bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Perception of Malaria Infection in Two Rural Communities in Nigeria
Authors: Ezedinachi E. N. U. , Egwu Igbo N. , Nwangwa M. A. , Charles J. O.
Published: May 2005

This investigation was concerned with how and when parents and other members of two rural communities (Awi and Ikot Edem Odo) in Cross River State, Nigeria, recognized malaria infection, what they do to prevent the disease, and what triggers their treatment seeking behaviour (cue to action). The psychological and sociocultural contexts of these complex factors were considered. Focus group discussion (FGD) techniques were employed. A total of eight groups selected using theoretical sampling matrix method were categorized. A thirty-three-item FGD battery of guide questions was used. Information and data on knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) and the perception of malaria infection were generated. Analysis showed that both communities recognized the symptoms, morbidity and mortality of malaria infection in both adults and children. The mosquito vector was identified among numerous other causes of malaria. The pervasive role of ethnomedical sociocultural, and belief systems on KAP and perception of malaria were revealed. Both communities will likely benefit from health education interventions which recognize the belief systems of the two communities.
Health and Family Planning Services in Bangladesh: A Study in Inequality
Authors: Gish Oscar
Published: May 2005

The development of health and family planning services in Bangladesh is examined in the context of the country's political economy. Inequities of power, influence, opportunity, and the ownership and distribution of assets and income are seen to lie at the root of the “Bangladesh crisis.” In this, the country is not unlike many others in the Third World, only more so. The internal and external pressures which have contributed to a coercive attitude toward the problem of too rapid population growth are discussed. The allocation of Bangladeshi health service resources is examined in terms of expenditure, manpower, and facilities; they are found to be both inequitably distributed and inefficiently applied. Some alternatives to present patterns of development are touched upon. It is concluded that despite the country's poverty, most people do not have to go without basic primary health care (including family planning), which can be afforded even by countries as economically impoverished as Bangladesh.
The Evaluation of a Hypertext Discussion Tool for Teaching English Literature to Secondary School Students
Authors: Bain Alan , Huss Phillip , Kwong Howard
Published: May 2005

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a network-based hypertext discussion tool (HDT) for teaching literature to adolescents. The study sought to establish whether the incorporation of the HDT into the students' homework routine raised achievement over traditional discussion and text-based homework. A within-subjects repeated-measures reversal design was used to evaluate the effects of the tool as a supplement to classroom discussion. The effects of the instruction were measured using four curriculum-based measures of student achievement. Student feedback and attitude toward learning with the HDT were also gathered as part of the study. The results indicated that there were statistically significant improvements in achievement when the HDT was part of the instructional program that were not sustained in the reversal condition when the HDT was withdrawn yet recurred at comparable levels during a second intervention condition. Students reported improved allocation of time to homework and improved performance when instruction incorporated the HDT.
Proprietary Hospital Chains and Academic Medical Centers
Authors: Berliner Howard S. , Burlage Robb K.
Published: May 2005

This article examines the reasons why proprietary hospital chains have become interested in buying or managing academic health center hospitals. Among the explanations that are discussed are such factors as vertical integration of health care, chain legitimation, integration of finance and delivery systems, and short-term profit potential. These factors are further examined through the use of a structured analysis of the interpenetration of proprietary chain hospitals and academic medical centers. We also discuss the consequences of these linkages in terms of such issues as continued educational mission, types of sponsored research programs, degree of indigent care provision, and changes in the nature of physician and other health worker training. The larger social implications of the movement of proprietary chains into tertiary medical care are evaluated.
Another Health Care System is Possible
Authors: Benos Alexis
Published: May 2005

A statement prepared by groups at the European Social Forum held in Florence in 2002 declares health to be a fundamental and universal right, a right that is being denied by current neoliberal policies. The statement presents some essential principles for maintaining or restoring this right through a European network.
Safety and Industrial Relations in the Newfoundland Offshore Oil Industry since the Ocean Ranger Disaster in 1982
Authors: Hart Sue
Published: May 2005

Based on an examination of safety and industrial relations since the Ocean Ranger disaster, the article argues that government and industry changes have not fully addressed the problems that emerged from the investigation. Although the establishment of a single regulatory agency in the province is an improvement, some jurisdictional ambiguity remains and occupational health and safety regulations are still in draft form after their introduction more than ten years ago. Unionization is seen as an important step toward a safe workplace offshore, particularly in view of some current concerns: working schedules, training, evacuation, and search-and-rescue helicopters.
Measuring Psychological Adjustment to HIV Infection
Authors: Kelly B. , Raphael B. , Burrows G. , Judd F. , Kernutt G. , Burnett P. , Perdices M. , Dunne M.
Published: May 2005

Aims:

A modified version of the Mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale (The Mental Adjustment to HIV Scale-MAHIVS) was used to evaluate patterns of psychological adjustment in response to HIV infection.

