attentional, visuospatial and perceptual-motor abilities. These patients also reported several behavioral impairments consequential to their illness, although their emotional and psychiatric status were relatively unimpaired. In addition, the similarities in neuropsychological functioning of primary biliary cirrhosis patients and individuals suffering from chronic alcoholic cirrhosis are discussed. The results of this investigation underscore the importance of a neuropsychiatric evaluation as part of a comprehensive diagnostic workup and medical management program for patients with chronic liver disease.
Communication Problems in Large Organizations
Authors: Baxter J. E.
Published: May 2005

The larger any organization becomes, the more difficult it becomes for people within it to communicate effectively with each other. These difficulties arise not only from the physical dispersion, the large numbers of people involved, and the trend towards compartmentalization, but also from complex personal factors. In order to overcome them, management needs to recognize the unique, dynamic qualities of each communications situation. Each problem requires careful analysis, in an effort to find a solution appropriate to the particular situation, rather than reliance on a general, non-specific communications system.
Structural Equation Modeling of Drinking Motives in Male Dui Offenders
Authors: Woldt Bradley D. , Bradley John R.
Published: May 2005

Measures completed by 250 men convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) were analyzed to examine the direct effects of parental problem drinking and the mediational influence of drinking motives on alcohol use and drinking-related problem outcomes. Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate competing models in the cross-sectional data set. Results indicated that: 1) reported parental problem drinking modestly predicted both alcohol use and problem outcomes when tested in the absence of influence from drinking motives; 2) confirmatory factor analysis yielded a 4-factor drinking motives solution consisting of social, enhancement, coping with negative emotions, and interpersonal facilitation; and 3) both enhancement and interpersonal facilitation drinking motives mediated parental problem drinking's direct effect on alcohol use and problem outcomes. Drinking to cope with negative emotions, while not mediational in nature, produced a direct effect pathway to problem outcomes. The findings extend predictive utility of specific drinking motive dimensions on alcohol use and problem outcomes from previous research in community and university samples to men convicted of driving while intoxicated.
Psychosocial Adjustment to Breast Cancer: A Review of Selected Literature
Authors: Lewis Frances M. , Bloom Joan R.
Published: May 2005

The following is a review of the clinical and research literature concerning women's emotional adjustment to the detection of breast cancer and its subsequent management. The review is organized into ten themes which focus on three general areas: 1) women's response to the diagnosis of breast cancer; 2) involvement of spouse, family and professional providers; and 3) the patient's milieu—how it impinges on the course of her treatment and rehabilitation. Also noted is the paucity of systematic research dealing with the effectiveness of support interventions, their content and duration, and the appropriate individual to provide such support.
Hunting Camps and Hunting Magic: Petroglyphs of the Eldorado Divide, West Texas
Authors: Turpin Solveig A.
Published: May 2005

Seven open bedrock petroglyph sites on the western Edwards Plateau share similarities that suggest that these locations were temporary hunting camps, used during the rainy season by people whose ranges centered around the major rivers that flow north, south, east, and west of the Eldorado Divide. All are remote from permanent water, but all contain natural bedrock cavities capable of holding casual water for at least a month in the cooler seasons. Burned rock features testify to domestic activities or processing of procured resources. Three categories of petroglyphs—meandering lines, discrete geometrics, and representational motifs, including animal tracks—have been abraded into flat expanses of exposed limestone bedrock at these sites. The association between animal tracks and casual water sources suggests that hunting magic was one reason that ritual art was produced at these otherwise obscure locations.
Population Education through Computer Generated Graphics
Authors: Klaff Vivian , Handler Paul
Published: May 2005

The Population Dynamics Group (P.D.G.) computer assisted instruction system is designed to communicate information concerning (a) the structure and dynamics of population and (b) the relationship between population and issues such as economic development, food demand and supply, energy use, etc. This paper focuses on the population model and describes the interactive graphics program as it operates on the University of Illinois PLATO IV system. The P.D.G. programs are a good example of the ability to use currently available developments in computer technology to transmit information in a flexible, interactive and graphic format for instructional purposes.
Awareness of Death in the Disengagement Theory: A Conceptualization and an Empirical Investigation
Authors: Chappell Neena L.
Published: May 2005

Awareness of death in the disengagement theory of aging is the variable purported to trigger the disengagement process. In this paper the literature is reviewed for a conceptualization of this variable. Two components of awareness of death emerge: the knowledge of impending death and the meaning that this knowledge has for the individual's future. The empirical literature is then reviewed for a clarification of these components and to examine the indicators other authors have employed. The results of an empirical investigation among forty hospitalized elderly persons are then presented. The findings revealed that this sample was characterized as a whole by their knowledge of their death and a readiness to die. Approximately half viewed themselves as having no future to live but only a time for waiting until death while the other half saw themselves with a future for continued living. No relationship was found between these different attitudes towards the future and various measures of psychological disengagement. However, they were related to specific social activity and interaction dimensions of social disengagement which were interpreted in terms of their implicit continuity through time and lack of continuity through time of experiences and their involvement inside The Hospital world versus involvement outside of The Hospital world. The implications for future research are then briefly discussed.
Computers, Cognition and Curriculum: Retrospect and Prospect
Authors: Johanson Roger P.
Published: May 2005

Spearheaded by the writings of Seymour Papert, many educators have looked to computer use in education to usher in a new era in which the development of higher-order thinking skills would be promoted in schools. Early research aimed at showing the positive effects of programming instruction on students' thinking skills was not encouraging. More recent research is only somewhat more promising. This article begins with a summary and critique of the research, advancing eight hypotheses regarding the general failure of the research to confirm the expectations. Two major claims are made. The first is that the principle weakness of research on the cognitive consequences of programming instruction very likely has been its inadequate consideration of curricular issues. The second claim is that a relatively new programming language, Prolog, which is radically different from procedural languages like BASIC and LOGO, merits serious consideration for educational use. The article concludes with a brief introduction to Prolog.
Knowledge-Based Instructional Gaming: GEO
Authors: Duchastel Philip
Published: May 2005

Games have a fascination for people which make them ideal vehicles for instruction of an informal nature. Described here is an instructional game (GEO) in which the user learns elements of Canadian geography as she chases a spy around the country. The game utilizes artificial intelligence approaches to represent and put to use various types of knowledge (knowledge of geography, of tutoring, and of the student). Our experience in designing and refining the game is discussed, as well as prospects for extending this approach to other learning situations.
Race or Class or Race and Class: Growing Mortality Differentials in the United States
Authors: Navarro Vicente
Published: May 2005

Recent statistics on increasing differences in mortality rates between blacks and whites in the United States are causing a great deal of concern. The reduction of this gap is an important national goal. Yet mortality differentials cannot be explained solely by race. We must also look at class, as do all Western nations other than the United States, when compiling health statistics. In the United States, how people live, get sick, and die depends not only on their race, sex, and age, but also on their class, whether measured by level of education, income, or occupation. Class differentials in mortality and morbidity are greater than race differentials. By focusing our attention on race differentials alone, we will not be able to understand why the health indicators of minorities in the United States are deteriorating.
Psychosocial Correlates of Substance Use: Comparing High School Students with Incarcerated Offenders in Hong Kong
Authors: Wong Connie S. Y. , Tang Catherine S. K. , Schwarzer Ralf
Published: May 2005

Drug use prevalence data were obtained from 969 adolescents, high school students and imprisoned offenders who reported use of cough medicine, organic solvents, cannabis, heroin, tranquilizers, and narcotics over the past six months. Incarcerated youths, in particular girls, had higher prevalence rates than students. Drug use frequencies were associated with psychosocial variables such as disinhibition, peer drug use, susceptibility to peer pressure, attitudes, encouragement by peers, and perceived availability of drugs. The psychosocial process of the initiation and maintenance of substance use was specified as a path model that considered 1) personality and social environment as distal precursors and 2) a drug-use predisposition and perceived availability as proximal precursors of three kinds of outcome variables: drug use, the intention to try illicit drugs if they were legal, and adverse outcomes of drug use. It was found that the same structural equation model fit the data of both samples of offenders and students, however, with very different weights assigned to the paths.
Psychological Aspects of Donor Insemination
Authors: Berger David M.
Published: May 2005

This survey of the psychological literature on Artificial Insemination by Donor (AID) pays particular attention to the secrecy. Studies of couples beforehand do not arrive at criteria for choosing psychologically suitable couples. Follow-up questionnaires are superficial and cannot inform us which couples and what percentage of couples encounter psychological difficulties. Case reports of couples who encountered difficulties are too few to permit generalization and cannot specify AID's role in generating symptoms. A second look at the data suggests that, although overlooked, the secrecy surrounding AID may create psychological difficulties, a view supported by the findings at our clinic. A plea is made with specific recommendations to create an ambience in which openness is possible, and which will allow in-depth research of the psychological aspects of AID.
“Consumerism in Communications” or Giving Employers What They Expect from College Graduates
Authors: Walsh Ruth M.
Published: May 2005