Methods:

A sample of 164 HIV positive homosexual/bisexual men were recruited across three Australian centers (79 asymptomatic (CDC II/III) and 85 symptomatic HIV infection (CDC IV)). Factor analysis of the MAHIVS was conducted and the predictive validity of the MAHIVS was investigated using the General Health Questionnaire, while The Diagnostic Interview Schedule was used to assess current and lifetime psychiatric disorder. Other measures of adjustment/coping were used to investigate the construct validity of the MAHIVS (neuroticism, locus of control, defense style).

Results:

Factor analysis of the MAHIVS detected four factors: Hopelessness, Fighting Spirit/Self Efficacy, Personal Control, and Minimization. Hopelessness and Fighting Spirit factors exhibited acceptable levels of internal consistency and validity, with significant correlations detected with psychological symptoms and significant association with other measures of psychological adjustment and personality. Fighting Spirit emerged as a potential indicator of psychological resilience, whereas Hopelessness was significantly associated with psychological symptoms and current major depression (but not past depression).

Conclusions:

The findings indicate the validity of the MAHIVS and support the presence of common themes in the psychological adaptation to life-threatening illness that can be detected across disease categories and groups.
Imaging Feminist Visions: Comments on a Bibliography
Authors: Fine Michelle , Kidder Louise , Boell Joanne
Published: May 2005

This article reviews the process of compiling a bibliography of feminist visions: the challenge, the contradictions and the promise. The authors address the question: Why image feminist visions at a time when women's realities are so dismal? In response we address how visions enable a more critical look at reality, a better grasp of possibility and a clearer understanding of political dynamics as they affect the lives of women.
In Search of a Method: Permanent Disability Assessment Revisited
Authors: Causey Jay , McFarren Todd
Published: May 2005

How workers are compensated for the permanent consequences of their workplace injuries remains a hotly contested subject. The spreading misuse of the AMA Guides as the sole determinate of permanent disability has intensified the debate. This commentary highlights critical issues surrounding the AMA Guides. Finally, a restatement of the principles recommended for the assessment of permanent disability is set forth.
Psychiatric Disorders Associated with Crohn's Disease
Authors: Schwartz Richard A. , Schwartz Ilze K.
Published: May 2005

This article is a report of the authors' experience with a series of forty-six patients with Crohn's disease seen in psychiatric consultation over a nine year period. We treated twenty-two of these patients in either long term or short term psychotherapy in addition to the initial psychiatric evaluation. A brief literature review of previous studies on the psychiatric aspects of Crohn's disease is also presented.

The most common reason that psychiatric consultation was requested was depression, followed by pain and narcotic-related problems. Factors which appeared to contribute to psychiatric morbidity were the following: duration of Crohn's disease, frequent hospitalizations and surgical procedures, presence of an ostomy, history of proctocolectomy, current psychosocial stress unrelated to Crohn's disease and a history of traumatic childhood experiences. Four suggestions regarding psychiatric management of this group of patients are presented and discussed.
From Task Analysis to Lesson Plans: An Application of Computer Macros
Authors: Wallace Squy G. , Sheffield Paul
Published: May 2005

Application of the Instructional System Development (ISD) model to large scale training development projects has frequently been criticized for failing to develop and deliver training materials in a timely manner. This article discusses the advantage of using a computer-generated graphic portrayal of task analysis data and the use of computer macros to streamline the training development process.
Computer Based Instructional Systems
Authors: Mayo G. Douglas
Published: May 2005

One of the means by which progress in a new technology can be accelerated is by bringing one of its systems into operational use at an early stage in the development of the technology. The U.S. Navy employed this strategy in the case of computer managed instruction. The result was a cost effective computer based instructional system and the prospect of both expansion of the operational system and rapid advancement of the basic technology.
Preventing Late Life Suicide: National Institutes of Health Initiatives
Authors: Pearson Jane L.
Published: May 2005

From a public health perspective, late life suicide is seen primarily as a consequence of untreated mental disorder, particularly depression. However, due to the stigma and agism surrounding mental disorders in late life, there has been limited public awareness that the elderly have the highest rates of suicide, and that they often have treatable depression prior to their suicide. Late life suicide is slowly gaining attention in both the scientific and public arenas. This article reviews in chronological order a number of efforts that have led to heightened awareness and initial public health policy development of late life suicide prevention strategies. The next steps for NIH-sponsored research in late life suicide are described.
Multinationals and Health: Reflections on the Seveso Catastrophe
Authors: Laporte Joan-Ramon
Published: May 2005

On July 10, 1976, a cloud of vaporized products containing dioxin escaped from a deposit of a plant of the Icmesa firm in the northern suburbs of Milan. The fallout was deposited on a vast zone in the municipalities of Desio, Seveso, Meda, and Cesano. Dioxin was not the desired product of the industrial process, but rather an impurity which generally accompanies trichlorophenol, and, to a smaller extent, the products synthesized from trichlorophenol. Among these there are hexachlorophene and the herbicide 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid, which was used as a defoliant in the Vietnam War. After describing toxicological properties of dioxin, this paper examines the role of multinational corporations and of capitalist governments in exploiting not only the people of underdeveloped lands, but also workers of developed countries, transforming into capital not only the increased value of man, but also the conditions, harmfulness, and risks of work.
Challenges to Professional Autonomy in the United Kingdom? The Perceptions of General Practitioners
Authors: Calnan Michael , Williams Simon
Published: May 2005

Theoretical analysis has suggested that so-called threats to professional autonomy in the United States might also be manifesting themselves in the United Kingdom through the introduction of market principles and the new “managerialism” into the National Health Service by the government and through the emergence of complementary medicine and the role of the “articulate” consumer. The authors explore these issues by focusing on how a sample of the “rank and file” of general practitioners perceive these potential challenges from “above and below.” The evidence suggests that the social, economic, and clinical freedoms of general practitioners remain intact although these external influences appear to have changed the style of clinical practice, which is a source of concern and dissatisfaction to some general practitioners.
Methylphenidate for Medical In-Patients
Authors: Fisch Robert Z.
Published: May 2005

Methylphenidate (Ritalin Hydrochloride) has been recommended as a treatment for depressed medical and geriatric patients. The rationale for this treatment includes both its safety (even in patients with contra-indications that prevent the use of other antidepressants) and its quick onset of action. In addition the drug can be withdrawn after a few weeks of treatment without the danger of a recurrence of depression. The author reports having used the drug safely in depressed medically ill patients with a success rate of at least 50 percent.
Social Policy and Economic Change in Chile, 1974–1985: The Case of Children
Authors: Raczynski Dagmar
Published: May 2005

Taking the case of Chile in the period 1974–85, this article examines the impact of economic conditions and social policies on poor households, and especially on children. The study starts with an analysis of the nature of the economic policies implemented in Chile during 1974–85 and their effects on income distribution and on the material living conditions of poor households. It then looks into the social policies, government expenditure, and the main programs directed toward poor households and children, as well as at the changes in child welfare that followed. From this macrosocial level the study diverts to the household level and describes, based on several in-depth studies of small samples of households in the Santiago metropolitan area during the years 1982–85, the daily experiences of poor households-their deteriorating economic conditions and the behaviors adopted to stretch scarce resources to satisfy basic needs. The final part draws some lessons from the Chilean case.
Some Methodologic Problems in Health Practice Research and Health Planning
Authors: Bridgman R. F.
Published: May 2005

During the past 15 years health planning has received a great deal of attention, and a large number of conferences, seminars, and papers have been devoted to this fascinating subject. However, because of a lack of guidebooks based on practical experience, many health agencies, especially those in developing countries, are afraid to embark upon sophisticated and costly procedures. Instead, they continue to use the “rule of thumb” in deciding on easy solutions in order to please local authorities. Health services have been compared to a tangled skein. The present paper suggests a practical approach to begin to disentangle the situation. Total health programs could be divided into three main parts: (1) environmental control and community protection, (2) personal preventive services, and (3) curative services, including rehabilitation. Each of these three main components should be defined and clear borders between them should be delineated because the methods of planning differ in each case. Leaving aside the first sector because it is in fact the responsibility of many government agencies, methods of assessing and planning personal preventive services are studied separately from those which could be applied to curative services. The distinction between these two last sectors is that between needs and demands. Warnings are given against easy oversimplification and ignoring of methodologic problems which could result in failure of the best theoretical health plan. Finally, health planning is within the reach of any health agency, even those in developing countries.
Increased Prescribing of Valium, Librium, and other Drugs—An Example of the Influence of Economic and Social Factors on the Practice of Medicine
Authors: Waldron Ingrid
Published: May 2005

Drug prescriptions per capita in the United States have more than doubled since 1950 without a commensurate improvement in health. Drugs are often prescribed for clinical conditions in which therapeutic benefits do not outweigh the risk of adverse drug reactions. Deaths due to adverse drug reactions are roughly as frequent as deaths due to automobile accidents.

Valium and Librium are the first and fourth most commonly prescribed drugs in the U.S., used by one in ten adults each year. The rapid rise in use of these drugs has occurred during a period of rising social stress, as indicated by increases in alcohol consumption, suicide, and homicide. Valium and Librium are frequently prescribed for patients who go to doctors with social or other nonmedical problems, often in lieu of attempts to resolve these underlying problems.