Of graduating seniors, businessmen assume basic writing skills. Graduates of business administration curriculums are assumed to have, additionally, not only basic language competence but also some expertise in report writing. Experience, both in the classroom and with personnel in formal organizations, bears out that neither students nor practitioners have a real grasp of organization, rhetorical techniques, and reader devices. Consumerism in Communication suggests what is being done in the College of Business Administration's undergraduate communications course to prepare students to meet realistically, confidently, and competently the expectations of their employers. Based on both research and experience, the course design pragmatically aims at reducing frustration on the part of employers who are dismayed at the verbal deficiencies of college graduates.
Synthesis of Research and Evidence on Factors Affecting the Desire of Terminally Ill or Seriously Chronically Ill Persons to Hasten Death
Authors: Mishara Brian L.
Published: May 2005

Review of empirical studies indicates that suicide is more common in persons suffering from some physical illnesses (e.g., epilepsy, head injuries, Huntington's Chorea, gastrointestinal diseases, AIDS, and cancer), but other chronic diseases and disabilities have not been linked to increased suicide risk (e.g., blindness, senile dementia, multiple sclerosis, and other physical handicaps). The timing of increased suicide risk varies in different illnesses from early presymptomatic stages to the terminal phase. Difficulties in reliably determining when someone is “terminally ill” and problems of the competence of persons with a poor prognosis complicate empirical investigations of euthanasia, assisted suicide, and the desire to hasten death. The role of family and caregivers in end of life decisions needs further clarification. Researchers have found that pain and suffering and quality of life variables may be linked to the desire to die prematurely, particularly in cancer patients. Others find that clinical depression is a major factor. But, since depression is often present, we do not know why a small minority of depressed patients desire and choose to hasten death. Support for alternative hypotheses is examined, including the role of pre-morbid suicidality and depression, individual differences in coping strategies and indirect consequences of the illness. There is a need to clarify links between attitudes, which is the major variable studied, and actual behaviors and decisions. Furthermore, we need theoretical and empirical links between studies of suicide, which is linked to clinical depression and characterized by ambivalence and studies of euthanasia, which is often depicted as rational and with little ambivalence. Evaluative research should be conducted to determine if interventions to reduce the desire for a premature death by suicide, euthanasia, or assisted suicide are effective. In the light of this review, we present several considerations for those involved in proposing changes in public policy concerning euthanasia and assisted suicide.
Burnout in Nursing Staff: Is There a Relationship between Depression and Burnout?
Authors: Iacovides Apostolos , Fountoulakis Konstantinos N. , Moysidou Charoula , Ierodiakonou Charalambos
Published: May 2005

Objective:

There is evidence that burnout may be a clinical entity with pathological stress reaction features related to the inability in finding pleasure from work. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between burnout and depression.

Methods:

The study took place in the general hospital AHEPA of Thessaloniki. All members of the nursing staff (in total 368 subjects) took part. The protocol was self-reported and anonymous, in order to obtain as valid data as possible and included the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) to assess the level of burnout, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) to assess personality traits, and the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale to assess depressive symptomatology.

Results:

The analysis revealed a weak but significant relationship between burnout and depression.

Conclusions:

Depression is a pervasive disorder that affects almost every aspect of the patient's life. On the contrary, burnout is, by definition, a syndrome restricted to the patient's professional environment. However, it seems that there may be two distinct types of burnout syndromes, of which the one comprising the majority of nurses has little or no common features with depression. The second type consists of individuals with a predisposition to develop burnout. The latter is characterized by more severe symptomatology, phenotypic similarity to depression and presumably common etiological mechanisms.
Phoenix Area Personnel Managers' Perceptions of the Importance of Writing Skills in Their Own Organizations
Authors: Lynch David H.
Published: May 2005