Overprescribing occurs because the decision to prescribe is influenced not only by consideration of therapeutic benefit, but also by nonmedical factors, for example the widespread expectation by both patient and doctor that the doctor will provide a drug or some other technological treatment. Prescribing decisions are also influenced by the profit-motivated activities of drug companies, including the expenditure of almost one-quarter of every sales dollar on drug promotion. The most widely used source of drug information for doctors is the industry-sponsored Physicians' Desk Reference, which overrates the therapeutic value of Valium and Librium as compared to disinterested medical sources. Drug companies also contribute to overprescribing by introducing numerous minor variants of existing drugs. The therapeutic benefits of such new drugs are often overestimated in the early years of use when adverse side effects are not well known and apparent efficacy is enhanced by placebo effects in uncontrolled observations.
Structural Ambiguities and Written Advertisements: An Inventory of Tools for More Resourceful Advertisements in English
Authors: Oaks Dallin D.
Published: May 2005

Competent writers usually avoid ambiguity, but there are some types of writing tasks such as advertising in which a writer might actually want to create ambiguous wordplays. Among the most interesting of the wordplays are those which involve structural ambiguities. In the natural course of brainstorming, advertisers will occasionally generate structural ambiguities, but a more conscious understanding of the structure of a language could make the generation of such ambiguities easier. The English language contains some characteristics and patterns which contribute significantly toward creating structural ambiguities. And if ad writers know where to focus their attention, structurally ambiguous wordplays can be generated more from design than happenstance. This article examines some of the structural features of the language which could prove useful to advertisers who wish to create deliberate structural ambiguities.
Reply to Commentaries by Drs. Krieger and Laveist on “Race in Epidemiology”
Authors: Stolley Paul D.
Published: May 2005

Racial categorizations are a dangerous anachronism with a disastrous history and fatal consequences for the human species. They play into the hands of racists and undermine the solidarity of some impoverished and neglected segments of our societies. Race is no longer a constructive tool of health or social research and should be abandoned as a category in research and programs of economic, social, and health amelioration.
Editing Mathematical Copy
Authors: Kass Jerry
Published: May 2005

Mathematical copy editing presents a dual challenge to the technical editor: communication with the typographer and communication with the reader. Nowhere do an editor's efforts play a more important role than in the processing of mathematical copy. Here, is a challenge to his meticulousness, technical knowledge, and organizational ability.
Family Network and Mortality: Survival Chances through the Lifespan of an Entire Age Cohort
Authors: Samuelsson Gillis , Dehlin Ove
Published: May 2005

This study relates certain family network variables (marital status and number of children) to chances of survival. Through multivariate analysis, survival is also related to social class, social mobility, migration and local environment, and legitimacy of birth. All persons in a local birth cohort born in the years 1902 and 1903 were followed in population records from birth until eighty years of age. The group comprised 487 individuals with a dropout rate of 4 percent.

Univariate survival analysis between twenty to eighty years of age showed widows and also divorced women to have a significantly higher survival than those still married and never married. Never married men and women had the lowest survival rates. The number of children was not associated with survival for neither men nor women when controlled for marital status.

Multiple regression survival analysis showed different patterns for males and females. The risk of not surviving to eighty years of age for men resulted from a combination of being single, downward social mobility, a father in the manual working class group and few children, with being single as the strongest predictor. For women the strongest predictor for death before eighty was the category single and/or married (as opposed to earlier married). The combination of being single/married, high migration, earlier life mainly in rural areas, and having few children were predictors in the model of death before eighty. Thus, for both men and women marital status was the strongest predictor for survival but in different ways.
Experiencing the Presence of the Dead: Discrepancies in “The Sensing Experience” and Their Psychological Concomitants
Authors: Lindstrõm Torill Christine
Published: May 2005

Relationships between experiencing “the presence of the dead” and psychological outcome parameters were studied in thirty-nine widows, early in bereavement and twelve months later. Self-evaluation of coping, expectancies about future coping, and scores on psychological standard questionnaires (“Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Scale” (STAI), “Goldberg Health Questionnaire” (GHQ), “General Well-Being Schedule” (GWB), “Sjõberg Measurement of Mood” (SJO) and “Life Style Index” (LSI) were used as indicators of outcome. A majority of the widows reported “sensing experiences” at both occasions. The sensing experiences were categorized as being “neutral to slightly positive,” “extremely positive,” and “extremely negative.” “Extremely positive,” and “extremely negative” experiences were found to be associated with poor adaptational outcomes, whereas “neutral to slightly positive experiences” and no sensing experiences were associated with good outcomes. The nature of the sensing experience, therefore, seems to predict adaptation after bereavement.
Cognitive Impairment in Musculoskeletal Pain Patients
Authors: Kewman Donald G. , Vaishampayan Nitin , Zald David , Han Bum
Published: May 2005

To assess the incidence and relationship of cognitive/intellectual impairments to pain problems, seventy-three adults with musculoskeletal pain seen in a PM&R outpatient clinic were screened using the Neurobehavioral Cognitive Status Examination (NCSE). Subjective pain complaints were assessed using portions of the McGill Pain Questionnaire. Patients with prior diagnoses of neurocognitive problems or those who had taken narcotic analgesics in the last 24 hours were excluded. Results showed that 32 percent of subjects had impaired performance in at least one cognitive domain. Individuals with poorer performance on the NCSE had higher levels of reported pain or disability and psychological distress. Possible factors contributing to poor performance on cognitive tasks include psychological disorders or distress, undiagnosed organic brain dysfunction, social/psychological factors such as education, or a combination of these. Results suggest the need for further research to understand the relationship of poor performance on cognitive tasks to the etiology, maintenance and rehabilitation of pain problems.
The Illusion of Independent Agency: Do Adult Fiction Writers Experience Their Characters as Having Minds of Their Own?
Authors: Taylor Marjorie , Hodges Sara D. , Kohányi Adèle
Published: May 2005

The illusion of independent agency (IIA) occurs when a fictional character is experienced by the person who created it as having independent thoughts, words, and/or actions. Children often report this sort of independence in their descriptions of imaginary companions. This study investigated the extent that adult writers experience IIA with the characters they create for their works of fiction. Fifty fiction writers were interviewed about the development of their characters and their memories for childhood imaginary companions. Ninety-two percent of the writers reported at least some experience of IIA. The writers who had published their work had more frequent and detailed reports of IIA, suggesting that the illusion could be related to expertise. As a group, the writers scored higher than population norms in empathy, dissociation, and memories for childhood imaginary companions.
Strontium-90 in Deciduous Teeth as a Factor in Early Childhood Cancer
Authors: Gould Jay M. , Sternglass Ernest J. , Sherman Janette D. , Brown Jerry , McDonnell William , Mangano Joseph J.
Published: May 2005

Strontium-90 concentrations in deciduous (baby) teeth of 515 children born mainly after the end of worldwide atmospheric nuclear bomb tests in 1980 are found to equal the concentrations in children born during atmospheric tests in the late 1950s. Recent Sr-90 concentrations in the New York-New Jersey-Long Island metropolitan area have exceeded the expected downward trend seen in both baby teeth and adult bone after the 1963 ban on atmospheric testing. Sharp rises and declines are also seen in Miami, Florida. In Suffolk County, Long Island, Sr-90 concentrations in baby teeth were significantly correlated with cancer incidence for children 0 to 4 years of age. A similar correlation of childhood malignancies with the rise and decline of Sr-90 in deciduous teeth occurred during the peak years of fallout in the 1950s and 1960s. Independent support for the relation between nuclear releases and childhood cancer is provided by a significant correlation with total alpha and beta activities in local surface water in Suffolk County. These results strongly support a major role of nuclear reactor releases in the increase of cancer and other immune-system-related disorders in young American children since the early 1980s.
Effective and Ineffective Student Performance Behaviors in a Policy Making Management Game
Authors: Wolfe Joseph
Published: May 2005

Management games and teaching simulations have obtained widespread adoptions in business schools and management development programs. While a number of summary evaluations have demonstrated the efficacy of the management game as a learning environment, little is known about what behaviors players exercise within the game situation. Using the critical incident technique, the author collected 1,453 behavior citations of effective and ineffective performance by 211 students playing in two different management games. The reported behaviors fell into seven broad performance groupings covering the students' pregame preparation, their company's personality and operating characteristics, Board meeting atmosphere and interpersonal climate, the team's use of forecasting, analytical, and planning techniques, and their decision-making mechanics. It was found that the management games rewarded rational policy and decision-making practices and that chance played no consistant part in company success. As a teaching device, the management game appears to provide many of the elements needed for education in business policy and decision-making.
Postpartum Depression and Factitious Disorder: A New Presentation
Authors: Gojer Julian , Berman Tamara
Published: May 2005

This article discusses a presentation of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy. It is believed this factitious disorder was precipitated and grew out of the context of a postpartum depression. To our knowledge, no such case has been reported in the past and implications for new exclusion criteria defining a fictitious disorder are raised. Furthermore, reintegration of the perpetrator back to family is discussed and suggestions are made for follow-up.
Sexual Attitudes in Traditional and Modern Yoruba Society
Authors: Demehin Prince Ade Olowo
Published: May 2005