Phoenix area personnel managers regarded all of a selected list of topics representing different aspects of writing as important; however, physical layout was judged to be the least important relatively. The most important problems in written communication were related to organization, contents, and spelling. Physical layout, typing, and punctuation were rated as least important. Formal procedures for assessing writing skill of potential employees were regarded as only moderately important for the recent college graduate and the experienced manager. The managers suggested that writing skill (or a lack of it) as revealed in the application blank is important in the hiring process, and that the degree of such skill manifested by managers after employment is very significant in the promotion process. Writing skill is assessed during performance appraisal in some companies, and most supervisors encouraged the development of employee writing skill.
The Global Expansion of Precarious Employment, Work Disorganization, and Consequences for Occupational Health: A Review of Recent Research
Authors: Quinlan Michael , Mayhew Claire , Bohle Philip
Published: May 2005

In this review of a range of studies on the health and safety effects of precarious employment in industrialized societies published since 1984, the authors examine the overall findings and methodological issues and identify areas in need of further research. Of the 93 published journal articles and monographs/book chapters reviewed, 76 studies found precarious employment was associated with a deterioration in occupational health and safety (OHS) in terms of injury rates, disease risk, hazard exposures, or worker (and manager) knowledge of OHS and regulatory responsibilities. Of the more than 25 studies each on outsourcing and organizational restructuring/downsizing, well over 90 percent find a negative association with OHS. The evidence is fairly persuasive for temporary workers, with 14 of 24 studies finding a negative association with OHS. The evidence is less strong for small business, and a handful of studies on part-time workers found no clear association with negative OHS outcomes (in some cases the reverse). Further research is needed to more clearly link health effects to particular business practices and neoliberal policies and to explore the regulatory implications of the growth of precarious employment. The authors suggest some ways to conceptualize the association between precarious employment and occupational health.
Bayesian Adaptation during Computer-Based Tests and Computer-Guided Practice Exercises
Authors: Frick Theodore W.
Published: May 2005

One of the potential advantages of computer-based instruction (CBI) is individualization of instruction. However, this goal has not been fully realized in practice, due largely to limitations of natural language understanding and to combinatorial explosion. It is nonetheless possible to develop CBI programs which can adapt to students, depending on their performance, by adjusting the length of computer-guided practice exercises and computer-based tests. The validity of this approach is supported empirically. The number of questions can be significantly reduced for many individuals, while mastery and nonmastery decisions remain highly accurate.
The Experience of Anger in Chronic Illness: A Preliminary Investigation
Authors: Deshields Teresa L. , Jenkins Jack O. , Tait Raymond C.
Published: May 2005

The experience of anger was investigated in relation to essential hypertension, in particular, and chronic disease states, in general. A hypertensive patient group was compared to a chronic disease control group (diabetics) and a nonpatient normotensive control group on measures of anger expression, assertiveness, and perceptions of health status. The chronic patient groups differed significantly from the nonpatient controls in reporting more anger in general, greater frequency of anger experiences, and a tendency to express anger more outwardly. The chronic patient groups also reported greater severity of health problems. Comparisons between the hypertensives and diabetics revealed a greater level of current anger among diabetics. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for anger and chronic illness. Suggestions for future research regarding anger and hypertension also are made.
Green Politics in Germany: What is Green Health Care Policy?
Authors: Wörz Markus , Wismar Matthias
Published: May 2005

For the first time ever, a Green party has governed in Germany. From September 1998 to January 2001 the German Green party, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, held the Federal Ministry of Health. Little has been said so far about Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and its relation to health policy. This article is intended to fill that void. An analysis of the health policy program of the Greens reveals that it centers around moving the health sector toward more comprehensiveness and decentralization, strengthened patients' rights, increased use of preventive and alternative medicine, and a critique of the German cost-containment debate and policy. The current health policy program of the Greens is closest to that of the Party of Democratic Socialism, and to a lesser extent it has affinities to the program of the Social Democratic Party. The health policy program of Bündnis 90/Die Grünen is furthest from those of the Christian Democratic Union and the Free Democratic Party. The health care reforms passed in 1998 and 1999 were not a shift toward a “Green paradigm” of health care policy, because they included no fundamental changes. In addition, cost-containment is still a major political goal in German health care policy.
Consciousness in the Feminist Novel
Authors: Pearson Carol , Pope Katherine
Published: May 2005