This article examines sexual attitudes and beliefs in Nigeria, from the traditional society to the modern one; focusing specificially on Yoruba culture describing sexual attitudes and sex education in the traditional Yoruba Society and examining its evolution under the influence of the British Colonial rules. It concludes that the sexual attitude was much healthier and sexual life more disciplined in the traditional society before the colonizers broke down the community structure causing children to turn against their parents. The children were presented a confused system of values, which combined sexual permissiveness with the idea of sin-confusion became more pronounced in the aftermath of the Civil War-with the young people unable to identify or understand either the old traditional or the new western system of values. In conclusion, the paper examines the efforts made by the Nigerian government to introduce sex education in schools by encouraging the students to rediscover their own traditional values and place them in perspective in the modern context.
Mass Media in Health Promotion: A Compilation of Expert Opinion
Authors: Pasick Rena J. , Wallack Lawrence
Published: May 2005

This paper reports on an open-ended survey of experts in the field of mass media and health promotion. The study was designed to read between the lines of published reports to identify new directions in the use of mass media in health promotion; to identify areas of consensus and controversy in the design and use of such campaigns; and to compare expert opinion with the literature. Survey responses are synthesized and reported in terms of (1) ingredients for successful mass media programs relative to program purpose, structure, and methods; and (2) obstacles to effective use of mass media for health promotion, including information overload and inconsistency, demand characteristics of the target behavior, dissemination, and unsupportive social milieus. Conclusions are presented as guidelines for pursuit of the optimal program and principles to guide further inquiry.
Development of a Plato-Based Curriculum for Tactile Speech Recognition
Authors: Saunders Frank A. , Hill William A. , Easley Theresa A.
Published: May 2005

This project has initiated the development of a PLATO-based curriculum, teaching profoundly deaf children to understand speech sounds which are presented as touch patterns on the abdomen. In a unique and innovative process, PLATO's auditory disk output is used to “speak” words and phrases, which in turn are converted to touch patterns via a new sensory aid, the teletactor. This aid presents sound information as flowing, dynamic patterns on the skin, which are learned like a new language. PLATO, presenting words and phrases via the teletactor, accepts and judges the student's responses in interactive practice and testing. The curriculum utilizes PLATO (a) as a computer-assisted language learning system; (b) as a multimedia interactive communication system; and (c) as a computer management system for psycholinguistic experimentation, evaluation, and statistical analysis.
The Ultimate Gift: Body Donation
Authors: Bullen Daryll , Crase Darrell
Published: May 2005

Information relative to whole body donation was requested from a representative number of medical schools. Additionally, selected information contained on the Internet was gleaned as a helpful resource. This article reports aspects of body donation including physical arrangements, policies and procedures, limitations, and options available to families of donors. Body donation at death to university medical schools represents a valuable program for educating and training young doctors, dentists, nurses, and other allied professionals, and for promoting surgical and research techniques and procedures. While there is ample information about coping mechanisms of medical students and others involved in dissecting cadavers, little has been published concerning the effects of the donor program on surviving families.
Focal Psychotherapy: Its Potential Impact on Psychotherapeutic Practice in Medicine
Authors: Ornstein Paul H. , Ornstein Anna
Published: May 2005

A condensed illustration of a complete treatment process of “focal psychotherapy” is presented to contrast the specificity of this form of psychotherapy with nonspecific approaches. A two-year follow-up illustrates the meaning of specificity. The relationship of therapeutic results to the focal interventions is reflected in the patient's own views of his accomplishments in therapy.

The theory and techniques of focal psychotherapy were originally worked out by Balint and his co-workers. The case example presented here is the basis of discussion showing how focal psychotherapy can help re-conceptualize and add precision to the theory, techniques and processes of both short- and long-term psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Such increased precision in interventions and focal aims could help leaders and general practitioner training groups to better achieve their collaborative tasks.
Poetic Emotion and Poetic Style: The 100 Poems Most Frequently Included in Anthologies and the Work of Emily Dickinson
Authors: Whissell Cynthia
Published: May 2005

The 100 most frequently anthologized English poems and the work of Emily Dickinson were analyzed empirically in terms of emotion, sound, and style. Results for the 100 poems indicated that poetry was significantly more Pleasant, less Active, more highly Imaged, and in several ways more complex than normal everyday English. In terms of sounds, the 100 poems included significantly more Sad, Passive, Soft, and Pleasant sounds and fewer Active and Nasty sounds than everyday English. Because of relationships between measures, seven factors were sufficient to explain most of the differences among poems. The 100 most frequently anthologized poems are ranked individually in terms of these factors. The poems of Emily Dickinson were significantly less Pleasant, less Active, and more Negative, though containing more Active and Nasty sounds.
Splitting on a Pediatric Consult Liaison Service
Authors: Robertson Julia M. , Robison Bradley D. , Carter Bryan D.
Published: May 2005

Objective:

Although the concepts of splitting and projective identification have been useful in explaining certain group phenomena on adult psychiatric and medical wards, their application to pediatric settings has not been addressed in the literature. The authors demonstrate that early identification, staff conferencing, and family/staff conferencing can diffuse these dynamics in an academic pediatric setting.

Method:

The existing literature on splitting and projective identification is reviewed. Case vignettes are then used to illustrate the manifestations of splitting and projective identification in a pediatric setting and to demonstrate intervention strategies modified for children and their families from the adult literature.

Results:

Splitting and projective identification can be interrupted in pediatric settings with early identification, staff conferencing, and family/staff conferencing. The cooperation of pediatric clinicians is critical in the implementation of these intervention strategies.

Conclusions:

The development of liaison support groups for pediatric residents and interdisciplinary treatment teams will enlist their cooperation in identifying splitting early, and in employing staff conferencing and family/staff conferencing to diffuse this group dynamic which, if left unchecked, can disrupt professional relationships and compromise the treatment of pediatric patients.
The Political Economy of Infant Mortality in São Paulo, Brazil
Authors: Wood Charles H.
Published: May 2005

After the military took power in Brazil in 1964, the government adopted a wide range of policies designed to stimulate economic growth. A central aspect of the Brazilian model of development was the control of wages. From 1964 to 1975 this strategy caused the purchasing power of the minimum wage in the city of São Paulo to fall. The decline in the real wage index was associated with a rise in infant mortality during the period. When real wages rose after 1974, the death rate dropped off. The infant mortality trend cannot be explained by other factors that affect the actual or the reported death rate, such as changes in cityward migration, shifts in the distribution of income, and improvements in the quality of vital statistics. The findings of this study indicate a causal relationship between the infant mortality trend and changes in the purchasing power of the urban poor. Additional data on nutrition, changes in household behavior, and shifts in the cause structure of mortality support this conclusion.
Anorexia Nervosa: Is Prevention Possible?
Authors: Vandereycken Walter , Meermann Rolf
Published: May 2005

Recent research supports the current idea that the incidence of anorexia nervosa and related eating disorders is increasing in Western societies. This phenomenon raises questions regarding the possibilities of prevention. It seems difficult, if not impossible, to change sociocultural influences such as the fashion of slenderness, and upper/middle-class family characteristics. It is more fruitful to search for different risk factors and ‘suspicious’ signs instead of deducting preventive measures from any linear theory of causation. Specific attention should be paid to early recognition of (pre) anorexics, but this secondary prevention is seriously hampered both by patient delay and doctor delay.
Risks Associated with Long-Term Homelessness among Women: Battery, Rape, and HIV Infection
Authors: Fisher Barbara , Hovell Mel , Hofstetter C. Richard , Hough Richard
Published: May 2005

The purposes of this study were to determine the prevalence of battery, rape, and HIV risk practices in a sample of long-term homeless women and to explore correlates of HIV risk practices. Fifty-three women who had been homeless for at least three months in the last year were interviewed at day and night shelters. The women were demographically similar to other samples of homeless men and women and had similar rates of drug use. However, a higher proportion of homeless women were exposed to battery (91 percent), rape (56 percent), and mental distress, and they had a smaller support network (three people). Eighty-six percent had been battered prior to homelessness. A positive association was found between HIV risk practices and the use of certain drugs and having a protector. A higher level of assertiveness was associated with less HIV risk. The study demonstrated that homeless women are at very high risk of battery and rape. Being homeless may require lifestyles that increase the risk of HIV infection and transmission.
Participatory/Problem-Based Methods and Techniques for Training in Health and Safety
Authors: Rosskam Ellen
Published: May 2005

More knowledgeable and trained people are needed in the area of occupational health, safety, and environment (OSHE) if work-related fatalities, accidents, and diseases are to be reduced. Established systems have been largely ineffective, with few employers taking voluntary measures to protect workers and the environment and too few labor inspectors available. Training techniques using participatory methods and a worker empowerment philosophy have proven value. There is demonstrated need for the use of education for action, promoting the involvement of workers in all levels of decision-making and problem-solving in the workplace. OSH risks particular to women's jobs are virtually unstudied and not addressed at policy levels in most countries. Trade unions and health and safety professionals need to demystify technical areas, empower workers, and encourage unions to dedicate special activities around women's jobs. Trained women are excellent motivators and transmitters of safety culture. Particular emphasis is given to train-the-trainer approaches.
European Models of Long-Term Care in the Home and Community
Authors: Coleman Barbara J.
Published: May 2005