The feminist novel specifically celebrates the triumph of the individual consciousness in all of its sensory, emotional, cognitive, and imaginative activities-as an authentic source of reality and of wisdom. In the process of the feminist narrative, the protagonist typically emerges into consciousness, asserting the validity of her own sensory data and perceptions over the established social structures of thought. Her new awareness surfaces when its conventional antithesis becomes unbearably incongruous with her own experiential and perceptual data or when the social modes of thinking threaten to destroy her. In order to bring the unconscious contents into consciousness, to extricate herself psychologically from the socializing forces, which are judgmental, restrictive, and inauthentic in essence, the feminist protagonist employs her own experience, introspection, investigation, memory, and fantasy.
Analysis of Traditional Strategies to Combat World Hunger and Their Results
Authors: Almeida Silvio , Baytelman David , Chonchol Jacques , Collins Joseph , George Susan , Vieira Liszt Aragon , Von Der Weid Jean Marc
Published: May 2005

The traditional strategies proposed for development of the agricultural production of the underdeveloped countries are examined in this article. It is shown that the application of these strategies in the past has proven insufficient to eliminate world hunger. The limitations of these strategies are discussed and proposals are made for achieving the agricultural development in the underdeveloped world that will be necessary to eliminate hunger in the near future.
Some Reliability and Validity Considerations on Australian Data from the Death Anxiety Scale
Authors: Warren W. G. , Chopra P. N.
Published: May 2005

Data derived from an administration of the Death Anxiety Scale [1] to Australian samples is analyzed with a view to providing comparative cross-cultural observations as well as some indication of realiability and validity in the Australian context. Measures of central tendency and dispersion and sex differences were found to be comparable with other surveys of similar groups to those of the present study. The Scale does not appear to suffer from acquisence set, is internally reliable and groups that would be expected to score lower than others, do so – providing some indication of construct validity. The Scale is not “factorially-pure,” however, and at least three “sub-scales” can be identified. These sub-scales are analyzed and discussed.
Deaf College Students and Computers: The Beneficial Effect of Experience on Attitudes
Authors: MacKowiak Kate
Published: May 2005

The impact of individual differences on deaf college students' attitudes toward computers was investigated. Three components of computer attitudes were examined: liking, anxiety, confidence. Mean scores for each component were calculated. Subjects ( n = 131) were students of both sexes who responded to a questionnaire (alpha .89 for the fall semester and .92 for the spring semester). A t-test did not yield significant differences in the two administrations. The sample positively responded to lack of computer anxiety, and indicated computer liking. Students' confidence level was low. Analyses of variance procedures (.05 level of significance) were run to determine the effect of age, sex, computer experience and major on attitudes. Age, sex, and major were not statistically significant. Computer experience had main affect on all three components of computer attitudes. Interaction by age, sex, experience, and major, was statistically significant for computer anxiety only.
Images of the Psychotherapist: A Theoretical and Methodological Perspective
Authors: Geller Jesse D. , Cooley Rebecca Smith , Hartley Dianna
Published: May 2005

This paper presents a theoretical and methodological approach to studying the ways in which psychotherapy patients create and interpret mental representations of their therapists and the psychotherapeutic process both during therapy and after termination. A network of measures, The Therapist Representation Inventory, was developed to specify the interrelationships between the stylistic, functional and formal properties of such symbolic evocations across different states of consciousness and in different situations. It includes a method of examining the ability to formulate a concept of the psychotherapist and guidelines for interpreting both the thematic content and conceptual level of that object representation. The second scale measures the ability to specify the formal properties of therapist representations, as distinct from their particular contents. The third instrument seeks to identify the functions which therapist “introjects” serve for a given individual. Normative data, based upon a sample of 206 psychotherapists who themselves have been patients in psychotherapy and/or psychoanalysis indicate that the vividness of the representation and the use of the representation for the purpose of continuing the therapeutic dialogue are significantly correlated with self-perceived improvement.
Technical Communication Programs at Canadian Post-Secondary Institutions
Authors: Graves Roger , McFadden Jack , Moore Shirley
Published: May 2005

The location, extent, and focus of technical writing programs at Canadian colleges and universities is largely unknown, as least in a systematic way. This article reports the results of one survey of English-language programs. These programs are identified and representative ones are described in more detail. In the light of these findings, we discuss the need for more programs and the focus of these programs.
Microcomputers and Teaching Actions in the Context of Historical Inquiry
Authors: Copeland Willis D.
Published: May 2005

Teachers' exhibition of selected teaching behaviors related to inquiry instruction in secondary United States History classes was compared under the conditions of 1) use and non-use of microcomputers and specially developed software, and 2) high and low preparation of teachers to teach inquiry-based lessons. Results, which are discussed in terms of assertions amenable to further testing, suggest that the support of microcomputers may be beneficial to success of inquiry teaching. They also indicate, however, that such support may not be sufficient for successful inquiry teaching in the absence of appropriate teacher preparation.
Assessment of Health Awareness and its Sources among Journalism and Mass Communication Students at Yarmouk University, Jordan
Authors: El-Qaderi Saleh S.
Published: May 2005