In the 1980s, faced with a rapidly increasing elderly population and soaring costs of health and long-term care services, many European governments began to reexamine fiscal policies that often encouraged institutionalization of frail and dependent elders. A number of these countries have now turned to new models of home and community-based care. This report describes home care policies that serve the needs of frail elders in Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Great Britain, with special attention to experimental projects that have tested varying approaches for providing high quality, low-cost care in the home and in the community. The central governments in these countries have developed long-term care systems that improve quality of care, ensure more efficient delivery of services, and control or lower costs. They have (1) discouraged the building of additional nursing homes and instead supported the development and expansion of a range of housing alternatives; (2) shifted greater responsibility to local governments for delivering long-term care services, bringing those services closer to those who need them; (3) developed care management techniques that enable care providers to better target appropriate services to each elderly client; and (4) provided incentives for different types of care providers to coordinate their work, resulting in improved service delivery and greater client satisfaction.
Guidelines for Developing Effective Health Education Service in a National Health Agency
Authors: Ochor Joseph O. S.
Published: May 2005

The constraints facing health education include: the fragmentation and dispersal of health-educational services among different agencies and personnel; lack of policy guidelines; ineffectively organized and inefficiently managed health education systems; poor hierarchical status and inadequacy of resources. To resolve these constraints, national health education systems in health agencies should be developed on the basis of stipulated guidelines that could ensure their viability, efficiency and effectiveness. A study at the African Regional Health Education Centre, Ibadan, Nigeria, has yielded thirty synthesized guidelines. The “guidelines” were empirically tested as an evaluation tool by assessing the operational and organizational status of Oyo State Health Education Unit, Ibadan, Nigeria. These guidelines are adaptable to local conditions to enhance the re-organization, re-orientation and consolidation of health education in national health agencies.
Subjective Cognitive Complaints, Memory Performance, and Depressive Affect In Old Age: A Change-Oriented Approach
Authors: Zimprich Daniel , Martin Mike , Kliegel Matthias
Published: May 2005

The question of whether and how subjective cognitive complaints are related to actual cognitive performance represents a central issue in applied cognitive aging research. Until recently, however, many studies have failed to find a strong association between subjective cognitive complaints and actual cognitive performance. In our study, we examine two alternative explanations: a) for methodological reasons, strong associations exist only when latent changes rather than differences are examined, and b) strong associations exist only between changes in depression and complaints, not between changes in cognitive performance and complaints. With 427 participants ( M = 63 years) and two measurements, we examine both the relation between functioning, complaints, and depressive affect at each measurement point, and the relation between changes in functioning, changes in complaints, and changes in depressive affect between the measurement points with latent difference variables. The results indicate that there are substantial relations between changes in functioning, changes in depression, and changes in complaints.
Aesthetics Applied to Fashion Apparel
Authors: Woods Walter A. , Padgett Thomas C.
Published: May 2005

An apparently ambiguous status for aesthetics in fashion theory is noted and discussed and an applied aesthetics approach to supplement the current communications theory approach is proposed. Two classes of aesthetic properties—intrinsic formal and extrinsic symbolic content—are discussed in terms of stimulus properties. Certain stimulus properties are used in an experiment in which it is demonstrated that aesthetic properties can be identified and used in evaluating fashion apparel. The findings suggest that when aesthetic criteria are considered in fashion theory, classical fashion concepts such as taste leadership require reevaluation.
Science, Late Nineteenth-Century Rhetoric, and the Beginnings of Technical Writing Instruction in America
Authors: Grego Rhonda Carnell
Published: May 2005

Although engineering departments were dissatisfied with early twentieth-century technical writing teaching methods, those methods were not simply a result of “anti-science” attitudes. In fact, late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century composition teachers tried to accommodate the influx of applied science students by teaching correctness and clarity of style and stressing the expository modes of writing. Emphasis on “clarity” was a legacy of rhetoricians like Hugh Blair of the eighteenth century. Emphasis on expository modes was a legacy of the nineteenth-century rhetoricians' interest in the inductive methodology of “pure” science, a method which implied invention by “observation” and made conclusions “self-evident”: argument was unnecessary since observations and methods only need to be explained to “convince.” Applied science departments were, in reality, dissatisfied with teaching methods based on “pure” rather than “applied” science methodology.
The FAA'S Air Traffic Control Simulation Facility
Authors: Bona Louis J. , Pszczolkowski Stanley R.
Published: May 2005

One of the most effective tools for use in air traffic control experimentation, evaluation, and systems studies is the Air Traffic Control Simulation Facility (ATCSF) of the Federal Aviation Administration's National Aviation Facilities Experimental Center located at Atlantic City, New Jersey. The ATCSF combines computer hardware, software, and personnel for testing and evaluating advanced air traffic control concepts and procedures. This paper describes the simulation capability of the ATCSF, its hardware and software, and some of the technical programs supported by the facility.