This study assesses the overall health awareness level of students of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication at Yarmouk University/Jordan who are supposed to have an important leadership role among mass media professionals in Jordan. A Health Awareness Test (HAT) was administered to a random sample of 139 students of this group (52.85% of the target population). Findings revealed that their overall average performance on the HAT was significantly much lower than the acceptable criterion score determined by the HAT authors. Female students' performance on the HAT was significantly higher than males' performance. The academic level of these students (2nd, 3rd or 4th academic year) did not have significant influence on their scores. Furthermore, the two-way ANOVA analysis showed that there was no significant difference in the achievement of the study subjects on the HAT by sex and academic level. The major sources of the health awareness information of these students ranked by order were: mass media, self-education, academic preparation (information included in the curricula), family and peers, and finally cultural events in the form of extra-curricular activities at the University. Recommendations based upon these results are given.
Compositional Geometry in Pictures
Authors: McManus I. C. , Kitson Catherine M.
Published: May 2005

The aesthetic effect of pictures has been suggested to depend in part upon the existence of an implicit or explicit geometrical basis to their composition. In Experiment 1, subjects identified the significant points which might form the basis for such a geometry. In Experiment 2, a different group of subjects expressed preferences either for intact or cut versions of the pictures used in Experiment 1, and for sets of dots based upon the significant points within those cut and uncut pictures. Although subjects showed an overall preference for uncut rather than cut stimuli (in which it was presumed that cutting would have destroyed much of the compositional geometry), both for pictures and for dot stimuli, there was no correlation between the judgments of pictures and dot patterns, either between picture or between subjects, suggesting that compositional geometry was not of aesthetic significance in preference judgments. That conclusion was reinforced by Experiment 3, in which subjects showed no evidence of a preference for synthetic stimuli which were produced so that they had significant geometrical structure.
An Evaluation of Computer-Based Instruction in Statistical Techniques for Education and Social Work Students
Authors: Collis Betty , Oberg Antoinette , Shera Wes
Published: May 2005

Students in education and social work traditionally display negative attitudes toward statistics, and these attitudes often impede their understanding and use of research methodology. This report evaluates the use of computerized tutorial support for elementary statistics instruction in five different education and social work courses, both graduate and undergraduate, by three different instructors. Regardless of the approach selected by each of the instructors with respect to the incorporation of the computerized support materials, the use of the tutorials was associated with positive outcomes for the students, both in terms of statistical concepts and attitudes toward statistics. The computerized mode of instruction was effective in spite of many students' lack of previous experience with computers and traditionally negative attitudes toward statistics. It was also compatible with the students' self-expressed preferences for learning environments.
Effects of Death Education on Conscious and Unconscious Death Anxiety
Authors: Hayslip Bert , Galt Cynthia P. , Pinder Margaret M.
Published: May 2005

One-hundred sixty-two adults varying in the extent to which they participated in either didactic or experiential forms of death education versus those who had no such exposure to death and dying-related issues completed both self-report measures of overt death fear as well as twenty-five sentence completion stems assessing unconscious covert death fears. Data analysis suggested that in contrast to previous research, didactic death education was effective in altering death anxiety. However, such effects were restricted to measures of covert death fear. These findings suggest that the previously reported moderate impact of death education on death attitudes may be a consequence of too much attention to self-reported concerns, and that the effects of death education may be much greater if more emphasis is placed on unconscious covert fears about one's mortality, wherein a didactic approach may yield more success.
Language-Independent Conceptual “Bugs” in Novice Programming
Authors: Pea Roy D.
Published: May 2005

This article argues for the existence of persistent conceptual “bugs” in how novices program and understand programs. These bugs are not specific to a given programming language, but appear to be language-independent. Furthermore, such bugs occur for novices from primary school to college age. Three different classes of bugs—parallelism, intentionality, and egocentrism—are identified, and exemplified through student errors. It is suggested that these classes of conceptual bugs are rooted in a “superbug,” the default strategy that there is a hidden mind somewhere in the programming language that has intelligent interpretive powers.
Professionalism: Rise and Fall
Authors: Larson Magali Sarfatti
Published: May 2005

Historically, the early professionalization movements in medicine and the law appear as organizational projects which aspire to monopolize income and opportunities in markets of services or labor and to monopolize status and work privileges in occupational hierarchies. Their central task is to standardize training and link it to actual or potential markets of labor or services, a linkage that is structurally effected in the modern university. The second wave of professionalization has different protagonists than the older “market professions”: placed in a different structural situation, the bureaucratic professions transform the model of profession (which they adopt as a strategy of collective ascension) into an ideology. The import of the ideology of professionalism is examined in relation to two issues: the relationships between professional occupations and bureaucratic organizations; and the position of professional occupations within the larger structure of inequality. Analysis of the first point requires consideration of the distinctions between professional occupations in the public and private sectors, the use of professional knowledge and the image of profession in bureaucratic organizations, and the specific characteristics of professions that produce their own knowledge. In the discussion of the second point, professional occupations and their ideology are examined in relation to other occupations and to the possibilities of political awareness generated by uncertain professional statuses.
Infusing Practical Wisdom into Persuasive Performance: Hermeneutics and the Teaching of Sales Proposal Writing
Authors: LaDuc Linda
Published: May 2005

Sales activities have been understood by some to be negative, one-sided rhetorical encounters. Teachers of technical communication will find it more helpful to view sales proposals as aimed toward the construction and maintenance of long-term relationships, a view held by far-thinking sales professionals. Hermeneutic theory, by offering a different conceptual relationship between means and ends than even new rhetoric suggests, can help clarify the process by which ethical know-how intersects with persuasion. Consequently, it can offer technical communication instructors a valuable perspective from which to teach sales proposal writing.
Selective Attrition Effects in Bereavement Research: A Three-Year Longitudinal Analysis
Authors: Hayslip Bert , McCoy-Roberts Laura , Pavur Robert
Published: May 2005

The study examined the effects of selective attrition on the picture of bereavement adjustment painted by longitudinal studies. Originally, 185 conjugally and nonconjugally bereaved adults ( M age = 50, range 20–82) were administered a battery of self-report measures indexing psychological functioning and adjustment to loss. Complete data gathered six months later were available from 166 persons (133 completers, 33 dropouts), while for a follow-up conducted three years later, complete data were available from ninety-six completers and seventy dropouts. Based on the women in this sample, discriminant function analysis conducted at the six-month follow-up suggested that nonconjugally bereaved completers had been older, had been more recently bereaved, had experienced more loneliness, had reported their health relative in age peers to be less adequate, and had been more active copers. At three years, nonconjugally bereaved completers had been older, more affluent, and had been more lonely. No differences between refusers and completers were found for the conjugally bereaved at either the six-month or three-month occasions. Regarding attrition effects, these data suggest that distinctions between short-term and long-term time frames and between conjugal and nonconjugal bereavement are necessary. These data also indicate that longitudinal studies of nonconjugal bereavement may be presenting an inaccurate picture of post-death adjustment, while attrition bias in studies or conjugal bereavement may be less distorting in its impact.
The Argument about Ethics, Fairness, or Right and Wrong
Authors: Sawyer Thomas M.
Published: May 2005

Four of the five issues normally involved in an argument of policy can be persuasively argued on the basis of facts. However, the fourth issue, that of fairness, might better be argued by following the organizational plan of an appellate court decision. The Supreme Court decision in Teminello vs. the United States is offered as an example. The practicality of this plan is illustrated with a student paper.
Perceived Advantages and Disadvantages of Nonsmoking Sections in Restaurants: Topics to Communicate to Restaurateurs
Authors: Marin Gerardo , Gamba Raymond J.
Published: May 2005

Results from interviews with 315 restaurateurs in San Francisco are reported on their perceptions of the advantages and disadvantages of having a nonsmoking section in their restaurants. The major advantage of having a nonsmoking section independent of whether one is present is to please customers. The most commonly mentioned disadvantage for those restaurants with nonsmoking sections is the fact that it is inconvenient to clients' seating preferences primarily because it breaks up dining parties. Efforts at convincing restaurateurs to set up nonsmoking sections may be directed at pointing out savings in cleaning, labor, insurance, and the improvement of the health of their employees together with meeting clients' desires.
The Treatment of Creative Blocks: A Comparison of Waking Imagery, Hypnotic Dream, and Rational Discussion Techniques
Authors: Barrios Michael V. , Singer Jerome L.
Published: May 2005

Forty-eight volunteers reporting creative blocks in relation to artistic, literary, scientific, or professional projects, were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: (1) Waking Imagery, (2) Hypnotic Dream, (3) Rational Discussion, or (4) Control. In the Waking Imagery condition, participants engaged in ten directed imagination exercises, and subsequently generated three waking fantasies related to their creative projects. In the Hypnotic Dream condition, participants were exposed to a hypnotic induction procedure, and subsequently produced three hypnotic dreams related to their creative projects. The Rational Discussion condition involved a highly focused and logical collaborative examination of participants' creative projects, in which distractions and task-irrelevant thoughts were avoided. The Control condition simply involved encouraging participants, in a nondirective fashion, to discuss their projects. Follow-up a week after conclusion of treatment involved a rating by participants of Satisfaction and an account of changes, if any, in the creative block. Results suggest that the Waking Imagery and Hypnotic Dream conditions were most effective in promoting resolution of creative blocks. An examination of a number of possible predispositional features reveals that, overall, individuals with good attentional control and with low pretreatment levels of dysphoric daydreaming (e.g., guilty or hostile fantasies) were most likely to demonstrate a positive change in the status of their block. Intercorrelations between predispositional measures such as daydreaming styles, Public and Private Self-Consciousness, Absorption, and Hypnotic Susceptibility were also considered.
Integrating Computers in Elementary Grade Classroom Instruction—Analyses of Teachers' Perceptions in Present and Preferred Situations
Authors: Guha Smita
Published: May 2005

This study explored elementary grade teachers' personal experience with instructional computing and the role of computers they would like to see in classroom instruction. One hundred forty-nine teachers from 15 elementary schools randomly chosen from two counties in western New York participated in the study. Teachers answered a survey questionnaire on their training and knowledge in computers, their comfort level in using computers for teaching, and computer usage in classroom instruction. The teachers also answered to what extent do they prefer to receive more training, be more comfortable using computers, and integrate computers more in their teaching. Based on teachers' responses, significant differences and positive correlation were found between teachers' present computer training, level of comfort, and computer usage in the classrooms as compared to their preferred training, comfort, and usage.
Dual Employment System-Related Contextual Impact of Safe/Unsafe Sexual Practices for HIV Prevention: A Chinese Perspective
Authors: Wang Shuguang Marco , Yun Melissa Gao
Published: May 2005

China's dual employment system plays a crucial role in HIV/AIDS-related safe/unsafe sexual practices and AIDS prevention among the self-employed young population (officially called getihu). This field study on STD/AIDS-related unsafe sexual practices among young men in Sichuan, China, examines social and psychological determinants related to safe/unsafe sexual practices for STD/AIDS infection. The study indicates that contextual variables associated with the dual employment system moderate the impact of knowledge, beliefs, and safe/unsafe sexual behavior among self-employed Chinese young men. Self-employed young men are more likely than state-employed population to engage in unprotected sex with casual sexual partners. Potentially, risk may also rapidly extend into the broader non-self-employed populations as more state-employed people become involved not only in self-employed men's socioeconomic activities but also in their unconventional socio-sexual practices particularly, as China's social restructuring continues and many state-employed people are laid off. This collective vulnerability to STD/AIDS due to the current socio-sexual practices among the getihu young people has created a new frontier for STD/AIDS prevention in today's China, as well as demonstrates the importance of collective action with STD/AIDS prevention strategies within employment relevant social and subcultural contexts.
The Evaluation of a Microcomputer Scoring Program to Mark Examinee Write-in Responses
Authors: Harasym Peter H. , Gondocz S. Tunde , McCreary J. Allan
Published: May 2005

A study was undertaken to determine the feasibility of using a computer program to mark examinee write-in responses. It compared the performance of a computer against that of physician markers. A new examination designed to assess clinical decision-making was administered to eighteen residents. The write-in responses on twenty-three questions were marked both by physicians and a microcomputer. The study found the computer to be more consistent in marking, equally as cost effective, and as valid as physician markers. Since the computer provided question statistics (i.e., means, frequencies of examinees' responses) it was evaluated to be better and more helpful than physician markers by providing data useful for improving examination questions and learning experiences.
A Note on the Term Sudden Death
Authors: Binik Yitzchak M.
Published: May 2005

Misuses of the term “sudden death” are discussed and suggestions for appropriate usage are considered. The significance of the study of sudden death is considered for the animal as well as the human domain.